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Rhode Island

16. over the history of our great hobby only one husband and wife have both become world record holders? yep- first was gerry checkon and later came larry checkon.fantastic accomplishment for sure.
17. before the wpc and then the gpc growers only competed for local honors, now thanks to these two organizations we have the ability to compete against growers world wide. thanks to both past and present organizations for your dedication to the hobby.
18. high nitrogen levels in your soil can directly be related to diseases and also makes vines brittle and extremely difficult to train. (the vine tips point up to the sky and will break even with the slightest wind)keep the levels between 35-50 parts per million to avoid these problems.levels will drop as the season goes forward so for this reason we also like to test soil mid season.
19. mice can do a lot of damage to your pumpkin especially late season when that nice warm blanket is covering the fruit. for this reason we like to place mouse bait and moth balls around the fruit from sept on. it works.
20.main vine splits occur often. we just spray on some fungicide and cover the split with a piece of wood,etc,just to keep the area dry.after several weeks the area will dry over and be ok.you could also wrap the area with a breathable gauze to keep borers,etc,out.we dont because we use a lot of systemic products that will kill any borers.

1/18/2012 8:47:06 AM

Upa Creek, Mo

moth balls - noted. Thx

1/18/2012 3:37:06 PM

Cheyenne,WY

I really appreciate the tips! Hopefully, I will set a personal best next season by incorporating them.

1/19/2012 9:20:16 PM

East Jordan, MI

Thanks pap. Great info, as always.

Additional tip for #19.
We have cats, but I still put decon in the patch in several coffee containers with a hole about the size of a nickle in the lid. It keeps it dry, and the cats out of it, and so far, the rodents out of my pumpkins.

1/20/2012 1:19:39 AM