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Knopp, Germany

i have already mentioned that during the cold spell we are experiencing, that if a pumpkin should all of a sudden pick up a lot of weight, then it has the potential to split. the pumpkin is cold, not very pliable, normally it should not pick up much wieght now, but it could, and the danger is there.

another thought has crossed my mind. what happens the first night or so that the weather gets warmer? the pumpkin should react appropriately, and we should see a increase in weight. so, my newest thoughts are, watch out for the first couple of nights of good weather after the cold spell. the pumpkin is still cold, remember, the walls can be 6-10 inches thick, if not more. if the warmer nights produce an increase in weight gain, the danger is present again.

what can we do? my only idea right now, out side of a full patch green house, is a protective cover to keep them dry, and blankets over them to keep them as warm as possible. this would in theory reduce the drastic temperature changes.

thoughts?

8/3/2005 10:26:04 AM

Austria

Michel`s September use of remay (Vlies) comes to my mind, this could help to reduce the temperture differences or keep them moderate. Closed mobile hoop houses could work but need a lot of space to be stored and maybe seldom needed though.

8/3/2005 10:33:39 AM

Belgium Europe

I have a full patch greenhouse, and i can tell you this: Temperature changes are bigger in a greenhouse than outside. At this moment for excemple we have 20°C at day,10°at night. In greehouse day temps go up to +-
30°,but night goes down to 10 or maybe 11 as well, maybe not so quick , but in the early morning i have 1 or 2 ° more than outside.During the day, when sun appears or disappears , there are also changes from 10 to 15°C in a few minutes.Last year i had no splits,keeping my fingers crossed for this season.
Good luck to all,and no more splits!

8/3/2005 10:45:34 AM

Knopp, Germany

Remay or Vlies is one idea that i already have a plan for come september Heino, I do think it makes a difference.

Jos, thanks for your input. I still believe that the drastic temperature differences cause the splits. When you measure the temps in your greenhouse at night, are you measuring the air temps? If so, how high above ground level? Or the soil temps?

Another advantage of the blankets is that they should, at least in theory, hold the pumpkin at a fairly consistent temp so that it not only does not splt, but, perhaps continues to put on wieght. I know that many stateside growers do this in the fall, and with our temps now, they are like the fall at night, so I figure nothing to lose.

by the way, i just got done covering all of my pumpkins with blankets, what is a idea worth if you do not try it?

8/3/2005 11:34:30 AM

Cologne / Germany

If temps drop down at night and you´re able to use some sort of small heater, does it make any sense to warm up the pumpkin only? Or is the whole plant affected by low temps?
Jos, I think your construction is a great benefit against "cold breeze" at night. A cold wind might bring more bad effects than not being covered at all, apart from the actual temps. You won´t have any temp effects unless you have a fully closed and heated greenhouse for sure, but some "shelter" does a good job.

8/3/2005 11:38:35 AM

Liverpool , England

Owen,
I use a duvet... now that keeps the heat in all night, it also keeps the heat off the fruit if we have a very hot day.Also a plastic sheet over the duvet stops it gets wet with dew or rain.
Alun J

8/3/2005 6:42:54 PM

Hilpoltstein, Bavaria, Germany

I must say I am really starting to like the Remay (Ernteverfrühungsvlies) stuff... hint, hint! But it is important to cover the plant up in the evening and remove the cover as soon as the sun comes up. Don't let the air under it warm up too quickly or your fruits will split like popcorn! Again, speaking from experience.... The air under a remay cover warms up really fast. I don't want to imagine how fast the air under a plastic cover would warm up in the morning causing a growth spurt. Do you really think it is coincidence that Börje split all his fruits three years in a row? I don't think so. I blame his plastic cover as it causes the above mentioned. I once thought a greenhouse might be a good option for us but I am now convinced it isn't. Lars's splits strengthen my opinion on this. Jos has just been lucky so far (Jos, don't get me wrong, I don't wish you a split, I am just saying what I think).
And I hate blankets or other stuff directly on my fruits, again, hint, hint! I rotted one stem and one pumpkin this way already as moisture builds up under these kind of covers!
Just my thoughts...

8/3/2005 7:55:43 PM

Liverpool , England

hint all ya want Orange...I've never had any problems with blankets or duvets.

8/3/2005 8:23:01 PM

Hilpoltstein, Bavaria, Germany

good for you, not so good for me! LOL
But as I said, these are only my thoughts.

8/3/2005 8:37:55 PM

Knopp, Germany

Alun, I am not familiar with the term "duvet", what is that?

And thanks for your ideas.

8/4/2005 1:00:41 AM

Austria

The dictionary says "Federbett, Schlafdecke" ...

http://dict.leo.org/?lp=ende&lang=de&searchLoc=0&cmpType=relaxed&relink=on&sectHdr=on&spellToler=std&search=duvet

Hard to imagine not to get sent straight to the doc when neighbours see you covering your pumpkins with a sleeping blanket in the evening ;-)) - The imagination alone is too funny.

A few days ago I found some of the new fashioned health drinking yogurts in the fridge that were already expired so I took them and poured them in the wider area of the stump of one of my plants which is lacking Calcium in my opinion. That was soon after lunchtime. When I turned around I saw some neighbours looking at me in disbelief. Since half of that land is covered by my pumpkin plants they think I`m a weirdo anyway, but feeding a few drinking yogurts to your plants as desert gives you looks you woulnd`t see every day.

Sorry for going a little offtopic here.

8/4/2005 3:20:59 AM

Cologne / Germany

Hi Steel, this story is funny, every grower has experience like that with patch neighbours I think.
But I´m not sure the plant can use any of that calcium in a yogurt at all. Must be like the milk feed pumpkin tale.

"After feeding Gatorade to my pumpkins they started glowing green", muhaha, that was written somewhere on the board here.

8/4/2005 5:49:30 AM

Cologne / Germany

Martin, my small tomato house is made from Remay and it works good. A complete greenhouse covered with Remay would be great. Breathable material is the key.
Plastic and glass is okay only if you use a very big and high construction with ventilation, like Jos.

8/4/2005 5:56:32 AM

Liverpool , England

Duvet....French word...dang. Its like a double side sheet that is stuffed out with a heat retaining fabric. something like a quilt. ya don't need any other sheets or blankets on ya bed when ya have one....very snug and cosy.

8/4/2005 6:27:52 PM

Liverpool , England

Hey Orange,
Ya have to go with whatever works for ya.When I put plastic sheet over the blanket/duvet it is kept in place with a frame that stops it touching the duvet.

8/4/2005 6:30:31 PM

Long Island,New York

Did you thanks the French for inventing your duvet today Alun? Where would you be without them Alun....

8/4/2005 7:03:58 PM

Liverpool , England

They only invented the word... they aint got the brains for the invention.Probely some German guy left it after we(and USA)forced them out of France in 1945.

8/4/2005 8:55:24 PM

Sweden

I have grown pumpkins for 8 years and the last seven i have atleast one split every year. All splits have come when the pumpkins was in a fast growing fase. I have splis in greenhouse and whit out green house. The last two years a have had pumpkins growing around 30lb a day and that speed is difficult to reach without a greenhous i think.
My point is that is not the greenhous ho is the problem its more the effekt of a greenhous comparing to have the plants and pumpkins outdoor where the growt will be more slow a normal summer. I prefered to take the risk of a split if I have a chance to grow a 1000 lb pumpkin with help of a greenhouse. This year( and the the last years) there is not a chance to grow a 1000 lb pumpkin in sweden outdoor. Night temps at 10 and daytemps at 18-20 is not enoght to get the pumpkins grow around 25-30 lb for a longer time.

8/5/2005 7:16:50 AM

Itzetown City

Owen, may be that the different of temps causes splits, but I think the the change from a warm and dry period (a period when you water) to heavy rain is the matter. I for me have observed that in a period of hot and sunburning weather the pumpkins dont growing too much, even when you watering the patch, the hard water ties down the nutrients. After the rain sets in, much more nutrients will set free and baaaannnngggg.
Just my 2cents.

8/5/2005 7:08:25 PM

Cologne / Germany

Got 30 lbs last night for one pumpkin (996 Bobier x 1260 Weir) with rain, temps around 15 C and high humidity (85 %). Roots on top all over the patch, as well as weeds :-)
I don´t think hot temps are so important. Must be a good and moderate mix of everything?

8/5/2005 8:15:38 PM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

Two more cents from the other side of the pond if I may.

It seems to me that the very light weight of Remay might not provide enough insulation during times of extreme temperature flux. Securing edges securely so as to prevent rapid air exchange might help but there will still be times when good old fashioned quilts & blankets should still be close at hand.

8/5/2005 9:55:26 PM

Belgium Europe

I have a stem split into the cavity of a 1458whittier fruit.This plant is the only one outside.I think the combination of wet and cold can cause splits.Especially with the younger fruits(this one was about 25kg).Once your fruit reaches 300-400kg or more, that's another story.Splits can occur easy than because of the great forces of weight on the fruit.I think luck is starting to play a roll at this part.Like Borje's fruit here, with that explosive growth... In the States and in Canada, with so many growers and a few hundreds of heavy hitters,if 9 out of 10 potental 1000+lbers split, there are still a number of growers that have no split,and they grow 500- 600kg fruits.I'm convinced that if you put the top 30 of growers in the world here in europe, they grow a few 1400+lbs pumpkins here too.But i have to agree with Lars,in some area's you have no chance without a greenhouse.

8/8/2005 1:55:49 PM

Cologne Brescia Italy

I'm agree with you Jos, me too have had split this year for the first time since I grow ag pumpkins. I have had the my two split (1092 Deagle and 1367 Rose) when the weather is insane because the temp was 37°c and in 24 hours it's fall to 18°c
today here temp max was 29°c but the night it fall to 10°c
like the last night, 19°c of difference, are very dagerous,
and can to be cause of some split in yunger fruit
Anyway also the top growers have had some pumpkin damage

8/8/2005 4:15:00 PM

Loitsche/Sachsen-Anhalt/Germany

Owen,

I do not believe that variations in temperature are alone a cause, in order to let the fruit burst. Rather the change of the soil humidity is, transpiration of the plant and the different osmotic pressure a cause for, it due to it. You find this Phaenomaen with many fruits, which have a high water content, particularly tomatoes and cherries.

Greetings Christian

8/9/2005 4:54:05 PM

Loitsche/Sachsen-Anhalt/Germany

Owen,
A supplement
A cause: Fruit tears are caused not by harming exciters, but by an uneven water supply and to strong sun exposure. They arise more frequently after sudden rain or extensive irrigation after longer dryness. Vorbeugung and fight: Balanced water supply, off more beginning fruit-ripe potash-magnesia-stressed fertilize.

8/9/2005 4:57:08 PM

Knopp, Germany

Christian,

Thank you for your input. I have also thought that irregular water supply could be a reason for splits. It is hard to control that without a greenhouse over the total pumpkin patch though. When it rains, not much we can do.
owen

8/10/2005 1:08:52 AM