From

Location

Message

Date Posted

Lansdale, Pennsylvania

Hello Group,
I am a teacher and a first time grower. Things in our patch have been going well. The weather seems to be cooperating, and we're fighting off the beetles daily. Two weeks ago we cut off all pumpkins except one on each vine that looked like "a keeper". After returning from a week long vacation I was excited to see that our pumpkins are really taking off! My question now is... if we do get a really big one, how do we move it? Today I put some styrofoam under them to keep them off the ground and I'd say that we have 8 fruits approaching 50 pounds. This is great and it's our goal to grow a whopper but how do we get it from the garden to a weigh-off? Thanks for any help.

8/12/2000 4:50:16 PM

Buffalo, Minnesota

Hey there, well i really dont have an answer as i am also a first time grower and will be approaching the same prob, i think people use large tarps or blankets and get about 6 people to help and lift into a truck or something.

8/13/2000 3:22:58 AM

Kennett Square, PA

Moving large pumpkins is a team effort. I'm already lining up people to help me move a 231 lb'r when it's time. Because they can bruise easily I would recommend wrapping a large afgan or quilted blanket completely around it and gently roll in into a sturdy wheel barrow. This will work for pumpkins usually upto 100lbs. Larger ones will require more physics. The ultimate goal is to make sure enough help is on hand because of the bulkyness of trying to escavate a melon out of the garden and into a vehicle. I will be creating a dolly (sp?) and a large plywood platform to help carry mine out. At least two people on each side is strongly advised. Once a 200lb+ pumpkin gets in it's mind it wants to escape and roll it's very hard to stop. Wrapping in a bulky afgan or something similar also helps eliminate the "roundness" and helps prevent some of the roll on your make-shift cart or dolly. When you've labored all season watering, fighting various beetles and worms the last thing you want to do is rush the move and have your pride and joy break open right in front of you. Take the same energy and inginuity you invested all year into a good moving plan. Good luck.

Gary

Gary

8/13/2000 10:10:49 AM

Billerica,Massachusetts

It's no trick here's how ya move them-- get yourself a tarp, depending on the size of the pumpkin you'll need a number of strong backs, size up the pumpkin -- look at how it's shaped-- you will need to determin which way it will roll easiest-- place the tarp on the ground on the side you are going to roll or should i say tilt up first have someone or severel someones depending on size of course tilt up the pumpkin have someone else ready to stuff the tarp under the pumpkin-- the idea here is to to have enough tarp under the pumpkin so that when you tilt up the other end you can pull out enough tarp so that the pumpkin ends up in the middle of the tarp-- once you tilt up the other end and pull out the bunched up tarp you should be good to go -- have several people place themselves evenly around the tarp and on the count of three or whatever count you choose lift and off you go to the weigh-off-- there are several lifting tarps available from the pumpkin organizations--if you don't have one then those blue tarps will work for the smaller pumpkins just make sure you get a good grip they're slippery.

Glenn Peters

8/14/2000 1:08:06 PM