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Minnesota([email protected])

In a past message board post, and in many of the diaries, people state which is their most vigorous plant, so far. I'm wondering if in general, does the most vigorous plant usually produce the largest pumpkin? Or is there no correlation? I'd like to hear your personal experiences regarding this. Maybe we can see a trend, or no correlation.

5/31/2007 11:46:56 PM

Minnesota([email protected])

While we're at it, do you think leaf size or vine thickness has any bearing on the potential for a big pumpkin?

5/31/2007 11:57:25 PM

Eugene,OR

Last year on June 21 I ranked my 14 plants from 1-14 (best to worst). My biggest pumpkins came from plants that ranked in my bottom 7 on June 21.

6/1/2007 12:08:20 AM

Puyallup, WA

I agree with Russ. My most vigorous plants are most often to produce a "splitter"! .....and in case you were wondering...they don't count at the weigh-off....and that has me worried as my own seeds are the most vigorous so far this year!

6/1/2007 12:27:44 AM

Buffalo, MN ([email protected])

Doug I have seen both over the last several years. Last year my most aggressive plant palnt produced the 1213. Several years ago my slowest plant grew my fastest growing fruit only to split at 970 lbs.

6/1/2007 8:43:26 AM

Phoenix, AZ

Vineman,

What was the criteria you used to rank your plants?

6/1/2007 12:29:03 PM

Ontario, Canada.

And I agree with both Stan & Russ.

The reason:

While we all like fast growing plants it is very difficult to keep fruit from these monsters together. They simply can't usually supply the ever increasing demand for macro nutrients on many stressful days during the summer. These vigorous growers should be held in check by with holding all ferts. Even organics should be reduced with such plants. You don't need any more competing nitrogen cations that will kick out the calcium and boron. Besides the plant by its excessive growth is telling you they don't need any supplemental additions.

Plants that are fast growers are generally able to of have access to lots of Nitrogen and as a result produce great salad. However its not salad and green top growth we need at fruit setting time. We want plants that are able to transition effectively from vine growth to fruit growth. To get to that stage you need lots of young roots to draw in that Calcium and Boron which stave off blossom end splits.

Send me an email and I will pass along "A Trip Down the Calcium Highway. It is a story about AGP plant nutrient uptake. Written by a GVGO member it is currently featured on the Best of the GVGO cd rom. It can help all growers relate to plant growth and reduce the occurrence of blossom end and rib splits.

6/1/2007 12:53:19 PM

southwest MO

I have 4 pumpkin plants going... 2 are giants and 2 are smaller. All 4 plants germinated on the SAME day. All 4 plants are in the same patch subjected to the same management style. Im going to go out on a limb and say the differences seem to be more due to genetics rather than environment, all things being equal. Now to see which ones will set and grow fruit to maturity.

6/1/2007 1:04:16 PM

Saegertown Pa.

In my patch the years I have had proublems with disease the bigger plants are the first ones to have proublems. It seems like the plants with the small vines meadium leaves are the ones that don't seem to get the disease. The 1068 I grew last year was the most vigorous plant it had a big main vine right from the start. It was the first plant to have proublems with other plants soon to follow, the few plants that didn't have proublems were medium plants small vines. I have also noticed that if I have a plant that is bigger than all the rest in the patch right from the start it's the one that will double vine on me. If I have two plants and had to choose one I would cull the vigorous plant over one that was average. A lot of my biggest pumpkins were on medium to small size plants.

6/1/2007 2:05:24 PM

southwest MO

In my short history the aggresive plants with the big features also seem to be the ones that are harder to set fruit on and that have more deformed baby fruit. They also tend to act this way for the whole season, oblivious to fact that I am giving them no extra fertilizer...
Maybe these plants need more aggresive prunning??

6/1/2007 3:30:41 PM

Puyallup, WA

Quinn....your 1446 is taking off like a rocket! Right now, it is one of the most aggressive growers in the patch.
Is that typical for this plant in other locations?

6/1/2007 4:13:36 PM

North Smithfield, RI USA

I have 4 plants and the 2 with lesser genetics are the most vigorous.

6/1/2007 4:53:26 PM

Greene County, Pa.

This post got me thinking, in 2004 I had one plamt that was way bigger then the rest. The fruit eventually split. In 2006 i had another better then the rest, its fruit split also. Last year my biggest pkn was grown on my smallest plant.

6/1/2007 5:09:31 PM

Farmville, Virginia ([email protected])

Stan, my 1446 is the same. It was actually started one week after the others but after 28 days in the patch it has caught the older plants and possibly will pass them in growth. It was avery agressive starter as soon as it germinated, wanted to get real leggy and grow to the moon! I did develop a stump split on it but with a little TLC it is healing nicely.

6/1/2007 5:42:28 PM

Saegertown Pa.

I had four 1446's in my patch, three were back up plants and were put in with three primary plants, I always double plant in case the primary plant double vines or ribbon vines on me. Two of the 1446's out of four were very agressive like the male pollinator that grew my 1090 the other two were like the female that grew the 1446.5 it was a average plant.

6/1/2007 8:30:28 PM

Amherst, WI

so far, the 1446 is my biggest plant.

6/1/2007 10:55:15 PM

Eugene,OR

Stan: My 1446 is a rocket ship!

6/1/2007 11:48:31 PM

Eugene,OR

Ben: I ranked my plants by length of main vine and general overall vigor.

6/1/2007 11:49:26 PM

Minnesota([email protected])

Thanks for all the replies. I found them quite interesting and informative......Doug

6/2/2007 2:05:53 PM

Salem, OR

Yep, the 1446.5 is 30% ahead of the other plants. Unfortunately, half of the time my biggest pumpkin comes from my wimpiest plant. I almost wonder if there is an inverse correlation between plant size and fruit size (all of the energy goes to EITHER plant production OR fruit production.) My 1446.5 will probably be one of my pumpkins that splits this year. I'll be sure to keep at least one other pumpkin on the plant to serve as a buffer.

6/6/2007 11:48:53 AM