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South Bloomfield, Ohio

Will burying secondary vines inhibit the production of male flowers on them? I began burying secondaries on the 898 yesterday, only to consider this. And, since it is a pollinator plant, I want as many males as possible. I have since decided not to bury this vine.

6/4/2007 4:46:40 AM

sevierville, Tn

i bury all my main & secondary vines. always a flower at each node. They just pop up through the dirt if the get covered.

6/4/2007 8:00:47 AM

Little-TON - Colorado

I have had flowers not develope due to dirt and water on top, burying behind the growth.....

6/4/2007 9:27:18 AM

Central Oklahoma ( [email protected])

My first yr I tried burying the sidevines It did inhibit the growth of the male flowers but The problem was not with burying them it was the dirt that was burying them. If your dirt gets like concrete when it drys out I would not recommend burying until the male flowers come out a little more. This yr after adding lots of manure and such I have been burying the vines with no problem. I still leave a 10 to 12 inches of the vine exposed.

6/4/2007 5:38:51 PM

South Bloomfield, Ohio

Makes sense Jon. Maybe the thing to do is bury one and leave the other exposed and compare. The 898 is my experimental plant and pollinator. My soil is very loose and subsoil is gravel and drains well.

6/4/2007 8:49:10 PM

Ohio

If your just going to use it as a pollinator I think leaving the vines exposed is the right thing your doing.

Is your 898 that messed up Joe? If it isnt that bad ""If it was me"" Id rethink just using it as a pollinator and genetics plant maybe, grow it out and try and get a 1000lber off it. Go BIG on that bad boy of a plant you have.

6/4/2007 9:00:47 PM

South Bloomfield, Ohio

Brooks,

I'm not sure the 898 is worth trying to get a 1000-pounder off of(excuse my language......lol). The 898 as a female has never, to my knowledge, thrown anything large.

The 898 is not messed up Brooks. It's just that I'm trying to get as much as I can out of it. I think I've decided to use Buddy's 845 Bobier as a pollinator and remake the 1068 in reverse. I think I'll self-pollinate it as well, growing two fruits on this plant and giving our group the benefit of 898 genetics for years to come. Eventually, another "super-pollinator" will come along. Look for Dr. Liggett to create it(at least that's his goal). He's crossing it back into other 898 crosses and his 664.5.

6/4/2007 9:54:25 PM

Netherlands

"I'm not sure the 898 is worth trying to get a 1000-pounder off of(excuse my language......lol). The 898 as a female has never, to my knowledge, thrown anything large."

I guess it depends on what you call large. The 898 is ranked 10th in number of pumpkins grown over 1000 lbs (10 pumpkins) and 11th as far as top 10 average weight is concerned. The heaviest progeny is 1180.

6/5/2007 4:56:22 AM

Little-TON - Colorado

Good thread, as I will be doing the same next year with the 898/845 remake.....you have many of the same ?'s I have. Ill be watching closely......Good Luck

6/5/2007 9:28:40 AM