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Cologne / Germany

Now that some growers already have females at 6 or 7 ft. on the main (like me), what do you tend to with them? Will you pollinate or remove them? I wonder who kept his early sets with success. Last year I had 500+ at only 4 ft.

6/11/2004 9:17:24 AM

I'm with Gordon... GO UTES!

Every year I get the temptation to set those first females
and they are never far enough out. It's better to wait until
the ones 10 to 15 feet out are ready. I know, it's hard.
This year, I will wait! ;-)

6/11/2004 10:37:07 AM

Myrtle Creek, Oregon

Yup, I do the same thing, it's just to tempting to keep them when you have waited & pland for it for 6 to 7 months
H-K-J

6/11/2004 11:17:00 AM

Nova Scotia

all my females on the main rotted off. one now at 30' waiting for it to bloom

6/11/2004 1:48:24 PM

Mill Bay, British Columbia

Following advice from others, I pinch off the first 2 females and don't even think of pollinating till the 3rd or 4th. Has worked for me as well as others.

6/11/2004 1:50:27 PM

Nova Scotia

on the last 2 i grew the first one was usually around 12'-14' out and always had a better growth rate than the next 2 so i say as long as your over the 10' your more than safe

6/11/2004 2:34:33 PM

Indiana

It really depends on the plant. In 2002 I culled a fruit at 6 ft growing 7 inches circ. a day. Dang I wish I could have that one back. All other females aborted after.

Tom

6/11/2004 4:26:55 PM

Hilpoltstein, Bavaria, Germany

Ingo,
I wouldn't be worried about setting one at this distance.
Like a few growers already mentioned it is possible that the following females will abort and you may end up with having no pumpkin on the plant (main vine) at all. Furthermore I have noticed that the main vine will gradually get weaker anywhere from 15 to 20 ft. and like this I believe it can much better support a fruit at 7 to 10 ft. then at around 20ft. (yes, I know the 1385 was grown at 20/+ft.....) Also, the first one on the main vine has always been the fastest growing one for me - second and third were always slower.
Also consider that it is only June 11. Even if you wait for the second or third female it will still be well ahead of the "ideal" pollination time from early to mid July. So you will miss that time anyways.
If I were you I would pollinate it and go with it.
What plant is it one and when did you start that particular plant?
Best wishes,
Martin

6/11/2004 4:56:34 PM

I'm with Gordon... GO UTES!

I think you should pollinate it, but don't hesitate to
remove it later if another good one is set in a better
position. Pollinate everything, just to be safe.

I've also found that usually the first female on a vine
is 4 lobes. Then by the second or third they are usually
5 lobes. (I have never seen a six lobe female.) Then very
late in the year, they go back to 4 lobes. Well, I need to
do more research on this, but in general this is what I've
seen. To me, this is genetic, and it *might* mean that
fruit in the middle of the vine have the greatest potential.

I hope to keep track this year and see if this observance
continues to hold.

Good luck all, Cliff

6/11/2004 5:45:45 PM

Cologne / Germany

Thank you all for your input. I thought about last year and my only successful pollinations were around end of June. So I removed the first females and will wait another two weeks, there are new females already ahead.
Martin, now I have females on all 4 plants. They were started first week of April in the greenhouse, transplanted end of May.

6/12/2004 7:50:22 PM