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Central Connecticut

I am seeing a few females pop up on the secondaries. I also have a female on the main which is aleast a week away from pollination, but the question is do you just ignore the secondaries this early in the season in hopes that you will set one on the main or do you throw some love to the secondaries as a backup? thanks Chris

6/18/2004 6:41:20 AM

Deer Park, WI

If your goal is growing the largest possible fruit for competition, I suggest focusing on setting only main vine fruit. Some prefer the insurance that a secondary set offers, but in my experience secondary fruit grow quickly in the beginning and taper off over time. Setting multiple fruit on the main and making a decision later on is my preferred method.

If you are growing to make crosses, then setting a fruit on a secondary in addition to a main vine fruit is best.

6/18/2004 9:40:29 AM

Hilpoltstein, Bavaria, Germany

I would also go for the main vine fruits. However, one fruit on the true main and one on a secondary main will also work - as I did it in 2002. But I wouldn't keep a fruit on the main vine and a fruit on a true secondary.

One thing one might want to consider as well is what I've observed last year.
Until then I always pollinated the first female on the main vine and after a few days when I was pretty sure that pollination was successful I removed all other females on the vine.
Then, before last season I was advised to set multiple fruit on the main, let them all grow some time and then choose the fastest growing one.
But I observed that the first fruit on the main will always grow fastest as the following fruits will just not get enough "juice" as the first fruit takes it all away.
Due to bad position on the vine I couldn't keep the first fruit that was by far growing fastest. So, I had to take the second fruit that was far behind the first fruit at the same age. But after the first fruit was removed the second one got that "extra juice" and after about one week it was growing just as fast as the first one was growing.

Has anyone else experienced something similar?

And now I have a question myself:
How long will it take (with temps in the 70°F range) until a female flower will open after it is first visible at the vine tip within all the small leaves?

Thanks and best wishes,
Martin

6/18/2004 3:45:14 PM

[email protected]

I don't ever recall pollinating this early before. But we had our first female open at Stephen's school today. All we had were 2 open males, so we selfed it. Whether it aborts or stays is no concern. Indeed it'll be easier if it does abort on it's own. I can't see keeping sets at 7 feet when every node has a female from 8-10 feet & that darn plant is going like a freight train.

6/18/2004 6:03:56 PM