From

Location

Message

Date Posted

Nh

on one of my plants, the pumpkin is set about eight to ten feet out on the main vine. it is the only fruit on the plant. there are three secondaries behind the pumpkin. i have cut them at about eight feet out.
i cut the main vine about fifteen feet past the pumpkin.
my question is whether or not this 15 ft past my pumpkin is helping or hurting the rate of growth.
so far my pumpkin is 60 inches in circ
i have also cut alot of the little vines that grab onto things, since i buried the vines good enough to be able to hold itself upright.
is cutting those grabbers off good or bad.
3rd question is whether or not leaves cont. to grow in size after the vine they are on has been cut.
4th question is whether or not it is more effective to fertalize right at the pumpkin
last question is considering the time of year and that my pumpkin is 60 inches in circ, does anyone have an idea on what one might expect this pumpkin to weigh when all is said and done?
any feed back would be great. thankyou

8/18/2004 1:57:57 PM

Western Pa.

Evil,

I don't know roughly how many square feet of area your plant is, but I don't think the plant past the pumpkin can hurt anything. The old growth near the stump will eventually die, new growth will continue to feed your fruit. Most growers do terminate ends and prune any new growth by this time of the season.Some allow the main to continue to grow. Some growers remove those "tendrils", but I know many that grow 1000#ers that do not bother to remove them. If you terminate the vine, the leaves left on the vine grow bigger, but will stop growing(in size) at a certain size. It is believed that the pumpkin receives the most growth from the stump area to the pumpkin. Heat,changes in weather, first frost, insect spread disease, other soil or airborn dieases can all cause your pumpkin to stop growing. In my area September is a very slow month for growth. I think it could be conceivable, that you COULD end up with a 300-400# pumpkin(or more) if everything goes right. Hope this helps!

8/18/2004 2:29:12 PM

Ohio

Evil, For what its worth my pumpkin stopped growing at 550 pounds and is very healthy,I checked it for 3 days to be sure the growing stopped. I wanted to see what would happen if I cut 12 feet of the main and all the leaves and secondaries off past my pumpkin hoping that the pumpkin would take over the energy the leaves was taking up to stay alive and healthy. I still had 0 growth in the past 2 days.
Brooks

8/18/2004 6:33:25 PM