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Whidbey Island

My dad is currently on vacation so I have been left with the task of caring for the pumpkins. He has large plastic tents set up over the plants to prevent dew from forming and rain from getting on them. This is mainly to prevent powdery mildew. Unfortunately, rain has been very heavy lately and the design of the tents makes it so pools of water accumulate on the tents. This weighs down the tents and can crush leaves. So, should I remove the tents and hope the plants don't get powdery mildew or leave on the tents and do my best to minimize damage to the leaves? Also, he told me to water the leaves with a molasses solution for nutrition and powdery mildew protection. Since it has been so wet the water is not evaporating quickly, would that make the solution more likely to cause powdery mildew or prevent it? Thanks for the help.

8/25/2004 4:15:29 PM

Ohio

Wide,try to prop up the tents so water dont sit in one spot,make it have a little slope so water flows off. Id leave the tents on if I was you.The tents are mainly to protect it from hail and the sun.
Brooks

8/25/2004 5:48:24 PM

[email protected]

I'm with Brooks. Those tents would make PM worse than better by limiting light, reducing air circulation & trapping moisture laden stagnant air.

8/25/2004 6:14:05 PM

Whidbey Island

Thanks for helping my son in my absence.

The plants did fairly well. Interesting observation: These large cloches are nice for keeping the nighttime dew off the leaves at this time of year. The condensation is on the underside of the plastic and not on the leaves in the morning. PM is a minimal problem until very late in the season, as a result. Obviously, the plants can't be too large or I couldn't fit them all under the cloche.

8/27/2004 1:12:22 PM