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Cologne / Germany

I´ll hack the mains after the pumpkins next week to look if they can get some extra lbs. Would you add a bottle with water (or milk:-) at the cutting point or just let it open and dry out?

9/7/2004 5:45:08 PM

Hilpoltstein, Bavaria, Germany

Don't put it in any liquid substance or it will start rotting quickly!
Try to dry the cut off as fast as possible, maybe even apply some fungicide powder to the cut.

Martin

9/7/2004 6:39:44 PM

[email protected]

Captan Powder.. Heals in days..

9/7/2004 7:52:48 PM

Rhode Island

floh
i would not cut the main after the pumpkin unless you absolutely had to because of a bad stem stress situation and ill tell you why

the main and vines after the pumpkin are just as important as pumpkin to base

while the fruit gets most early growth from the first sets of sides early on sometimes you get a stump or sets of original sides that get rotted or diseased and if you trim them off ( and had previously cut after the fruit ) then you would have no more food factory available to the fruit

case in point
we lost the base and all but two sides and a four foot main before the fruit this year due to disease
instead of pulling the plant we kept the main after the fruit and a couple sides going
that was when the fruit weighed 100 lbs on 7-20 and it is presently taping 825 and still doing 9 lbs per day-----all grown from the vines and leaves past the pumpkin

9/7/2004 9:02:38 PM

Topsfield, Ma.

I'll have to second Pap's response because I've found rotted stumps on both my plants this season, and still managing some reasonable growth, with the mains intact before and after the fruit.

9/7/2004 9:12:42 PM

Central PA

I agree, because I've seen it. Just like Pap and Duff's examples. I have two plants where the stumps rotted yet the pumpkins continue to grow, with the mains intact before and after. Even with the powdery mildew setting in - I'm getting pumpkin growth and new leaf growth.

9/7/2004 11:05:19 PM

Ohio

Wow pap! Then there must be back feeding from the vines then, I my self believe there is a back feeding. I cut my main after the pumpkin when it completly stopped growing, and it did gain weight after that. It is more the likely that my pumpkin didnt gain because I cut everything past the pumpkin then? Reason why i did it was to experiment to see what would happen thinking all the energy would go to the fruit instead of all the secondaries, leaves and main. I had nothing to lose anyway cause it stopped growing. Do you think it was just a fluke that it gained because i cut everything past the pumpkin? It gained weight for about 3 days after cutting everything. Thanks for that information Pap.
Brooks

9/8/2004 4:37:17 AM

Cologne / Germany

Ok Pap and the others, thank you for replying! I have some pretty good growing on the mains after the pumpkins, along with several secondaries which are all terminated for quite a while. Stem stress might become a problem on my 1260 plant, I have to watch this and eventually cut the main.
So instead of cutting I will bury them all and fertilize. I didn´t care much about the "plants behind the fruit" so far. As I said it´s growing okay but by far not the way the plants in front of the fruits are doing.
Really curious now to see that "back feeding" working.

9/8/2004 5:37:56 AM