From

Location

Message

Date Posted

Walkerton Ont

I have a plant that is pretty healthy but the pumpkin doesnt seem to be growing much over the last 2 days. I removed the pm leaves about a dozen, and the rest of the plant is healthy. I fert yesturday but that didnt make a difference what should i do. should i cut some vines off

9/14/2004 8:17:32 PM

Rhode Island

big one
once a pumpkin gets into a tapper down cycle there is nothing you can or should do to get it back up again
( the risks are great and the rewards are little )

its a natural cycle and any fruit that was pollinated in late june early july would have run its cycle by now and should be finished or close to it

when people get these late season serges its mostly because they taped differently then before

during a cool spell in august you can drop down and pick up again because the fruits cycle is still in a growth mode, but once you tapper down to say 8 to 10 lbs per day they do not go back up again

adding fertilizer at this late stage does very little if anything-----in fact thats when a fruit with any suspect areas could split

ps---- cutting vines off is another thing i dont think does anything for the plants growth cycle
( providing and assuming the plant has been dead headed long before this )

9/15/2004 7:10:18 AM

Ontario, Canada.

Cory here is a bit of info you may find interesting. From the following link. http://www.agtest.com/ I have tried a few things but I am still searching for the ON key. Young roots are the key along with calcium uptake and ammonium nitrogen . Next year I will do things differently. Such as letting plants continue to have an actively growing vine section which keeps them young as well and ensures you always have younger roots growing. Ethylene production is the stop sign you must avoid.

Below is a brief bit from the following link. http://www.agtest.com/

Calcium uptake is by mass flow. Calcium contained in the soil solution moves into the root system with the influx of water and is carried in the transpiration stream to the various plant organs. Usually those areas with the greatest activity receive more water and therefore more calcium. Mass flow delivers more calcium than plants take up. Calcium uptake is generally genetically controlled. One of the restrictions is the fact that only newly expanding unsuberized root caps can absorb calcium. Any environmental factor that limits root expansion limits the uptake of calcium predisposing plants to physiological disorders.

Nitrate nitrogen tends to accumulate in the leaves and increase organic acid production, which increases the demand for Calcium to neutralize the acidity, if this calcium is in short supply calcium may be mobilized from the roots. This movement of calcium from roots is the demise of the root integrity and can lead to leaky roots and ethylene production signaling the plant to shut down.

9/16/2004 7:02:44 AM

Walkerton Ont

i think it might be a hole problem as its stop growing, last night at the patch, i steped on a blankeet for my pumpkins and i heard as sqealing noise, i picked the plantket up and on the ground i saw baby mice and there were the size of my thumb they still had a heart beet in them,

9/16/2004 5:02:01 PM