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Central PA

Ok we've made it this far, we are 6 days away from our local weigh-off (Farm Fair) and during inspection tonight I pushed some of the sand away only to noticed that the bugs have been eating a good bit on the bottom. From what I could tell it looks like they have been eating 1-3" right where the sand mets the pumpkin. The actual underside looked ok inside this ring of bug eaten, for what I could see. It looks like they have gone 1-2" into the pumpkin, but I didn't see any holes all the way in. I did notice one side of the pumpkin is a bit soft, the rest seems very solid. It is my first year and it is only 200-300 lbs. But this project has been a joint effort with my young daughters. We have already lost 2 this year. I'm now down to three pumpkins 200-300 each and having three daughters I'm at that point where it will not be equal and I'll have young problems... Is the game over? Do I need to tell my 6 yrs daughter that her pumpkin is gone? While the other two still have pumpkins. I knew I shouldn't have said which pumpkin belong to which daugther... Anyway

How to Save the Pumpkin?
I'm thinking of cutting it off the vine. Roll it over (belly side up), stray Sevin over every last @#*$ bug, let it dry out and put it in my dad's walk in frig til Sunday.
I welcome other ideas and thoughts.

Also - I thought sand was suppose to keep the bugs away from the pumpkin. What would be a better medium to keep the bugs away?

Thank you!

9/27/2004 11:28:08 PM

Western Pa.

Homebrew,

What kind of bugs are they? It sounds to me as if your pumpkin may be being chewed by mice or rats. (You'll never see the rats!) As long as the cavity isn't exposed, the pumpkin should last, the soft spot doesn't sound good though.

9/28/2004 3:05:55 AM

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Bleach might repel some stuff.

Id it's slugs & such, Sevin would work but so might the bleach.

If mice go in there, you'll see the area is wet & stray seeds might be popping up in strange places.

9/28/2004 7:59:28 AM

Rhode Island

home brew

the soft spot needs to be scrapped out and sprayed with a strong bleach and water solutuon 50/50
then put a fan on it untill its dry
this of course is only good if its a shallow soft spot

if its soft from the inside out the fruit is rotting and will go down

i hope for your little girls sake it makes it

next year try a large piece of smooth plywood with a layer of foam
this helps keep the critters at bay

9/28/2004 8:21:28 AM

Central PA

The bugs are the little black bugs, beatle type. No signs of mice. Lest that I can see.

The soft spot is from the inside.

The soft stuff on the outside stinks really bad!

So it doesn't sound good huh.

Smooth plywood and foam will be on the list next year. I'm mad at the sand idea.

9/28/2004 8:45:08 AM

Rhode Island

brew
sand is a very good barrier around the fruit from 400 to 500 lbs on out
it keeps splashing off the pumpkin when it rains
other than that though it does little for rodent and pest control
you might want to place a ring of moth balls around your biggest next year
it really helps keep rodents away
dick

9/28/2004 6:26:47 PM

Central PA

Dick - Thank you for the moth balls idea. For some reason, I was thinking that the sand was going to help keep the bugs away. Silly me. Live and learn.

What is the point of keeping rain from splashing on the pumpkin?

Bucky

9/28/2004 7:34:05 PM

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Many of the fruit causing bacterial & fungal rots live in soil. The spores are moved about by splashing rain. Alternaria, Rhizoctonia, & Fusarium come to mind but there are others.

9/28/2004 10:13:33 PM