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Since this was my first year and I am only taped out at 100lbs OTT i didn't enter in any competitions. Me and my cousin are having a competition who can grow the biggest pumpkin. We both live near each other and both have taken a blow from the frost. My plants have all died off now and we are having our weighoff on this Saturday. The leaves are all dead but the petriols (leaf stems) are still there normal color, the vines are still glowing green and the stump to.

My question is will the pumpkin keep growing or gaining weight with all dead leaves but still good vines?

Thanks for you help.

10/7/2004 2:05:14 PM

wilmington,ma.

Keep it going.

10/7/2004 3:19:54 PM

Wroclaw, Poland (51 N, 17 E)

I think it will grow very slowly, buy it should be on plant as long as possible (to prevent water looses asfter cuting.)

10/7/2004 3:29:02 PM

Unless the plant has a sugars conservation system in it i don't think it will grow anymore (maybe a bit). Because with no leaves no photosythesis, which means no sugars that are plant food which means the plant has no energy to move them and moisture into the fruit so the plant starves. Just a thought though. You guys got the experiance and knowledge.
Thanks for the help.

10/7/2004 4:46:57 PM

Wichita, KS

enter it in a weigh-off contest anyway. The experience will enhance your knowledge base (you will meet all kinds of other growers who like to help) and the memory will motivate you throughout the year, or years. :-)

last year, my first year with AGs, I weighed in at 176.5 pounds... a last place squash. I loved it, too. I'll never regret my last place experience.

10/7/2004 11:00:05 PM

Sequim, WA

Been there, done that, even had one split after a frost. The roots will keep pumping out the juices for a lot longer than you would believe. Of course it may not be enough the be measurable, but as long as the vines are sound and you can protect the fruit from freezing, I would keep it on the vine. Good luck.

10/8/2004 1:02:43 AM

Colorado Hail, CO. Elev. 5,900 FT

I mess around and experiment more and more with this each season. Your fruit initally will continue growing, at a substantial lower rate than before, but it will grow. What happens after that depends on many factors. If there are several sucker shoots left, the plant will re-grow and so will the fruit to some degree. It seems that the location and distance of the suckers from the fruit affects fruit growth. If weather returns warm for several days or weeks, you will continue to see results as long as the plant is watered. Since leaves no longer shade the soil, the sunlight will dry out areas where roots are that normally never dried out before. Not keeping those areas moist sometimes will result in fruit abortion if the fruit is still young. The plant begins putting its energy into growth again and will allow young fruits to die. Temps have a lot to do with everything too. If your nights are very cold, your jacked... it takes a while for the plant to come out of shock each time, and sometimes some never do resulting in death even if there are leaves left. You really just need to do your own research, as I'm sure every regions results and climates will differ from one another.

10/8/2004 11:33:40 AM

Thanks for your help guys. And I had new findings on this topic. On my oldest plant there are some new flowers and even with all the leaves dead they are growing and opening up. So that means the plant is still fully active just much slower.

10/8/2004 2:02:03 PM