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Australia

Just wondering how long could you keep a pumpkin on the vine after it stops growing? It seems my timing is out and have planted too early. first successful pollination is at 19 foot and still have 3.5 months till the show.
any help and advice appreciated
Thanks
Ben

12/22/2010 7:33:00 AM

Anamosa, IA BPIowegian@aol.com

My son's 866.5 last season kept on the vine for nearly a month after the growth stopped. We had a very wet year and it quit growing way too soon. And it kept on the ground another 4 weeks without rotting. But we have also had pumpkins that rotted in 3 weeks after the growth stopped. I think a lot has to do with disease levels and temperatures.

12/22/2010 9:16:06 AM

New Zealand

seems to me your timing is great if you have a good size vine and 3.5 months to grow your kin you should do well if you take care of the basics the uk champion kin grew for around 120 days and was still putting on good size up untill it was culled

12/23/2010 5:12:04 AM

Australia

Thanks guys, 120 days pumpkin growth would be fantastic. I thought due to the warmer climate I would get less days growth but not sure. at the moment the weather is mild and realy getting the vines growing with plenty of possibilities for a later pollination if need be.
Thanks for your thoughts

12/23/2010 5:44:46 AM

Rhode Island

even if you only get 90 to 100 days of growth? a healthy pumpkin kept cool after stopping its growth will last a long time.

12/23/2010 9:25:56 AM

Boulder County Colorado USA planet Earth

I have a ag that has been in the garage since Oct (two months) still looks good.

12/23/2010 10:03:26 AM

Australia

Thanks for the info, now I can stop stressing and concentrate on growing the pumpkins. Just got to work on keeping them healthy and cool.

12/23/2010 4:28:26 PM

Central Ca

Had an ag last 5 months on my friends front porch.

12/23/2010 11:40:34 PM

East Jordan, MI

I know of one that was cut on Aug 22nd this year and was on display until 30 Nov and still perfectly solid with no rot when it was cut.

The one that I grew this year stopped changing OTT measurements for around 40 days before weigh-off and it was still 9.51% heavier than chart I left it on the vine) It was 127 days old when harvested.

12/24/2010 3:53:50 PM