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Fresno CA

I am brand new to growing giant pumpkins and this year is more of a pilot than anything else. I bought some Atlantic Giant seeds online and the plants seem to be doing okay. My issue is living in Fresno CA, where the summer daily temps are typically between 99-107. The place I picked is direct sun but I am concerned the palnts are getting either too much sun or too much heat. During the day they wilt significantly before perking back up in the evening/morning.

Should pumpkins be wilty during the sunny hours of the day? How hot is too hot? Any help would be appreciated.

7/12/2016 2:02:57 PM

President - GPC

Yes, mist them for 5-10 minutes every hour with a impulse sprinkler raised 3-4 feet. You can put it on an Orbitz timer for automation. Works here

7/12/2016 3:15:19 PM

Western PA

If your plants are wilting, then they are probably stressed, not good.
I would set up some sprinklers to keep the plants cool.You can get a water timer and program it to kick on every so often. This will help, but their are many other things to do also. Are you burying your side vines to promote extra root growth ?
You can set up a shade cloth over the plants also.
Their are many growers from Ca that I'm sure will help you out.

7/12/2016 3:16:15 PM

Western PA

Wizzy beat me as I was slooowly typing, lol !

7/12/2016 3:17:38 PM

President - GPC

I run it starting at 10:30 AM. I get three cycles then at lunch time I run to the patch and set the clock back to 10:25 and get three more timed cycles from it. It will support 4 hoses, so I can cover the entire patch of 10 pumpkins the entire day. Tested to over 100 degree days. Powered by two double A batteries.

7/12/2016 3:19:55 PM

Fresno CA

Thank you so much for your responses! A few weeks ago I constructed a shade cloth over the plants and that has pretty much stopped the wilting. My only concern is that everything you read online says tons of sun.

I need to bury the side vines, I've read that a few places but have been slacking. Thanks again for the responses.

7/12/2016 3:38:26 PM

San Diego, Ca.

Don't worry about not getting enough sun under the shade cloth. Your plant will be fine. Those of us who live in inland San Diego have a climate just like yours and we all grow under shade cloth and have had good results. Some of us like to use misters too, but I don't like to because I think it ages the leaves too much. However, my 2230 would be a good candidate for misting because it has the worst heat tolerance of any plant I've grown. So far I haven't used misters on it but I may be forced to.

7/12/2016 8:47:43 PM

President - GPC

Yes, burying is a must to get those side vine roots out fast.

7/13/2016 9:23:31 AM