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Indiana

hiya guys is it ok to use plywood to let my pumpkins grow on.also when is shading them a consideration.currently i have 3 pollinated they are grapefruit size..& also when should i be able to tell which ones to keep?..i figured 2 to finish is that about right?

6/23/2004 8:19:33 PM

Western Pa.

B,

You want your pumpkins to be able to "slide" on whatever you put them on. Plywood might work,(it's expensive), laminated plywood would probably work better, but why not just use a bag of sand? It's always worked well for me. Shading should be done once the fruits are no longer shaded by the leaves, (about basketball size.) You want to consider position on the vine/stem angle as well as which fruits are growing fastest when you decide to cull. Finishing with 2 gives you a little "insurance" in case one goes bad, but most who want to grow the really big one will ultimately keep 1 fruit. Good luck!

6/24/2004 8:49:49 AM

I used big chunks of flat styrofoam last year. The mice can chew through that if they want to though, and I had some teeth marks on mine. Some people use papermill fabric.

Shading...people use tarps or sheets mostly. Also once the leaves don't shade it any more, I would clip off any leaves that could be blown onto the pumpkin. The little prickly hairs on the undersides can scratch the surface of your fruit.

6/24/2004 12:57:14 PM