From

Location

Message

Date Posted

Amherst, WI

I'm growing the 1385 this year. I'm having problems with the pumpkins developing blossum end rot. I'm wondering who else is growing the 1385 and if they are experiencing similar problems. So far I've lost 3 pumpkins on this plant, they grow well, but have a protruding blossum end which eventually turns white and gets soft.

9/2/2004 9:59:56 AM

Syracuse, NY

i believe this may be caused by not enough calcium in the
end of the fruit. calcium doesn't move in the plant very well, or it doesn't get to the fruit's end because of some other nutrient, or something. jeez, i just read it the other day in Langevin's book 3! lol----you can certainly get water-soluble foliar calcium at a farm store i am sure.
also, there may be a way to soak towels in the calcium solution and by placing these wet towels on the fruit, the calcium can be absorbed into it... just stuff that i read,
but Dave Stelts does it, so............lol---eric

9/2/2004 5:01:44 PM

Covington, WA

Yes, this is a calcium deficiency problem. I don't know how much the soaks with chelated calcium will help at this point, but Eric is right about it not being very mobile in the plant tissues, and where does it have a hard time getting to? The far end of the fastest growing part of the plant. I would start investing in gypsum now and be ready to add a lot to the soil when the season concludes if I were in your shoes. Seeds like that are not easy to come by and you don't want to repeat this next year.

9/3/2004 1:26:03 AM

Amherst, WI

That's for sure. I know that my calcium was at 1.95% last fall which I wouldn't call drasticly low, but maybe it is. I did add 60 - 75 lbs of gypsum per 1000 sq ft this spring. Also, everything else is looking very nice in the patch. That's why I'm wondering about that weird blossom end that my 1385 plant is producing. Thanks alot for the responses.

9/3/2004 9:50:01 AM

Covington, WA

Calcium deficiency can also be exacerbated by the use of high potassium fertilizers. Potassium is a nutrient that interferes with the uptake of calcium in the plant. If you are pushing high K ferts it may be to the detriment of the fruit as the calcium is being blocked. We walk a fine line when we try to push these things.

9/3/2004 5:03:39 PM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

1.95% Calcium?

On a soil test report, Calcium is usually expressed as either:

Parts per Million (more than 1500ppm is good)
or
Pounds per Acre (more than 3000 lbs/A is good)

As a percentage of Base Saturation, Calcium would be around 75-90%.

So how was this 1.95% figure derived?

9/3/2004 7:37:02 PM

Amherst, WI

Because I was talking like a sausage and I was looking at the wrong report, the 1.95% ca was from the plant tissue analysis report. Soil test report says ca level at 2000 ppm and % base saturation at 69.2 %. The magnesiom was 425 ppm an the potassium was 358ppm. Like I said this was last fall's report and I know that I wanted to jack up the Ca. Not much I can do about the high potassium. Or is there?

9/3/2004 11:37:17 PM

San Diego

a 358 potasium level isn't so high that it would cause lack of calcium in such a major way I wouldn't think. I've grown in soil with much higher potasium than that without a problem and my calcium levels were similar to yours. Jimmy

9/4/2004 11:23:53 PM

Indiana

Randy,
1.95% on the tissue is very low if you ask me. Mine is 7.92%, and I have heard of higher. You could try a Calcium Chelate foliar application, or products such as Calcium Nitrate. Dont go more than 2 oz per gallon a day tho. If the calcium dries powdery, you dont want to do it every day, but if you use Calcium Nitrate you could do it every day after dark to get the Calcium into the plant.

Tom

9/5/2004 12:48:52 AM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

Tissue analysis is a funny thing. My lab finds a range of 1.2-2.5% to be aaceptable for Calcium. But there is another extraction process (or interpretation) that finds 12.5% to be the high side of normal.

Once again, different testing & reporting protocols serve to confuse.

I guess we need to know which lab you used.

9/5/2004 7:29:14 AM

Amherst, WI

The soil and plant tissue analysis was done at A & L Great Lakes Laboratories Inc. Fort Wayne, Indiana.

9/5/2004 9:45:34 PM

Amherst, WI

Today I cut up the pumpkin on the 1385. The outside of the blossom end was looking pretty nasty, but when I cut it open, it was in pretty good shape yet. The walls were 10 inches thick at the stem end and 4.5 at the blossom end. Estimated at 607 lbs. Pollinated with the 502 Palbrach (783 Daletas x 846 Calai). Let me know if you want seeds.

9/6/2004 9:58:19 PM

Walkerton Ont

you should weigh all the pieces to find out the actual weight randoooo

9/6/2004 10:56:48 PM