From

Location

Message

Date Posted

Fremont

We have never grown pumpkins before- but are growing Dills Atlantic Giant pumpkins in our backyard. Not looking for a prizewinner or anything, just thought it would be fun for our 4 year old son. We have been hand pollinating and have a few pumpkins growing... but also something has been trying to eat them, possums maybe? Anyway, the plants overall are doing great, taking over the backyard :-) But my big question is that at the base of the vine-- where we originally planted them the vines are splitting open and looking gross. Will this effect the rest of the vine? Should I put dirt over it? Henry will be crushed if his plants end up dying... thanks

7/27/2015 9:23:14 AM

Germany

If vines crack open, try to keep these parts dry and clean (don´t cover them with dirt).
Did you bury the leaf nodes?...then your plant should have developed a nice secondary root system, and even if the stump is finally shutting down, the other roots should also be capable of supporting fruit growth (not for world record size fruit, but still for some nice decorative pumpkins).

Did you plant a field pumpkin (C. pepo variety) or a real Atlantic Giant (C. maxima variety)? ...because from Dill´s you can buy seeds of FPs and seeds of AGs (well, you mentioned Atlantic Giant, but you have posted your question in the Field Pumpkin section of the message board...wondering why).

7/27/2015 9:35:48 AM

Fremont

thank you so much for responding! i know absolutely nothing about pumpkins :-/ so no.. i did not bury the leaf nodes (i better Google that, i dont even know what leaf nodes are!) There is yellow mushy stuff coming out of the cracks in the vines. Should I just clear that stuff out and keep it as dry as possible?

And I'm not sure what type Pepo or Maima we have?? (sorry- like i said i know nothing about pumpkins lol) We ordered a pack of seeds from a Gurney's catalog. "Dill's Atlantic Giant Pumpkins"

7/27/2015 1:44:25 PM

Germany

Ok, so if you ordered them as "Dill´s Atlantic Giant Pumpkins", then I guess they must be Atltantic Giants (C. maxima), the ones which can become really big (current world record 2323 lbs, and even with store bought seeds a couple hundred lbs is possible under ideal conditions). If you have just let the plant do its things (grow into a jungle), then it will be hard to let it survive on the few secondary roots it will have developed and you should try to save the stump and main vine if possible. Do you know the difference between main vine and secondary vines (1st generation of side vines)? The seedling grows into a main vine, and from almost every leaf node (you´ve probably already found out what this is) a secondary vine emerges. Close to the stump the side vines are sometimes very rigid and fragile, as they try to lay down to the ground they can occasionally split. If that´s what has happened to your plant (and it´s only some side vines which have this problem with cracks and yellow stuff coming out of them), then you should cut off those side vines (with a very clean and sharp knife) very close to the main vine and then treat the cut with sulfur powder or another fungicide. Also, you should try to build a little roof over the cuts if there´s any danger of rainfall before the wounds will have dried.

If the main vine and/or the stump have cracks with yellow stuff, then it´s a bigger problem. Never had to deal with that issue before, but other growers have. Maybe one of them could come up with a helpful suggestion for you.

7/27/2015 2:01:56 PM

Germany

If you happen to have a digi cam, take some pics of the cracks (some which show the cracks, and some which show the surrounding vine and stump situation) and post them somewhere (either create a grower diary or post them somewhere else on the internet) and then provide the link to the pics here on the message board, so that people can actually see what kind of problem you are dealing with. This will probably lead to the most helpful answers as soon as possible.

7/27/2015 2:02:14 PM

Hi! It sounds like you have squash vine borers at the base of your vine. That yellow junk is called frass and it’s essentially the waste from grubs that are eating your vine from the inside. Usually there are just one or two grubs in there, but there can be more. If your plant looks otherwise healthy so far, you can usually save it. Take a sharp knife and make a cut up the split and dig around in there until you find the grub(s)...they’re white with dark heads. Kill the grub and clear out the yellow junk as best you can. Then build up the dirt to cover the opening in the vine (moist compost works well for this). The hope is that the moist soil will encourage secondary roots to grow above the damaged area. The grubs only stay in the bottom section of the main vine, so once you find them and seal it up you should be in good shape. I would check back often to make sure you don’t see more signs. I’ve heard people will squirt some BT (bacterial insecticide) up in the vine with a syringe to kill any grubs, but haven’t tried that myself. Good luck!

8/10/2019 11:19:54 AM