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New Castle, Indiana

Oh man I would be so upset. I don't have enough experience to make a guess on this other than calcium, but you probably already know that. Just sending condolences...

6/8/2024 9:17:23 AM

Richmond, BC, Canada

How awful!! We all know how much effort was put into it. I would do soil test right now to see if it will give any clues.

6/8/2024 9:19:44 AM

Connecticut, USA

Yikes. Terrible luck. Maybe a tissue test too? To have them BES this early, there must be something off.

6/8/2024 9:33:06 AM

Torrance, Ca.

Just remember the Paton's last year. 6 plants and 6 splits,,,,, it just happens sometimes. In my early years I use to push my K way to high and this would happen. I'm pretty sure you're a seasoned enough grower for this not to happen.

Post up your tissue test when you get it.

Hopefully this is the last one.

6/8/2024 9:47:27 AM

Western PA

Too big of a plant ???
Maybe just bad luck. Sorry to see this !

6/8/2024 9:55:05 AM

Was there a sudden jump in growth rate?
How thick are the blossom ends compared to pumpkins that made it to the end?

6/8/2024 10:36:29 AM

Nova Scotia

Well in all the years we had blossom end splits our reasoning was 1- it's the weakest thinnest part of the fruit and 2- usually after a lot of moisture and sudden growth spurts. Some growers like to leave a couple pumpkins on plant for awhile act as "shock absorbers" guess you could call it? Then if prized specimen is progressing well eliminate the back ups. Similar to what spudder said above. Still tons of time all the best.

6/8/2024 10:59:58 AM

Lymington UK

I would definitely put that down to a watering issue. Probably just not enough water and then when you give them water they split

6/8/2024 11:19:43 AM

Lymington UK

I would definitely put that down to a watering issue. Probably just not enough water and then when you give them water they split.

6/8/2024 11:21:26 AM

Salem Ohio

Im leaning toward water. To much or to little water. I have been using/ relying on soil meter to monitor moisture. While a meter is a great tool it’s definitely not fool proof.

I included photos of cross sections of both pumpkins in next log entry

6/8/2024 12:02:05 PM

SF Bay Area, California

I concur with Howard. With a strong plant, a few shock absorbers will help moderate the internal pressure of the plant, particularly at night when the evaporative losses of the leaves diminish. I also have a theory that if the pumpkin cools unevenly at night, differences in growth rates in the thick and thin areas could cause fatal stresses. For this reason, I always cover my pumpkins at night to help keep the entire fruit at a constant temperature. Sorry for your loss...

6/8/2024 12:33:10 PM

Ironton, ohio

Did you terminate your main at the pumpkin or curve it out of the way? Get another one set plenty of time remaining.
With the effort you’ve been putting in you’re pushing for records so I think you will always be living on the edge, just takes one making it to have something special, keep pushing and best of luck!!!

6/8/2024 1:03:50 PM

Grittyville, WA

Did you have a fan on them?

Might have helped. I think the evaporation helps concentrate minerals. I kinda think the soil and tissue tests are more for designed for the salad part of the plant. Good fruit set/ development seems to take high concentrations of a specific set of minerals.

6/8/2024 1:19:14 PM

Grittyville, WA

Maybe even a heater? Radiant heat at night?
This is going to sound nutty. But early in the season the leaves and the fruit compete for the same minerals. Calcium is an active transport mineral meaning that the levels in the plant are determined by the amount of healthy roots, not the amount in the soil. So, the supply isnt infinite, its sort of preset & there's a daily limit. But if the leaves are cold and damp at night (as with early morming dew) then this would reduce the amount of calcium going into the leaves, and there'd be more available for the pumpkin. Maybe fruitset requires more than a sufficient level of calcium, it requires an excess?...
In nature, drier soils and cooler nights (usually starting around August) and terminated tip growth, is what promotes an abundance of fruit growth, because these conditions promote an abundance of calcium in the plants...?
In short, cool down the leaves, warm up the pumpkin? All of this might be a total load of bs...
I dont know the truth.

6/8/2024 2:03:18 PM

Tyngsboro, MA

I had this happen to a number of my pumpkins one year. They all split around 20dap. My theory was it was boron related. I had never put any boron in with my watering. After I started adding a little every time I fertilized of Borax or Solubor I haven’t had the problem again. Hope you figure it out

6/8/2024 10:33:51 PM

Hickory Island, MI

So sorry to see this happening to you Ben. My guess would be too big of a plant with nowhere to send the juice other than the young fruit. Didn’t you say you were almost completely terminated? I’ve had this happen to me often when I’ve lost a field pumpkin and tried to set another one on an almost completely terminated plant. You were looking at an almost 35% increase in weight in 24 hours a couple days ago! I think you’re definitely poised to do amazing things, but most plants have quite a few growing tips that are still stretching like crazy at this point in a fruit’s life.

6/8/2024 10:59:24 PM

Salem Ohio

Everyone, thank you so much For your advice and help with the blossom splits.

After speaking with several growers I now have a theory:

I deadhead my main vine at pollination. Which I thought was a good idea.

What I think happened to both was;
The plants were already 900+ ft.² all but one or two side vines were already terminated.

So with that, if the plant pushed up anything extra, it had nowhere to go, but into that pumpkin at the end of the vine tip. (Or the leaves at the end of the vine tips that were terminated)

During that exact same time I had my leaves at the end of the secondaries that were terminated blow up way more than the usual from termination. I have some leafs that are over 3’ wide.

So what I imagine happened was the plant pulled up too much of something most likely nitrogen and it was just too much on that baby pumpkin. (Boom!)

I have completely rethought deadheading vines after this. Unless I absolutely have to, I will no longer terminate the main vine at the pumpkin.

[Last edit: 06/09/24 2:09:54 PM]

6/9/2024 2:07:44 PM

Richmond, BC, Canada

I use Ruben's method of training vines and it seems to make a lot of sense now. All vines are terminated at 4 ft from the edge of the patch. Except number 4 or 5 that you curve down back towards the stump. Then the next secondary is trained forward to allow it to keep growing. So maybe these vines are the shock absorbers. And, remember there are 4 growing vines, 2 on each side. I always allow the main vine to continue growing past the pumpkin...which makes 5 growing tips to absorb the ???. Anyhow no splits for many years.

6/10/2024 10:37:59 AM

Allentown, PA

Splits - good ole regression to the mean. Can't beat it.

6/17/2024 10:02:57 PM

Grittyville, WA

Nitrogen will cause havoc. A vine to act as release valve is good, too.

9/25/2024 7:36:55 PM