From

Location

Message

Date Posted

Penryn CA

I'm a new grower and I have one pumpkin that is growing well. It's at 15 days old, and I have a backup at 5 days. At what point do I cull the other pumpkin? Any info on bigpumpkin.com on what I do next as a new grower. I have TKO ordered .... but I am waiting ...... for advise on the next phase. It's been a journey getting to this point as a new grower.

7/14/2019 2:40:38 PM

Grittyville, WA

Trickle feed. (Add small amounts feed to the watering.) Adjust pumpkin as needed. Keep pumpkin shaded/ not too hot.

7/14/2019 3:58:49 PM

Germany

Got the S-curve done? Got the pumpkin positioned properly (on sand and something like mill fabric)?

7/14/2019 4:10:40 PM

Penryn CA

yes to the S curve , pumpkin is on 4x4 plywood with a 2 inch insulation board on top of the plywood. Its covered with a sheet and the pumpkin leaves are half under 30% shade fabric.

7/14/2019 7:59:36 PM

Mill Bay, British Columbia

Penrygarden, I usually advise newer growers not to cull down to 1 pumpkin unless you have multiple plants. Have a backup or “oh shit” pumpkin on the vine saves a lot of disappointment if/when something happens the main pumpkin on a plant.

If you are dead set on only 1 pumpkin per plant, then I’d wait till your main fruit is 30 days old, then cull the other one. Still, I’d suggest you grow 2 pumpkins till you have grown a few years...your call. Good luck.

7/14/2019 10:10:26 PM

Germany

There should be about half inch of sand between fruit and any kind of board, for two reasons: The sand allows moisture to escape and thus prevents rot, and the sand allows the pumpkin to move (for example, if you need to move the fruit in order to relieve some stem and vine stress). With some sand you can "easily" move a 700 lbs pumpkin in a very controlled manner, without sand it will become more tricky.

7/15/2019 1:01:49 AM

Germany

In your diary it looks like there´s sand, so that´s fine.

7/15/2019 1:07:41 AM

Penryn CA

Hello everyone - I have 03 pumpkin plants growing (fyi) - I didn't realize how much time one pumpkin would take. I feel like I should have kept up on the vine burying more. I'm trying. At what point do you start to clip the secondaries and go to TKO feeding?

7/15/2019 10:18:40 AM

Colorado

Limit the plant/secondaries to a preplanned space.most growers that have extra room don't let the plant get wider than 25 to 35 ft and 35 to 45 feet long.Pick out a rectangle size you want to try and prune when secondary growth gets to the boundry. So you end up with a rectangular shaped plant with a xmas tree pattern.yep its confusing.Swing the last 3 or 4 secondaries(just before the pumpkn) around the pumpkin so that they grow into the pumpkins end .that's called the spider patterm-reminds me of a magnetic field.That is a popular pattern because as the pumpkin get really growing the vines after the fruit really slow down and often you cant fill in that end of the plot unless you swing the earlier secondaries into that spider pattern.

7/17/2019 2:55:55 PM

Penryn CA

I've been reading that the 20 days after pollination - not to fertilize or add any nutrients. At the 20 day mark - what can I start doing to get good growth, but not overwhelm the pumpkin.

7/20/2019 1:51:51 AM