Message Board - BigPumpkins.com

Eastern Shore of VA

I just wanted to take a moment and thank everyone for their advice in my first growing season.
Dennis
Brother Dave
Charles B
Spence
Chris Kent
Mr . Bright
If I've missed your name, forgive me as everyone has been more than helpful with tips, tricks,and just general advice.
You all have helped me battle leggy seedlings, downy mildew,squash bugs,spider mites,and aphids,only to lose my plants to something I couldn't see.
Voles.
251 Kent x 209 Schinicker has sat with an OTT of 144 for 3 days now.
Melon is 36 DAP.
Plant is down, with only secondaries showing any life.
Stump was cut nearly in half when I found it.
Will leave on for a few more days,
But then I will cull for seeds.
Thanks again everyone, and good luck the rest of the season.
Maybe I will have better luck next year.

7/27/2015 8:48:35 PM

formerly RGG

I am truly sorry for your poor season Ben. But put it all down to getting smarter and come back stronger next year. I am not sure what the answer to voles is but you'll need to do some research on it. Feeding them some castor bean seeds will surely end their lives if they eat that sort of thing and I believe I remember they do.I have a lot of castor pants growing so if you want some seeds from me you might want to shoot me an email come winter time and I will let you know if I can spare some to you.

7/27/2015 9:50:48 PM

Smoky Mtn Pumpkin (Team GWG)

Eastern Shore of VA

Thanks Dennis.
I may just do that.
And I really appreciate all the advice you have given me.
Next year,I'm gonna grow a monster!

7/27/2015 10:35:37 PM

sevierville, Tn

just keep trying and growing... you will get there. Lots to learn and remember to always have fun doing it.

7/28/2015 6:29:51 AM

formerly RGG

A link that might be helpful:

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/plants-shrubs-unappealing-voles-30995.html

7/28/2015 7:47:44 AM

big moon

Bethlehem CT

Sorry to hear about your vole problem, I am very familiar with voles, They are destroying my plant's roots again this year. I have not figured out any great solutions yet. They find their way to the giant melons. I am not sure why. I can't even think about using landscape fabric, it just makes it easier to hide.

7/28/2015 11:56:07 AM

Eastern Shore of VA

Thanks everyone.
That's why I love this.
Everyone is so helpful.
So I guess my next question is:
How long can I keep him on the vine?
Half of the plant is still standing,and there is even new growth off of the stump.
Better to keep him on until the whole plant shuts down ?

7/28/2015 8:45:30 PM

Thinking big

Forest Hill,md.

Very sorry to hear your season ended as it did.You gave me some good advice and helped me without hesitation.I hope to continue to hear from you this season and positively the next.People like you are very much appreciated in this hobby/sport and I hope to be able to help out in the future in anyway I can.I did not realize prior to now that you were experiencing a vole issue.I too had issues with the pests but found they vacated the area,, when after you gave me advice with the mildew issue, i sprayed with "pest out",a clove /garlic organic spray that the little devils positively dislike.Sorry I appear to be a "dollar short and day late".I wish you all the best.

7/28/2015 8:49:27 PM

Eastern Shore of VA

Pest out ?
Going to half to look that up.
Thanks for the kind words thinking big.
Was it Downy mildew?
I lost about 6 crimson sweet plants to that last year.
That's what your diary photos reminded me of.
Hope you got that under control.
I hope you have great success this year,and I hope you grow a big one.
What's the state record for Maryland?
Hope you blow it out of the water.

7/28/2015 11:03:10 PM

Corryton, TN

IT AIN'T OVER!!! If you have growth there are roots attached somewhere. I know a fellow grower in Ohio that had one go from about 170 to 230 without a stump. Keep that soil moist to encourage more growth and rooting and deal with those voles. IT AIN'T OVER!

7/29/2015 6:14:28 AM

Corryton, TN

Use a knife to split the landscape fabric under several leaf nodes and get those nodes next to the soil. Lightly cover the nodes or vine sections with sand or potting mix or dirt and keep them moist. You may need to pin them down. If you do several flag them so you can remember where they all are and water them more frequently until the are rooted.

7/29/2015 6:35:22 AM

Eastern Shore of VA

(Cue the theme from Rocky).
brother dave, I wondered that myself.
That's why I asked about keeping it on the vine.
I wondered if it was still getting juice because it seems there is still life in the plant. The finger vine the melon is on,every leaf on it is drying and crunchy.
6 inches from the stump,there is a new secondary vine about 10-12 inches in length shooting out off of that finger vine.
Is it robbing the remaining juice?
When I found the plant, I dumped mole max in the hole around the stump,
Then fed it some rooting ferts through the drip,in an effort to save it.
Having seen no change in measurement, I figured she was done for.
I'll try to get some pics up in my diary today.

7/29/2015 6:47:51 AM

formerly RGG

Brother Dave is absolutely right. Any cucurbit with good secondary rooting can finish without the stump roots.Just this year I had a bait squash plant that had grown from the bottom of one of my raised beds down into the lower part of my garden.When I decided to eliminate this plants I simply jerked the stump out of the ground and tossed it onto the area below the raised bed to decompose.A day later when I noticed this plant ity wasn't even wilted !And I have heard several stories of pumpkin plants finishing without stumps.You might try watering with a little butyric acid to encourage more roots. I used some on one of my plants yesterday and I don't even have a stump problem.

7/29/2015 6:51:55 AM

wv melonman

Watervalley Ms

12 inch deep trench around the plant seems to work for moles.

7/29/2015 9:07:29 AM

Corryton, TN

Brown leaves on the melon vine sounds bad. No increase in measurements sounds bad. Keep fighting, time will tell.

Landscape fabric makes a nice apartment complex for rodents of all kinds. My troubles have nearly always come at the stump where they can dig under it with leaves as camo. A simple mouse trap at the entrance has worked wonders for me. You might drill a hole in the center of the spring side and slide a #16 nail through it to pin it down.

7/29/2015 9:24:57 AM

Corryton, TN

I'd keep all new growth at this time. Just a gut feeling no science.

7/29/2015 9:31:40 AM

big moon

Bethlehem CT

Like Dave said keep watering, I also would try to get some Nitrogen to them, this should help push out some new growth. One of my plants is badly infested with voles and so far I have been able to keep the melon growing and the plant still looks halfway decent.

7/29/2015 3:10:46 PM

Thinking big

Forest Hill,md.

Hey E scheel,In response back to you, it was powdery mildew which i attacked with 4 different kinds of fungicide. Seems to have been contained nicely.Also got pest out from Joel Hollands pumpkin site. Seems MD is a lame state as far as record keeping or an abundance of growers...Go figure.Anyway i have knowledge that the state fair record is 155 lbs.I have one all picked out to take 1 st weekend of sept,God and Vole willing.

7/29/2015 3:23:21 PM

Eastern Shore of VA

Thanks again guys.
I cut back fabric on the vine the melon is on and pinned down nodes at 5 places along the vine.
Will keep moist with a little fertilizer as well.
At any event, I'll try for a little longer and see what happens.
My goal was 100 pds in my first year.
His OTT measurements say I'm close, and I do believe he will go heavy.
Will keep you all posted, and I really can't say thanks enough.
You guys are great.

7/29/2015 6:05:20 PM

formerly RGG

Ben if you think about it the slow gains you were experiencing were probably due to the root damage the voles were causing. Sometimes it takes just a single problem to dramatically alter a grower's season.Another example would be spider mites or another might be too much growth hormones as I have been guilty of.

7/29/2015 9:14:10 PM

Eastern Shore of VA

I never even thought of that Dennis.
I will say I remember last week that I noticed all the tendrils on that vine turning brown.
Probably a sign as well.
Found a 5 pounder or so this morning.
Probably didn't see it until I lost so many leaves.
Looks like lots of new growth but, I don't see how it will benefit the melon as everything still looks pretty rough on that side.
Oh well,these notes for this year will make for good prep next year.
Will wait and see if rooting vine at nodes will jump start any thing.

7/30/2015 8:25:03 AM

formerly RGG

Ben you might want to let that 5 pound melon grow if the vine looks to be dead or dying leading to your larger melon. Otherwise I think it ought to be disposed of promptly.The thing is when a plant is stressed from root loss it is liable to go through a process where very large parts of the plant die off so the rest of the plant can live and regain it's health. If there is no active growth on the vine leading to the big melon then you will surely lose the big melon for anything more than seed collection.

7/31/2015 7:28:15 AM

formerly RGG

So I think I should have read the latest post first.You still need to do battle with the voles though.

7/31/2015 7:36:14 AM