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Morgantown, WV

So I started growing field pumpkins this year. Have grown them before but not for competition so never paid attention to timing or anything other than seasonal, not date specific. I believe I started my seeds on June 1st, which I thought was late enough, but already have my first mature field kin at 28 days old before August. Something I didn't really expect to happen so fast, as I'm still not at 150 sqft of plant yet.

Few questions:

What is average start date for northern growers going to October weigh offs?

Is 28 days unusually fast for a field pumpkin to mature? I have read 35-45 days is average?

Should I harvest, let plant recuperate and then re-set later in season, or start a new seed now for October 14 weigh off?

Do people normally grow just one single field pumpkin per plant, or do people plant early and just keep successive harvests of single pumpkins?

Thanks for any help on this!

7/25/2017 8:20:03 AM

Morgantown, WV

Also, in regards to main vine sets, does it matter like giants? My main is getting to about 25 feet, and has plenty of room to keep going if it wants, but seems to be getting a bit long to be keeping it for a new tip set.

7/25/2017 8:22:39 AM

Central NY

We plant seeds first week of June for Halloween pumpkins..start picking early ones mid August ...28 days seems fast to me but that would be up north..??...I say let it grow...right into kirshas plant...suck up her nutrients

7/25/2017 11:46:49 AM

Morgantown, WV

Lol... you always seem to hit the nail right on the head pork chop!

I thought it was fast as well, had a blossom issue that I thought would stop it sooner, but it matured to solid orange and stopped swelling. Guess i'll just keep growing them till one lines up with weigh off then.

Sort of south of mason Dixon line, prolly 5 miles or so, so TECHNICALLY not a Yankee anymore but it is almost August and barely touched 70 degrees today. Who'd have thought i'd be considering my soil cables being turned back on in late July?

7/25/2017 1:59:17 PM

Nova Scotia

Dustin,
What has your weather been like? From my own experience I have found high temps mature fruit much faster. My guess is you have had a lot of heat over those 28 days.

7/25/2017 8:35:39 PM

Morgantown, WV

About 23 of those last 28 days it has rained. We've had over 7" in the last month and temps are seasonably cool, today started at 59 and topped at 70 with no rain but overcast. Been tough weather so far this year.

7/25/2017 9:23:46 PM

Nova Scotia

Then it must be due to the poor genetics in that 188!

8/2/2017 10:15:01 AM

Morgantown, WV

Interesting... by the bold comment and location, I can only imagine that you might be Mr. MacKinnon as most are careful not to disrespect WR holders' genetics whether from the WR or not.

But then I couldn't guess why you wouldn't like your own seed if that is the case? Is there something wrong with the 188 I'm unaware of, or was that just a sarcastic comment?

So far, they have both been more vigorous than the 189 Crews for me, so I have no issue with them, just trying to learn more about em is all. Thank you for your advice on warmer weather, i'll be sure to keep that in mind. It could be that I am a lot warmer than Canada, despite being seasonably cool here, which is something I hadn't considered.

8/2/2017 12:06:05 PM

Nova Scotia

I think the 188 will pop some big ones. It was a very well proportioned fruit compared to most of my larger Fps and was well on its way to breaking 200 lbs last summer. We had a lot of heat in the first half of Sept and all my Fps matured more quickly than in the past. The 211 pollinator was also doing very well. I have a 188 in my patch and I like everything I see about it thus far, fingers crossed. I appreciate you giving my seed a shot and hope you are rewarded with a Pb or better!

8/2/2017 4:29:46 PM

Sparta, NC

John typically how many days growth do you get on the big ones you have grown

8/2/2017 10:27:09 PM

Nova Scotia

Sam, my larger Fp's have had good growth ofat least 45 days and beyond. Last year was the exception when they shut down at around 35-40 days

8/3/2017 4:11:33 PM

Morgantown, WV

Ah great, thanks for following! The 49 lber is actually my PB so far, but her sister is just a little bigger, will probably be done in a few days as well. Beautiful pumpkins, great shape on them as you mentioned!

8/3/2017 5:11:03 PM

Lloydminster/AB

I'm way late to this and it's been covered well by John but a 28 day maturity would be normal here for an early July pollination. My biggest ones come from later pollinations after July 20. I'll hit my first frost in early September before those mature, most of the time. The cooler temps of late August will retard maturity. The weather we can get in August is highly variable from year to year so I never know for sure if a late July or a mid July pollination will be Best. I try to bracket my pollinations throughout that period. The only outlier to that rule was my 189 that was an earlier July pollination and was still growing some well into September. It was in a spot that gets a lot of shade in the afternoon and that plant grows a little slower than others. Keep your plant and fruit on the cooler side. Upper 70's days and overnights high 40's and moist soil are when mine do best, though they tend to split. Hope that helps, you will have plenty of season left.

8/4/2017 11:27:32 AM