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Joliet, IL

this one is a mystery to me. in one days time, there is a "C" shaped cut or split about 1.5" in diameter in the shoulder area of a 50 day old pumpkin. at first look i thought for sure it looked like vandalism cause i have never seen anything like it. there is a perfect C cut that is on the top of the shoulder, no where near a rib line or dill ring. hard to tell how deep it goes cuz the cut was too thin to put a piece of straw in it. so i packed it with captan and checked it this morning. it looks ok today, but i do see some very small tears barely visable at the ends of the "C" as if the skin is continuing to tear, forming more of a horeshoe look. it is hard to imagine a split forming in horseshoe shape from the inside out through 5 plus inches of skin. the weirdest thing is there is no moisture leaking or sap from the cut, split, tear or whatever you call this. has anyone ever seen anything even remotely close to this kind of problem?

i have had crescent shaped splits on a blossum end that have healed before, but nothing that forms a c or horsehoe shape. any advice is greatly appreciated.
shazzy

8/12/2007 8:59:14 AM

Midwest

Shazzy: The only thing that I could list of 'C' shaped objects was the heel of a shoe. Being right on top and all...

8/13/2007 1:43:08 PM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

shazzy...long time no hear! Hope all is well.

We discovered a "C" shaped cut one year at the school. I returned the next day to find about 20 more - some of which were complete "O" shapes. One of the janitors was tapping the fruit with a pole to "see how it sounds". It sounded much less when the walls fell into the cavity on the first day of school.

Wash the "C" with 5% bleach & increase security ASAP.

8/13/2007 8:59:05 PM

Joliet, IL

hey tremor,
all is well personally. hope things are good on your end. the pumpkin should be fine. i do see some separation from continued growth in that area and the surface part of the cut widened enough to check it with a small piece of straw. it only goes down a little over a quarter of an inch. i think a kid was gonna carve their name and may have got scared off by my dog and only got to the letter "c". it is hard to imagine any other possibility. wish ya the best tremor and thanks,
shazzy

8/14/2007 9:55:09 AM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

Clean & dry is the key.

8/14/2007 11:44:30 AM

Long Island,New York

Shapes change and usually accentuate as they grow/mature....a fingernail mark will leave a "c" shape. people love "nailing" them to see if its real........

8/14/2007 4:51:07 PM