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Karns City PA

We had a big flood today and the creek came clear up to the garden, I have my pumpkin sitting on a bed of sand but my garden was flooded, water did not make it to flood the pumpkin but the sand was extremely squishy for lack of a better word :) anyone ever have this happen and what to do next? should I try to lift it tomorrow and put fresh sand? take off cover and let sun dry it out? How long can a pumpkin sit in a damp place before rot can set in? sorry so many questions lol but this is my last fruit and this got me stressed. thanks to any replies

8/8/2013 9:59:36 PM

Anamosa, IA BPIowegian@aol.com

I had my patch flood 6" to 2'deep a few years ago. Some plants were lost, some slowed way down. My biggest had the bottom fall out when we lifted it 6 weeks later for the weighoff. I suggest staying out of the patch as much as possible to prevent soil compaction. Your sand should dry quickly, the rest will depend on your soil, the weather and the water table. Creek bottom soils are usually silty and drain well if the water in the creek drops enough. You might want to consider systemic fungicide like Agri Fos to prevent root rot. I'm planning on renting equipment this fall to raise the patch a few inches and make a better floodway around the patch.

Consider your self lucky. The storm that flooded my patch completely washed away another Anamosa grower's pumpkin and left it under a bridge. It was over 1200#, growing like crazy, and had nearly 6 weeks to go to weighoff. It had a good shot at the world record.

8/9/2013 12:21:48 AM

Germany

Leave your pumpkin on the sand, the sand will probably dry very soon. Lifting the pumpkin and manipulating under the pumpkin might cause little scratches, which then might become a source of rot problems as well. Taking off the cover (tent/tarp) should definitely help speed up the process of getting the sand and the soil around the fruit dry, therefore I would remove that cover, but on very sunny days you should still keep your pumpkin covered with a thin cloth to avoid sunscald of the probably still very vulnerable skin of the fruit.

8/9/2013 4:17:50 AM

Muddy Waters

I grow on top of wetlands if a 50 year flood comes Im all done.as my patch is 2 feet above the water table..I did trench & install 2 drain tiles towards the river about 12 years ago i have great drainage now.I also had a feller give me 400 yds of dirt mostly clay some years ago.it added about 8-12 inches foot of soil over my patch.Over the past 20 years I have added almost 2 feet of soil to this area.I figure close to 1000 yards of dirt.So I would look for soil to build it up if you can.I would stay out of the patch & let it dry out.

8/11/2013 10:10:04 AM

Anamosa, IA BPIowegian@aol.com

A few years I dug drainage ditches through the patch and used the soil to raise the patch up. I had to plan them carefully so I could still get a truck in to load pumpkins. It helped this April when the patch was surrounded with water. See my diary post http://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=196210

8/11/2013 1:47:35 PM