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CT

Hi Everyone,

A sad day here at Riverview. An animal, we think a woodchuck, came through the fence into our patch and ate big holes in all of our pumpkins. Our most promising small one is completely chewed on the end. Only one of the smallest ones has just one 1/2 inch gouge in it. Uncle Sam was also a victim. Here's where we need your advice. Uncle Sam is quite large now. He has about 6 or 8 bites taken out of the top of him. They go in 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep. The vine and stem are in tact. Is it possible for him to heal himself? Is there something we can do to help him? We have had two straight days of rain here, but he is under cover. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

7/28/2000 10:34:31 AM

Terribly sorry to hear about your loses. I also have encountered many problems with hungry critters this year and have researched possible solutions. Your most major concerns are structural and biological problems. Although these suggestions cannot prevent any structural problems they could help get the pumpkin through the season. Use Captan paste on the wound, and reapply often. Additionally wrap the pumpkin area with plastic bird netting (available at the hardware store. This will prevent more critters from getting to your pumpkin and it works for all sizes of animals. Good luck and keep you fingers crossed. After the wounds scar you can rest a little easier.

Have Fun!!!

7/28/2000 11:54:24 AM

PA

So sorry,it seems to have been a bad week for many of us. Go to the site search at the top of the page and put "crack" in the box the hit go. An article by Wayne Hackney should come up about pumpkin problems. There are a lot of good suggestions here. Good luck and don't give up!
Amy

7/28/2000 12:27:41 PM