From

Location

Message

Date Posted

Santa Cruz, CA

When you cover your pumpkins at night with blankets etc., the idea is to keep the pumpkins from loosing the warmth they have picked up from the heat of the sun. Yes? Why is that? I would imagine too hot is not good or cold either. What would you say is the optimum pumpkin temperature? Has anyone kept charts on outer pumpkin temperature? Thanks for the thoughts.

8/2/2008 12:21:26 AM

Rhode Island

creek

you cover the fruit on cool or cold nights to hold the heat inside the fruit. buy doing so the pumpkin can continue to grow its best and not slow as it gets cooler and then try and pick up again as the fruit warms.
i think its also may help some splitting issues if the fruits temp is kept as even as possible.

if i had an ideal temp controled building to grow in id want 87 degrees and low (to almost no ) day and night.

id want each tap root sunk into a hydroponic channel all controled with mineral and injected nutrient water then recirculated every hour.

of course im always looking for a white bank bag to fall off the brinks truck as well so ????

pap

8/2/2008 2:46:38 PM

Santa Cruz, CA

Thanks Pap. So 87 degrees is perfect and it sounds like you'd keep it at that temperature night and day if you could. In the past we've always kept the carpet pads on night and day. This year we're keeping white sheets on during the day and putting on the carpet pads on at night only. Now with this method the pumpkin gets pretty toasty so that's good?

PS The 1502 we are growing is doing well and is ahead of the charts from the 1502 we grew last year. We didn't get a pollination until July 9th but it is 19 feet out on the main and in better position than last year. It's more round in shape than last years too and has a 3" wide orange streak that runs the length of the pumpkin from stem to blossom end. Have you seen that before? The skin is also more slick in the colored area. Thanks again for offering the seeds through the Southern New England club. We were so lucky to get drawn. We also have the 1689 going and it is speeding though its first 15 days. It was 37.5 inches at day 10. I wish our weather was better for giants. The coast keeps our nights chilly.

8/2/2008 6:49:36 PM