From

Location

Message

Date Posted

Georgia

First of all, you folks who hang out answering questions like this are true saints... but anyway...

I FINALLY got fruits to set today. So now I've got two vine termination questions:

1) The secondary that's starting at the node where the pumpkin is - should I terminate that secondary immediately?

2) How far should I let the main go past the last fruit before I terminate the main vine? I bet I'm 30 feet out already. (Yes I realize this is a subject of debate and personal preference.)

Thanks for any help and I hope y'all are having great seasons!

8/13/2008 9:11:33 PM

Upstate S.C.

I am very new, Jhatch. However to my understanding if you are just now setting your fruit your are a good portion behind. Most growers have there fruit set by the second or at the latest third week of JULY. ALthough its still possible to grow a very big pumpkin. As far as the vine, a perfect fruit is between 12 to 14 feet out, so 30 is WAY WAY out, most folks terminate the main vine at 25 to 30 feet, but in your case let the vine grow another 10 feet from the fruit IF it will and it should. And Secondarys are normaly cut 8 to 10 feet unless there in the way of the fruit or another plant and then there cut shorter. Good luck and I hope this helps.

8/13/2008 10:24:09 PM

[email protected]

I'd measure your plant to see how big it is for sure. I try to have all my vines terminated by 30 days after the pollination date, assuming the plant is of a size I like. Some plants grow vines faster than others after you start setting fruits. So its not exactly the same for all plants but 30 days is my rule of thumb.

8/14/2008 12:29:05 AM

ExtremeVegetables.com

1) It is usually removed in order to make room for the shoulders of the pumpkin as it grows.

2) It's a personal preference. 30 days is about an average. I tape the pumpkin every day to get an estimated weight, "usually" at around day 30 "or so" the pumpkins growth is peaking. When the growth begins to decline I terminate the main and all secondaries in order for the plant to focus on fruit production.

An example:
Day 25 = 20 pounds
Day 26 = 21 pounds
Day 27 = 20 pounds
Day 28 = 15 pounds
Day 29 = 11 pounds
Day 30 = terminate all vines

8/14/2008 7:02:12 AM

Carrollton, Ga.

Hi Jhatcher,
If everything goes ok you still have plenty of time to grow a big one. When I got the Ga. record in 2003 I planted my seed about July 1st, set it out on June 28th, pollinated Aug. 8th, and harvested Oct. 30th. It weighed 698 lbs. It was about 80 days old. I don't think it gained a whole lot of weight the last 30 days. I was trying to get it to grow in a little bit of cooler weather than the hottest part of the summer.

8/14/2008 9:18:46 AM

Carrollton, Ga.

The bad thing is sometimes a hurricane will come up from the coast and blow all your leaves down and you need to spray for sure to prevent the powdery mildow that is bad in late summer. I would cut the secondary off now or as soon as it gets in the way and cut the main any time you want to. One year I planted a seed on Aug 23rd and got a 400 lb one on a 150 sq ft plant. The bottom was rotted out when I picked it too. They can really grow when the temps are right.
Doug
Jn. 3:16

8/14/2008 9:24:17 AM

Georgia

Yes, I'm very behind Trooper. I ripped out my vine and replanted in late June. At least that's one advantage of planting in Georgia! The timing ought to be perfect for Halloween though.

Good to see you around, Doug! I may be moving up your direction in a year or so; we've been looking at Rome some.

Thanks for the help guys, as always I appreciate it! I bet not too many people have (or would want to) pollinated multiple 5-lobe fruit on the same plant this late - (8/13).

8/14/2008 11:08:30 AM