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Colorado

aside from certain genetics, what makes pumpkins go heavy to the charts?

seems to me that there are some growers whose pumpkins are consistently heavy to the charts. Look at the 2007 Daletas pumpkins... all over the charts regardless of the seed, so I would argue that there's more to it than genetics.

is it something in the soil? is it the amount of water? root structure? myco? Calcium? weather? plant size? drench vs. foilar fertilization? what do you think?

10/1/2008 8:36:52 PM

Picton,ON ([email protected])

ah yes...the question...and the answer:

one thing...just one thing

10/1/2008 8:44:18 PM

Lexington, Ky

I think that one possibility is time left in the patch. Seems like some of the early pumpkins go light....

10/1/2008 8:58:50 PM

Massillon, Ohio

after having a pumpkin go 200 lbs light last year, we cranked the water to them this year. seems to have helped. so my vote is water.

10/1/2008 9:02:15 PM

Rhode Island

The ability of all nutrients to be made available to the growing plant and later the pumpkin makes all the difference in the world.

In other words for example, if your parts per million of nitrogen are really high ? chances are your plant and pumpkin will be effected and this can cause poor results.

Everything needs to be in balance, then the weather needs to cooperate ,then the critters need to be eliminated ,plus ya cant forget to spray for all those bugs and diseases. Plus a little luck thrown in does not hurt either.

It all goes together if you are to be a success.
The seed is just the start of it all.

pap

10/1/2008 9:49:31 PM

Joliet, IL

more weight

10/1/2008 11:47:51 PM

Colorado

lol John- and what is this "one thing"?

10/1/2008 11:57:02 PM

Netherlands

My pumpkins always go at least 10% heavy. This year two at 10% and one at 20%. Last year my pumpkin went 11%.

I have very fertile clay/loam soil and lots of water.

A Swedish grower investigated the longer in the patch idea the last two years. When the tape measure stops, so does the weight. He grew the pumpkins on a weigh scale.

10/2/2008 2:23:20 AM

Roselle, IL [email protected]

It seems a lot of pumpkins go heavy when they have less water or dry conditions. Check out the aggc site some time and you will notice that pumpkins grown under dry, or below average moisture conditions go heavy...

10/2/2008 8:46:26 AM

Wi

So George maybe irrigation water makes a pumpkin heavier than rain water. Who knows.

10/2/2008 9:37:46 AM

Pocatello ([email protected])

Years ago on the old giant pumpkin email list was a thread that talked about magnesium and calcium. Basically, if your magnesium was high and your calcium was low, light pumpkins would result. I think this thread is somewhere in my archives. Certainly, more research is needed.

I do believe there is a nutritional component. A lot of times, growers will have a year where they go all heavy, or all light.

10/2/2008 3:33:50 PM

Minnesota

Milk, get yourself a fresh gallon of 2%, hook the i.v's up to the main vine and sit back and relax, gurnsey cows work best. Of couse I'm lying, but, refreshing to drink after working out in the sun for a few hours on your pumpkin patch.

10/2/2008 4:23:39 PM

Somers, CT

I would say it would be the weight.

10/2/2008 9:11:53 PM

Picton,ON ([email protected])

I have argued that (besides "the one thing") there have been a lot of inconsistencies in the way pumpkins have been measured, thus inconsistencies in heavy vs. light. Now with the GPC requiring a measuring committee at each weigh off site, I think we will see the weights make a lot more sense. I have seen seasoned growers measure pumpkins incorrectly making their pumpkin much heavier than it should have been.

10/2/2008 9:37:05 PM

Pinedale, WY

I would have to agree with Rob, I definatley think that it is the weight that makes it heavy.

10/2/2008 10:40:04 PM

New Hampshire, USA

I bekieve a consistent diet of nutrients will make it grow; therefore, heavier.

10/5/2008 10:46:54 PM