From

Location

Message

Date Posted

Iowa

How would one know WHEN a fruit is gaining unless you hand it growing on a scale? Does a fruit gain more wall thickness at any ONE time and then water weight? (late) What would one find out if they used a portable ultrasound and measured wall thickness all season long? Lets say in tree spots on the fruit. Why do more 500+ go over the charts then others?? Can we do more for a fruit @ 500 lbs to carry it big time over the charts later?? If 50 is over the hill for us what is over the hill for a pumpkin??

12/8/2008 10:23:45 PM

Iowa

Three spots sorry, not good at this speiiling thing. lol

12/8/2008 10:27:54 PM

Utah

I believe someone (sorry I can't remember who) grew a pumpkin on a scale and had a couple micrometers checking to see if the pumpkin kept adding weight after the OTT stopped increasing. He concluded that the pumpkin didn't gain any more weight after the OTT stopped.
I know that Bill Bobier grew one on a scale. I don't know what his results were.
I also wondered about ultrasound - They have one at my work. but they won't let me take it home.
I know thats not an answer to your question but that's all I know.

12/8/2008 10:57:26 PM

Colorado

It was a grower in sweden

12/9/2008 12:49:58 AM

Upstate S.C.

Bill Bobier, like someone else said made a contraption that you are somewhat talking about.

12/9/2008 1:44:28 AM

Thuringia/Germany

Börje Gustavsson
http://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=55029

http://go.to/skurupsborren

12/9/2008 2:18:03 AM

Ohio

''They have one at my work. but they won't let me take it home'' YOU KILL ME GORDON! hahaha!

12/9/2008 4:51:21 AM

Little-TON - Colorado

Jack LaRue told me he has used an inline scale, only needed to lift the pumpkin up a wee bit.....dont know if he did this daily or weekly.

12/9/2008 8:27:36 AM

Western NY

I know of a few that have been picked up at around 500#, and they increased by a couple % heavy by weighoff time.

12/9/2008 8:42:05 AM

I think the problem with ultrasound is the calibration. Different materials result in differences in ultrasonic attenuation, therefore, it would be difficult to calibrate in terms of wall thickness. Of course, two equally thick walls providing different attenuation constants would be indicative of differences in microstructure and/or composition (and, by extension, bulk densities), which can explain why some fruit go light in spite of apparently healthy wall thicknesses.

The best way to go about this study is the record the ultrasonic readings, then pull a core sample of the flesh from the pumpkin for calibration purposes. This core sample should be measured for thickness, density, water content, chemical composition, and, if possible, crystalline structure. I recommend everyone planning to compete in any west coast weigh-offs in 2009 to core and test all their competition-worthy fruit and report the results back to me.

12/9/2008 11:30:51 AM

Cornelius, Oregon

Ugh, okay (done in my best Butt-head voice)

12/9/2008 2:47:52 PM

Ohio

If you had the least amount of two sides of the walls that was similar in consistency and both had similar elastic texture, wouldnt the ultrasound give you a accurate reading depending on temperature of surface texture?

12/9/2008 3:37:05 PM

Colorado

I dont think a ultra sound would give you as good of data as would a scale(first choice) machinists indicator(second). Bobier had that one on a scale all season -maybe he would give you the info -hows your swedish brooks

12/9/2008 5:31:38 PM

Southern Sweden

http://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=11535
http://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=35877
http://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=40961
http://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=69440
http://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=75466

12/9/2008 7:09:11 PM

Clinton, Iowa

I think Tommy beachy did something with an inline scale.. Help me out Tom. we talked very briefly one time at a patch tour in Ohio...A few years back I thought you said somethign like this " that you had scaled the fruit and taped it and over a period of time you had pretty much zero measureable growth but scaled the fruit again some 2 or 3 or 4 weeks later and the fruit had put on a hundred pounds' ..now don't quote me on this but I think that is what he told me..maybe Tom and help me out.
DAN

12/9/2008 7:42:07 PM

Leicester, NY

No ultra sound here, but you might find this interesting. Using inline scales, I weighed one of my pumpkins in the patch on Sept. 22. The pumpkin was growing on a 1041.5 McKie. On 9/22 it taped 347” OTT for an estimated weight of 877 pounds. The actual weight that day was 950 pounds or about 8.3% over the chart weight. On Oct. 11, that same pumpkin taped 351” OTT for an estimated weight of 907 pounds. The chart says it gained a modest 30 pounds, but the actual weight on Oct. 11 ended up 1011.5 pounds or 11.5% over and an actual weight gain of 61.5 pounds. I have no idea if the walls were getting thicker over that period of time or perhaps the pumpkin just took on more water weight. We had 3.5 inches just a few days before the pumpkin was harvested.

12/9/2008 8:38:22 PM

Rhode Island

i usually hold my pumpkin tightly against my chest while standing on the bathroom scale. i learned this trick from dave stelts

12/10/2008 7:53:53 AM

Upstate S.C.

lol what a dude...uuuuuraaaa

12/11/2008 1:54:38 AM