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Ohio

I been sitting here rattling my brain about this foaming stump issue and how it can be prevented, apparently from what I have seen and used nothing has so far, not even doing my prevention drenches with clearys, alliette, companion (the list goes on), root shield, mycorrhiza at every leaf node.

Here's a idea , kinda of a crazy one, but who knows?,, what about if you could get a hold of some type of antibiotic, say like a prescription penicillin , using it as a drench. will it work the same on a plant as it would a human? Do you think this might be good for prevention?,,, after all it is for bacteria infections, but would it work on a plant? Just something to throw out there for ya to think about, could it work?

8/21/2009 11:51:50 AM

foaming stump doesent mean its caused by bacteria infection ive heard of couple stumps tested no disease found

8/21/2009 12:32:12 PM

Preston CT

pap had an idea that it was created when your plant or too much plant was dead headed all at once. Too much water being sucked up and no place to go, but that would assume that the stump is the weakest area of the plant, hence it is where the water or fluid leaks from...last year i had a foamer and yes i deadheaded the plant with in a 2 day period. this year i did it over course of growing season and i have not had a problem...I also noticed that my pumpkin picked up the pace in growing as i deadheaded the plant over time...I did not split it yet either....

8/21/2009 12:44:07 PM

Sequim, WA

In a word, no. The only sure way to do this is to culture the foaming stump, grow out whatever is in it, and test different products to see what kills the disease. If you get nothing growing in culture, your stuck. And bacteria are way faster than a plant like AG's and once you find it, it's probably too late to do anything about it, kind of like a rabid dog. Your gonna have to shoot ole yeller. (It's OK to cry at that point). I've never had the problem in my patch, but I have a hunch it may be secondary to anaerobic conditions in the soil at the base of the plant. Next year try mixing in some sand at the planting site along with the rootshield and mycco and see if that doesn't help.

8/21/2009 12:46:06 PM

Perry Iowa USA

I had some foaming at the base of one of my plants a few weeks ago.Since it seemed to be on one side I dug below to where the stump looked good and wiped it dry.I left it uncovered and generously applied a captan paste and let it dry.Mine hss stopped foaming and seems to have dried.

8/21/2009 1:52:13 PM

Ohio

I dont know about that one Don, not saying that your wrong but there has to be some kind of infection(bacteria) or else the stump wouldn't be discharging a smelly white foamy substance. Has to be some bacteria in there causing that?,, If its not a bacteria or disease that causes it, what else would cause it?

maybe one thing it could be is the seed starter mix that we start our seedlings in, like Tiller said it always starts at the base of the plants, maybe once the the stump gets some size to it, then it starts sitting in that soggy seed starting mix it could cause it to start to rot. By then again , why does the stump always seem to foam once the pumpkin hits between 25 and 40 days old then?
I dont know for sure just trying to get some ideas here. But dig up your stump after your season is over and look at the base , you will see that soggy seed starting mix about two or 3 inches down that it has been sitting in for 3 months.

8/21/2009 2:24:20 PM

i wish i knew the answer to brooks, ive never had foam stump but antibiotics dont cure all way differnt to compare but viral cold for instance-i know bad comparison
on another note heres a interesting read

http://www.physorg.com/news143465448.html

8/21/2009 3:08:14 PM

Fresno, CA

I'm thinking if the antibiotic was applied as a preventive drench during the season someone would eventually produce an antibiotic resistant strain of whatever bacteria it is you're fighting. If an antibiotic was applied it should only be done as a treatment event instead of a repetitive preventative measure to reduce the probability of building a superbug.

8/21/2009 3:34:52 PM

Rhode Island

brooks i know how ya feel. this year we have emptied out all the shelves in order to keep the pumpkins and plants healthy. to be truthfull im getting a bit worn out as well.lol

one thing i do know is that the higher your organic matter (and nitrogen as well )the more apt you are to get a visit from mr. foamy.

i had 4 out of 4 foam up starting august first. ron has had one foam out off eight in his patch.

my patch had quite a bit of leaf compost and chicken added last fall, rons had none.

quite possibly the higher organics in addition to holding more moisture and nutrients also add to the build up of water, etc, inside the plants vascular system.

personally i think if i were to continue growing next year ( the jury is still out on that one ) id bring in quite a bit of washed sand ,especially in the base and main vine area of the plant, allowing for better drainage and less water retention.
of course you may not hold the water in the soil as long as you might like but it sounds better than looking at mr foamy and waiting for the other shoe to drop on your season of hard work and planning.

i would also stop burying the main vines and allow then to breath the way nature intended them to. sides yes, main ? no buring.

pap

8/21/2009 4:07:25 PM

Paradise Mountain, New York

In the last eight years of growing pumpkins, I've never had a foaming stump. My organic matter is always high. Probably on average 15-16%. One thing I do every fall and every spring is spread 100 pounds of corn meal in my patch. Corn meal has been proven to fight off soil diseases. I never touch my stump once the plant is planted. Meaning I never remove any of the soil all season. I've never lost a stump. I even water my stumps all season. When I remove each plant in the fall, I always inspect the vines and stump. There always healthy. I think some of the chemicals we use are great for the plants, but kill off a lot of the good things in the soil. At the cooperstowns weigh-off last year, Joe Pukos and I talked about this.Like Joe said, he just does the simple things and never had any serious soil diseases nor foaming stumps. But i think the jury will be out for a long time as to why some growers have foaming stumps.

8/21/2009 4:30:11 PM

Ohio

I have lost stumps before, but never have I ever had a foaming stump in the 7 years I been growing untill this year, 6 total for me this year alone. Some was grown in virgin ground while others was not, all my manure/compost was added in the fall, zero compost/maunre was was added in the spring.

8/21/2009 6:06:22 PM

Adams County

New at this and Dumb. But could it be a certain mixture of ferts, chem , fung, and pesticids combined. I say this only because i mixed KDL with calcium and that shi&%#@t went crazy in my sprayer. out of the box just a thought.

8/21/2009 10:23:02 PM

Upstate S.C.

I'm kinda like "just bill" in that I'm sort of new in this sport. However if I could put my two cents in. This year I had three plants growing in my patch, and during the off season I had 35 yards of composted cow manure brought in. During the spreading process I didn't get it spread out as good as I wanted to. So the center of my patch was were the majority of the manure was. About half way during the growing season, the plant in the middle, started out growing the other two plants TWO to ONE. I mean it was growing a over a foot a day, and the stump just kept getting bigger and bigger. Then it started foaming real bad, like yours around the base. I was dumb founded. Every pumpkin I set aborted. Then finally the stump BLEW THE HELL UP. When it did it was over 14 inches around. All of this is on my diary. So in closeing, I belive the foam is the plants way of sweating so to speak. I mean the plant's got all these nutrients and things in the soil but the plant can only hold so much moister And since it can't urinate it must foam(sweat). I think when all is done and someone figure out this whole foaming thing were gonna find out that there probably several reason to the foaming not just one. I think a bacteria will be one and the plant sweating(see above) will be another.

8/21/2009 11:06:34 PM

Ohio

I do know one thing for sure, rootshield (which is expensive as hell) does not stop or prevent Mr. Foamy from happening, which is one of the reason I tried this stuff for the first time this year, as a prevention.

I will say this though, I didnt run into the fusarium or phytopia (spelling is wrong I know) looking disease yet in my vines, which starts out a brownish orange color in the roots and works itself up into the plant turning the vines and stump organish brown that kills the entire plant.

I think organic matter might play a big roll in this also, but what roll does the pumpkin have to do with Mr Foamy Stump when ever it hits before the 40 day mark? Something in that plants life cycle happens when the pumpkin starts growing , then it triggers the stump to start foaming I believe, but what?

8/22/2009 7:50:05 AM

Pataskala,OH

Anti bacterial soap injection. lol

8/22/2009 8:27:45 AM

nOVA sCOTIA

There is a grower here in CapeBreton with the nick name Chemical Kenny brook's. He grew in the same 7 patches for 10 years and uses nothing but chemical to grow. Extreemly low organic matter in his patch. 2 years ago he started to experience foaming stumps and decided to give the soil a break for a couple of years. Low organic matter or high organic matter? It would mahe you wonder.

8/22/2009 8:31:55 AM

Commack, NY

Brooks, i think its probably a combination of factors, and doesnt necessarily have to be from disease. my best plant pissed water out all over the place from the stump, then after a week or so of that, started to foam. i drilled a hole in it and drained out the liquid. the stump opened up and proceeded to decay. in the end, it was the pumpkin splitting that did the fruit in, however, today i removed the plant, paying extra attention to the base. yes, the stump was pretty well decayed, however, not one of the roots coming form the stump (and i dug all the big ones out) had any signs of rot or disease. im thinking too much water with no place to go is a big part of the equation.

8/22/2009 8:59:31 PM

Rhode Island

ditto to scott armstrong. to much water (available to the plant ) with no place to go.
im thinking more and more about planting the base in a 50/50 sand and loam mixture to allow for better drainage. same for pathway the main vine will take.

8/23/2009 6:49:23 AM