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Fresno, CA

The blossom nub fell off very early in season. But there was a dry little disk or 'button' left there. It was perfectly fine until the last 24 hours. The skin of the pumpkin has been separating from the button creating a gap from which a little bit of liquid has dripped out (it dries a sort of brown color) I'm at about day 63 - a little bit of growth still going on. It has been alternating between 1 and 3 pounds/day for over a week. I sprayed some hydrogen peroxide on the area that is splitting away from button just in case there is some kind of rot issue. I'm not sure if I should use some type of method to cure the problem or just harvest the pumpkin now to keep it from getting worse. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. This is my PB and I want to bring it to the fair in 30 days.

9/11/2010 10:53:28 PM

Rhode Island

small cracks are commmon this time of the season as the skin is getting harder and even small growth can cause hairline cracks in the pumpkin.
as long as the sapping is dry you should be fine,if it was a deep blossom crack i would be concerned but at this time if the season and slower growth a blossom split should not occur.
if there is rot there ( a soft spot) ? then you need to clean it out with a spoon, apply some powdered sulfer to the area and put a fan on it.keep it dry.

i would suggest keeping the plant somewhat dry as well (just a light watering on occasion over the next month )and suspend using any additional growth products. at one to two pounds a day shes done growing anyways so why push it?

even if its a hairline crack rub some sulfer powder on the area. this will also help any possible rotting of the blossom area.

9/12/2010 7:07:36 AM

Fresno, CA

Thanks for the advice pap!

9/13/2010 12:53:35 AM

Upa Creek, MO

I just saw this and it answered a few questions for my lil pumpkins too. Thanks Paps

9/17/2010 7:07:24 PM