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Joliet, IL

being further south than most northern growers and being surrounded by a brown brick house on one side of the patch and asphalt driveway on another and less wind from a fenced in yard, i have had to deal with hotter temps than most norhtern growers. i couple summers back i did temp readings under a sheet as compared to under a shade tarp. they are a good 5 to 8 degrees different and lower under the tarp if the tarp is high enough away from the pumpkin. if the tarp hangs low near the pumpkin, the hot tarp heats up the air near the surface of the pumpkin in one spot on top which is not good. but a good higher tarp that provides good shade but also good airflow is the best thing i have found for minimizing the heat around the pumpkin when it gets over 90 degrees. i also use a tarp that is silver on one side and white under neath that can be purchased an tarps.com. and temps are going to be in the mid to high 90s or hotter for a while in the midwest. to test my observations, drape a white sheet over yourself and go stand in the sun. then when you are done walk to some shade to cool. lol. if a high tarp is letting in some side angled sun, you can use a whitesheet over the pumpkin and a tarp too. just ideas as it is gonna be hellish hot.

7/17/2011 8:30:37 AM

Bethlehem CT

Thanks for the info Shazzy. Dang it, I hate doing the extra work of putting up a tarp tent!

7/17/2011 8:38:36 AM

3 acre corner in Whittaker,Mi USA ([email protected])

Put up all three tents yesterday with higher peaks than last years and the sides only come down about a third of the way to allow the breeze to blow through (what little we have).keeping any of the cover from touching the fruit also will prevent any kind of burn with the high heat indexes everyone is having right now. Erik

7/17/2011 2:12:27 PM

Joliet, IL

i already have extension cords run to each pumpkin area for whatever fix that may need drying out. so today i put them to use and have one 10" fan that can tilt back or forward and have it tilted back and shooting up to the center of my pitched tarp area over the pumpkins. they are positioned to draw cool air from under the leaf canopy and blow up and expell the hot air that rises to the pitched point out the other side. first time i ever did this but seems to make sense. my patch temp in the sun will be over 100 every day for many days to come with the radiant heat from house and drive close to patch. so what ever i can do to micro-climatize, i will.

7/17/2011 5:34:36 PM

any tips keepin beer cold getting warm in iowa

7/17/2011 7:03:11 PM

Anchorage Alaska

shazz, your next step, is a air conditioned greenhouse,.. lol. You could be the 1st...

7/17/2011 9:23:34 PM

ordinary,VA

http://www.extremepumpkins.com/beercoolpum.html

Hope this helps Don :)

7/17/2011 9:25:39 PM

Pataskala,OH

How about dry ice? You could cool beer and pumpkins at the same time. lol

7/17/2011 9:47:02 PM

Joliet, IL

don...multiple trips to the fridge and drink them fast. Dale...I have seen the infomercials on portible air conditioners....one of these days one will show up at my door from a late nite drunken impulse buy...I will then figure out how to make it work

7/17/2011 9:55:27 PM

Joliet, IL

don...multiple trips to the fridge and drink them fast. Dale...I have seen the infomercials on portible air conditioners....one of these days one will show up at my door from a late nite drunken impulse buy...I will then figure out how to make it work

7/17/2011 9:57:10 PM

Joliet, IL

see...multiple trips.....doh!

7/17/2011 10:27:50 PM

Bristol R.I. USA

Great post. I never set up a shade structure untill this year in past seasons I used white sheets. This year I used the greenhouse materials. That being rebar, pvc, clamps and blue tarps. The tarps just shade the area, while the sheets really do the work of protecting the fruit. I hope by doing this it"ll help keep the pumpkin safe and cooler.

7/18/2011 6:56:03 PM

Sloughhouse, CA

Until this year we have always had 90-105 temps. June through Sept. I use shade cloth. It is hung from 8-10 foot poles. I cut our 20ft. pipe from the well when it got a hole in it. Ya don't waste anything. I hang misters from the wire holding up the shade cloth. I also use a drip system to water with. I'll try to get a picture u,p this week. It's hard to imagine the high temps together with the humidity.
Good luck everyone.

7/19/2011 3:43:19 AM