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Nauvoo, Alabama

I have nothing to compare measurements with which means I have no idea if the plant needs something to make it grow faster.
Is there a chart or information on what the average OTT inch daily gain should be to let me know if it is good, bad, or ugly?
Thank you so very much for taking the time to help me.

Happy Gardening
Carolyn

7/10/2012 5:49:52 PM

Connecticut

Here is a nice page with benchmarks

http://greatpumpkincommonwealth.com/PDF/benchrevised.pdf

7/10/2012 6:39:54 PM

Winston Salem, NC

Lets say you hit day 20 and you are behind the benchmarks. What would you do to jack up the weight gain?

7/10/2012 9:42:09 PM

Menomonie, WI ([email protected])

Do more next year for soil improvement :) Plant growth and give it everything it needs for its true potential

7/10/2012 11:20:56 PM

Winston Salem, NC

What if you push harder with P's and K's? More Cal? Humates? Anybody have any experience successfully pushing a lagger or is it all for nill? Could you push too hard and still blow one up...or not a chance because you will lock up your soil from pushing too hard? Really interested to get some more opinions from you guys that have been doing this awhile.

7/10/2012 11:43:11 PM

Ohio

I dont know about anyone else but i have a 1789 wallace pumpkIn at day 14 that is smashing the 20 day chart numbers by a land slide. Best numbers I have ever had this early in the game, (knock on wood). I know dont count your chickens before they hatch also, Cause Anything can happen .

7/11/2012 12:29:44 AM

Germany

Last year we´ve had some pretty cold weather here just around the time after pollination...good for pollination but bad for pumpkin growth. When I look at the pictures of my little babies, the one on the 1140 Van Rompaey plant looks like a chicken egg after 6 days and it had an OTT-weight of 28 lbs on day 20. Baaaaaaaad! Suddenly it kicked in some higher gears and made it to a 772 lbs pumpkin (and I suspect it could have been 100 or 200 lbs heavier within the same time, but the plant started to die around day 65 (mostly because of downy mildew and K-deficiency), so there was noticeably less pumpkin growth until day 100, and with some blankets on the pumpkin during the cold nights I suspect I would have made the baby grow even better during the time between days 20 and 70. Benchmarks is one thing, but the individual growth curves of each pumpkin are another thing (the real thing, and you can keep your fingers crossed that your pumpkin may still think about some steep acceleration). What I had found out with this particular plant: Don´t worry if it´s too small at the very beginning, but do what you have to do to keep the plant healthy until weigh-off date.

7/11/2012 7:32:58 AM

Nottingham, UK

Its conforting to read Jorg that your 1140 Van Romnpaey was like a chicken egg 6DAP. Why?....because the weather is even worse this year and I still cant tell if my pollinations took 3DAP.

Just need some sunshine to unlock and realise the potential.

However, I'd rather my pumpkin sprint out of the gates and continue that way

7/11/2012 12:24:56 PM

Nauvoo, Alabama

I past the bench marks for day 20 but it started slowing down to a snaily crawl.

7/12/2012 12:30:40 PM

Nauvoo, Alabama

The main vine has an area that looks brownish where the vine is partially buried and semi soft and i think it is slowling rotting which would deffinately explain why it is slowing down so quickly. that is sad.

7/12/2012 12:39:44 PM

Nauvoo, Alabama

so how do you make it start growing heavy again if its not a vine issue

7/12/2012 1:26:38 PM