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Hinckley MN

So lst year I had BES problems. this year I have problems with stem end splits and rot. I spent 1/2 an hour carving out a a rot spot under the stem on a pumpkin today. carved down to sound flesh, light sulpher dust and fill with caulking. Sunday I'll pull the caulking, re clean and peroxide, dust with captan and re fill with caulk. I do make a grove so any liquid will drain from the wound. This pumpkin is growing 35+ pounds a day at about 25 days. will it hold for 10 more weeks? I made it 5 weeks with a BES to the cavity last year with no rot. I guess time will tell.

8/4/2012 12:29:29 AM

Rhode Island

ben
keeping it clean ( bleach spray ) and dusted with sulpher was a good move.if you keep it dry it should heal over.
i would not put any filler in there (no caulking) -let the air get to it.
a fan for a week or two blowing directly on the area would be a big help as well.
re-check and be sure there is no stress on that stem. cut extra tap roots if need be, the pumpkin will not suffer from it.
pap

8/4/2012 8:12:01 AM

Hinckley MN

Pap,
How strong should the bleach spray be? I'll work on it again Sunday and set up a tarp and fan. It is a baseball sized excavation but it does not go through to the cavity. I guess the caulk patch was to seal the hole to the cavity on last year's BES. Last year I was carefull to lift the main vines so they didn't pull on the stems. this year I'm behind on everything. I don't even have sand down.

8/4/2012 11:07:09 AM

Navarre,OH

I had a pretty bad split early on in the season. I sprayed the split down with rubbing alky and packed it with sulphur. Since then the split has completely healed. Keep it dry and spray a little bleach or alky on it every day and make sure its dusted with sulphur.

8/4/2012 4:31:52 PM

Rhode Island

your only spraying a small area so id go stronger with a 1/3 bleach to 2/3 water.the fan and sulpher should do the trick after that.
once it heals keep that area dry at all times.if not it can get soft again.
pap

8/5/2012 7:36:15 AM