The Pumpkin Plants are Aging

At this time of year you start to see a lot of aging in the plants and pumpkin growth has slowed down a lot. The oldest leaves have died off, most of the leaves look tired and now the youngest leaves on the edges of the plant are doing a good portion of the work to make the pumpkin grow. I usually see a lot of sucker vines popping up on the plant this time of year. A hormonal change has happened in the plant and it knows it is coming down to the last month of growth and it is doing everything it can to produce more posterity. I find these sucker vines irritating and pain to get rid of. There is a fine balance between going into the plant to get these vines out and not damaging the older leaves when you do so. One thing you have to watch for is new pumpkins growing in the patch. Even with a watchful eye, I've pulled out 60 pound pumpkins that were well hidden in the vines.

The last couple of days I've given the plants NutriCal, calcium and Fish & Seaweed. Very slow growth on the 868 pumpkin. The 1204 is still growing quickly for this time of year.