Thursday, August 18, 2011

Splits & Pumpkin Rot

Got a double dose of trouble this morning. Discovered on the 868 pumpkin a split along one of the ribs on the top face of the pumpkin. Not too worried about it now. That area tends to be thicker on the pumpkin and it looks more like a growing pain than it does a pumpkin that wants to open up. The skin on this pumpkin has gotten kind of tough this last week and as a result it doesn't stretch with the growth quite as easily. I put a 30% solution of bleach on the crack area and then put sulfur powder on it.

Of more concern is the oozing that I found on the main vine when I was working on the crack. About 8 inches past the stem I saw a big spot of clear ooze coming out of the main vine. I applied the same 30% bleach and sulfur powder on it too. I then covered the pumpkin today so it wouldn't get wet from the overhead watering that goes on throughout the day. This evening I checked both spots and both areas were dry with no oozing which was great to see. I'll keep my eye on both spots because if you can get on this stuff early you are way better off down the road.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Where can i buy some KDL at? Or what would you recommend for the late season push to putting on the pounds?

"if you ain't blowing them your not growing them"

Jamie said...

I haven't used KDL but from what I have read it sounds like one of the better late season products. I know it goes under a few different names. I usually use seaweed the later part of the season for some extra potassium. Other than that I'm kind of under the belief that keeping the soil healthy and balanced is the best practice. I know a lot of stories where someone added a bunch of potassium or something else and it shut the growth down.