Transitioning the Pumpkin Plant

When it comes to pumpkin growing a lot of it is timing. There are a lot of hormonal things that go on inside a plant. Surprisingly a lot of the chemical reactions inside the plant are the same as in people. When it is time to start pollinating pumpkins you see the effects of these hormonal changes in the pumpkin in the form of flowers. Sometimes, as growers, we have our own timetables that aren't necessarily the same as the pumpkins. The last week of June we like to pollinated pumpkins but that isn't always what the plant wants to do. Weather, stress, nutrient deficiency, to much of a certain nutrient can throw the hormonal balances off. As pumpkin growers, there are things we can do to help manipulate these balances and move things in the direction that will help with pumpkin growth.

Where the nutrients in a plant flow is called a sink. In early June the vines become a sink and as a result you see vine growth of a foot a day or more. In early July you want to transition the sink to the pumpkin. The best way to do that is to have your first side vines out to the edge of your pumpkin patch by the first week of July so you can terminate them. By doing so you start to transition the sink from vine growth to pumpkin growth.

My 1161 right now is in that transition. The first side vines were terminated the third week of June. The next week the next set of side vines were terminated. As of today about 75% of the side vines are terminated. This should be forcing the plant to put more energy towards the pumpkin and I have seen some improvements in growth from it. But with all of the rain we just had the plant is having a bit of a hard time getting out of vine growing mode so I have been seeing a bunch of tertiary vines popping up. I must have taken off 20 tertiary vines this morning inside the 1161 plant. The 1236 plant however is not seeing that kind of an issue. The pumpkin is growing very nicely and conversely I took off maybe 3 tertiary vines today. Eventually what should happen is that there will be very few places for the 1161 plant's energy to go so most of that energy should start flowing to the pumpkin and watch out when that happens.

Right now the 1161 and 1236 have less than 20% of their growing space remaining and I suspect that both plants will be completely terminated by the end of July. I predict that what is going to happen is that around the fourth week of July the 1236 pumpkin is going to be ahead of the 1161 pumpkin but by the beginning of the 2nd week of August the 1161 will pass it and end up being the bigger pumpkin. No way to know for sure when one is gonig to turn out biggest, but looking at these plants that is what my gut is telling me. I hope they both turn out to be monsters.

Cool Weather & Pumpkin Growth

Cool weather in the 60s with lots of rain in Denver the last couple of days has definetly slowed down vine growth but the pumpkins haven't seemed to slow down with inches being put on both pumpkins during the night. Growth rate of both pumpkins seems pretty acceptable now. I'm going to have to change my covering for the 1236 very soon because its almost outgrown the available space.

Pumpkin Roots at Leaf Nodes

At each leaf node on a pumpkin plant roots will grow out of the top and the bottom of the vine if you bury them. It is a lot of work burying vines but it pays big dividens at the end of the season. I had to remind myself today to cut those roots that are next to the pumpkin because as the pumpkin lifts up as it grows they will hold the vine down and you can end up with a problem. The 1236 grew two inches since I measured it at 8:00 last night and I noticed the vine wasn't lifting up at all this morning. There were some nice big roots on the nodes under and next to the pumpkin. One of the tap roots was a really nice cluster that was probably 6 inches long and 1/2 inch thick.

The 1161 saw some good growth last night too. First big movement I've seen on this plant so far so maybe it is finally making the pumpkin a sink or maybe the 1/2 inch of rain that fell last night helped push the pumpkin along. Cool weather today, tomorrow and Friday is in the forecast for Colorado so it will be interesting to see how the pumpkins react.

The First Pumpkin Pictures

Like I've said previously, neither of my two pumpkins are growing at amazing rates so far but we are so early in their growth it doesn't matter to me at this point. It is the 3 weeks that the pumpkins are in rapid growth stage and putting on 30-40 pounds a day and the month of September that makes or breaks a pumpkin.

The first picture is of the 1236 Harp pumpkin. It looks like this one is going to be a dark orange like it's mama. The 1161 is a slow poke right now, but I just took off the pumpkin at 9' today so I hope it will start picking up the pace. The pumpkin at 9' had the start of some orange coming through around the stem so it looks like this plant is going to produce orange pumpkins too. The pumpkin that I took off is super solid so I'm hoping I got the heavy gene in this plant. It also had a super thick stem. Both pumpkins are bowling balls at this point.

I gave the plants some compost tea with about 1/8 cup of fish & seaweed added last night.

1236 Sets New Record!

Did the 10 day measurement on the 1236 Harp today and it is officially the largest 10 day measurement I've ever had. That doesn't say much however. I've never had a big 10 day measurement before. Just 1,298 pounds left to go this season!

Looks Like My Pumpkin Pollinations Have Taken

No barn burners but I have pumpkins at my choosen positions on both plants now. It looks like both pollinations have taken. Now we will just have to wait to see if they keep growing. The pollination on the 1161 at 13' is 1161 Rodonis x 1544 Revier. Pollination at 11' on the 1236 is 1236 Harp x 1161 Rodonis.

Happy Canada Day from the Pumpkin Patch

First picture is of the 1236 Harp and second picture is of the 1161 Rodonis. Not sure if the latest pollination on the 1161 is going to take. Pumpkin hasn't laid down yet and it hasn't seemed to grow much. It is still shiney and it has a very thick stem so it might just be holding it up. The 1236 main vine self terminated this week due to the heat. I noticed on Wednesday that the vine tip looked a little crispy but it still had some green and today it was completely dead. The good news is that it was only about two feet from where I was going to terminate it anyways. This plant's main is the fastest I've ever had and the combination of the heat and a root structure that wasn't very estabished this far out burned it up. I should have had the vine tip covered. Gave the plants some CO2 yesterday to help them deal with the heat.

A Touch of Fertilizer this Morning

I lied. Yesterday I said no fertilizer this week but I noticed that growth on both plants had slowed down and that the vine tip on the 1236 Harp looked a little stressed so I gave both plants a very small touch of blood meal and alfalfa pellets to help it along. I haven't given either plants much in the way of nitrogen this season and I was concerned that the plants were bonking so a figured a little wouldn't hurt in this case.

Tea Time & Pumpkin Vine Maintainance

I gave both plants some compost tea this evening. No fertilizer this week since there are new pollinations on both plants. The 1236 pollination at 11' seems to have taken. The pumpkin is shiny and still growing. Hoping that the new pollination on the 1161 will lay down tomorrow. The first 5 vines on each side of the 1161 will probably be terminated by the end of this week. The main on the 1236 will be at the end of the patch probably this week as well. I'm ready to be done with vines and start growing some big pumpkins.

Pollination #2 Today

Today I pollinated the 1161 at about 13' with Joe's 1544 Revier. The 1544 is 1385 Jutras x 1161 Rodonis so it has some fire power in it. The Pollinator of the 1544 grew to 1,579 pounds. Joe's plant has been a real beast of a grower. Most all of the traits I look for I've seen in this plant so I think it should be a good cross.

The pumpkin on the 1161 at 9' has been a slow grower so far. To early to worry about it, but hopefully this plant will be kicked into high gear in three weeks. The vines and root system of this plant are to good to not grow big.

The 1236 pumpkin that was pollinated a few days ago seems to be doing okay. Still shiney and growing and that is the two most important things at this point.

Hot in the Pumpkin Patch Today!

Its 11:00 in Denver and it is already 93 degrees today with a forecasted high of 99 degrees. Not good pumpkin growing weather. This year's plant seems fine up to about 92 degrees and then after that the heat starts burning up the new leaves. I saw a little of that yesterday on the new leaves on the side vines.

To combat the high temps I've got chairs over the main vine tips to shade them as well as over the pumpkins. At 11:00 and 12:00 I've got the sprinklers set to run for 1 minute and from 1:00-4:00 I've got the sprinkler timer set to mist mode which means it will run every 15 minutes for 20 seconds to cool off the leaves. And then at 5:00 I've got the timer to run the sprinkler again for one minute. That along with the 14% shade from the hail netting will hopefully keep the plants happy today.

I split 1/8 cup of fish & seaweed between both plants yesterday evening. Between that and the warm night last night caused a fair amount of growth before this morning. Seemed like there were new long tendrils everywhere today.

Pics from the Pumpkin Patch

The first picture below is of the 1236 Harp. This plant likes to grow long faster than it grows wide. I pollinated a pumpkin at about 11' where the green chair is located and another at around 9' where the white chair is located. Second picture is the 1161 Rodonis. I'm still really liking this plant. Great leaves, massive root system. Not as fast growing on the main as the 1236 but it grows some great side vines. One pollination at 9' and another coming in the next few days at about 13'. I have my weed cloth down with a few inches of sand on it now for the pumpkins to grow on. The sand allows the pumpkin to slide as it grows and helps moisture drain away quickly so the pumpkin doesn't rot on the bottom. Gave the plants some compost tea yesterday and CO2 with magnesium the day before.

Pollination, Compost Tea & Sprinkler Heads

This morning I pollinated on the main a pumpkin at about 9 feet (pictured right) on the 1236 Harp. Probably won't be my keeper. I've got a female at 11' coming on the main that will be ready for pollination in the next week. The 1161 has a female at 13' as well so I may have my two possible keepers coming on. Timing is just about right too as I anticipate pollinating them on around the 23rd to 27th which is just about the perfect time.

Last night I did some foliar compost tea with fish, seaweed and a touch of blood meal. Figure I would try to give a little push to the plants before the next pollinations take place to try to get as much vine as possible before pollinations. About 14 days after pollination the vines slow down a lot in growth.

Finally finished the patch setup for this season (the wife is very happy). Put in two additional sprinkler heads today to give better water coverage. I was finding in the past that the leaves were blocking the water so that there were big dry spots under the canopy. Now I'm hitting the leaves from three of more directions. Wish I had a dan micro setup but this will do for now.

Solar Powered Pumpkins

Around weigh-off time last year I thought a lot about how to deal with the cool Colorado nights which seem to slow down our pumpkin growth a lot. The best practical (i.e. not a ton of money) method I came up with was reflective tarps so the plants would warm up faster in the morning. The theory is if the air can be warmed up a little faster in the cool of morning by reflecting the suns rays until 10:00am we might gain 15 minutes more growth each day. That may not seem like much, but over 90 days that can add up to nearly 1 more growing day over the course of a season which should mean more pounds on the scale. It might be crazy but I thought I would give it a try.

I've got the mister sprinklers going these days on the timer. Every hour from 11:00 to 4:00 the sprinklers run for one minute which is just enough to cool the leaves off in the heat of the summer days and keeps leaf burn down a lot.

Pollination Time!

It has been almost 11 months since I've had a pumpkin. It is finally growing time again. The picture to the right is the first pumpkin on the main for me to pollinate. At about 9 feet out it is probably not going to be my keeper, but you never know which ones will take so I will be pollinating them all. For some reason I only pollinate on days that are really hot. Tomorrow will be near 90 degrees with high winds so it must be pollination time. I'm a little early in the season for pollination. About another week from now will be perfect. Last year I pollinated my first at about this same distance on June 27th so we are running about 11 days ahead of last year.

To the right is a picture of the first pumpkin. A little mud rains from splashed from the hail storm. I like the shape of the pumpkins this plant is throwing. Looks like I'm getting the 1450 side of the genetics which is great. A touch of long in the shape with a nice sized stem. I like that!

Gave the plant some CO2 yesterday and some compost tea today.

Note To Self

Don't move around vines, even in the heat of day, that are water logged from three days of heavy rain or else they may crack.

(cracked a side vine near the end of the vine when staking the vine down - darn)

Pumpkin Plant Hail Damage

So far it looks like the 1161 damage isn't to bad. One side vine was terminated but the rest of the vines look like they should still grow. Leaf damage for about the first foot of the side vines was realitively bad, but it was only about a foot or so of the side vine ends that got hit so it shouldn't be a big deal.

I've been thinking about terminating these side vines a little bit early and growing the next set of vines that are closer to the pumpkin really long filing in the space where the other vines would have grown. I like the idea of younger, longer vines closer to the pumpkin to feed the pumpkin later in the season.

Almost no growth since late Friday on the plants but they are water logged and primed to grow right now. All of the vine tips are pointed in the air from all of the rain. Once the heat comes back to Denver tomorrow and particularly Wednesday, Thursday and Friday we will probably be growing a foot a day or more.

Big Hail in Denver Again!

My plants survived today's storm but the 1161 took a bit of a beating. The hail netting held perfectly, but at times the hail was coming in at a sharp angle and got the right hand side of the 1161 plant. The 1236 maybe got 5-10 holes in it but no big deal. I was thinking just this morning how pristine the leaves looked on both plants. No leaf burn, green color, nearly perfect. Not any more.

The hail netting did just what it was designed to do. 90% of the hail bounced off to the sides and it didn't tear or break at all. Without the netting my season would have pretty much been done. The kids pumpkin plant isn't dead, but very beat up (see last photo). I feel bad for them but it will come back and grow a pumpkin.

Plants Are Growing Like Weeds & Hail Netting is In Finally!

I've killed myself for the last week putting in the hail netting but it is finally done. My wife has been a little cross while I've been digging post holes and pouring cement at 10:00 at night. I'm going to put in some more cross wires to better support the netting but we should be okay for now as long as there are only small hail storms. Of course I expect no hail now since I've gone to all of this work to put up this netting.

The pumpkin plants have been growing like crazy this last week during our warm Denver weather. Both plants are out of the hoop houses and growing about 6-12 inches per day. Right now I'm looking at keeper pollinations around June 18-20th. Way ahead of last year.

The 1161 Rodonis (second picture) is looking more and more like my 1566 plant from last year. I've got a female about 8 feet out on the main now. The pumpkins are looking long in shape but not quite as long as the females I had on the 1566. Lots of burying of vines and adding myco these days. Its fun to watch the vines grow but it is sure hard work keeping up with them.

The 1236 Harp (third picture) really kicked into gear the last 4 days. It is still a bit behind the 1161 but the main seems to be growing faster than the 1161 lately. This plant shows lots of signs of vigor.

I did a final till of the soil today. Didn't add any amendments as I think I have everying in the soil that I need. Just needed to uncompact some of the areas that my foot prints had packed down and till in the green manure (aka weeds). Just waiting for the pumpkins now.

Latest Pictures from the Pumpkin Patch

The 1161's main is about 5 feet long now and growing about 6 inches per day with the side vines coming along very nicely (first picture). The 1236 main is about 4 feet long now and growing about 5 inches per day. I started burying the vines today with myco to get the roots growing at the leaf nodes.

The 1161 plant reminds me a fair amount of my 1566 plant from last year. Maybe not quite as thick of foliage, but the leaves, yellowish vines and plant vigor are very similar in most every other way. I guess it shouldn't be surprising since it is a reverse cross of the 1566 plant. Right now the 1161 mail is about 8 inches from the end of the hoop house.