I've been unable to access my editing program for the past two weeks. But for now I am back in. An unexpected side effect of having a baby in the house is that I have been able to spend more time in the pumpkin patch. I took it a little easy at work and spent some time at home. The only thing babies do is sleep so I've had some extra time available. The patch looks as good as it ever has because with the new tiller, once I got the greenhouses down I was able to till the entire patch and I think it looks great. Here is a rundown of how things are going.
This plant continues to be the star of the patch. I have two pumpkins pollinated on the main vine and one on the back main. They are between 9.5 and 13 feet. The earliest pollination in the patch was on this plant on the 27th of June. I have resorted to using laundry baskets to try to protect the fruit. Every year somethings decides to take a bit out of a nice looking fruit about now. A little scar now ruins a prize as the pumpkin grows because the skin will not stretch at that point. Also spread out poison bait bars for anything that is interested.
The flat vine split and I now have a great looking plant. I have pumpkins pollinated on both the main and back main vines here as well. Just for reference the frame is 20' long. Its hard to tell from the pics but the tips of the main vine are about 3-4" out the door giving total lenght about 13-14'. The frame is 16' wide and as you can see the secondaries are well out past the edge.
This plant is doing fairly well. The back side is short as it was a flat vine that was getting worse not better so I cut it off and am now training a secondary to take its place. There is a pumpkin pollinated on the main vine. Most of the pollinations took place on the 2nd and 3rd. (a total of six on those two days). I have the sprinklers all set up on timers now. I am watering about 3 hours (45 minutes per zone) three times a week. Also am letting them run for a about 10 minutes every hour or so during the hot part of the day to help prevent leaf burn.
This is the sorry plant in the patch ( in addition to my son's 848 MacKenzie). It reminds me of last years 898. Short stalks very thin and slow growing. I will give it a couple of weeks before I totally begin to ingnore it or till it under all together.
891 Zunino (no pic) Is doing Okay. it is double planted with my 504 from last year that my daughter is growing. I have pumpkin pollinated on it at about 10'.
504 Christensen (no pic, my daughters) is doing great. It would be better if she would tend it. As she is only 9 I have been helping it along a little. The first female will open on it tomorrow at about 10'.
331 Christensen (no pic, my son's plant from his sqaush from last year) This plant is going to throw pumpkins to his dismay. It is growing fairly well. He pollinated it this morning. The pumpkin is a little close at 8.5'
848 MacKenzie (no pic) May just get pulled out if it doesn't begin to shape up.
Today was day 10 for the pumpkin on the 1101. Measured it at a circumfrence of 22 inches. Went looking through my records for the past 5 years and that is the biggest pumpkin I've ever had on day 10. I had pumpkin (in 2001) that was at 20 inches on day 10 it ended up getting culled because it rolled over on its stem.. My big one was only 17 inches on day 10. Too early to even hope how the season might progress. Several more main vine pollinations have occured but they are on vines that have already had pollinations. Still three empty spots in the patch and that includes both vines on the 1233 although it is beginning to pickup speed.
July 9th
Finally pollinated on the 1233 today. It is about 9.5' out the main vine. Four other pollinations today but they are all backup pollinations. Still waiting for the 848 MacKenzie as the only one with a pollination yet. Too early to tell if they will all take or not
The pumpkin on the 1101 is at day 12 and 27" circumfrence. The pumpkin is sitting right at about 10' where the end support for my greenhouse is. I will have to remove that in the next couple of days, and start training my S curves into the vines. For the past several years I've put a 90 degree bend in the vine at the same time I pollinate the flower but it seems that the main vine growth slows after that. This year I'm waiting untill the pumpkin has declared itself at the "one" and then I will postion the vine. It makes for more work as the secondaries are longer and will have to be uncovered and reburried.