izzy
Pro Member
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Posts: 347
Joined: July 2011
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Post by izzy on Oct 10, 2012 22:21:15 GMT -5
Is it possible to leave a pumpkin on the vine too long? I've only successfully grown a maxima once before, and that more by accident than by design. This time, every effort was directed at production. One pumpkin now is roughly twice the size of the parent from which I saved seed. The parent was slightly flattened with very slight shoulders and shallow furrows. This one, which I pollinated 2 months ago, is bulking up beyond the characteristics I was expecting. I'm ok with it getting bigger, just never had the occasion to consider if it could grow to be over-ripe? There's 5 or 6 smaller pumpkins under there that may benefit if I were to cut the larger one loose. We are still in the mid 90's for another 30 days or so, then the temps will cool down to 70/80's, and growth will slow down. I'd like to get the others to size up before any possibility of an early cold spell. Or I could leave them alone and see how big that first one gets. Thoughts? Suggestions?
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izzy
Pro Member
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Posts: 347
Joined: July 2011
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Post by izzy on Oct 16, 2012 21:01:36 GMT -5
Still deliberating. Almost cut the big one today, but then decided to hold off a little longer. It's ready to pick - hard rind and it's not growing bigger. I wonder how long I would be able to let it cure, once cut, before it begins to deteriorate. I've seen Halloween pumpkins turn to mush before the holidays arrive. Most folks try to beat the cold when growing their pumpkins, but I'm trying to beat the heat. And the critters. Threw a smaller one into the compost pile today - something took a chunk out of it. What to do? What to do? ![???](//storage.proboards.com/3247375/images/11qV_BRY4HbBOBB4teSL.png)
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Post by stratcat on Oct 18, 2012 0:06:22 GMT -5
Hi, Izzy.
As I don't have that much experience growing pumpkins, I asked a couple people. Our consensus is you can't leave the pumpkin on the vine too long. It's not going to get over-ripe just from being attached to the vine.
My next door neighbor's pumpkin vines got frosted and he expects the green pumpkins to be OK.
Are you wondering how long the pumpkin will last after it is cut from the vine or carved?
I'm aware of competition pumpkin growing where only one pumpkin is allowed. It makes some sense if you cut the big pumpkin loose, the others will have a better chance to grow.
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izzy
Pro Member
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Post by izzy on Oct 18, 2012 17:20:59 GMT -5
Thank you for looking into that, Strat. Yes, my question was would it affect the quality if left on the vine several weeks past it's prime with our temps still in the upper 90's and/or triple digits. In a similar vein, it may be too warm to attempt to let it cure for 6 weeks.
This particular variety was a trial run to see what it takes to get a good quality maxima down here. I liked it well enough to grow again, but it paves the way to growing the ultimate in pumpkin nirvana: the Japanese Kabocha.
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