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Austin MN

I was thinking...is it more important the distance out the pumpkin is set or the number of secondairy vines behind it?
I have a pumpkin at about 9.5 feet out but it has ten secondairy vines each side behind it. wouldn't in theory this be just as good as a pumpkin at 12-14 feet out with ten vines each side behind it?

does the distance matter or the number of actual vines backing up the pumpkin?

6/27/2016 12:19:17 PM

Central NY

Good question...

6/27/2016 12:39:15 PM

Mill Bay, British Columbia

Personal choice and space factors in here...good topic.

I like 8-10 secondaries minimum on each side, right now my plant is at around 15' on main vine and 9 secondaries on each side...I hopefully pollinate in a week.

http://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=258790

6/27/2016 1:26:30 PM

Rhode Island

different strokes for different folks. here in wow land ron and i shoot for around a dozen sides before the fruit.

we keep the sides around 15 ft in length.---sometimes we also will fill a voided area with extra side vines if space allows. never have enough plant for that stretch run.

after our keeper is selected we cut those two sides just before the fruit ( they only get in the way of the shoulders in time)and of course swing that main out and away from the stem.----on a warm morning over several moves.

good also to remember that approximately 20 days after pollination the plant will shut down (growing) a bit as the fruit load pulls from the plant.----all the more reason to have enough plant before you begin to think about pollination.

all our world champion pumpkins have been grown on big plants with fruit set, plant health,plant nutrition all being factored in and well documented for future reference.

your greatest accomplishment is not always what you do this season but what you did last summer and fall to prepare for this season.

wishing everyone a great ride

pap

6/27/2016 5:20:26 PM

Midway, UT

1725 world record was set at about 9 feet as I recall. Some plants are just going to grow a big pumpkin if the rest of the pieces are in place. If I were to hazard a guess, the root system is probably more important than the salad on top. However you need enough leaves to power the rest. Like Pap suggested, the plant is going to slow down as the fruit kicks in, so either there needs to be a enough length or width so that there are a sufficient number of leaves to make the pumpkin grow. I would think that it wouldn't matter if the plant is either long or wide if the root system is good.

6/27/2016 6:14:06 PM

Eugene,OR

The 1985 Miller was only about 8' out on the main.

6/28/2016 12:18:41 AM

Torrance, Ca.

That's the Miller patch though Russ, very weird and strange things happen there.

I even heard once they go over 1600 he starts feeding them cats?

6/28/2016 9:52:19 AM