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Wichita

Hi there,

I am a pumpkin grower from Kansas. I would say fanatic, but this site sure is humbling. Either way, it beats paying $4 per fruit during my favorite holiday.

I started in 2012 at 18 and have been fighting bug hell since, mostly SVBs. Now at 23, I am well aware that I still have a lot to learn and do about growing big pumpkins, such as soil treatment, pollinators, etc. All of that will come later perhaps. But last night, a curious thought crossed my mind:

Would it at all be possible to prevent pumpkin winterkill by keeping them warm over the winter, and thus retain their developed root systems for next year? A better question would be, if that's possible, what real advantages would there be?

I know they're tender annuals, so the likeliness of such a plan succeeding are low, but still I wonder. I know you can do that with fig trees here.

Thanks for any knowledge or insight!

-Jon

7/6/2017 4:32:30 PM

Anamosa, IA BPIowegian@aol.com

I know some people have kept clones alive over winter, by keeping rooted vine cuttings in a greenhouse. You don't keep the root system but preserve the genetics. I really don't see how you could keep the whole root system alive for a second season. By fall, a lot of stumps are worn out, ready to give up. You would need completely disease free soil and amendments, and keep disease spreading bugs or winds out. I just don't think it would be worth trying.

7/6/2017 5:29:21 PM

Wichita

Awesome, thanks for the insight.

I wonder, would it make much of a difference if you cut the stalk back to the ground, and then buried it and put insulating materials over it? My uneducated guess is that cutting the plant to the ground in the first place would throw the plant into shock and kill it, or at least render it "comatose". I know they're not the absolute hardiest plants around, but they've got some determination, so perhaps it can be done without killing them. Still, the problems may persist.

7/6/2017 5:56:13 PM

Menomonie, WI (mail@gr8pumpkin.net)

I do not believe there would be any advantage to it. Long Daylight hours and soil temperatures are key. Old plants are prone to disease.

7/6/2017 10:41:54 PM

Rhode Island

lot of work keeping a cutting alive all winter. id rather start fresh each year---learn from previous year then go again.
besides new super star seeds available every year.
sometimes the old ways are the right ways.

Pap

7/7/2017 1:14:30 PM

Central Illinois

No till ? I think disease would take over

7/8/2017 8:31:06 AM