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Essex, UK

I have a 1844 Holub that has nearly filled 1000sq ft and showing no sign of slowing down. Fruit is 40 days old, set 19ft out on a secondary retrained as main. It put on 200lb this week. Three secondaries on each side behind fruit allowed to grow on but are still romping away, producing massive leaves real quick, completely unlike what happens when fruit growth normally kicks in. Vine after pumpkin still growing but not as vigorously.

I'm concerned that I'm going to run out of space, ultimate patch size of 1200sq ft (40 x 30). Should I terminate all/some of the secondaries seeing as they are still so vigorous or leave it be? Or terminate the main and remove growth after fruit to give me more space for the secondaries? Is a 1200sq ft plant just too big?

8/13/2017 3:40:21 PM

Grittyville, WA

I would leave the plant alone its halfway done growing probably too late to do much. Theoretically you could prune everything prior to the pumpkin to try to get the plant to push more energy and nutrients past it. The slower growth past the pumpkin could be left as a relief valve for water and nutrients the pumpkin does not need. But I think in reality at forty days its gonna be like trying to teach an old dog a new trick.

8/13/2017 6:57:06 PM

Grittyville, WA

I'm interested to know what u do and how the pumpkin responds. I hope I can look for updates in your diary?

8/13/2017 7:03:18 PM

Colorado

Id terminate the before the fruit secondaries and let the after the fruit secondaries fill in the rest of the space.When those secondaries get over 15 feet long they can get big and aggressive cause the pumpkin isn't feeding off them-but I don't think they help as much after 15 feet and your weaker growth closer to the fruit ,I think,will help with the fruits late growth.

8/13/2017 11:03:41 PM

Essex, UK

Will post anything I do to the plant in my diary. Think I might stagger the pruning of the secondaries over a week to stop a sudden surge into the pumpkin.

8/14/2017 5:19:35 AM

Nh

I'm sort of in the same boat. Around 25 dap a lot of my secondary's basically shriveled up and self terminated. Not I'm now at 35 dap and have three very aggressive secondary's almost at the beginning of the plant and all over 15ft. My plant is however around 500 to 700 sq ft. My pumpkin has not been overly impressive with daily gains (15 lbs) and is around 260ott. Wondering if I should terminate those aggressive secondary's and if that may help my gains or not

8/14/2017 8:02:42 AM

Grittyville, WA

Aggressive secondaries at the beginning of the plant (I think) usually want to do their own thing more than support your pumpkin which is what it sounds like they are doing...

I've noticed plants like to grow this way, while others are the opposite with very weak growth near the stump (and very aggressive away from the stump) and most are in somewhere in between.

A 500 or 700 sq ft plant should be able to do better than 15 lbs so I suspect the energy in those long secondaries is not being used except to grow more plant.

8/15/2017 6:52:48 PM

Grittyville, WA

* I've noticed SOME plants like to grow this way

Anyone have any other pruning experiences that turned out either good bad or indifferent? Interesting topic...

8/15/2017 6:59:04 PM

Nh

It is interesting. So are those secondary's if I terminate, going to contribute more to pumpkin growth?

8/18/2017 8:23:04 AM

Grittyville, WA

Possibly but I would be surprised if it makes a really big difference. But give it a try maybe it will...

8/18/2017 10:34:57 PM