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Westmoreland, KS

Okay now that we are in the middle of summer and all of the hot weather has taken its toll on the plants. I like to think about what I would change for next year.

A change I made this year from past years was not to cover my main vine with any dirt at all. Both of my main vines look really great compared to past years.

A thought for next year...I might not bury any part of the plant. Has anybody tried this in recent years? I'm thinking it would be less roots yes however less disease pressure seems to be a much bigger benefit versus less roots.

8/2/2018 9:27:39 AM

Kentucky, U.S.A.

I like the plan , but, I get hammered by the vine bore moth. Burying is a big assistance. I do like the idea, as I have already got some pressure lesions. Are you using shade clothe or similar?

8/2/2018 10:04:00 AM

Westmoreland, KS

I built a greenhouse last year...Huge help but I always like planning for next year.

8/2/2018 10:35:44 AM

Bethlehem CT

I am doing no burying this year, I will let you know how it turns out.

8/2/2018 11:50:07 AM

Westmoreland, KS

Awesome big moon...i'm very interested. How's the root structure looking...from the pictures in your diary the plants look very healthy.

8/2/2018 12:33:04 PM

Grittyville, WA

Are you talking about having only the underside roots? Or no roots? No roots might cut your results in half. I was actually thinking of trying the opposite... Tired of trying to keep the stump dry some with stump buried and wet are doing fine... Crazy right but if the ph or microbiology is correct there might be less of the bad rot types under the dirt than above it!

8/2/2018 12:43:30 PM

Westmoreland, KS

I'm talking about only the underside roots.

And yes people have been doing the opposite for a long time they bury the entire plant with success however their location and temperatures are vastly different than the hot climates I'm talking about.

Wet with very hot/humid temperatures 100+ for weeks at a time seem to be a recipe for disaster.

8/2/2018 2:22:57 PM

Bethlehem CT

Yeah I am taking a low key approach this year due to lack of time. I am also doing very little pruning. You really don't see tertiary vines start to pop up until vines start to get deadheaded. If you have enough patch space you could probably grow a very nice pumpkin that has plenty of air circulation with very little, possibly no vine pruning. I like the spider pattern for the low pruning method.

8/3/2018 5:58:59 AM

Bethlehem CT

Two of my plants I am growing on a hay mulch. Those two plants suffered a bit more from lack of vine burying, because they struggled to set down roots from the vines. On top of the hay it is very dry and bright because the hay reflects lots of light. What triggers the roots to grow is the feeling of moisture on the vine. In order to get the hay mulched pumpkins to grow roots, I bought a cheap timer at Lowes and I had it go off every two hours for ten minutes between the hours of ten to four O'clock. I was able to get those two pumpkins through a two week heat wave where it was above 90 degrees nearly every day. I even got my two pumpkins pollinated and set during that time. We were very dry and hot back then. Things are very wet and humid right now. I definitely wouldn't need to use any additional water to get the vines to root.
Pumpkin Jesus doesn't bury his vines and he is a far better grower than I. He has grown 1700 pounds plus this way.

8/3/2018 6:08:03 AM

simpson,KS

Jake I did very little vine burying just up the road from ya. All my plants are outside still have four going. Seems to me that excessive moisture at times and we have had some are bad for the plant. Rotting was occurring in the vines so I let them dry up and all is well. Just been watering the stump slow and low. Pumpkins seem to do good with that.

8/5/2018 7:43:04 AM

simpson,KS

Jake the Kansas state record is 1048 lbs. Just saw your video. Hope you go heavy. It sounds solid. I am picking up the pace here wish you luk!!!

8/5/2018 8:35:59 AM

Westmoreland, KS

1048 was a non GPC weighoff...I still consider it the mark to beat but I don't think it counts as a Kansas record. I have to get mine to a weigh off and a lot can go wrong!

You need to post some pictures of your plants....Also, how are the watermelons this year? Too bad we don't have the Pawnee City weighoff.

8/5/2018 10:00:31 AM

simpson,KS

Oklahoma weighoff 8th Sept. GPC site I think you have 1048 beat. The 1048 was a well documented pumpkin at the state fair with registered scale and fair officials present I was there and it would be hard to dispute that it wasn't a state record.

8/5/2018 10:32:11 AM

Westmoreland, KS

sweet we'll shoot for the Oklahoma weighoff hopefully we'll see you there.

8/5/2018 11:08:33 AM

Hot West Tennessee

I do not bury . But I cover the leaf node to induce rooting ,with a well draining type mix, while on top of soil.Different than digging a trench and burying like many do. We are in very similar climates so we have to balance adequate moisture with the heat. If plants are not hydrated they flag and plant vigar is lost. Just my thoughts. Good luck.

8/6/2018 11:47:28 AM

Westmoreland, KS

TNorange thanks for your reply. When you use your mix how do the plants do? How much disease pressure do you see?

8/6/2018 3:06:42 PM