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Illinois

Okay, maybe not mahem but my BP has been laying down a main vine and starting a secondary vine. It's very healthy.

Question 1. I read that a BP would have 100-125 leaves before setting fruit. Well my first female bloom appeared tonight and I've got about 25 leaves and 3 male blooms so far. Should I pinch these off to keep them from blooming until the plant is larger?

2. Burying the vine. I'm not sure how I missed this but do you bury all of the vine except the bloom areas? Mine is traveling out into my yard over the grass but I'm not above digging a trench in my yard and filling over with composted soil or something.

3.I've got two leaves whose stems that have been crimped when wind blew them over. The plant still seems healthy, should I do anything special?

You can see pictures and things of BP on my gardening blog

www.mygrandpasgarden.com
Just click on the big pumpkin category to skip right to it.

6/14/2007 9:24:15 PM

1. most people go by main vine length for a time to set fruit. They like to set fruit on the main vine after it is 8 or 10 or 12 feet long, depending on the grower.

2. Burying vines includes burying the vines slightly to secure them, allow more roots to grow from the nodes, and block squash vine borers from laying their eggs on the vines. Some people like to keep the main vine exposed to keep an eye on it from problems, and just bury the secondary vines.

3. The two leaves will be fine. If the stalk breaks and the leaf dies, just cut the leaf and stalk off where it attaches to the vine. Since your plant has 25 leaves, removing two won't be detrimental.

Good questions! Keep reading up, you'll be an expert before ya know it!

6/14/2007 9:34:04 PM

Also where are you in IL? Maybe you could find an area grower to help.

6/14/2007 9:35:13 PM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

More comments.

1. What Brigitte said. I pinch off ALL flowers for the first 6 feet. After that I leave most males if it appears they'll open at the correct time for pollinating. Females from 8 feet out I always leave. Too many flowers does waste energy but they also attract Cucumber Beetles.

Don't go overboard removing flowers. More than a few new growers have over-pruned flowers only to see the ideal pollination time pass without enough flowers to satisfy their needs.

2. What Brigitte said plus - some growers (especially those who have experienced Fusarium - a soil borne disease) just bury the nodes to encourage adventitious roots. Vines can be anchored with crossing sticks, coat hangers, etc. Squash Vine Borers can be controlled with residual contact insecticides like Lambda-cyhalothrin or Bifenthrin but soil is cheaper.

3. Ditto.

6/14/2007 11:02:32 PM

Illinois

The main vine is about 8 feet long. Of course now that you bring it up I'm going to have to go out and measure it.

Here's a picture of the snapped leaf vine. http://mygrandpasgarden.com/?p=63

Is it possible to not use chemicals on the BP or is the BP a SVB delicacy?

I'm in South Central, not far from Champaign.

6/15/2007 2:30:08 AM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

I've only has one season that I didn't spray & wasn't attacked by Cucumber beetles, Squash Vine Borers or both. When I was a kid on the farm my neighbor or parents would spray. It was probably Sevin but I really don't know.

The Bifenthrin I use today is safer.

6/15/2007 12:14:58 PM