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Utah

I have a pumpkin that has steadily been growing at 10 pounds a day, but I often hear that other growers expect theirs to be growing around 25 pounds a day. I have even heard of others who grow 40+ pounds a day. Am I okay or is their something I can do to boost growth rate a little?

7/26/2008 12:24:53 AM

Boise City, Oklahoma, USA

Depends on several things...

How big is your vine, especially how much of it is between the stump and the pumpkin.

What is your weather like? Too dry, too hot, too cold, can slow growth. Or too wet or too dry.

How did you prep your soil and how are you 'feeding' it now. How are you watering it?

How old is the pumpkin itself? Some of those larger numbers are later in the growing cycle...

Have you terminated vines to force less growing leaves and more growing fruit.

Is the pumpkin on the main or a secondary vine? And are there more pumpkins on the plant?

Are you burying nodes so the plant can form more roots?

Are you shading the pumpkin? They can sunburn which will affect the growth or cause splits in the fruit.

Also some pumpkins start slow then grow more later... The rate of growth when charted often does what looks like a bell curve; your pumpkin might be right on the mark for it's age, size of vine, growing conditions.

In other words there are many things that might affect the growth rate, and many more that might help. Need more information....

7/26/2008 1:26:39 AM

Columbus,ohio

usally 10 pounds a day is good I wouldn't do anything. Let it go and do it's thing. At least that is what I have heard.

7/26/2008 2:15:51 AM

Pataskala,OH

It depends how big you want the pumpkin to be, some growers would consider 10 lbs a day very slow growth .

7/26/2008 7:46:31 AM

Williamsburg,KY

OkieGal, great questions to ask yourself. It all depends, slow and steady, they say, wins the race.

7/26/2008 8:50:36 AM

Long Island,New York

Slow and steady will eventually get you to the finish line no doubt....but you win not win. You need fast but not too fast and reasonably steady for a longer time than most to win the race.

7/26/2008 10:21:14 AM

Utah

My pumpkin is about 12' out from stump on the main vine and has another 15' of vine behind the pumpkin. I am aggressively pruning all new growth now and all vines have been buried. I foliar feed with seaweed once a week. It was pollinated mid June. We have had lousy weather (lots of severe storms that we have dodged here, with above average rain and lower than normal temps), I did till in 10 pick up loads of manure and a bag of grubX and 20 pounds of sulpher to bring down PH and 50 pounds of gypsum for 3 plants (25'X100')before planting. and I have had a white sheet over it day and night for the past month. Whoa a lot of work. not to mention the times I have run out during hail storms to try and stop the damage or being a lightening rod during severe thunder storms LOL!!! I have thought of putting a radio out there for it and reading a bed time story(James and the Giant Pumpkin). I think I have followed everything I have read but any suggestions on what I am doing wrong or what I can do to improve would be greatly appreciated. It was at 282 OTT when measured yesterday.

7/26/2008 10:02:35 PM

New Carlisle IN

How old is this pumpkin? 282 OTT=477Lbs. 10 lbs a day=48 days, meaning you planted in late March? Is this correct?
Terry

7/26/2008 11:06:04 PM

Buffalo, New York

ok so 10 pounds per day is a good thing, but when do you start seeing 10 per day. i mean obviously you dont see it on day 1 or even from day 9 to 10..

how old is the pumpkin already before you start seeing 10 pounds day jumps?

7/27/2008 3:23:11 AM

Rhode Island

eric

your peak daily weight gains on pumpkins pollinated late june thru july 7th should be between now and august 7th.
some time the peak daily gains will last from one week to three weeks depending on the strength of the plant and pumpkin.
ten pounds a day is a weight gain you would expect after say 14 days from pollination.by day 20 a good one will be doing 25 per day. at thirty days old you should be in overdrive at or near it max daily growth.
eric it sounds like you certainly have done a lot of hard work to your plants. unfortunately at ten pounds a day and a mid june pollination i would not expect any higher gains.

we lost several good size fruit already that normally we would not have seen ( just stopped growing ) i attribute it to the long period of high heat and humidity, also some years you dont get a lot of allstars you get some also rans as well.

pap

7/27/2008 7:47:52 AM

Cochecton, NY

Could someone please clarify the measuring formula to find out estimated weight. I am sure I am doing it wrong! If I am right, my pumpkin is over 200# already. I don't want to try and lift it to test my accuracy!!!!! That will surely result in a back ache or a heartache!!!! Or may be both

7/27/2008 10:16:44 AM

Farmville, Virginia (mfowler@hsc.edu)

Here is a link to a pretty good explanation on over-the-top measuring. Hope it helps.

http://pumpkinnook.com/giants/weight.htm

7/27/2008 2:33:31 PM

Minnesota

Thanks for the weight measuring link at the pumpkin nook, I was also looking for a chart. 26.5 pounds, I have only 1662.5 pounds to go and I'll have a new world record.

7/27/2008 4:34:01 PM

Cochecton, NY

Thanks for the link, going out to try it right now!

7/27/2008 6:53:37 PM

Somers, CT

I think we need sun before things grow.

7/27/2008 7:36:15 PM

Cochecton, NY

Just went out and measured. I added up the numbers and referenced the chart that Mark told us about, I came up with the following estimated weights....(go to my diary, I am going to post them there).

7/27/2008 7:54:25 PM

Utah

Thanks for all the replies. Even if it stopped growing now I would be very happy. IT is over 500 pounds and is by far the biggest I have ever grown.

8/1/2008 5:15:19 AM