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Dover, DE

Ive been told by growers that if i dont it would be a waste of my time ? ? ? What if i only want a 200 # AG ?
can i get away without staking and pruning ?

11/8/2009 10:46:02 PM

Glosta

staking will keept the wind from rolling the vine and potentially snapping it. No vine No pumpkin. If you want any pumpkin on the vine you should do your best to protect the plant so staking is highly recommended. I had a main snap this year and the plant suffeed badly, got a 31#er, theres an example for ya.

pruning of what?
you can prune some leaves to keep the canopy open to keep good air circulation, which can help prevent mildew issues, not to much though because you need the plant to push the fruit. I have heard some growers remove every other secondary.

11/9/2009 8:01:31 AM

DeWitt, Iowa

He means pruning the vines coming off the secondaries when the pumpkin is set. and yes you should do it.

11/9/2009 11:50:06 AM

Dover, DE

thanx every1 for help

11/9/2009 12:28:45 PM

Dover, DE

thanx to you guys i know how 2 stae and prune

thanx for ur help

11/9/2009 12:33:06 PM

Western PA

A good tip from some growers on here is to use plastic coat hangers for staking. You basically cut the hanger in 4 places so you end up with 2 v's about 6 inches long. You can usually find 10 or 12 packs at the dollar store. Yes, you will end up with 2 stakes per hanger. I would recommend white if you can find them. White should reflect heat ,where black absorbs heat. I have black ones which I have not used yet. I am planning on not touching the vine with them so it doesn't burn the vine.
Also these are much neater looking than using sticks from your yard like I have used in the past. If you search through some of the diaries you see some growers using them.
Lee

11/17/2009 5:00:49 PM

Western PA

Back to that last post of mine.
I will probably have to be touching the sides of the vine with the hanger stake to keep the vine from moving.I really don't think they will heat up enough to cause any problem. Maybe some one that has used dark colored ones will chime in on that. I just wanted to clarify.
Lee

11/17/2009 5:26:26 PM

Dover, DE

thanks zappa

11/24/2009 7:35:51 AM