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Kutztown, PA

At locations where you remove tertiary vines, dead head vines, remove damaged leaf stalks, etc. do most people treat those locations with something. Maybe Daconil, sulfur etc.???

2/23/2022 9:03:08 AM

Syracuse, NY

I do not, personally - I make any vine cuts close and angled so the bottom is further in, to allow drainage at that amputation OR I allow an extra few inches (up to where the next leaf would have been) to extend so I can anchor that part down (else, the remaining VINE will have much less support anymore); At a vine's end, I cut the vine at the same rounded rate as the leaf stalk it ended with OR I allow an extra few inches to extend so I can anchor it down ( the LEAF will have NO support anymore); I make any end-of-vine, rounded leaf cutoffs at least 2 feet from the end if I'll need to walk through, as the leaf will grow really big there. Whenever there is 'cut work' that leaves a ring, carefully cut a channel in it at the bottom for drainage. Hope this helps - eg

2/23/2022 9:42:44 AM

Germany

When I need to cut off some vines, leaves etc., where some larger wounds are created (which do not dry within a few minutes) I´m using a dispersion of powdered sulfur in denaturated ethanol. Usually, I´m preparing a jar of sulfur dispersion in ethanol a couple of days in advance, it takes a while for some of the sulfur to dissolve in ethanol. The sulfur solution (in addition to the dispersion) has the advantage that the entire area (upon evaporation of the ethanol) will then be covered with a thin layer of sulfur.

2/23/2022 10:01:40 AM

Kutztown, PA

Pumpking are you treating wounds at locations before you bury vines.

I did it like pumpkinpal2 last season and didn't have any problems that I know of with untreated buried vines, only would location that were left exposed, like some leaf stalks/tertiaries near the pumpkin stem

By the way, I think sulfur will dissolve well in acetic acid (vinegar). I may try that out after work today.

2/23/2022 10:35:28 AM

Germany

Before I bury anything, I´ll let those parts dry/heal. Critical parts (large wounds), which maybe need occasional inspection, will not be buried. End of vines: I do not bury the terminated end. I simply try to get the last leaf noded rooted and some half foot of vine (where it got terminated) exposed to air. Vinegar...regular vinegar isn´t a good solvent for sulfur. Pure acetic acid probably is, but I wouldn´t try to paint my pumpkin plant with pure acetic acid.

2/23/2022 11:06:18 AM

Kutztown, PA

I don't no where I read that sulfur will dissolve in vinegar. I was thinking a non polar solvent like water with a neutral PH would work. I'm going to try an experiment tonight just because I can :). Once your vine ends have been treated and dried out do you then bury them or still leave them out??

2/23/2022 1:40:50 PM

Germany

Vinegar and water are pretty polar, therefore they are not the proper solvents for sulfur. Ethanol is less polar (and a better solvent for sulfur). Talking about experiments: Make a dispersion of sulfur in ethanol, and after a couple of days you take some of the supernatant clear solution (which is ethanol with dissolved sulfur) and dilute it with maybe the 3-fold amount of water. After a while you will observe the formation of colloidal sulfur (and eventually the precipitation of the sulfur, which no longer wants to remain in solution...because of the high water content).

As to the vine ends, I don´t bury the ends, I leave them exposed to air.

2/23/2022 1:48:10 PM

Western NY

Not enough time, I chop and go.

At most, I'll make the rounds pruning and positioning, then go back to bury. They've hopefully healed over in that short time, but that's all I'll do.

2/23/2022 2:25:26 PM

Kutztown, PA

Do any of you here terminate the main vine just after the pumpkin. If not, how long do you let it go?

Pumpking: I think I'll pass on that experiment and just try to precipitate a big pumpkin this year :)

2/23/2022 3:54:40 PM

San Diego

I recommend cutting vine after fruit, I have done both and cutting the vine makes it really easy to manage the vine stress and I grew my largest pumpkins ever off of terminated mains at the fruit. I know a lot of guys don't and I was afraid to do it at first, but now that I have confidence doing it, would never go back.

2/23/2022 7:32:18 PM

Norwich, NY

For me, I’ve done pretty much what Andy does. Chop and bury. I’ve dusted with captan in the past, but have noticed no difference in how the pruned vines fair.

2/23/2022 7:52:40 PM

Grittyville, WA

The timing of cutting the vine after the pumpkin may be important. Ideally you want the auxins from the tip right up until they interfere with the growth of the fruit. When exactly that is, I am not sure. I dont like to leave a point of infection (a wound) close to the pumpkin stem. I don't think they are like trees where it will heal faster if its cut flush (Im no genius though when it comes to my assumptions!) so I try to leave extra vine when I dead end them, Ive even left one node past the pumpkin, and this worked well, although they dont always allow you to do that. I've also tried leaving four or five nodes past the pumpkin but I havent seen any indications that this helps the pumpkin.

2/23/2022 8:03:57 PM

Colorado

You might be more concerned about using a clean knife or scissors between plants so you dont spread mosaic or YVD between plants.Use physical cleaning of instrument with scrubbing and lots of water vs trying to disinfect.

2/23/2022 11:04:20 PM

Kutztown, PA

Last year I had to move mine with straps and a come along a couple of times to relieve vine stress. I can certainly see how terminating near the pumpkin could be an advantage.

Speaking of auxins/hormones: I watched a Youtube a while back showing a grower removing his "second choice" fruit from the vine. The fruit was further out on the vine than his firs choice. He cut the stem of the baby half way through and indicated he would cut it completely off the next day. The premise for doing it over two days was that he didn't want to send some "homonal signal" back to the first pumpkin causing it to over accelerate growth to soon or at least do something bad. Does that theory and or method of removal hold water or is it hocus pocus?

2/24/2022 10:00:59 AM

Grittyville, WA

Lol... pumpkin growers can be superstitious. I've only had exploding pumpkins once and I believe it was a nutrient imbalance, not a case of pushing too hard. The fact is, the ones that exploded were growing slower than they should have been. Its tempting to be superstitious but its better to admit what we dont know and avoid acting silly.

2/24/2022 10:17:39 AM

Kutztown, PA

Gritty - A quote from Mark Twain:

"It's not what we don't know that gets us in trouble. It's what we know for sure that just ain't so."

2/24/2022 11:32:43 AM

Mission Viejo, CA

Ive always held to that theory that culling fruit is done best over a couple days. Maybe it's an old wife's tale errr... old pumpkin grower's tale LOL

2/24/2022 5:58:29 PM

Syracuse, NY

Is 56.5 old? Okay, then, here's my tale, lol: I had an 'extra' 263-pounder on the 1007 Brown poll'd by the 2145 McMullen and you know, I did just as above as I had always done because, yes, any shock is not a good shock - I forgot about it and like a week (+?) later, I left it on there anyway as one side of the pumpkin, maybe even the bottom half, I forget, grew more quickly because that vine portion was still attached.
SO, if you have a lop-sider, you may be able to sort-of correct it if there is no other option by cutting the stem part-way through accordingly. I've yet to get a good fruit on it as I only grew it once in '21 (from the 263-'17 fruit) and it was a 3-lober that was nearly white at about 80 rotting-on-dirt pounds. Too much NY rain; Have to try it agan, with THAT neat-o cross!---eric g

2/25/2022 2:47:01 AM

Kutztown, PA

Here's a thought: What if instead of cutting the stem over a couple of days (or all at once), cut the top off the cull and let it rot off the vine on its own. If there is some "hocus pumpcus" going on that might prevent any signal/shock all together.

2/25/2022 10:38:50 AM

50 Acres

In my opinion it would create a nesting ground for svb and other pests and virus. Cut it off take it away from your patch. ...Jim

2/25/2022 12:20:29 PM

Syracuse, NY

I agree with both; WOW! That never happens, lol---a new take on another option, nonetheless and further brainstorming needed...eg...you know, casually, lol---nice, fresh seeds...eg

2/25/2022 1:35:23 PM

Grittyville, WA

Thats an interesting idea Garwolf and I have tried damaging a pumpkin to get it to abort without severing the stem myself. (Out here where the bug problems are of a different sort.)

The result was dissapointing. The plant did not want to abort the pumpkin despite it being basically cut in half. The dang thing kept growing rather than rotting. A week or two later it was still growing rather than rotting off, which was too much wasted energy for my taste.
A final note, if you want the plant to bleed less, a rough cut may be better than a clean cut. Sometimes the plants bleed longer than you think may be healthy. A powder of some sort applied to the end (calcium or sulfer?) might be a good coagulant. (To stop the bleeding.) Or just some dry dirt even. I havent had disease from dusting the ends with dry dirt. Likewise I wouldnt wash my kids owies unless there was redness or inflammation... We, too, are designed for dirt & to heal. But I may be more laissez-faire than most. I just know we can create more problems than we solve, (as Mark Twain observed.)

2/25/2022 2:34:22 PM

Grittyville, WA

The important thing, is to keep an eye on things. Observation trumps knowledge, if it is given the chance to do so.

2/25/2022 2:39:16 PM

Kutztown, PA

Gritty,

You've keyed in on my life story: Really good observations but not enough knowledge to know what to do with them. :)

I cant see any harm in throwing a little sulfur on the cuts, even if it doesn't help. After all, why not make more work for myself. :)

2/28/2022 11:22:07 AM

Grittyville, WA

Lol. I absorb what I can yet my head still feels empty.

2/28/2022 7:06:19 PM