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New Brunswick

I have 3 plants in each of two planting spots and 4 in the other. I know I must leave only one plant in each place...but how long can I wait to decide? Is it possible to allow the extras to live long enough to produce male blossems to use for pollination? Each cluster of plants is in a 6' x 6' area. They have at least 5 foot vines already and it is a bit confusing telling who is who in the spot with 4 plants.

6/24/2003 9:34:43 PM

Montoursville, PA

I should think so. My goodness. The average per each plant is more likely four to six hundred square feet. Confusing! Wow I guess so. I'm speachless except to say good luck. This is going to be interesting.

6/24/2003 10:20:48 PM

Ypsilanti Michigan

I would pull the ones that look skinny and weak. The longer you wait,the more they will take from one another. Nows the time to decide which one to keep, or you will have tangled vines overlaping each other. I would keep the one with healthy secondairy vines, and a strong main coming out. I had to do the same. I hated it, but by looking at my plants, Im glad I made the choice. Good luck.

6/24/2003 10:22:14 PM

Pulaski Tn blkcloud@igiles.net

i'd suggest leaving them alone..something "will" happen and cull them for you........

6/24/2003 11:44:01 PM

New Brunswick

Hmmmm...what to do....what to do....It will be easy to cull some of them. But some are equally large and vigorous. Since some are developing blossems...maybe the first one to get a fertilized blossem will survive...if I dare leave them that long. The first patch is so vigorous...the 945 van that had its roots accidently severed ( I was clumsy when planting) is doing so well...how can I kill it???and yet and yet....there are others larger....decisions decisions.*sigh*

6/26/2003 11:12:57 AM

In the shade - PDX, OR

C'mon Storm I know it's tough, but the longer you wait the smaller the main plant will be. Think of it like the culls are stealing all of the beneficial nutrients from your main plant.

Here is a process:
1) Make the decisons on which to cull.
2) If you drink, have one first, then go out to the patch with the pruners.
3) Making sure you have the right plant cut her off righ at the stem

Repeat until you have one plant per hill or cannot walk out to the patch anymore.

6/26/2003 6:42:33 PM

In the shade - PDX, OR

If that doesn't work here is Option 2.

A) Mark the plant that you want to keep.
B) Have the hubby got out to the patch and cut out the rest.
C) Hand him a beer when he gets back.

6/26/2003 6:43:33 PM

Garden State Pumpkins

and that's from a guy who hated to cull!!! Lol way to go Ceis!!! grow em Big!
Chuck

6/26/2003 8:17:22 PM

Desert Storm; the easy way is to place a marker at end of each plant at a preset time, check back in 24 hrs & your decision is made for you if all the plants are the same age, the one that grows the most, you keep, the other two, you cut & live by your decision, mind you, if they are not the same age, then you have to account for the rapid growing stages re age as that changes daily. Bill

6/26/2003 8:54:45 PM

Pulaski Tn blkcloud@igiles.net

dont cull dont cull..you planted you grow it...it a living a.g. something that not many folks have..what if it were to grow up to be the new world record?? i can see it now lying on its pallet at the weigh off..microphone in stem.." first off i'd like to thank my mom for not culling me"........

6/26/2003 11:20:56 PM

Menomonie, WI (mail@gr8pumpkin.net)

Keith your not helping...Although you point is valid.

6/26/2003 11:35:46 PM

New Brunswick

But poppy, (Bill) most of these are YOUR "babies"! How can I kill them? *sob* Though the stake idea is great. Can I do it????? Can I go "chop chop"? I will post a pic of each and every plant in my diary maybe tomorrow. Please help me decide.
CEIS I'm afraid I drink nothing stronger than ice tea...though to be truthful I lowered the beer in hubbys glass yesterday while we were putting up the swimming pool! VBG. Did you guys read about my mysterious worm posting in general discussion? We have seen two black inch long worm-like creatures attack and bite in too, two earthworms much larger than themselves. When I attempted to tramp on the one I saw, it took off like a bat out of h**l. I am not sure if I killed it or not. Does anyone know what it might be? I think I shall call the dept of agriculture tomorrow. Whatever it is, it had appeared to drag that worm up on the patio block walkway and then attemt to eat it. Randy says it had pinchers much like an ant and the first one was very hard to kill.

6/26/2003 11:48:07 PM

New Brunswick

But poppy, (Bill) most of these are YOUR "babies"! How can I kill them? *sob* Though the stake idea is great. Can I do it????? Can I go "chop chop"? I will post a pic of each and every plant in my diary maybe tomorrow. Please help me decide.
CEIS I'm afraid I drink nothing stronger than ice tea...though to be truthful I lowered the beer in hubbys glass yesterday while we were putting up the swimming pool! VBG. Did you guys read about my mysterious worm posting in general discussion? We have seen two black inch long worm-like creatures attack and bite in too, two earthworms much larger than themselves. When I attempted to tramp on the one I saw, it took off like a bat out of h**l. I am not sure if I killed it or not. Does anyone know what it might be? I think I shall call the dept of agriculture tomorrow. Whatever it is, it had appeared to drag that worm up on the patio block walkway and then attemt to eat it. Randy says it had pinchers much like an ant and the first one was very hard to kill.

6/26/2003 11:48:08 PM

New Brunswick

Whoops, my finger slipped and I posted twice. I must be really getting excited discussing the killing of my punkin's

6/26/2003 11:50:07 PM

Be hard , be tough, you only want the strongest & best if you are going for the NB record. Dennis will not give it up without a fight. I can assure you of that. LOL

6/27/2003 8:24:25 PM

New Brunswick

Poppy...who is Denis? The biggest pumpkin I have seen in person is the one at the Fredericton Ex....I don't believe it weighed over 600 pounds though. What is the record weight for N.B.? Where do you go to enter them?
The 751 Van (Gomer) has a trunk that measures 8 cm in diameter. His main vine was 80 inches long this morning. I marked the end of it and the ends of all the others with stakes this morning. I peeked tonight and I could not believe it! Each vine has grown several inches already. Unbelievable!!! The 770 van's main vine measured 90 inches long this morning with a trunk diameter of 7.5 cm. Of those two which would you keep? Is the trunk diameter and vine size of the utmost importance or is aggressive vine length better? I had several male blossems open this morning....but no blossems open as yet on the 751 Van. I also have a 640.5 Gardner and a 633.5 Pearce in the third bed. They are so much alike...but in the morning maybe the length they grew in the past 24 hours will help me decide. I have decided that the 945 Van in bed number 2 is a keeper. The other 945 Van is doing well (even after its accident when I transplanted it) but is not so large as the others....probably I will cull him. Oh...well maybe I will decide in the morning. It sure will make watering and dusting easier.

6/27/2003 10:49:58 PM

Ypsilanti Michigan

Its just like a mother having a baby. She thinks; now can I really go through this? It's just to painfull!!!! But she goes through it, and with joy she brings a newborn into the world. "C" mon, When I did it, It was painfull too. But now look what I got. A strong plant with all the room she needs to grow. Ever been in an elevator full of people? It's hard to breath all crowded up. But when they get out, you have plenty of room to breath, and walk around. The same goes for your pumpkins. They need to be thined out. Hey!! I busted a main vine yesterday. Asked for advice, and I fixed the problem. cut at the base to avoid pulling roots off the choice plant. Good luck Desert Storm.

6/28/2003 7:45:50 PM