From

Location

Message

Date Posted

Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada

First timer here growing on ~300 square feet in my front yard. Things have been cruising along here for me until the last few days. Since DAP 26 I've been averaging about 26 pounds a day even through a week of temps in the high 90s/low 100s F. DAP 34 noticed a little bit of powdery mildew starting and treated for that. Then that night we got our first rain in about a month. DAP 37 noticed a small spot on the stem that looked like maybe rot starting but it wasn't wet or soft - cleaned that up and put a fan on it to be safe, but my weight gains have really dropped. DAP 38 - 15 pounds, DAP 39 - 15 pounds, DAP 40 - 5 pounds. I feel like DAP 40 is too early for it to be slowing down like this unless something is wrong? Plant looks healthy to me, but the last 3 days the pumpkin has slowed pretty significantly. I'm scratching my head.

1. Is it normal for it to slow down like this at DAP 40? I wasn't expecting it to slow for a couple more weeks.

2. Plant looks good, stem looks good, stump looks good... Is there somewhere else I should be looking at for answers?

3. What are the chances this will turn around and the pumpkin will pick back up?

Currently taping at 480 pounds. I thought if we got another 2-3 weeks at 25 pounds a day I'd have a really good shot at reaching my goal of 1,000 pounds, but last few days seems less and less likely that this will be possible. I'm feeling a bit deflated. :-(

8/9/2022 1:00:30 AM

Central NY

1. Not really if soil is properly amended.
2. Only thing left to check is the main, or sneaky soft spots on the fruit itself. Check thoroughly.
3. If they slow and there are no plant problems they usually don’t pick back up, they grow on a trajectory. That being said , our first few years we had similar issues to what you are describing. A couple years we never amended the soil, , one year the rotten main went unnoticed, they slowed up but still made it to the end. Keep at it and good luck.

8/9/2022 7:35:04 AM

Grittyville, WA

You could still hit 1000 provided you made a a slight measuring error for that last data point. Dont give up. Its normal to reduce growth down from 25 to 15 at that stage... but 5 is too low and if thats accurate my guess would be the rain caused the plant to switch gears back to growing vegetation. I'd push the nutrients minus nitrogen, and see if you can get some better numbers out of it.

8/9/2022 8:24:36 AM

Mill Bay, British Columbia

Pretty good results for your first time, especially if your patch (front yard) was not ammended, or prepped as a full pumpkin patch.

Stop measuring every day, and only put a tape on it every few days. Once the pumpkins get to a certain size, 1 inch OTT is 6-8 lbs and the pumpkin can be increasingly difficult to measure correctly each time.

Stay the course, don’t start throwing fertilizer at it indiscriminately or you could inadvertently cause more harm than good.

A 500 lb pumpkin by a first time grower in our climate at the beginning of August, is quite a good accomplishment. It has taken many years for seasoned growers in our Province to break the 1000 lb barrier, so you’ve already done very well.

8/9/2022 9:24:02 AM

Western PA

The above 3 responses are everything that I was going to mention. They are all spot on.
I recommend getting on your hands and knees and inspect the main vine feeling every few inches of it. While I'm in there, I personally pull all dirt away from the main vine
the best I can, so I can see it from a distance.
If that is good, I would bet your soil is a little off.

Yes,they seem to peak around day 40-45, so you may be on the down curve now.
As stated, don't measure every day, it will drive you crazy. It's too easy to make an error. Check every 7 or 10 days.

Also, they will certainly slow down if your days and nights are cooler. When that happens, they can pick up better weight gains, if the following week is warmer.

Your doing great, do your daily checks on the important things, and you'll likely be attending a fall weigh off.
Good luck !!

8/9/2022 10:35:25 AM

50 Acres

Unusual to stop growth so quick. Like others said start at the pumpkin and check back to the stump. hope your problem gets solved. Good luck you have done well for 300 sq ft

8/9/2022 11:06:46 AM

Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada

Thanks everyone for your responses. I know the daily taping may seem excessive and can certainly drive someone crazy, but I've been doing that just to help me see/learn what is happening and keep tabs on it. As a bit of an update, Day 41 - 5 pounds, Day 42 - 27, Day 43 - 22.

So I guess my take away is that there was *something* that stressed the plant out for a few days there which caused the numbers to drop. I was feeling deflated after the first 5 pound day and really depressed about it after two 5 pound days in a row, but it seems to have bounced back, for now at least.

8/11/2022 11:05:50 PM

Grittyville, WA

Are you using circumference or OTT?
Ive seen days where the pumpkins shape changes a lot in one day, like it sags down under its own weight, and it affects the numbers. You'd need a time lapse camera to see if there was a day where it the shape slumped downwards. The relatively sudden (but it would still be too slow to see in real time) change in shape would change the OTT, the percent heavy, and the estimated weight. The way the OTT is calculated rewards pumpkins shaped like a turtle shell. A perfectly round wheel shape gives higher OTT numbers than a turtle shell. So when the shape changes it causes the OTT to drop relative to what it would have been if the shape had remained more of a fully inflated tire.

8/12/2022 12:46:33 AM

Grittyville, WA

Not well written but you get the point.

8/12/2022 12:48:05 AM

Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada

I'm measuring OTT. Pumpkin started off pretty round but around day 25 the top started growing faster than the bottom so that the blossom end started pointing downward and has slowly been pushed further and further down. I wouldn't say it is sagging much (yet) but it is a little. On the five pound days the only measure I was getting increase on was the side to side, last two days I've picked up inches on all three directions again. Yesterday I was able to just get my hand under it to touch the blossom end, today I cannot. I expect in a day or two the front lip will be pushing the ground and the recess with the blossom scar in it will be inaccessible until it is lifted.

8/12/2022 1:49:57 AM