From

Location

Message

Date Posted

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Dale. Congrats on your first female, I’m a couple weeks behind where you are - your set up in Alaska is just incredible! I’m curious about your black weed fabric, do you cut holes in it at the root nodes or do you remove it as the secondaries come in? Do you bury your vine at the root nodes or just ensure good contact with the ground? Thanks.

5/2/2025 2:07:36 AM

Syracuse, NY

Far be it for me to say, butt I'd think that the more days of pumpkin growth the better, possibly resulting in that World Record...From Alaska? People'd freak! Just thought I'd say. I'm sure you have it scheduled out perfectly, but this year I did something a lit-tle different and my sprouts (Oh, yeah, behind on that, as usual) are the most-vigorous, ever. Now, too fast!
It's the little things. Well, BIG th... Well, YOU know! eg

5/2/2025 11:54:49 AM

Anchorage Alaska

Thanks Mike , I am actually using a green plastic IRT mulch, something I saw Don Crews using and it has worked out pretty well for me. I do cut holes at every root node for all the vines ,it can be a pain sometimes,I will throw a little soil on top to hopefully get some top tap roots to develop, otherwise the mains lay on the plastic mulch
Eric, I agree with you on the more pumpkin growing days the better considering we have a Aug 25th weigh-off,I really think a WR is possible in the far north, with its long daylight periods, but probably not by me...

5/2/2025 11:57:22 PM

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Thanks Dale. I see from looking closely at your other pictures now that you run your drip hoses UNDER this plastic much cover. So I assume it’s not water permeable- is that right? This is a wonderful way to keep the weeds to a minimum and keep the vines clean and dry and keep the root mass and underlying soil moist. Also don’t you want as many secondaries behind your pumpkin - well at least more than you have currently? I’ve noticed wherever I pollinate the plant slower right down after that, almost stopping in places. I’d think you would want a bigger root base than you can get at 11 ft? I’ve also tried in the past to pollinate these early girls to get a jump on growing but they never seem to take well. Thanks again!

5/3/2025 12:38:55 AM

Anchorage Alaska

Yup , the plastic wont let water thru or out , why I like this method the best, is it keeps condensation off the roof , in my climate warm moist air condenses really bad when it it hits 40 or 50 degree air outside air ,especially during frequent long cool cloudy spells of weather, yes I prefer to pollinate about 16 ft out with more secondaries behind it , so this 1st female is just a potential prospect, I will know more in about 8 days

5/3/2025 1:11:19 AM

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Thanks Dale! Appreciate learning new growing methods, I’m going to try plastic mulch next year - too late for this year as I’m 6 feet out and already all set up. I use a dehumidifier with a 50% setting to keep condensation down - we have cool nights too but this plastic method will be cheaper and cleaner.

5/3/2025 3:09:03 PM