One more squash question

[mrcman]

Okay, I promise this is the last squash question I'll ever ask.

I've heard that monster pumpkin growers snip off extra potential baby pumpkins from their vines to maximize the growth of the one pumpkin. Should I be doing this to my Hubbard squash?? I want a really big one to show at the county fair this year.

Thanks, Tony

ps. I had my fingers crossed when I made that promise.

 

[MontyJ]

Don't cull any females until you are positive that you have at least two sets growing. You should be able to tell if they took at about 10 days after pollination. The skin should be shiny. Once you have two or three growing sets, cull everything else, male and female. After a month, select the fruit that is growing the best, and cull the others. Don't forget to dead head the plant.

 

[catjac1975]

Yes to the giant pumpkin culling question. They also make slings, platforms, shade tents, and all sorts of contraptions.They have their gardens in secret places or allow no visitors near their growing plants. There have been stories of espionage where crops of past winners have been killed with herbicides in the dead of night. NATGEO did a great story of the pumpkin contest. Fun to watch. I would definitely raise your prize squash off of the ground to prevent rot, or animal damage. what ever you use it must not pool water near the skin.

 

[desertlady]

can it be done the same for watermelon?

 

[mrcman]

Hi folks,

Monty,

Thanks for the tips.

Catjac,

What would you suggest as a barrier for the squash...maybe sawdust, cork??

Tony

 

[catjac1975]

I was think more on the lines of a hammock contraption out of jute or some such fiber. I have seen old nylon stockings used. I use large old plant pots with drain holes for melons and pumpkins. Otherwise small animals eat the fruit out from the bottom and you don't know it. That is until you go out to the garden salivating for your first ripe melon and it is hollow! I think your squash may need something stronger if you're going for a record breaker. I think they use wood pallets to move the 1000 lb pumpkins so I would think they grow them right on them. That's what I was thinking for you. The squash could grow around the slats and be misshapen though. Perhaps you could put 3-4 large plant pots upside down together. It brings the fruit up into the sunlight. As with the pumpkins they can rot easily. I think your squash is a little less delicate in that regard. I feel as if sawdust may encourage slugs and rot. I don't know anything about cork. Do you mean a sheet of it? Search the small melon thread. The little hammocks were very smart. We call it Yankee ingenuity. I'm sure you all have terms for it! I firmly believe in experimenting until it works for you.

 

[MontyJ]

Oh no, don't grow them on a pallet. Your season will likely end in misery with a split fruit if it gets any size to it. Once the fruit is set, buy a couple of bags of play sand. Use the sand to make a slightly mounded bed under the fruit. Keep adding sand around the edges as the fruit grows. Use play sand, instead of general purpose sand. There is a difference. Play sand has been tumbled and doesn't have the sharp edges that general purpose sand has. That's important because the fruit won't slide as well on general purpose sand, which can lead to bottom cupping and eventually a bottom split.

To keep mice and small rodents at bay, go to the toy department and buy a few rubber snakes. Place them around the fruit. Move them around daily. As a back-up measure, a couple of mousetraps won't hurt.

If you are growing a true Blue Hubbard, it won't get nearly as big as an Atlantic Giant pumpkin, so it may not have the bottom cupping problem.

 

[catjac1975]

Much better idea Monty!

Oh no, don't grow them on a pallet. Your season will likely end in misery with a split fruit if it gets any size to it. Once the fruit is set, buy a couple of bags of play sand. Use the sand to make a slightly mounded bed under the fruit. Keep adding sand around the edges as the fruit grows. Use play sand, instead of general purpose sand. There is a difference. Play sand has been tumbled and doesn't have the sharp edges that general purpose sand has. That's important because the fruit won't slide as well on general purpose sand, which can lead to bottom cupping and eventually a bottom split.

To keep mice and small rodents at bay, go to the toy department and buy a few rubber snakes. Place them around the fruit. Move them around daily. As a back-up measure, a couple of mousetraps won't hurt.

If you are growing a true Blue Hubbard, it won't get nearly as big as an Atlantic Giant pumpkin, so it may not have the bottom cupping problem.

 

[mrcman]

Thanks Monty,

I'm sending the wife to Wal-Mart for a bag of play sand. We'll give it a go. As for rodents, I have a couple great mousers (cats) to take care of that problem.

Thanks again, Tony