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Choctaw, OK

Has anyone sealed a fruit before it split and have it last the whole season up until weighoff? I sealed my 1247 handy fruit on Aug 1st (it split a few days earlier) and it has still grown since. It was 585 est when it split and now its in the mid 800's and was till solid as of the 18th of sept. I also had my 425 wolf split on Aug 19th at 950 lbs est, which i sealed right away that morning and its still together and estimated right around 1200 lbs as of sept 18th. I find it amazing that if you can seal the fruit with clear silicone and watch it so no air gets into the cavity...the fruit will keep going like nothing happened. I hope to weigh my 425 in 11 days, tho it wont be official.

Just wanted to let all the growers know that split fruit can still grow somewhat close to its max potential if you seal the fruit in time. Make sure you clean the area with the highest percent alcohol that you can, let it dry and then seal.

9/20/2005 11:41:07 PM

Appalachian Mtns.

Used "Goop" on my blossom split 898 Knauss over a month ago and she's still intact and growing.

9/21/2005 6:27:14 AM

Edmonton, Canada

A few years ago, I managed to seal a fruit... i think legally. I had a recent cull that I cut into. I used some of the sap from that cull, to fill the split on the fruit I wanted to keep. It worked really well, and the pumpkin actually started to seal itself. It lasted for 2 months.

9/21/2005 8:28:44 AM

Hudsonville, Michigan ([email protected])

I sealed a small sagline split last year for a month to take it to a weigh off for EXH only. It was just a pinhole and I was right on it with, first Smitty's method, then Captan paste to keep air out of it. I think the key is no air in the cavity...

9/21/2005 8:41:13 AM

Western NY

i've sealed a few of them up after the fact, but it takes a keen eye and a lot of experience to predict some of them. definately a pumpkin engineering feat keeping that big one together.

9/21/2005 8:49:15 AM

Menomonie, WI ([email protected])

From the way these pumpkins heal their vines. Is it possible that after you seal the wound. They form a scar over the split area and reseal?

9/21/2005 10:57:55 AM

Ontario, Canada.

I would say that only very narrow splits could heal using the Stellphlug technique. Splits of more than 1/4" inch in width and lengths over 2" are terminal beyond 3 to 4 weeks even if sealed quickly.

9/21/2005 11:04:40 AM

SF Bay Area, California

One problem is that many small splits tend to grow as the fruit gets bigger. In 2002, my big one (GE) split on day 50 at the intersection of a rib and a dill ring. I sealed it the morning it split with duct tape and taped over the areas ahead of the split. When I harvested it almost three weeks later there were no signs of rot inside the pumpkin. When we turned this pumpkin over, there was a huge split - maybe 16" long and 4" wide on the bottom that had obviously been there for a while. No rot there either. The pumpkin had been sitting on a bed of clean dry sand. The key is - no air exchange into the cavity. Go to:
http://www.zunino.net/diana/geneva/gecam.htm and click on previous to see how the split developed......

vince

9/21/2005 11:34:54 AM

Choctaw, OK

Silicone streches with the pumpkin as it grows. the key is to put it on thin so you can monitor the split. you can always put on a thicker layer of silicone later, or add more if the split is getting to big for the amount of silicone you put on. And, as stated above...the key is no air exchange.

9/21/2005 11:57:11 PM