From

Location

Message

Date Posted

Ca

I've read a lot of growers' posts about the shape of a particular pumpkin, and am only more confused than when I didn't know anything (which was just last week, come to think of it). Is desired shape 1)a question primarily of aesthetics, or 2)an indicator as to whether a fruit will be likely to go heavy or light, or 3)an indicator of possible structural problems (or lack of such problems)leading to a dmg,or worse? And what about ribs?

12/13/2005 3:46:37 PM

New Jersey

I believe I'd answer - All of the above.

Many people feel the ideal pumpkin would be 'round' others prefer different shapes, some even like them 'ugly'... For the purposes of competition, we tend to think the one which weighs the most is the most beautiful pumpkin in the world.

Growing Heavy/Light is a complicated subject. The baseline itself is an estimation. The estimation was generated from a series of other estimations. What we'd like to measure is volume (without the cavity so wall thickness is considered) -vs- weight. But it would require a lot of work/equipment to measure the volume of a giant pumpkin reliably. Instead we estimate the volume with a series of 3 basic measurements, and realistically this is probably close to the best we can ask for. Asking for more accurate measurement methods would likely only gain a very small percentage of accuracy in the estimate anyway. These numbers can go wildly one way or another between flat pumpkins, round pumpkins, etc...
Did this baseline take these shape differences into account, were certain out of whack values ignored in the calculations, etc... Heavy/Light simply means that your pumpkin went one way or another on this watered down estimation process. An estimate which took into account pumpkin shape, and wall thickness would likely give a more accurate baseline to work from. It is hard to tell whether a pumpkin went heavy from flesh density, wall thickness, or greater % moisture content in the flesh... We just wrap around a measuring tape and there's your estimate... and maybe we'll get a single wall thickness measurement. Even with all this uncertainty, the beautiful thing about statistics is that you can get a reasonable estimate of reality even when working with a less than ideal set of data.

Dill Rings which would appear to look much like Ribs running in the wrong direction are a potential structural problem but don't always give out and fail.

12/13/2005 4:18:20 PM

Mocksville, NC

My son did punet Sq's on both parents, and he was 68% correct on all, and they all went with the greatest percentile, I still dont know how to do it,

12/13/2005 5:41:27 PM

Indiana

I believe long/football shaped pumpkins tend to be able to grow heavier than a round pumpkin if i have a choice of which pumpkin to cull i would keep a football shaped one every time.

12/13/2005 6:27:28 PM

Owensboro, Ky.

RogNC, don't feel bad about not knowing how to do a punet Sq. cause there of those out here...including me...that don't have a clue what a punet Sq. is?!?!?!?! I hope I can live a fulfilled life without knowing!!??!!LOL Peace, Wayne

12/13/2005 9:02:00 PM

Mocksville, NC

When am I going to need algebra like my teacher said I would need some day.LOL Thanks Wayne

12/14/2005 2:11:30 PM

Pocatello ([email protected])

What we need, is a "stud finder" for giant pumpkins... you
just hold this device up to the surface of the pumpkin and
it tells you how thick it is at that exact spot.

12/14/2005 2:41:44 PM

Menomonie, WI ([email protected])

They have devices that do this already..An Ultrasound would probably work nicely..But then again do you really want to know how then that wall is/

12/14/2005 3:23:40 PM

Long Island,New York

I think the perfect shape for an ag is the size and shape of a volkwagon...........

12/14/2005 3:40:11 PM

Minnesota([email protected])

Personally, I like the tall, blocky type fruit, with
big round shoulders.

12/14/2005 4:02:09 PM

Rhode Island

my favorite shape is the one that tapes over 1300 pounds last years was a bagel. next year who knows. its up to orangeanna the fairy god mother of pumpkindome.

as mentioned earlier. most see stocks are like a genetic milk shake anyways. for what ever reason some are just studs while others are duds. even history can be deceiving.

12/14/2005 7:39:01 PM