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On top of Brush Mountain, Pa.

Are any of you pumpkin growers using Growing Degree Days to predict where your pumpkin plants should be during the growing season?

1/27/2006 6:50:43 PM

Hamburg, NY

Marv,

I've watched that for the past 35 years. I really think we had 2 seasons in 1 last year. First year I ever picked ripe watermelons in July here in Upstate NY (Buffalo). I feel that last season the real hot weather limited the plants and fruit to a great degree throwing a monkey wrench into that whole idea. The year before we had no sun and pumpkins didn't start to grow until September when it turned nice. Go figure, it's just going to take so many heat units to get to the top. With all the microclimates established by many growers and the use of plastic techniques its hard to measure GDD anyway! Lady luck will play out for the grower who gets all the conditions right and can keep a handle on the diseases. It's a great measure for the season in regards to field corn! /Ray

1/27/2006 8:27:25 PM

Norton, MA

Wait, what are talking about? Seriously. Thanks, AleX Noel.

1/28/2006 11:54:51 AM

On top of Brush Mountain, Pa.

Growing Degree Days refers to a system whereby daily high and low air temperatures are recorded and then taking their mean by adding them together and dividing by 2. A base number for pumpkins, one below which they will not grow, is subtracted from the mean to get a single number. The base number for pumpkins is probably 50. These daily numbers are then added together to give a total number of heat units accumulated by your plants. These units can then be used to predict the growth and development of your plant and pumpkin. Google Growing Degree Days for further information and maybe a better explaination than I have given. For example, if the high temperature in the garden was 80 and the low 60 then the mean would be 70. 70 minus 50 equals 20. The plant accumulated 20 heat units that day. If it were the same each day for 60 days the plant would have gotten 1200 heat units. If it takes 2400 heat units to produce a 1000 pound pumpkin, you would be half way there.

1/29/2006 11:19:07 AM

Mn

how many heat units do you think is required to grow a thousand pound pumpkin?

1/29/2006 4:30:15 PM

On top of Brush Mountain, Pa.

That, my friend, is exactly why I started this thread. I wondered if anyone had an idea.

1/29/2006 5:06:46 PM