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Paradise Mountain, New York

On The Atlantic Giant Genetics Cooperative I noticed a lot of the 1,000 plus pumpkins where grown in a area of over 600 square feet to 1,200 square feet.Many in the 800 range. Many growers will tell you they grow there pumpkins in the Christmas Tree style which is the same as a triangle. To figure the square feet of a triangle you take the base x lenght, then divide by 2 to get the square feet.. So if your side vines off the main by the stump are 12 feet out on each side of the main, this gives you 24 feet at the base. Now lets say your main is 35 feet out from the stump, you multiply 24 x 35 = 840 divide by 2 = 420 square feet. So i'd like to know if growers are not figuring the right square feet of each plant or, some of them have to have there side vines our to at least 20 feet each side of the main. Which would give you 20+20 = 40 feet at the base x 35 feet = 1,400 divided by 2 = 700 square feet.

2/12/2006 7:16:42 PM

Napa Valley, CA

The vines of the Christmas Tree pattern may be triangular and your math may be accurate but I think you also need to figure the tiny white hair-like feeder roots that grow well outside the triangle. In good soil I have seen this root system grow 5 to 10 feet or more out past the vines. I think these feeder roots need to be considered as part of the square footage of the plant.

2/12/2006 8:27:07 PM

Mulino, Oregon

also, many of the growers turn their secondaries at the edge of the patch, especially the ones just before the pumpkin, and run them parallel to the main vine, taking up that space.

2/12/2006 9:04:45 PM

Webster, NY

I might not be getting it (I am getting older) but if you have the same 24 feet all the way up the main vine of 35 feet, wouldn't you have a rectangle, not a triangle? To get the triangle, the length of each side vine would have to decrease a specific amount right to the top. Or am I thinking wrong?

Dave

2/12/2006 10:47:04 PM

Rexburg, Idaho ([email protected] )

It only looks like a triangle before the secondaries reach the edge of the patch and are deadheaded. Once they become deadheaded it will eventually look like a rectangle. Usually has some open space at the far corners in my patch but it resembles a rectangle more then a triangle.

2/12/2006 11:16:57 PM

Napa Valley, CA

If you have a large enough growing area to make all your secondaries the same length for the entire growing season, you have a rectangle. In a small or odd shaped area such as mine, what starts out as a christmas tree can have the look of a flag pattern on the final third of the plant at the end of the season....... its called creative pruning.

2/12/2006 11:52:35 PM

Sioux Falls, SD [email protected]

. . .but even with variations considered, I think PBrat is still wondering if most growers are giving a fairly good estimate of the sq footage actually covered by the leaves.

My guess is that some people aren't doing it quite right, but probably not enough to mess up trends. Any specific single report though, has some chance of being screwed up. . .there's a lot of people out there incapable of even simple math, and these numbers don't get officially checked by anybody.

2/13/2006 12:21:30 AM

Joliet, IL

my 440 sq ft planting spots are 20 ft wide by 22 ft long. sometimes i will curve the main down and around at the end if i need more room. but i will still fill the entire area with either secondaries right before the pumpkin wrapping down and around or the secondaries coming off the main vine after the pumpkin. i would think growers with enough space fill a rectangular area alotted for each plant. if space is an issue, then 2 or 3 x-mas trees can be used across from each other to fit more in. you are right though in wondering exactly how one comes up with their exact square footage. to find out in the future what exactly will be the most successful square footage to produce the heaviest pumpkins, these numbers need to be recorded accurately to ensure the data is correctly correlated with overall growth trends.

2/13/2006 12:47:13 AM

Niagara County, NY

I believe that AGs plants should be measured by over-all plot size{ie. 25'x25'=625'} AND ALSO by total amount of vine length within the plot. By adding up all secondary lengths and the main-vine length there would be a much more accurate representation of total leave space within the given plot.

Dan M

2/13/2006 9:22:37 AM

Webster, NY

Then, bases on what everyone is saying, I would also think plot size and how much space the actual plant takes up. If the plot shape and plant shape decrease to a point at the end, then the formula for the area of a triangle is probably good. Otherwise, L x W should do it. I agree with Gary, the differences are probably not that significant.

Dave

2/13/2006 9:38:37 AM

Norton, MA

I know I measure mine accurately, that's what I know. Measuring the total length of all the vines is tricky because if you cut off every other vine you would get the same amount of shaded soil (leaves get wider when given room) but only half the total length of the vines. AleX Noel.

2/13/2006 8:04:11 PM

Deer Park WA

When I submit AGGC data on a pumpkin I measure the plant and and calculate the square footage based on well actual square footage of canopy.... Hope that helps...

2/13/2006 8:52:56 PM