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Nh

this year i started to many plants for the area i have available. i have decided to plant the extras keeping them very small. i was just wondering if anyone has any tips for getting the biggest pumpkin from a purposely small plant?

6/24/2006 11:50:33 PM

Ca

I would say have as much roots as possible. Water a lot, especially the rootball. I have a lot of genetic plants growing that are small if not tiny for a AG. One of them my 1036 Perez, I dug a bigger hole for and I give it a lot more water than the others. It's pumpkin is the size of a minnie watermelon while the other genetics plant the 704 horton is the size of a golf ball. Germinated about the same day. I just water the 704 horton just enough to keep it alive and for the fruit to grow. I guess you could feed it extra phosphate for fruit growth, if you are not looking to grow a huge plant. Also not having buried vines will shrink down the size of the plant a lot.

6/25/2006 1:05:56 AM

Thornhill, Ontario, Canada

What if yuo just need the plant alive long enough to get male flowers from it? I have one that is still in a container and flowering. There's nothing on my plants in the ground to pollinate yet. But, I assume that it'll keep going if I need it.

6/25/2006 2:11:48 AM

Denver, CO

I have tried this before. My best advise is to keep burrying the vines that grow. Pile the manure ontop of the main root stump and have the whole stump area coverd out to about 6 feet at least. This created a huge root ball zone. (Also creates a large risk of root-rot and other dieases.) And lastly, realize that roots are only 1/3 of the battle, without lots of leaves to produce engery, the roots have little to do.

6/25/2006 6:17:29 PM