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Santa Cruz, CA

We need to decided on what pumpkin to keep and we'd really appreciate your expertice. We are down to two pumpkins on the main of the 695 Handy and they are a week apart in pollination dates. The first has developed ridges towards the bottom and we're not sure if this is ok or a problem. The second pumpkin is a nice round one but pretty immature still. If you have a chance and can check out these photos and give advice that would be great!
http://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=53367
http://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=53368

7/25/2006 9:56:52 AM

Netherlands

Just my opinion - keep the smaller one, put sand under it and support the main vine so it keeps parallel to the stem of the pumpkin.

7/25/2006 10:58:56 AM

Alex, IN

I would keep the second fruit, It looks much better than the first one.

7/25/2006 2:18:26 PM

Nova Scotia

I would also keep the second pumpkin looks nice and round like my 1420 this year Jeff

7/25/2006 3:15:29 PM

Castro Valley California

keep the second one. the first one is aborting

7/25/2006 6:13:54 PM

Syracuse, NY

my nickel's worth is this:
if the bigger pumpkin is not actually soft anywhere on its
surface (evaluate it to determine if it IS aborting,
which will probably happen to one of them if they both stay on the main) then you could still go with the bigger fruit, unless appearance is the main concern and not size
when comparing THESE two.
there's a week's worth of growing time on the bigger one,
and if you cull THAT one, who knows what may happen to the
younger one?
yes, a dilemma! bigger is better, i think.

having not looked at your entire diary just yet,
if you have a shock absorber fruit elsewhere on the
plant, then keeping the bigger of these two
would still allow you to have a bigger fruit on the plant
which is PART of what you want, and your shock absorber
fruit can be the pretty-boy, if you do have one. eric g

7/25/2006 6:42:34 PM

Santa Cruz, CA

If you keep two pumpkin on your main does one automatically abort at some point? Both the pumpkins on the Handy seem sound, atleast today when I checked they were. Do the ridges towards the bottom look bad to you all? Can they cause problems later?

7/25/2006 9:27:48 PM

Washington

Creekside, the second one does have the best shape at this stage. In making my selections I look at the following factors: what is the pollination date, what cross was made, is the stem/vine easy to work with. If any of these is a major factor then I choose for the better. If all are equal then I look at shape and carefully look at the fruit for any problems. The ribs aren't a problem on your first one. We have had some rib up early and grew large. To answer about aborting, you could try to grow 2 on a main but usually they will either drain each other or one will take over and the other might abort or just slow down a lot. You want only 1 on your main. Once you remove one the other will pick up the pace. We do allow fruit to set farther down and/or on secondaries as shock absorbers, but we don't let them get very big. Hope this helps, Sherry

7/26/2006 11:29:10 AM

Syracuse, NY

the scraggly-looking area you refer to
MAY someday be a problem, but then again it just might be the fruit showing its "true colors". later in the pumpkin's life, the distortion in the fruit may be caused by a
"sag line", or internal thinness, of the wall of the fruit,
but, it is on the underside of the fruit basically, and less of a concern than if it were right on top.
i am sure many fruit have looked lousy to begin with and ended-up being someone's personal best.
if there are NO other pumpkins on the plant, then i would
flip a quarter as to which one to cull off...DILEMMA!

if there is another fruit anywhere on the plant as a shock absorber, i would KeeP the bigger fruit and cull off the smaller one. yes, in most cases that IIIIIIII have seen,
of two neighboring fruit, one will croak automatically.
one of them may already be aborting, so check very well for
any softness on the larger one, aGaiN, lol------eric

7/26/2006 11:32:03 AM

Syracuse, NY

hey, here's i rhyme i just thought-up:

got plenty o' plants?
THEN, TAKE A CHANCE!

ha ha ha

7/26/2006 11:33:02 AM