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Utah, [email protected]

We had a Big Hail storm this afternoon and the hail just shreded my leaves. the pumpkins are ok though

Is there any way to help them?

Do i still have a chance this season?



Thanks,
Bryson Ensign

8/12/2006 11:08:36 PM

Colorado Springs, Colorado

I do have some good news, and it's not about car
insurance. The leaves will grow themselves back, you just have to be patient, They Will Grow. You still have a chance this season, just wait it out. Don't prune any of the leaves that were damaged by the hail until you see a lot of new leaves.
-behemoth27, CO.

8/12/2006 11:31:00 PM

Riverton, WY

I had hail hit me in 03. Pretty well shredded all the leaves and most secondaries had been terminated so very few new leaves showed up. The hail hit when the fruit were around 100 lb and two of them ended up around 500 by season's end. Just keep them going as best you can. Here's a link to my first hail diary entry in 03.
http://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=13619

8/12/2006 11:42:22 PM

Colo.Spgs.CO. Pikes Peak Chapter @ [email protected]

The best hail damage remedy is hail preventitive medicine such as this link below which most experienced growers in my area use. My third year using the stuff and it works great, although it can get quite expensive. I guess that is what seperates the devoted grower from the others no matter what the cost. If you do not have it you will not grow a big pumpkin in this area due to our relentless hail storms....http://www.pakunlimited.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=142&mode=thread(
It also takes much dedication to soil and plant management to accomplish a big one also at our high altitude ( 6000+ feet )..... I still use 1/4 inch hardware cloth on a permanent frame to cover one of my whole patches for hail, and have been diong that for 7 years on one patch, but I came to find out in a soil test a couple of years ago that high levels of zinc leach every season from the galvanized mesh, and that mesh to cover a big area or the whole patch is almost 3 times as expensive as the fabric protection. Just a word of advice hope this helps....Happy Growing JK...

8/13/2006 4:10:48 AM

Ray, North Dakota

I had hail early in the season when my pumpkin was just pollinated. The blemishes are still evident as it grows larger.

The leaves that were hit and shredded are now falling prey to powdery mildew. Any breach in the leaves invites disease. As I treat for this as a preventative on my healthy leaves, I am letting my secondaries go wild to make up for the leaves that I have been trimming off. Right now I am at day 33 after pollination and the plant looks great, except the leaves where the hail nailed it. Make sure to treat with a fungicide right away on old and new growth as well.

8/13/2006 10:49:46 AM

Utah ([email protected])

Johnny, I was driving through that hail storm and the hail was as bad as I have ever seen it. I didn't make the patch tour but the storm raged through just a couple hours after the tour and I was wondering who would be in it's path.

My patch has been hit with 4 serious hail storms this year. The path of this storm was very narrow - you must live south of SLC.

Good luck. All is not lost.

8/13/2006 7:48:25 PM

Little-TON - Colorado

Oh the darn hail.....clean up any leaves and shreads around as this too will cause problems along with the damp cold that hail brings......if you have damage vines bury bury bury.....covering helps not to have to look at them too. Good Luck

8/14/2006 10:05:16 AM