Guest guest Posted October 10, 2006 Report Share Posted October 10, 2006 they are actually running out of pumpkins in the midwest and back east for halloween festivities, as they had a fungus which decimated the fruits this year >heartwerk <jo.heartwork >Oct 9, 2006 11:55 PM > > Largest Pumpkin ever ? > >WARREN, R.I. - Despite heavy rains that stunted pumpkin growth, a >Rhode Island farmer has set what could be a new record for the >largest pumpkin in the world. > >Ron Wallace's pumpkin weighed 1,502 pounds at Saturday's weigh-off >competition, heavier than the current Guinness World Record-holding >1,469-pound pumpkin grown last year by Larry Checkon of Pennsylvania. > >Wallace said at the 13th annual Rhode Island Southern New England >Giant Pumpkin Growers Championship that the key to growing a giant >pumpkin is the ability to commit to the task from April to October. > > " Pumpkin growing is a lot of work and you just have to stick with >it, " he said. > >It is also weather-dependent. > >Agriculture officials say the heavy rains this season have damaged or >stunted the crop of many competitive growers of giant pumpkins. >Central and southeastern Massachusetts were the hardest hit. > >Officials say heavy rain delayed planting, impeded pollination and >contributed to rot on blossoms and fruit. Another ailment, " damping- >off, " constricted pumpkin stems and contributed to the early death of >many plants. > > > > > >To send an email to - > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 10, 2006 Report Share Posted October 10, 2006 That's a shame - has it affected other squashes? Jo - " fraggle " <EBbrewpunx Tuesday, October 10, 2006 4:31 PM Re: Largest Pumpkin ever ? > they are actually running out of pumpkins in the midwest and back east for halloween festivities, as they had a fungus which decimated the fruits this year > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 10, 2006 Report Share Posted October 10, 2006 i don't know... i would assume so..but the market for squash in the US ain't very large as it is Pumpkin fungus could take some of the fun out of Halloween Associated Press Published October 4, 2006, 10:53 AM CDT LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Halloween lovers hoping to create the perfect jack-o-lantern might want to shop carefully this year because of a pumpkin fungus that has put a dent in some crops. Two types of fungus or rot have affected crops from the Midwest to New England, causing pumpkins to develop mold in some spots and then begin decomposing, said Daniel Egel, a Purdue University Extension plant pathologist. The entire inside of the pumpkin eventually rots until the shell falls apart. E-mail this story Printable format Search archives RSS A combination of high temperatures and record rain in August has helped the fungi flourish, Egel said. Nina Kent, co-owner of Kent's Cucurbits in White County, said one variety of her pumpkins has about 85 percent loss because of the rot. " We really didn't know until we went out and started picking around the 17th of September, " she said. " It's as if they're rotting from the inside out. " The rot has also hit Purdue University's Meigs Farm in Lafayette. Karen Rane, a plant disease diagnostician, turned over a pumpkin and the underside collapsed in her hands. " It's sporadic across the state, " she said. The pumpkin problems may mean more shopping for Halloween lovers like Lafayette resident Dave Gray. Gray decorates his home each year and said he buys as many pumpkins as possible to create jack-o-lanterns. " As a kid, I liked it better than Christmas because you get to dress up, " Gray said. At D & R Market in Lafayette, for example, jumbo pumpkins are not being sold this year. Tad Ritchie, a produce worker at the market, said the store had to stop selling the larger varieties because its supplier had none healthy enough to pick. The market is selling normal size pumpkins, but Ritchie fears that supply could run out before Halloween. " My grower told me he's only getting about a 40 percent yield, " Ritchie said. " It'll be bad for anybody that doesn't get one by about the 15th of October. " Shoppers should look for bright orange pumpkins with strong, green stems, which indicate the fruit was picked recently while the vine was healthy, Egel said. Consumers should also check for moldy areas or soft spots, especially on the bottom of the pumpkins, he said. Pumpkins should be stored in dry, shady areas until carving. As nightfall does not come at once, neither does oppression. In both instances, there's a twilight where everything remains seemingly unchanged, and it is in such twilight that we must be aware of change in the air, however slight, lest we become unwitting victims of the darkness. William O. Douglas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 13, 2006 Report Share Posted October 13, 2006 I had a dream earlier months that I would have pumpking growing by halloween, it was ideal because i have never done that.. but something happened and they died. I suspect it was that fungus. i will try again. , fraggle <EBbrewpunx wrote: > > i don't know... > i would assume so..but the market for squash in the US ain't very large as it is > Pumpkin fungus could take some of the fun out of Halloween > > Associated Press > Published October 4, 2006, 10:53 AM CDT > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 13, 2006 Report Share Posted October 13, 2006 The one thing about squash ( and sunflowers /chilies ) you get plenty of seeds from one fruit/flower! The Valley Vegan...........Anouk Sickler <zurumato wrote: I had a dream earlier months that I would have pumpking growing by halloween, it was ideal because i have never done that..but something happened and they died. I suspect it was that fungus. i will try again. , fraggle wrote:>> i don't know...> i would assume so..but the market for squash in the US ain't verylarge as it is> Pumpkin fungus could take some of the fun out of Halloween> > Associated Press> Published October 4, 2006, 10:53 AM CDT> To send an email to - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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