ABOUT PUMPKINS
(Page 5 of 7)
Pinch off the growing tip of the main stem to encourage
more fruit-bearing side shoots to emerge, then help these
form their own roots by heaping fertile soil over them. To
prevent long vines from wandering out of their planned
growing space — and getting into no end of trouble
— pin them to the soil with staple-shaped pieces of
soft wire. Otherwise, pinch off the fuzzy ends of
too-rampant vines. (These trimmed-off stems can be cooked
like spinach.)
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When the pumpkin babies reach two or three inches in
diameter, remove all but three or four fruits on each vine,
culling those growing near the ends of the plant while
saving those nearest the base. Any small pumpkins that form
too late to mature before the first heavy frost should also
be picked off — as painful as the process may be.
What to Watch For
With the exception of scab, a fungus that mainly attacks
cucumbers, pumpkins are susceptible to the same diseases
and insects common to other cucurbit crops. In fact, squash
bugs (also called stink bugs because of their obnoxious
odor) and squash vine borers prefer squash and pumpkins to
other members of the cucurbit family.
Squash bugs (brownish black and about 3/4-inch long) feed
on plant tissues until the vines wilt and die. They can be
handpicked, as can their brick-red eggs found lying in
clusters on the leaves. These pests can be controlled by
sowing repellent plants, such as radishes, nasturtiums or
marigolds, around the patch. For severe infestations, trap
the bugs under boards, dust them with diatomaceous earth,
or—if necessary—use rotenone. Squash bugs are
generally more of a problem with the smaller bush-type
varieties, so if you can't spend much time in your pumpkin
patch, you may want to plant one of the field types, which
are less attractive to these insects.
Squash vine borers (white, one-inch-long caterpillars with
brown heads) tunnel into stems, causing the plant to wilt.
To keep ahead of this problem, look for small holes with
sawdustlike droppings. If you spot one, slit open the stem,
pull out the pest, and put the stem back together with
masking tape or cover it with dirt at the rupture point so
it will reroot. Bacillus thuringiensis, lime dust
and wood ashes also discourage these destructive borers.
Cucumber beetles (1/4-inch long with black heads and yellow
or green wings with black spots or stripes) can chew the
leaves off the vines. Even worse, they spread bacterial
wilt, which begins with the wilting of a single leaf,
followed by the gradual demise of the entire plant. Again,
radishes planted nearby will tempt the disease-spreading
beetles away from the pumpkins, or you can control the bugs
with pyrethrum or rotenone. Other defenses are to cover the
young plants with cheesecloth and to mulch them heavily. If
a plant is struck down with bacterial wilt, destroy it to
keep the disease from spreading.
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