Post Reply
User avatar
TheWaterbug
Greener Thumb
Posts: 1068
Joined: Mon May 02, 2011 9:15 pm
Location: Los Angeles

Sudden Pumpkin Death

So my [url=https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=251618#251618]volunteer pumpkins[/url] were chugging along, all by themselves, and doing pretty well without any care or water.

Then on Sunday I decided to help them out a bit, so I watered them all. 9 out of 10 reacted like this:

[img]https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3552590/HealthyPumpkin_w.jpg[/img]

That pumpkin looks like it grew a few inches the next day.

But this guy reacted like this:

[img]https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3552590/SuddenPumpkinDeath_w.jpg[/img]

:(

I've never seen anything like. If I dig it out, am I going to see a big gopher tunnel underneath?
Sunset 23/USDA 11a, Elev. 783', Frost free since 8,000 BC. Plagued by squirrels, gophers, and peafowl, but coming to terms with it!
User avatar
jal_ut
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 7480
Joined: Mon Jan 19, 2009 3:20 am
Location: Northern Utah Zone 5

Cutworm? I think something clipped its roots.
Gardening at 5000 feet elevation, zone 4/5 Northern Utah, Frost free from May 25 to September 8 +/-
User avatar
applestar
Mod
Posts: 28181
Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 11:21 pm
Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M

How did you water? Is there any chance that the water was hot from sitting in the hose?
mscratch
Senior Member
Posts: 101
Joined: Sun Feb 19, 2012 12:59 pm
Location: S.E. Mo.

sure looks like what a cutworm does for it to be in that shape that fast.
User avatar
soil
Greener Thumb
Posts: 1855
Joined: Fri Jan 23, 2009 1:40 am
Location: N. California

Then on Sunday I decided to help them out a bit,
i think this was your downfall. looks like when a gopher clips a plants roots here.
For all things come from earth, and all things end by becoming earth.
User avatar
TheWaterbug
Greener Thumb
Posts: 1068
Joined: Mon May 02, 2011 9:15 pm
Location: Los Angeles

I don't see any obvious cutworm damage above the soil. Tomorrow I'm going to dig it out and do an autopsy :(

If there's a gopher tunnel underneath I'm going to stomp up and down and use some harsh language. :roll: I may even shake my fist a few times.

I do have a few birds of prey in my area. Is there a way to "trap" a gopher above ground so that it can't dig back down, but so that a bird can swoop down and pick it up? Would that be considered cruel?
Sunset 23/USDA 11a, Elev. 783', Frost free since 8,000 BC. Plagued by squirrels, gophers, and peafowl, but coming to terms with it!
User avatar
TheWaterbug
Greener Thumb
Posts: 1068
Joined: Mon May 02, 2011 9:15 pm
Location: Los Angeles

Well, I'm pretty sure it was a gopher. I went to look around the base of the plant, and it was gone. The whole base of the plant was gone:

[img]https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3552590/PumpkinRemains.jpg[/img]

I couldn't even tell where the roots had been.

Then I looked around the garden and saw a drooping sunflower, and its base was submerged in a hole :(

[img]https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3552590/MurderedSunflower.jpg[/img]

The bottom of the stem looked pretty grim:

[img]https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3552590/MurderedSunflowerDetail.jpg[/img]

A few days later I was about 10 yards away, and I heard a "crunching" sound. I turned around and watched some scrub brush being pulled backwards into the earth!

I think I'm going to amend my signature. :x
Sunset 23/USDA 11a, Elev. 783', Frost free since 8,000 BC. Plagued by squirrels, gophers, and peafowl, but coming to terms with it!
Post Reply

Return to “Vegetable Gardening Forum”