Charisma is described by Johnny's as being highly mildew resistant. That is appealing to me as we rested the ground normally used for pumpkin growing last year (after amending the soil) as we had a well and truly wicked infestation of PM in 2006. So I will be trying again this year but want to start with a good pumpkin.

Thanks for any feedback.

Kate

Anyway back to your question, all of the pumpkins you listed look great. If PM is a problem then you should definitely go with a resistant variety. I almost always have powdery mildew by then end of the season. For me it only seems to attack the plants once they are mature and already have several fruits growing on them. Because the fruit has already set I am never concerned by PM. I've noticed that the old leaves (closest to the base of the plant) are the ones to be affected first. So at the first sign of PM on a leaf I just cut it right off to keep the plant looking healthy awhile longer. By this point the plants are mature and have so many growing points that I know more leaves are being added to the plant than I am removing on any day. After awhile of removing leaves the PM finally wins and I just let my plants finish their life cycle.

Have you ever tried Eco-Erase? A friend suggested that as a possible organic treatment for PM. I appreciate all of your information.

I did end up trying to order Charisma from Johnny's but they were way backordered. So instead they are shipping me Tom Fox. Also like I said I will be planting Jack be Little's and maybe one or two plants from whatever the local hardware store has for pumpkin seeds.

Kate

I've wondered about my pumpkin patch from 2006 if the reason the problem was so prevalent was due to very early planting. I had seeds going in the spring and harvested pumpkins in September. It was really quite ridiculous. Since PM normally is most present at the end of the season I plan to time my plantings better this year.

Kate