Minerals for Pumpkins

[Pavel314]

I had a soil test done on our gardens and have added the recommended amount s of the minerals they were low on. One area is going to be the pumpkin/squ ash patch. I read that pumpkins like acidic soil but I can't find any refer ence as to any specific minerals that pumpkins need. The best I can find go ogling around is that pumpkins "need a variety of trace minerals."

Does anyone know of any specific needs, like zinc or molybdenum? Or should having the basic garden vegetable minerals be sufficient?

Paul

[David Hare-Scott]

I wouldn't fuss about trace elements unless your analysis show serious deficiencies. Unless your soil is deficient it is far more important to have sun, water, gross nutrients and bees.

Pumpkins are gross feeders and in hot weather it can be hard to keep the water up to them so that they do not wilt and so stop growing. To grow them well it is easiest to have rich slightly heavy soil that holds water and nutrients well. It goes without saying that full sun is most important and unless you want to hand pollinate you will need bees. Discounting cattle fodder and competition cultivars the normal edible sort can make 200kg (500lbs) of tissue (fruit, leaves, stem and roots) and cover 50sq m (500sqft) in a season and that isn't possible unless the conditions are right.