Pumpkins

[David Hare-Scott]

How odd. I have heard of spraying with milk against mildew but not pouring it on the ground.

D

[Gunner]

It was a "tip" told to a competitor in a bar one night.

[Gunner]

That would depend on the direction you going or how your reading track, don=92t ya think?...

We are talking manipulating plants to grow Giants here David, Your tweaking this puppy up as much as you can. Hundreds of methods/ examples out there to do that..no reason.. just picked this one because he Power Points (visual) and has street creds and perhaps see it from a different perspective:

and shoots. Set em up for the big race. I'm sure your methods might work well.

Yeah......and yet not so much with pumpkins as other cucurbits, right? Regardless, these nodes are nothing but a pipeline pumping station for the vine's apical dominance wanderlust. Stop that. Also the extraneous leaf area is a water waster to the tune of several gallon a day. So If you don=92t need them, don't spend the energy to operate them. Again it is not quantity you seek , but quality, your tweaking this. Extraneous vines and leave distract from that goal.

David, again the man is fueling up a giant pumpkin for the big race. You could very well run it with the biofuel blend, tweaking it as you go or since you spent all this effort to set it up for these conditions=85. you go with that you know works well, get the nitro out.

I thought that was the point, to go all out! But =93chemferts=94=85thats a "really, billy". Still splitting hairs to get to the same point. I=92m of the camp it not so much what you use, but how you use it.

As for foliar sprays? Maybe? just never been in my regime since reading this:

[KPSpellman]

I've grown numerous "large" pumpkins here in the US, and can tell you that there are several factors at play in growing really big ones. One is to prepare your garden bed with well rotted manure, (I use horse or cow), and do so deeply. Pumpkin roots run deep and the plants feed heavily. Make a "hill" in to which you would deposited four to six of your seeds, covering them to a depth of about 1". At the three week mark after germination, select the two largest plants, and snip off every other plant. From these two, allow them plenty of space to grow, caring not to snip or prune anything just yet. The goal is to get the largest, more robust vines possible, as large fruit rarely grow on wispy vines. Once you begin to see the female flowers forming, select the two healthiest looking for your project. Upon their opening, hand pollinate both, using a cotton swab and transferring pollen from the male flowers to the female stigma. Pumpkin size is directly linked to the level of pollination achieved, so don't leave it to chance/bees. After you've noticed that the pollination has taken, (usually two weeks to be certain), begin to remove all subsequent male and female flowers, along with any developing side branches. This will divert all energies in to the formation of the pumpkins. Given a good warm summer with plenty of rainfall, one should be able to achieve a fairly good sized pumpkin.

[Ohioguy]

I have a small amount of experience with this. Nearly 25 years ago, I grew several 'Atlantic Giant' pumpkins. I put lots of composted (and a small amount of fresh) horse manure in a deep hole under the plants. I also watered regularly, and thinned the pumpkins once there were 2 or

3 to a plant.

Especially important is mulching around the plant, but you don't want to put straw right up where the leaves join the plant. The plant will put out additional root systems at these areas which will help give additional moisture and nutrients to the plant. It will also help anchor the plant against damaging winds.

I ended up with a 263 pound pumpkin, which won 1st at the county fair, and would have taken 1st at state if I had been able to get it there that year. I've always wanted to grow another huge pumpkin. From what I've read, these are actually squash, but most folks treat them as pumpkins.

If I tried it again, I would use drip irrigation and a timer, to make sure the plant got optimum amounts of water.

[Steve Peek]

You'd have to get about 4 times that size to be in the running any more.

[Ohioguy]

I've read that. We had more than half a dozen relatives over just to load that 263 pound one, and I have no idea how anyone would possibly load or transport something like this up near half a ton.

[Steve Peek]

They are placed on a materials pallet when still quite small and then handled with a forklift.

[Jim Elbrecht]

Haha--- 100 square feet was a bit optimistic. OTOH- I'm planting them again next year. Thanks Bill-

I'm in zone 5/6 so I planted 6 seeds in the basement under lights 3 weeks before planting time. 3 sprouted and were transplanted to a hill. One survived. [I don't know if the woodchuck or something else got the others.]

It apparently didn't like the hill site, as one night it took off and went 10 feet east to the bean trellis. It was so entangled with the beans by the time I noticed it I just let it be.

After climbing up and over that trellis it went to the next one. [and pulled it down.]

I only harvested 2 squash - but it seems to be most of what it claimed to be. [though my squash were small] One was 7 lbs- the other about

4/5. The flavor is mild, but otherwise like a butternut. I cut off a pound on Sept 11 -- It really does just 'heal itself up! I cut off another pound 2 weeks later.

I just finished the big one. Cutting off a pound every couple of weeks-- then slicing off 1/2" to clean up the 'scabbed' end worked fine. It got a little 'sweeter' as it aged.

The second squash remained on the vine until Nov 1 or so--- I've got a lot of other squash to eat, so we'll see how long this one keeps before cutting it.

Jim