Pumpkin plot
- Thread starter CedarSwamp
- Start date
Jordan Selsor
5 year old buck +
What seed you recommend? Will you plant around the same date? You just Time them with brassicas usually!
swat1018
5 year old buck +
I planted Howden from Harris seed. I'm far from an expert but planted them off of someone on here's recommendation. Considering the drought in NEMO last summer, I was glad to have any. I ordered a pound of seed for this summer!
I have been growing pumpkins for years in my food plot. As others have said, the deer do not touch them much while they are growing. Youll see teeth marks scratch the surface of a few as the deer are trying to determine if they are ripe or not. The following is what I have learned over the years in NY/PA in order of eating
Do not use Atlantic giants, nothing eats them
butternut squash plant many
White/ghost pumpkin
Dickinson pumpkin
Jarrahdale
Regular orange pumpkin
For the money, just use leftover seeds from the carving pumpkins. And add in butternut squash seeds from grocery store produce. You will have the best food plot in the area.
Do not use Atlantic giants, nothing eats them
butternut squash plant many
White/ghost pumpkin
Dickinson pumpkin
Jarrahdale
Regular orange pumpkin
For the money, just use leftover seeds from the carving pumpkins. And add in butternut squash seeds from grocery store produce. You will have the best food plot in the area.
sagittarius
5 year old buck +
I see very few on pumpkin plants or apple trees .... by me the Japanese beetles seem to prefer soybean, wild grape, asparagus, and geranium leaves.
S.T.Fanatic
5 year old buck +
Anybody have any deer hitting your pumpkins? I plan on putting more into my mix next year on the bottom property. I'm more than likely done planting plots up top for now.
hillrunner
5 year old buck +
I've never tried it in a plot before but they eat the ones we don't pick in the garden. They also eat the squash and zucchini. I may try this next year in a small plot, nothing to lose.
hillrunner
5 year old buck +
Catscratch
5 year old buck +
They didn't come up to the front porch, but they did eat a big pile of them out of my plots. They stood in the pile for about 1.5wks and ate them all. I like growing them but unsure if I'll go to the effort again.
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hillrunner
5 year old buck +
Do you do anything for weed control or just leave the Vines to fend for themselves?
swat1018
5 year old buck +
I plant them early - mid July. This year I tilled till weed free and planted the seed. I sprayed clethodium once for grasses. They did fine, other than not enough rain.
In my pumpkin patch, which grown for pumpkins to sell, I grow buckwheat for weed control. It reseeds and comes back on it's own each year. The buckwheat leaves will droop before pumpkins in dry weather, letting me know when to water. And the bees brought in by the buckwheat ensure all my pumpkins are pollinated.
Catscratch
5 year old buck +
Anybody else have major problems with squash bugs? They wipe out my plot if I don't spray regularly.
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I have grown pumpkins and squash for over 20 years on our property. About 1/4 acre, mostly just for family and friends although in good years I will fill the back of my truck up several times for the trip home. Initially the deer weren't interested in the pumpkins at all and would not eat any even if I broke them up. This year I was lucky to harvest any pumpkins, as the deer ate them as soon as they developed. Worse yet they devoured all of the butternut squash and we did not harvest one. I am still undecided if I will attempt to plant any next year.
I am able to control squash bugs them by dusting the young plants with sevin, after the first few weeks the plants are able to do well on their own.
I am able to control squash bugs them by dusting the young plants with sevin, after the first few weeks the plants are able to do well on their own.
I have planted pumpkins a few times in my food plot. First year they did great, I had so many pumpkins the deer had food until spring thaw. The next year they had half of them gone by deer season. The third year I didn’t see a single one. The deer loved them and ate them green. This next season I am going to plant them in my soybean plot and fence it in. I am going to plant my soybeans and after they come up I will spray weed killer, and then I will plant my pumpkins by hand in hills. I hope this will keep the weeds down and the deer out until I am ready for the to eat them. Deer will fight for pumpkins.
swat1018
5 year old buck +
Heck of a plan, I think I'll borrow that one. It sounds like you plant pumpkins after pumpkins, with buckwheat growing all the time. Any disease pressure? Any other secrets!
I add a wheelbarrow load of horse manure to each Hill in the fall, and plant right back into it in spring. The buckwheat is so thick I can't walk through it. Pumpkin vines will actually grow up on top of the buckwheat so the pumpkin leaves get sunlight. No insect or disease pressure in the pumpkin patch, garden, or orchard, due to healthy soil and lots of plant diversity.
This is our 150 pound English Mastiff checking out the Big Max pumpkins. I get $20 a piece for them.
