Pumpkin plot

[Mortenson]

I plant a bunch of pumpkins every year and I've never seen anything eat all of the pumpkin leaves like that. Your weed control around the pumpkins might have been too good - the pumpkins stuck out like a turd in a punch bowl! Once the pumpkins get established they can really hold their own against weeds so I don't get too worried about weeds in that area. Perhaps the weeds in my pumpkin patches hide them from critters that like pumpkin leaves.

I bet your pumpkins will bounce back and still produce. Hopefully you can get a crack at the woodchuck that did that damage.

You were right that the pumpkins bounced back and still produced. We walked away from it after that. Stopped spraying Deer Out and let it grow up in weeds. Came back some time later and amazingly had a pumpkin patch. The kids had their cousins come in over Labor day and everyone got to pick a few. One of the Atlantic giant seeds somehow threw a vine out that counted and we found a pretty big pumpkin hidden in there. Hoping to get some good seeds out of it. A lot still being eaten and destroyed by the groundhog and squirrel.

 

[Mortenson]

Anyone get any pumpkins in this year? The kids wanted a nice patch, so we're trying again. Got 3 seeds from last year's atlantic giant to germinate. Their goal is a two or three hundred pounder. No deer or groundhog damage yet, just striped cucumber beetles the past few days.

 

[b116757]

An old man I knew growing up grew sweet pie pumpkins just for the deer they loved them.

 

[SD51555]

Anyone get any pumpkins in this year? The kids wanted a nice patch, so we're trying again. Got 3 seeds from last year's atlantic giant to germinate. Their goal is a two or three hundred pounder. No deer or groundhog damage yet, just striped cucumber beetles the past few days.

I’ve got 80-100 seeds in the ground in my yard plot. I hadn’t planned on any even germinating because it hasn’t rained. Slap my crown royal bag if those SOB’s didn’t germinate. Reminds me, I need to water them before I leave.

Might even take a picture.


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[Barndog56]

Here's my plot so far. On the far right you can see half of a row of sunflowers. There's 4 more rows to the right of it. Then a row of Big Max pumpkins. Each plant will produce 2 or 3 pumpkins in the 50 pound range. Then there's a row of comfrey, and on the far left a row of Crimson Sweet watermelon. To the left of it will be a row of Jarrahdale pumpkins after I kill off the grass. It's a blue-gray pumpkin. I'll also plant a row of Autumn Gold pumpkins in a raised garden bed. It only puts out 3 foot vines, but still has 2 or 3 carving size pumpkins per plant.

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[SD51555]

I ran back and watered. I also had an idea come to me while I was having lunch. My yard plot got the reset two weeks ago. It’s just sitting there baking. I scratched in my pumpkin varieties and a bunch of different heirloom squash and pumpkins.

I’ve got about ten yards of sawmill and planer dust at my place now. I decided to quick put some around all my sprouts to keep the sun off, and then I watered them.

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[SD51555]

Here’s the idea, and so help me Bill Gates, but if I see this on a deer guru’s YouTube channel in the next year, I’m gonna come outta the booth.

To speed up the planting process, I tested about eight 4-seed hills of Connecticut field pumpkin and 50 pound jumbo pink banana squash. I simply put my seeds down where I had bare soil, covered them in about 2” of sawdust, watered generously, and walked away. No digging, and almost no bending over.

I have to redeem myself for that snow seeding winter rye idea.


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[Barndog56]

That's how I plant the sunflowers in my pumpkin plot. I saved seed from the previous year, and just sprinkle them down the row. Then I cover them with my composted horse manure, and water it in. They won't grow as large of a head as the ones growing in my raised bed soil, but they're just ornamental.

 

[Barndog56]

Here's a pic of the sunflower row.

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[Mortenson]

Yeah we've been hauling water to them nearly every day. Wish ours were smaller. I think I screwed up and planted them too early. It's pretty addictive to watch them grow when things are going well. Main vine on our best candidate is about 6' long now. I heard to remove all pumpkins before 10' if not more. At 6" per day we should hopefully be able to hand pollinate a pumpkin in less than 10 days.