Re: seedling mounds

Here is something I wrote a bit ago and have continued to update...later there
is a section on the "pits" or Mounds....
Davebs Early Season Work!

Ah, the precious seeds:
The watermelons are first up and I start them late March.  To start the seeds,
I place them in warm damp folded napkins in zip lock bags that are labeled
with the genetics.  I put the zip lock bags into my germination chamber.  This
chamber is a 40 qt Coleman cooler. I place into the cooler a heating mat that
is controlled by a digital temp controller and set it for 90 degrees.  I also
put 2b of Styrofoam on the mat, so when I have the seeds resting on that
(and the  temp probe) it is pretty even heat. The key is 90 deg and stable..if
colder they might not germinateb&they are very fussyb&.not like pumpkins.

In my basement, I have my grow lights set up (4 lights across). Under the
lights, I have a flat with an 8b dome and 4b clay pots ready to go (small
greenhouse).   I have a heat mat under the flat and with the warmth from the
lights keep it at about 80-85 degrees. I  do not turn the lights off.
However, I do open up the dome (has vents) to keep the humidity down a
bitb&otherwise the plants will rot fast.

The seeds are checked and once sprouted, are moved down to  the 4b clay pots
and are tagged for genetics.  Normally about 1-3 days to sprout.  Once they
break ground...another 2-4 daysb&I try to remove the dome and get them
bdryb again.  The dome is used with the heat mat to keep the temp warm
until the seedlings are out of the ground.  I try to keep the grow lights
about 3b off the plant.  Once they have formed a true leaf (3rd one), I
transplant them to a 1 gallon Kempbs ice cream bucket. This bucket has been
turned over and the bottom cut off and the lid is now the base(making into a
big pot).  This makes for easy transplanting to the garden, as I just pop the
lid and it slides into the hole in the garden without bothering the roots.
(Note: This is a George Heyne trick.) I try to get 1-2 ft vine before
transplanting to the garden.

For pumpkins, I apply the same process, except for a few changes.  Temp is
lowerb&80-90 degrees. I start them around April 15th.  They will also sprout
faster, 30-48 hrs.  I move the sprouted seeds to 6b clay pots and then will
transfer them to the garden by end of April, as they grow fast!  So they just
stay a few days in the pots (5-7 days).

I use a premium seed starter bag and mix it with a normal potting soil bag and
then also add some Mychro rhizza (BIO ENDO GROW from Hollandbs web site:
http://www.hollandsgiants.com/).


Ah, the painful pits:
I have prepared the garden with cow manure and compost piles for each of my 5
bpitsb.
Plus in 2012, Ibll try to add black soil to lower my Organic %. (no
compost)
This was done in the fall and all unloaded by handJ.  I first mark off a 10 ft
diameter circle and then start shoveling and keeping the soil clear of the
holeb&so maybe 3 feet between the circle and the old dirt. This is used as a
way to bring in the manure and compost with a big wheelbarrow.  You will also
need to leave some gaps for the wheelbarrow to access the bpitb.  Once I
have dug it out, around 2ft deepb&about 2-3 hours of digging per hole.   I
refill the hole back with a mixture of compost and manure and also rototill it
as I go.  I also add these items:
65 lbs Humates
65 lbs Kelp
65 lbs Calphos
25 lbs Gypsum
80 lbs Worm Casting
03 lbs Mychro rhizza
65 lbs Lime
1/3 bag of peat
This also gets tilled in.

Now, I put a 6 B= ft metal post right in the middle of the circle.  This will
be used later to know where the 2 stumps are (2 plants on each side of the
post are grown via the Xmas tree method).  I also use the post to hang
sprinklers and run a hose up it and out of the garden for access, later in the
year.  Ibll also drop some boards perpendicular to the post and stumpsb&as
an access walk to the stumps.

Next, I put in my 40 ft heating cables in a circle around the postb&about 6-9
inches further out each time.  I put the plug into a Kemps ice-cream bucket to
protect it from rain and also to run a power cord to it.  I put small holes in
the side for the cords and one in bottom for drainage. I place a rock inside,
to keep it anchored and one on top of the lid.

The final touch is to build up an 8b mound of soil around where the plant
will go (small pit) and  use 4x4s cut to lengths that go on top of the mound
area to raise it higher so that I can put a window panel on top (cheap
greenhouse)b&since these plants go out before end the Aprilb&they need to be
able to handle some very cold nights plus snow.  Once they outgrow this, I put
a remay over them with 9 gauge wire.  I will create a series of loops down the
path the main vine will go later for  main vine (bgolden pipeb)
protection.

Note: I also put in 2 6b pots into the soil as if the plants were there so
when I do bring out the plantsb&I just pull the pot and put the potted plant
right there.

As you can see for 10 plants/5 holesb&this takes a lot of hoursb&.and this
is just for the pumpkins!  I do a lot less for the watermelon, but a similar
pattern.

I hope this helps!
David Bhaskaran
1355   lbs is my biggest ever grown pumpkin in 2009.
195     lbs is my biggest ever watermelon in 2007.
194.5  lbs in 2010




-----Original Message-----
From: Alan R. Laginess <alaginess@bop.gov>
To: pumpkin <pumpkins@hort.net>
Sent: Wed, Apr 25, 2012 9:20 pm
Subject: Re: seedling mounds


You may want to take a look at www.bigpumpkins.com  There is a lot of
nfo on the site for you to use. I would get some bags of compost and
ake you mounds with that and regular garden soil. Mix in some micro for
etter root growth.
>>> Debbie Runkle <yorunk13@att.net> 4/25/2012 9:00 PM >>>
hat type of soil/compost do I need for my planting mounds?  Also, how
arge
hould they be?
Is it better to start your seedlings in peat pots rather than regular
ots?
Debbie
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