Re: seedling mounds

Do you water around the mound during the season?  Also, do you use anything 
special for your mounds, i.e. compost, etc.





________________________________
From: George & Carolyn Heyne <gheyne@millcomm.com>
To: pumpkins@hort.net
Sent: Thu, April 26, 2012 4:27:05 PM
Subject: Re: seedling mounds

Debbie,

I have just a very small mound for my pumpkin plants. There is just enough slope 
so that water will not stand around the base of the plant.

George Heyne

----- Original Message ----- From: "Debbie Runkle" <yorunk13@att.net>
To: <pumpkins@hort.net>
Sent: Thursday, April 26, 2012 10:34 AM
Subject: Re: seedling mounds


> uh, I am still unclear the size of the mound (diameter and height).  It can't 
>be
> too large since I will be placing a 8'Lx6'W greenhouse over it.  Since I lost
> all of my pumpkins last year (one was barely maturing when it rotted) I'm a
> little paranoid this year.
> 
> Debbie
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ________________________________
> From: "dbhaskaran@aol.com" <dbhaskaran@aol.com>
> To: pumpkins@hort.net
> Sent: Wed, April 25, 2012 10:15:04 PM
> Subject: 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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