RE: pumpkins DIGEST V1 #55

Hello 

Tad with Cub Pack 819

Are ants a problem,  do they eat the pollen?  I have male and female blossoms filled with ants.  Can I use ant stakes to get rid of them?

What are the consequences of having ants on my pumpkin blossoms and sun Flowers?

Thanks 

Tad

-----Original Message-----
From: pumpkins DIGEST [p*@hort.net] 
Sent: Friday, August 06, 2004 1:01 AM
To: pumpkins-digest@hort.net
Subject: pumpkins DIGEST V1 #55



pumpkins DIGEST         Friday, August 6 2004         Volume 01 : Number 055



In this issue:

        Ginat Veggie Growers
        Re: Steps to good soil
        RE: Steps to good soil
        ants
        RE: ants
        RE: ants
        Tall Tales.....

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Thu, 5 Aug 2004 07:40:01 EDT
From: Ezpumpkin@aol.com
Subject: Ginat Veggie Growers

I'm passing this along to anyone who is growing giant veggies and wants to see thier "mug" on TV. Contact info is in the message.

Please tell them Pumpkin Nook sent you......

Garden Giants III on HGTV



Garden Giants III, a one-hour special airing on Home and Garden Television, features the countries most passionate gardeners that grow extra large fruits and vegetables. High Noon Productions of Centennial Colorado, produces a variety of programming for HGTV, as well as CMT, The Food Network, The Style Network, Fine Living, Animal Planet and other major cable networks.

For the third year in a row, High Noon Productions is looking for growers of giants that have a story to tell. In previous years we have filmed pumpkins packing serious poundage, a new world record set with a five foot stalk of celery at the Alaska State Fair, and water lilies you can surf on. We're always treating the viewers to a world that most probably didn't even know existed.

If you are a grower that has a particularly large fruit, vegetable, or plant you want to share with the world please contact our researchers Sarah Martin at (303) 712-3238 or Connie Burge at (303) 712-3326, or by email at sarah_martin@cable.comcast.com or connie_burge@cable.comcast.com
 
If you are chosen to be on Garden Giants III, we would like to do an interview, get some of your growing advice and document the harvest. We also would like to film any competitions you enter your produce in.

Our crew consists of one photographer and one producer and will come to your garden.

To find out more about High Noon Productions please visit our website at www.highnoonproductions.com


Bob Matthews

 Pumpkin Nook
Date: Thu, 5 Aug 2004 05:12:09 -0700
From: "Rebecca Steward" <Rebkin1@worldnet.att.net>
Subject: Re: Steps to good soil

Jake-
Get a hold of one or more of Don Langevin's books "How to grow World Class Giant Pumpkins"  He has 3 books published now,  I bought book #3 this year, but from what info I've gathered, it is in the fall that you start preparing your patch for next years planting. Although I compost everything from lawn clippings, leaves and kitchen scraps--( veggie cuttings, coffee grounds, etc. NO MEAT OR COOKED PRODUCTS!!! PRODUCE CUTTINGS ONLY---) and add the "ripened" humus to my soil all year long. Soil testing should be done early enough in the Spring before planting, so if any adjustments need to be made, they can be done before planting time in early May-June, depending on where you live. There are several reputable labs where you can send off soil samples for testing. These can range from basic mineral and pH analysis to very specific and complicated tests w/ price ranges to match. Talk to other growers in your area to get advice where they have their soil tested. Or peruse the Internet for soil testing labs or call your local County extension agency to see if there is a soil testing  lab in your area. Hope some of this helps, but do at least get a copy of  book one &/or book 2 by Don Langevin.  the books are available at Amazon.com or I think you can order directly from Don (does
anyone out there have order info for Don's books???)   but they're  packed
full of pumpkin growing tips collected from several different sources, growers and the authors' own expertise and experience. Beautiful photos too! Good Luck and have FUN! Always the best.... Rebecca "Rebkin" Steward Martinez,  CA
- ----- Original Message -----
From: "Jacob Byrd" <jakethebyrd@yahoo.com>
To: <pumpkins@hort.net>
Sent: Wednesday, August 04, 2004 6:44 PM
Subject: Steps to good soil


> My soil is terrible right now, and I want to know the steps you go 
> through
to improve your soil. Like when to test,  add stuff, tet ph, fix ph, etc.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Jake Byrd
Date: Thu, 05 Aug 2004 08:02:37 -0600
From: "Cliff Warren" <cliffrwarren@hotmail.com>
Subject: RE: Steps to good soil

Add as much organic matter as you can... that right there is always a good approach. After that, focus on what the tests say.

Regards, Cliff


>From: Jacob Byrd <jakethebyrd@yahoo.com>
>Reply-To: pumpkins@hort.net
>To: pumpkins@hort.net
>Subject: Steps to good soil
>Date: Wed, 4 Aug 2004 18:44:10 -0700 (PDT)
>
>My soil is terrible right now, and I want to know the steps you go 
>through
>to improve your soil. Like when to test,  add stuff, tet ph, fix ph, etc.
>
>Thanks,
>
>Jake Byrd
>
>---------------------------------------------------------------------
http://messenger.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200471ave/direct/01/
Date: Thu, 05 Aug 2004 08:07:37 -0800
From: "kathie morgan" <fishrap@earthlink.net>
Subject: ants

Now we have ants on the plants. Not swarms but ...
What can we use to make them go bye-bye?
Thanks!
Kathie
- --
Date: Thu, 5 Aug 2004 11:47:18 -0400
From: "Tom" <t.privitera@verizon.net>
Subject: RE: ants

Try Sevin, used lightly, it will not kill the bees.
Tom (Bohica)
- -----Original Message-----
From: owner-pumpkins@hort.net [o*@hort.net] On Behalf Of kathie morgan
Sent: Thursday, August 05, 2004 12:08 PM
To: Hort Pumpkins
Subject: ants

Now we have ants on the plants. Not swarms but ...
What can we use to make them go bye-bye?
Thanks!
Kathie
- --
Date: Thu, 5 Aug 2004 10:21:17 -0700
From: "Toby" <mr-sprout@sbcglobal.net>
Subject: RE: ants

Kathie, what happened to your aardvark?  Is he on vacation or something?
:-)

Toby

mr-sprout@sbcglobal.net


- -----Original Message-----
From: owner-pumpkins@hort.net [o*@hort.net] On Behalf Of kathie morgan
Sent: Thursday, August 05, 2004 9:08 AM
To: Hort Pumpkins
Subject: ants

Now we have ants on the plants. Not swarms but ...
What can we use to make them go bye-bye?
Thanks!
Kathie
- --
Date: Thu, 5 Aug 2004 10:32:56 -0700 (PDT)
From: vince <anaid_tecuod@yahoo.com>
Subject: Tall Tales.....

I don't like tall leaf stems.  They are a problem - making leaves more vulnerable to wind damage and sucking energy from the plant to elevate themselves in the world.  My 1230 Daletas plant last year had short stems and the leaves survived the buffeting by the wind much better than my taller plant.

I think the leaves that do the tall stem thing are sun seekers
- - that try to one-up their neighbors to pig out on borrowed rays.  So extra tall leaves probably mean that your vines are too close together and the leaves are crowding each other....

This year I was meaning to address this problem by spacing my vines farther apart.  So I hacked and whacked secondaries with great resolve. I figured that if you have 24" leaves - the vines should be spaced 24" apart...

Then I noticed that my leaves this year were as tall as ever - taller than some of my tales...  Medusa (1230 Daletas) is particularly tall.  How Tall?? I don't know.  I do know that I just put 12" extenders on the three-foot risers of my watering system and some leaves are already threatening to overtake them.

I measured the leaf diameters of the leaves on the first secondary on Medusa and found the problem.  The largest leaf is 34" in diameter! This leaf alone covers over 6 square feet!!! The two next to it are 33" in diameter.  In fact, every leaf on this vine is over 30" in diameter.  That's Medusa for you - big leaves... bigger attitude.

So my vine spacing is off again... No surprise.  AG's don't particularly like to cooperate with their growers and generally pull off stunts like this to harass those poor fools who think they can tame them.....

But my other plant, Little Lilu (1048 Companion), that's another story. The perfect plant... Absolute Perfection. She'll do almost anything I ask - she gave me 30 pounds last night - something I've been begging her for... She surely doesn't like me posting her weight on the web. But, she graciously tolerates my enthusiasm because she's the perfect little lady....

http://zunino.net/diana/chronicles/of_lilu.htm

vince
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End of pumpkins DIGEST V1 #55
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