Stuck in a rut part 2 - A plan
- To: pumpkins@mallorn.com
- Subject: Stuck in a rut part 2 - A plan
- From: G* <G*@aol.com>
- Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 18:46:43 EST
Stuck in a rut part 2 - A plan
The last four years have been disappointing for me, my biggest was 480 after
641 in 93, 553 in 92 and 617 in 91. (I should probably not count 1996 when my
whole garden was damaged by a Landscape Crew using a Herbicide containing
2-4-D.) One of the major factors, I believe, is the fact that I have to
garden in the same spot that I have for the last 25 years. Even though my
soil tests show that I’m not deficient in nutrients and the pH is good I still
think something is missing. I think there is something missing that doesn’t
show up in soil tests. Last year I experimented with an unorthodox soil
treatment. The results were better more even growth throughout the season and
higher yields especially in the Squash and Tomatoes. Six Waltham Butternut
plants produced 247 pounds of Squash in the same place they have been grown
for 22 years. The pumpkin area did not receive the full treatment but will
next year. About mid 1998 I will reveal the treatment and my progress for
others to evaluate. I want to be the first to use this method for a full
season before releasing it to everyone. I hope I’ve stumbled on to something
that will help revive old Pumpkin Patches.
Below you will find my plan of attack for next season.
Things I will continue to do:
Cover crop of Winter Rye.
Adding Manure as a soil amendment.
Direct Start Method as outlined in the Direct Start Method on Dan’s page.
This is to insure enough growth before an early frost which my area is prone
to. This also gets the fruit set before the July heat waves that prevent
fruit set. I try and set fruit between June 20th and July 10th.
Compost piles to feed the plant evenly throughout the season, as outlined in
Compost Feeding Your Pumpkin on Dan’s page.
Use Liquid Fish to fertilize the plant during the growing season to prevent
excessive build up of nutrients caused by use of traditional fertilizer’s, but
still give the plants a needed boost.
The new things I will try:
Fall, special one part soil treatment, 60 lbs. (done)
Spring, special two part soil treatment, repeat the 60 pound Fall treatment
then treat with 50 pounds of the second part of the treatment. The materials
are available in most stores but are not fertilizers.
Reduce the number of plants from 3 to 2.
Prune the vines in the Christmas Tree shape. I have been agonizing over this
one for 3 years. I find pruning painful. This summer I saw this method in
person in RI and the results looked impressive.
Bury the vines, reducing the plants to two and pruning will now make this
practical.
Your comments are welcome.
George
N. Tewksbury, MA USA
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