N Chat
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-pumpkins@mallorn.com [o*@mallorn.com]On
Behalf Of Lubadub@aol.com
Sent: Saturday, December 04, 1999 8:17 AM
To: pumpkins@mallorn.com
Subject: Nitrogen level by observing the leaves
Several times there has been mention made that the best indicator of
nitrogen
levels in the pumpkin patch come from examining the tips of the newer
pumpkin
leaves. If the leaf tip is dark green then the grower should cut back on
adding nitrogen to the garden and if light green then it is time to add
nitrogen. I am wondering if anyone has used a color chart to do this? And if
so what chart they used. What is the ideal "color" for the leaf tip? This
gets even more difficult when you consider that some of the leaves may have
a
yellow tinge to them naturally. Comments????
******************************
Marvin-I go by the advice of Wayne Hackney who has explained several times
about leaf coloring as the new leaves open up.This is the same as you have
explained above.
In addition it is my experience that yellow spots on the leaves are
random,don't seem to do any harm and I have no idea what to do about them
anyway.Therefore I wonder,then ignore.
Another approach is to make comparisons.
1.It I have 3 plants side by side,with 3 different levels of green,then I
will add a little N to the lightest and leave the others alone.After a
week,to allow for any changes,I will repeat the test.
2.By keeping records of past years any grower can learn what is "normal" for
their site.For example,in the rapid vining stage,I compare my growth rate
with the past,now 11 year,average.
In this way if I find a plant is vining normally,after factoring in the
weather,I will leave it alone vis-a vis N.It is easy to add N but if you
cross the line it can't be removed,except by time.
These are just little common sense tests that help with the decision making
I feel.--AE
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