Re: Next Heavy Hitter
Ken,
We had nearly perfect growing weather here in the central Sacramento
Valley. With cool nights and warm days under 100 degrees is just what the
pumpkins needed to maintain maximum growth.
Weeding and vine growth are both important I worked in the patch for
several hours every day trying to keep the vines buried and pruned to
maximize plant growth and fruit growth. I don't plant my seeds until the
end of May so we have very little time to get the plant size big enough to
support a fruit because of the usually hot days. I try to have a pumpkin
set the second week of July that gives me about 60 days to get the plant up
to size.
As for mounds this was the first year I dug pits where I planted the
plants. I dug down about 2 1/2 to 3 feet filled the pit with well
composted surface soil from the patch. The rest of the patch was tilled to
about 8" with a city green waste compost.
Vine length seemed to be very important. I let the main vine grow and
trimmed off every other secondary vine. I let the secondary vines grow to
the end of the patch which was about 20 feet in each direction. I let the
main vine on the 449 M. grow without terminating it. I don't know if that
made a difference but the pumpkin kept growing until it was picked. Once
the main vine on this plant got to about 40 feet long I pruned off any
secondary vines and just let the main grow.
I used over head watering this year which helped keep the patch evenly
moist and kept the ground under the leaves cool for longer periods during
the day. In the past I used drip line irrigation which left dry spots in
the patch. I think this was one of the biggest differences this year.
Jon
At 07:39 AM 12/15/99 -0400, you wrote:
>Hi Jon and thanks for offering to give us a look into your growing
>world. What do you think was the key to your winner?. Was it the
>attention to detail such as weeding, placement and length of vines, the
>way you constructed your mounds, etc.? I'm sure it couldn't have been
>the weather as it sounds as if California was much colder than
>usual..........Ken Reinsborough, Dalhousie, N.B. , Canada
>
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Pumpkin-growing FAQ: http://www.mallorn.com/lists/pumpkins/search.cgi
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@mallorn.com with the
message text UNSUBSCRIBE PUMPKINS
