beginner needs fruit info

Alright, I have my first giant pumpkin ever - and it looks like it's
growing like it should - at the moment, about 30 lb.s and gaining 1-2
inches/day. It's about 8 or 9 days old.
WHOOOOOHOOOOO WHOOOOOHOOOOO
I have a couple of questions for anyone that will offer an opinion - I
think everyone will have different views on each of the questions, but
any info will help.

1) Should I have a weekly 'preventative' fungicidal/insecticidal spray
regime going - I haven't had any real problems with the plant except
some leaf spot in the past that is still hanging around - will this
adversely affect the pumpkin? I did spray this twice earlier on and it
seemed to help. For a number of reasons (probably mainly unfounded) I
would prefer not to spray unless it is absolutely necessary.

2) Should I continue fertilizing using the 15-4-26 liquid one that
I've been using for the past month or so? I haven't been using much -
just a little boost every two weeks or so. I'm leaning towards slow
growth and a smaller pumpkin at the weigh off than rapid growth and
possibly only pumpkin remains at the contest. The fruit pollinated
only two months before the big day, so no chance of a world record! I
don't really care how big it gets, just as long as it gets weighed on
the day.

3) Plant protection - it has some shade cloth over it at the moment to
keep temp's down and so that it is not in direct sunlight - it seems
to be working fine, so I'll probably leave that as it is. What about
putting stuff underneath the pumpkin so that it is off the soil. I
know some people say it should be moved as little as possible, while
others say that some polystyrene foam or bits of timber will help
prevent fungus/insects/rotting etc. - is there a general consensus on
the matter?

The pumpkin seems to be in a pretty good spot - the vine is free to
rise with the pumpkin, and is bending in the right direction while the
actual stem looks quite long. Also, it seems to be very round it looks
absolutely perfect to me (but I'm pretty biased!), with very pale
yellow skin, and the ribs are just starting to form on one side. What
are the chances of pumpkins aborting at this or a later stage - is
there a danger period in which I should be very careful. It can still
be very hot here at the moment, with two days over 100F last week - it
seemed to have got through that, but I probably shouldn't count my
chickens before they hatch.
thanks in advance - I've got to go away for a couple of days so I'll
have some juicy reading to do when I get back.
cheers
john
-- 
John McKinney
http://www.wantree.com.au/~oliverm/pumpkin.htm 
o*@wantree.com.au
I'm Sorry - http://www.qantm.com.au/indigenet/sorry/
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