Re: Plant #'s vs. big pumkin #'s

Title: Re: Plant #'s vs. big pumkin #'s
on 1/28/01 12:49 AM, Ken & Sally at moto@nbnet.nb.ca wrote:

My thoughts are that the number of plants we grow has little to do with producing the huge pumpkin that we are after. While it may increase the odds as far as luck is concerned, most great growers take care of less than 5 plants. Lets take Al Eaton for example, Al may grow 4 plants but is constantly growing pumpkins that we would all love to see in our garden. The more I learn about pumpkins, the more I believe that the largest pumpkins come from growers who understand simple gardening principals and follow these to extremes. Such principals include avoiding soil compaction, knowing when your plants need nutrients and watering, understanding if wind breaks are needed to increase heat or misters to reduce heat, perhaps when and if to spray chemicals, etc....  Once we understand what the plants are telling us and if we take the time to listen, then too will we be rated as a great grower. But, like anything else, the end result is related to the imput required unless of course a natural disaster such as hail happens to take a liking to our garden. Of course, we can't rule "Luck" out, but luck does not make us a consistent winner
   I believe that all of us, but especially new growers, would do well to get advice from someone whom we think is a great gardener in our area. Although he may not grow pumpkins, the knowledge that he has accumulated over the years as to certain  problems associated with our lattitude is invaluable and can also be applied to our pumpkin growing hobby........Ken Reinsborough, Dalhousie, N.B.
All right Ken!
Seeing the words "simple gardening principles" and "understanding what the plants are telling us", makes me happy, and also makes me think I'll be seeing your name way up the charts in the near future.  
For me, 5 plants manage to take up all my spare time, and then some.  Giving the plants plenty of room, with a loosely tilled rich soil base, and providing adequate moisture when needed, are just a couple of basic gardening practices used for both pumpkins and gardening in general.  
When it comes to fertilizing,"moderation", sounds better to me than "pushing to the limit".  I feel that if the growing environment is right, your seed stock has potential, and Mother Nature cooperates, you won't need to use excessive amounts of fertilizers.  Plus your garden will be better off in the long run.
No two growers, at least from what I've seen, do everything the same when it comes to growing these massive things of beauty.  That's part of the fun of it, and it'll be fun seeing where the next world record comes from.
Lets keep these interesting topics coming!
Todd

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