Re: Hilling your plant??
In a message dated 06/03/00 01:28:55 GMT Standard Time, DLK711@aol.com writes:
> Subj: Re: Hilling your plant??
> Date: 06/03/00 01:28:55 GMT Standard Time
> From: DLK711@aol.com
> Sender: owner-pumpkins@mallorn.com
> Reply-to: pumpkins@mallorn.com
> To: pumpkins@mallorn.com
>
HI LIST
In the spring of 1995, the year that i grew my 574 & 543, i prepared my hills
in the following way. Marked out a 14ft circle using powdered chalk in a
puffer bottle, dug out and put to one side the top soil which is around 10-12
inches deep. Loosened, dug out and put to one side the next 12 inches of sub
soil removing any stones over 1 inch diameter. Loosened the next 12 inches
which is a mixture of red clay, sand & gravel removed any stones over 1 inch
in diameter.
At this point i had what resembled a bomb crater which i started backfilling
with 6 inches of cow muck then 50% of the sub soil then another 6 inches of
cow muck and then the remaining sub soil. I lowered my tiller into the crater
and worked the sub soil and muck together until i was happy with the mix. I
then added another 6 inches of cow muck, placed a 2.5 ft diameter plastic
barrel with the ends cut out in the centre of the crater and began to make a
mix of 50% sieved top soil, 50% peat that had been limed to bring the PH up
to 7.00 several weeks previously, and a combination of pelleted chicken
manure, seaweed meal and a concoction of other nutrients that i can not
recall from memory.
This mixture went into the plastic tube and was slightly firmed down as i
filled it up. The top soil was replaced into the crater mixing in plenty of
cow and horse muck, pelleted chicken manure and the seaweed meal as i
backfilled. I had a hill that was somewhere near 3ft high at this point but
by planting out time in early June the hill had settled down to around 18
inches high and the plastic tube was removed from the centre of the hill
which gave me a great loose medium for the roots to get a good start.
I constructed 3 growing sites in the way described above and it was extremely
hard work but worth it in the long run as the year after in 1996 i almost
buried my tiller where the 3 hills had been constructed due to the depth of
the loose soil and the rotted down muck. I had very little preparation to do
in spring 1996 and my personal best went from 574 to 662.
The reason why i dug a crater so deep when prepping the hills in 1995 was due
to very bad drainage on the patch and i needed to break the clay layer to
relieve the problem. I also wanted to produce a deep sponge that would hold
water but drain freely when excess water from rain or irrigation fell on the
hills. Water is essential, agreed, but Pumpkin roots do not like growing in
extremely wet ground.
Just my pennies worth
MIKE TURNER
ENGLAND
UNITED KINGDOM
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