Re: newbie in Idaho
Cliff,
You definitely need to lower the PH asap. Sulfur should do the trick but
you need to figure out how much to put on. A wild guess would be about 2 to
4 pounds per 100 square feet but don't rely on guess work, get a soil test.
The first thing you should do is get your soil tested and ask for
recommendations with the results of the test. Only add what the test
recommends as you can really get your soil out of balance if you just
guessing. Don't over do it with fertilizers, more is not necessarily
better. You can make you soil toxic if you over do it.
As for the CLAY soil, you may want to consider adding aged compost, straw
hay, aged manure, leaves or the the like. Whatever you do, don't add sand
to the clay. Clay plus sand equals cement!
WIND: Planting a few rows of corn around your patch will help. Other
options might be wind breaks such as shade cloth on post's or snow fence.
SHORT GROWING SEASON: How short ? As you may have seen on this list, many
northern growers overcome short seasons by starting plants indoors and then
moving them to the patch after building greenhouse's out of clear plastic
and pvc pipe. There are a lot of options here limited only by your budget.
COOL NIGHTS: Not necessarily a problem if you have warm days and full sun.
Depends on how cool.
The first thing you need is a SOIL TEST, SOIL TEST, SOIL TEST !
The second thing you need is the two books written by Don Langevin called
Pumpkins I and II.
http://www.giantpumpkin.com
Next, you need good seed and a lot of free time. Also research the archives
by going back to the Mallorn main page. As Brock mentioned, you will find a
ton of good info in the archives.
If you have a question no matter how basic, don't hesitate to ask.
Welcome to obsession of growing giant pumpkins. Soon you will be thinking
pumpkins 365 days of the year.
Bob Troy
Torrance, Ca.
Cliff_Warren@amis.com wrote:
> Hello,
>
> (I sent this earlier, but I don't think it went out to the list. I must
> have got on the wrong side of "majordomo". ;-))
>
> I've been on this list for a few days. What a surprise it has
> been to find this resource!
>
> This is my first year to try growing the AG. I would invite you to
> comment on the following...
>
> My strengths:
>
> Full sun, all day long, sun up to sun down
> Lots of space
> All the water I need
>
> My weaknesses:
>
> Clay soil, not nutrient rich (yet)
> High soil PH (don't know for sure, but probably higher than 7.5)
> Wind (oh, does the wind blow here!)
> Short growing season
> Cool nights
> Lack of experience
>
> Is there anyone else on this list that is in the Rocky mountain
> region? What tips can you give? I'm at about 4500 feet in
> elevation. I've noticed that most growers are in the northeast,
> south, and west coast areas.
>
> My plants were started indoors with help from a heating pad.
> Right now they are at the first and second "true leaf" stage.
> Should I be farther along at this point?
>
> This year I'll probably need to rely on commercial fertilizer. That's
> at least until I can get my soil built up. What formulation do you
> recommend?
>
> Oh well, that should be plenty enough for now.
>
> Warm regards, Cliff in Idaho
>
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