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Cincinnati, OH

My daughter and I are new to the pumpkin growing scene this year and have been doing fairly well so far. We have two large pumpkins (for us anyway) one is around 70 lbs or so and the other right behind it. If you want to check them out you can see them at http://www.fishernetworks.com/GiantPumpkin
Here is my question. We are using Miracle-Gro 20/20/20 right now and foiler feeding. It seems to be working OK but I'm wondering how much is enough or too much. I've been using about 3 tbsps per 2 gallons every five days. I'd like to crank it up but don't want to kill our first plant. Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Fish

7/19/2005 8:22:18 PM

Macomb County

I guess the question is what else have you done to your soil? If you've added a lot of organic material in the spring like manure, compost, etc., my advice would be to cut back on the amount or you're going to wind up with a huge salt build-up in the soil later. As it is, you might want to cut down to less than 1/2 that amount every 2 weeks. Because if you've been going at that amount since the start, you have a lot of fert in the soil by now. When did you transplant outside? How long they've been in the ground will tell growers on this site more when it comes to where you're really at, at 70lbs.

7/20/2005 1:19:43 AM

Appalachian Mtns.

You're biggest worry at this point should be cutting that secondary vine off the main, away from that fruit, and then pulling the fruit back to relieve some stress that's being caused on the main.

7/20/2005 7:07:16 AM

Appalachian Mtns.

Plant looks healthy tho'!

7/20/2005 7:08:25 AM

Appalachian Mtns.

On second look, just cut that seconday off....

7/20/2005 7:09:51 AM

Indiana

I suggest 1 pound 20-20-20 per 1000 sq ft every 8 days, or broken into 1/2 pound every 4 days. I just get one of them miracle gro no clog feeders, hook it to the hose, and run it through a sprinkler

Tom Beachy

7/20/2005 9:20:04 AM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

Oh Oh

Tom's gone & upset the apple cart now.

7/20/2005 6:55:18 PM

Cincinnati, OH

Thanks Southern. I'm learning fast and appreciate the feedback. For a long time I was scared to cut anything off the plant but lately I've been hacking away a little each night to give the plant a rest. I've been working the pumpkin over a LITTLE bit each night to relieve the stress but the last thing I want to do is break it off.
On the fert front it looks like everybody has their own method. Some say dump it on until you see leaf stress others say cut it back. LOL...I'm not sure but I can say that the ground it is in definately was not prepared properly. Next year will be a different case but this year the main plant is in my old compost pile but the vine taps are in what used to be yard until I realized I needed MUCH more room!
As far as when I planted...vine was planted around early April inside and in the ground mid/late may. The fruit that I have on both set around June 25th. On the foilage front, based on the pic's should I be cutting off a lot of vine growth or is that OK? It is a healthy plant and the vines are thickening exponentially since I started trimming but I want to make sure I don't cut to much off.
Any help for a new grower is appreciated.

-Fish

7/20/2005 7:36:02 PM

South Western Pa

I would remove that leaf by the stem as well it looks like its rubbing and could wound the fruit.

Mark

7/21/2005 3:54:44 PM

Ohio

Ohhh no! Pick them apples up Tremor, see what you started,lmao

7/22/2005 9:18:22 AM