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Syracuse, NY

Honestly - Mine are most of them just a week or two since pollination and it is ongoing; I for some reason stopped fertilizing anything although wanting to, of course, but it had been super-rainy here for a few days in a row...several of my plants now have yellowing leaves near the base of the 3 or so of them, just like I've been seeing a lot of in diary posts and in message boards depicting plant problems abroad---However, in my case, I had immaculate plants right up UNTIL I stopped fertilizing due to excess rain and pollinations left and right. Therefore, NOW, I'm gonna think of it as an opportunity to continue as though it were a dry day out and water with ferts anyway(!)...once the rain STOPS, that is. Previously, I had only ONE plant that had any trouble at all - and that was one that rarely got fertilized except for by hand, since it did not have a Whizzer sprinkler on it yet, and is growing in 4-5-year-old sawdust from a fallen tree... It just today got the 2-minute MGMeg splash drink it's been waiting for, plus about 6 others... It also has one of my biggest pumpkins at the moment. They are all sad, butt can only get bigger! Perhaps one condition, too much rain, combined with another condition, less fertilizer, are seen by a plant as a double whammy.
Try it at a party - Too many people + too little beer;
People would freak!
I'll be the guinea pig in my travels, lol---eg

7/26/2023 12:03:48 AM

Upa Creek, Mo

Our 3 day forecast is 102,105 and 102F and we have been in a severe drought.

I can't keep water in the patch due to the heat and direct sun, but have continued to feed lightly when I water.

I will have a climate more like yours in the final push late Aug\Sept and will pick up the potassium. I need to be conservative now with the weather.


https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/

7/26/2023 8:07:28 AM

Syracuse, NY

No, thank you on THOSE high temps!
I've been wilting at 85, lol---eg

7/26/2023 10:04:07 PM

Syracuse, NY

I had an epiphone today about fertilizer.
Actually,
'An epiphany is an experience of a sudden and striking realization.'
WWWWWoWWWWW!!!
I was like 'Ya knowwwwww, I don't even know how fertilizer WORKS, to be honest'...
So, I thought of it like this:
We don't get the weight and size from the fertilizer we give the plants -
Else, we'd get 2-5 pound gains after every watering, plus the weight of how much water the plant could take up from that watering, which is probably somewhat substantial butt only if the plant is functioning at a high level of efficiency.
We give the plants what they NEED to do their jobs effectively, that are maybe depleted otherwise.
Feed a man a fish, right?
'There - You've seen how it's done and you're full. Go catch us more.'
So, by limiting what we give them when that might be not enough due to conservation,
then the building blocks of what was a thriving environment for the plant to begin with might be now on the back burner; This is what I did.
I'm right there also when it comes to conservation butt that is of fertilizer for me, not water.
ALL I want 24/7/365 from a spring and I'm very lucky for that.
I sure do enjoy, really, my newly-implemented method of 'splash watering' for like 2 minutes max on each plant; I follow up with each of those with a 2-hour probably 'light rain' the next day.
I have very little fert left and need to order it right now, as a matter of fact.
Good luck with your season, no matter what---eg

7/26/2023 10:40:10 PM

Mill Bay, British Columbia

Well, our plants have been feeding exclusively on the cover crop, compost and granular fertilizers that were applied before we even planted our pumpkins and nothing additional has been added so far.

Yeah, we will likely start into our rotation of products for the August and September push, we are eager to try using Master Blend rotated with Ureamate and Raw Soluables, but so far it’s just been H2O.

7/27/2023 4:58:50 PM

Syracuse, NY

Envious! Sad are we whom cannot seem to get a cover crop going in spring butt by mid-summer, 'Oh, there it is', lol. I've got the manure spreader, the tractor, the 9-foot-wide tiller and
plenty of space but if it's not one thing, it's another.
Flat tire now, carburetor needs cleaning and so it won't idle slow enough for diagnosing and fixing the spreader, etc. eg

7/27/2023 7:38:34 PM

Grittyville, WA

Sounds like you are doing the best you can with what you got pumpkinpal, that's all anyone can ask.

I have lots of water and I'm wondering if I should be watering more... probably so. Keep the ferts and water flowing... pumpkinpal, you're on track to be pumpkinguru, in my book anyhow.. :)

7/27/2023 8:36:41 PM

Grittyville, WA

Boyz is a good guy to have around, too. Well, back to my patch. Back bumper is gonna scrape concrete all the way to the fair, hopefully.

7/27/2023 8:51:20 PM

Syracuse, NY

Lol and thanks---eg

7/27/2023 9:36:48 PM

Mill Bay, British Columbia

Just sharing my growing system and fertilizing program. I believe (via soil testing and advice from a few mentors) that our soil has the ability to grow our pumpkins and other crops and flowers, with no additional feeding for the first 3 months of life, when I follow the lab recommendations and balance my base saturations before planting. Maybe it’s why I’m stuck at 1300 lbs.

7/28/2023 1:06:09 PM

Syracuse, NY

Hammer Time approaches. I'll have no qualms about using extra (Yup - a More On here!)
fertie-lizer within reason as I've yet to exhibit some of the finest plants I think I've had ('course, I think that every year, lol); Even today I was stepping back and looking around like 'Is THIS the plant I started that rant about? Is it really getting better?' - Probably the next plant over, I'll bet. Butt they do look great and are not all tiny. I'm embarrassed of my 4'-7' weeds that I mowed down the day before yesterday and now I need to apply some of my 500-now 3' bamboo stakes bought for wind damage aversion and vine alignment. In the back patch, I'm intrigued by two plants that have nearly no secondaries on one side and very long ones on the
late-afternoon-sunny side. The only part of a plant, in my opinion that should be shaded IS the pumpkin. Loving the umbrellas! I have never had shade voluntarily over any of my PLANTS and next year I'll strive to plant in full sun as much as possible, as I've never had any sun-related problems. That plus tilled-in (although my 178 and 236 (1007 Brown X 2145) organic matter added and basics that everyone is supposed to do will easily improve my PB if not THIS year with
these TWO 839 Sandercocks. Highly Recommend! 839 X Self is getting really fat - really quickly.
Later---eric g

7/28/2023 2:59:13 PM

Mill Bay, British Columbia

I’d love to see your diary get updated with recent photos of your patch and pumpkins, sounds like you have things looking good.

7/29/2023 12:30:39 AM

Syracuse, NY

'Kay, and thanks---eric g

7/29/2023 1:10:02 AM

Syracuse, NY

To all:

'Don't Stop The Ferts' has nothing to do with over-fertilizing, at all. It has to do with STOPPING fertilizing when you've been doing it otherwise to your liking, due to some environmental (3 days of rain) or economic (ordered the wrong sh** or they were out of the desired ferts) reasons.
Re-Read that, ^^^^^ if you would.

Maybe you all and others aughtta re-read it - edited for your valuable time;

*************************************************************************************************************************************
"...I for some reason stopped fertilizing anything although wanting to, of course, but it had been super-rainy here for a few days in a row...several of my plants now have yellowing leaves near the base of the 3 or so of them, just like I've been seeing a lot of in diary posts and in message boards depicting plant problems abroad---However, in my case, I had immaculate plants right up UNTIL I stopped fertilizing due to excess rain and pollinations left and right. ...NOW, I'm gonna think of it as an opportunity to continue as though it were a dry day out and water with ferts anyway(!)...once the rain STOPS, that is.
...They are all sad, butt can only get bigger!
Perhaps one condition, too much rain, combined with another condition, less fertilizer, are seen by a plant as a double whammy.
Try it at a party - Too many people + too little beer - People would freak!
I'll be the guinea pig in my travels, lol---eg"
*************************************************************************************************************************************

[Last edit: 04/14/24 8:27:48 PM]

4/14/2024 7:42:26 PM

Syracuse, NY

PS---There is another VITAL facet to the statement above that I will keep to myself, since I have never grown a 1000-pounder.
If I were to grow a 2000+? Growers abroad would be looking to me for advice, yes?

How shallow is that, lol???

>>>I'd better make that in the 2750-2908 range, lol---

I must have 'imagined' typing (elsewhere, butt y'all read it) -

"...to have the soil be the best for the plant in it because of, in part, the fertilizer, is the goal."

Try doing it without fertilizer.

I'd like to hear of ANY grower here whom does NOT use ANY additional fertilizer, season-long.

If there are a few, then, 'Yay!'!

I know that a season starting with soil as perfect as can be would be the way to go.

I don't need anyone's direct advice, as I do not comment in anyone's *unwanted* direction, anymore, as per someone's request.

If I had that great of a soil to begin with, I might follow a ****+-pounder's grower's diary and take that next step to my own.
Hey, I'd be happy about it, for a year. eg

[Last edit: 04/14/24 8:31:20 PM]

4/14/2024 7:42:40 PM

Syracuse, NY

PS2 - No animosity, no ill will and so forth, butt I gotta say what I want to as well as
anyone else and that is my right and I heartily condone others' opinions if they intend
to do good in the long run. So, just another day. eg

[Last edit: 04/14/24 8:17:25 PM]

4/14/2024 7:47:18 PM