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Nova Scotia

Although my pumpkin has split and is gone I was hoping that someone could help me in determining what I should add to my soil this fall based on this tissue sample test report. thanks.

Nitrogen% 5.42
Phosphorous% .98
Potassium% 4.63
Calcium% 3.48
Magnesium% .61
Iron ppm 138.27
Manganese ppm 78.33
Copper ppm 88.61
Zinc ppm 63.99
Boron ppm 41.82
Sodium % .022

8/28/2007 9:24:37 AM

Phoenix, AZ

Mr. T,

You are the only other grower to post foliar. I congratulate you!

My B is always in the 40's when I test but I am always told to raise it. Doing so will help with Ca and Mg uptake. This year I am going to supplement well with B to get it up. Beyond that, your numbers look more balanced and better than mine. I always fight with Ca uptake even with perfectly balanced soil because of my climate. Your micros are well beyond mine except for Fe. I would take your results over mine.

Ben

8/31/2007 8:08:54 AM

Pembroke, New Hampshire

Where do you send leaf samples for testing, and are there standardized results we should be aiming for?

8/31/2007 8:27:49 AM

Nova Scotia

thanks Ben.
cndadoc there has to be some place in New Hampshire that could do this for you but I don't know of it. And I posted here because I hardly know what I should be aiming for myself.

8/31/2007 9:05:20 AM

southwest MO

Is this leaf or pumpkin tissue tests? I'm assumeing these are dry weight numbers?

8/31/2007 9:57:20 AM

Eugene, OR

Well, I'll post my tissue test results from this year.

Nitrogen 3.48% Sufficient
Sulfur 0.24% Low
Phosphorus 0.80% High
Potassium 4.51% High
Magnesium 0.39% Sufficient
Calcium 1.74% Low
Sodium 0.02% Sufficient
Iron 164 ppm Sufficient
Aluminum 108 ppm Sufficient
Manganese 48 ppm Sufficient
Boron 66 ppm Sufficient
Copper 16 ppm Sufficient
Zinc 41 ppm Sufficient

According to the lab that did my testing, the Sulfur and Ca were the only ones that were low for giant pumpkins at this stage of growth. Test was submitted at the beginning of August.

The "norms" given to me by the lab for each of the above are:

Nitrogen: 3.00%
Sulfur: 0.40%
Phosphorus: 0.40%
Potassium: 3.00%
Magnesium: 0.60%
Calcium: 3.00%
Sodium: 0.02%
Iron: 110 ppm
Aluminum: 100 ppm
Manganese: 70 ppm
Boron: 50 ppm
Copper: 10 ppm
Zinc: 40 ppm

I've been giving the plants liquid Ca for the calcium, ammonium sulfate for the N and sulfur, and a liquid micronutrient blend, again for the sulfur and manganese. Was the test worth the $32? You bet! How else can we find out exactly what our plants are taking up and what they're lacking?

Thank you for starting this post. I hope it will encourage some of the heavies to post their tissue test numbers so we can all learn what it takes to grow the big ones.

Brian

8/31/2007 12:28:00 PM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

I'm guilty. For years I tissue tested but never posted the results. It was too painful to post perfect fertility with dying vines. LOL

Good fertility doesn't keep Mosaic away.

Sean's splits could be related to the low CA & higher N levels.

9/3/2007 8:24:30 PM

Phoenix, AZ

Mr. T,

You ended with a split? get your fruit flesh tested. That is the thing to do next. Now I am the only one I know of that has ever done that. That way you know for sure if you are low in something that could split that pumpkin.

Ben

9/3/2007 9:10:23 PM

Nova Scotia

Good advise here. Thanks all. But my pumpkin is gone to be reicarnated as a pickle. But I will test the flesh next time

9/4/2007 9:09:32 AM