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Ontario

Looking for some help from the group. I have been growing pumpkins for a number of years and have seen my weights plateau around 1000 lbs. I use what I believe most growers are using as far as fertilizers, pesticides etc, TKO, Companion, Sevin, Bravo, blossom booster, 0-0-53, Mg, mycorrhizae, boron etc.
I believe my soil is holding me back, specifically high phosphorus.
The lab I use reports phosphorus by 2 methods, bicarb at 165 ppm and bray at 506 ppm. I believe these methods are related to my soil pH which is at 7.2
I’ve read that only time will reduce phosphorus levels and changing my garden location isn’t really an option. I’m hoping someone can help to allow me to get to the next level.

9/20/2022 1:13:00 PM

Muddy Waters

Disease in the soil could be your issue.I have found that many low areas are loaded with disease. You might want to send your soil to Western labs.$150test will tell the story.Eri is stuck around 1000 to 1200 lbs He has high levels of disease. growing near wetlands can be bad

9/20/2022 6:55:37 PM

Ontario

Thanks Bubba. I watch all of your videos.

9/20/2022 8:49:00 PM

Muddy Waters

I could be wrong But you might want to considerit.How do your plants look in early September? If heavy disease? they should be pretty ratty looking by labor day.I know a lot of growers that battle soil borne disease

9/20/2022 10:05:48 PM

Grittyville, WA

Get a tissue test done? This will tell you what is limiting your plant. After that, you can resume speculating about why there are limitations on those nutrients. (The main thing to keep in mind is that poor root health may mimick a soil deficiency, so you'd want to sort out which was the actual problem.) A lot of top growers have never done a tissue test. I dont think that means you shouldnt either, what I think it just means they have some other way of being successful that works for them. I think its the perfect tool for growers who just arent having as much "luck" as someone else. All that being said, my very lowly stats strongly indicate that I shouldnt be giving any advice.

9/21/2022 2:32:50 AM

Western PA

Tissue test, as mentioned above. Your soil test may show that you have everything, but a tissue test will show you what is available and NOT available to your plant.

When the pumpkin is putting on big weight gains, it's pulling large amounts of nutrients along with it. My guess is your plateauing because your running low on certain nutrients or the ratios are getting off some. Too high or too low of pH can cause nutrients to not be available also, which may be my issue.

Certainly many other things to be considered, water, enough sun, diseases, etc....

9/21/2022 8:26:48 AM

Ontario

I submitted a tissue test back in July. Will try to post it later today. The calcium and Mg levels were a little low, while the iron levels were very high. I will also try to post some pics of the plant that I took this morning

9/21/2022 2:12:16 PM

Torrance, Ca.

What Bubba said. Doing this at the end of the year many years ago is what got me over the 1000 pound mark. If you know what your dealing with, you can attack it early and your pumpkins will keep growing as the later season progresses.

Zappa also, if you sucked all the nutrients out of the dirt, the fruit will shut down. I learned that our pumpkins usually stop growing for one of two reasons. Disease or lack of nutrients.

Good luck!:)

9/21/2022 3:03:06 PM

Grittyville, WA

My understanding is there is another layer of complication within the plant. With iron for example while the level in the plant can be high but there's more than one form of iron and (not my theory, I've heard it said online by a guy who does agronomy) the iron with the wrong oxidation state will just sit in the plant and do nothing. It wont be utilized. So, what he says is with a tissue test you can test adequate for iron but nevertheless be short on the less oxidized form of iron, which is the form the plant can utilize. Thats just an fyi that doesnt have much to do with pumpkin size. As far as pumpkin size, I certainly dont think iron is a bigger factor than calcium. High calcium in the baby pumpkin at pollination and thereafter is important.
Oh, and ps I've also heard it said that excess potassium invariably messes up calcium levels. So until you get your calcium higher maybe be careful with that 0-0-53 until you are in the final home stretch. I have some additional ideas on that, but I will refrain from messing the conversation up with my own dubious theories.

9/21/2022 5:34:43 PM

Ontario

The following are the tissue test results taken in mid July: N 3.79%, S 0.23%, P 0.94%, K 4.35%, Mg 0.33%, Ca 1.07%, Na 0.03%, B 47.53 ppm, Zn 76 ppm, Mn 55 ppm, Fe 808 ppm, Cu 7.14%.
Sorry, I am unable to post the picture which would have made things a little easier to analyze.

9/21/2022 6:33:11 PM

Grittyville, WA

The only thing I can think of is, maybe once the pumpkin gets going, maybe it can suck the extra nutrients out of the plant quick. At what frequency are you watering / fertilizing? Are you doing drip fertigation or overhead? Mobeymike might be a guy to copy. He has figured out the max EC numbers so that his pumpkin is fed to the max. Looks like it worked for him. Wish I could help more but this stuff is getting beyond where I am at.

9/22/2022 9:29:30 AM

Quebec

Watch the video on how to make JMS by Korean national farming. It may change the way you think.

9/22/2022 9:46:38 AM

Ontario

I use a drip irrigation system and water around approximately 150 gallons per day except on days when it rains which haven’t been many this summer. I also fertilize every day although I wonder if my application rates are too low. I don’t see many posts where actual application rates are specified for an individual fertilizer ie 0-0-53. Are manufacture specified rates still valid where trying to grow a giant pumpkin. I will check out Mobeymike as suggested.

9/22/2022 11:14:32 AM