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Farming- a bunch of catastrophies that result in a lifestyle

Brand new to growing giant pumpkins here...I grow annuals and vegetables with a little greenhouse I have, and last year I grew about 3/4 acre of Howdens and Luminas. This year I am trying 3 kinds: Prize Winner, AG, and Warlock. The PW and the AG are on a plot that is loose sandy soil and 20' wide by 100' long. 5 AG plants and 3 PW planted in it. Soil right now tests out great after adding composted manure, soil amendment and some 10-10-10. Plants are currently about 8" tall, 4 leaves, and doing well. I planted them on 1 foot mounds as we get a lot of rain and I don't want them sitting in water should we get a wet period. The plot they are in has never had anything related to a cucurbit grown on it, so I am hoping this will minimize vine borer activity. Didn't have a big problem with them last year,or much blight, nothing Neem oil and chlorosel couldn't handle.
My plan is to train the vines to grow around the 20x100 plot then let them out into the regular field where it isn't as rich. That would give them a lot of vine in the rich composted manure dirt. Is 8 plants too many in this plot to achieve a giant pumpkin size? I have a llama farm right down the road and I want to add that to soil as well...how much and when? Soil right now tests out perfect but everything I have read says these guys suck up nutrients quickly. Any growers in NC have any specific suggestions for our area? I'm in the extreme North eastern side of North Carolina.

5/16/2013 10:31:19 AM

Winston Salem, NC

LB...I am in Winston Salem. Many folks suggest somewhere between 600-900 sq ft. per AG. They can be grown on 300 sq ft. I think most peoples optimum is in the 750 area per plant. The biggest thing I think I would worry about in NC is keeping the AG cool enough during summer whether that be misting, shading, or a combination of both. If your soil test out ok then dont do much to it, just foliar feed as needed and take care of insects and Powdery mildew. Have fun and grow em big.

5/16/2013 9:14:31 PM

Cummington, MA

A 20x100 plot sounds great! I wish I had that much to grow pumpkins. You could do 20x30 plots, that would give you 3 plants. Or 20x25 would be 4 plants, I would try that if I had a 20x100 area. The smallest you would want to go would probably be 20x20 for 5 plants. If you let them grow out of the plot that gives you more room, but each plant needs some good width to it. (I've read that people do grow them on turf, but think about how you would keep the grass manageable under the vines or be able to work well with the plants in that situation as a new grower.) When the vines start crossing each other it gets to be a big mess. I know that from last year, so keep them trained and pruned. I'm just a second year grower, so that's my ideas for you. Good luck!

5/16/2013 10:08:54 PM

Pinetops,n.c.

hi lb, i'm from pinetops , n.c., close to rocky mount.
get some shade and misters if possible, and stay up with spray regimen to combat insects and powdery mildew is best advice i can give you.great to see a new grower in same part of the state i am in.feel free to contact me by email at zepfan1967@gmail.com. best of luck, gary lovitt

5/16/2013 11:31:33 PM

Farming- a bunch of catastrophies that result in a lifestyle

Thanks all!!! Okay, shade question. Just the pumpkin or the whole plant? I know from research the pumpkin needs to be shaded to keep it from hardening but should I shade the whole plant too, or the main base of plat? how much time should I shade it if we are talking the entire plant? Techincally I can shade the whole plot if needed but I was under the impression the plants need a ton of sun to producer a whopper???

5/17/2013 6:26:24 AM

Winston Salem, NC

If it gets too hot then the photosynthesis slows to a crawl. The theory is that by using the right balance of shade cloth you can lower the temperature in the patch without cutting out too much sun. This will be my first year growing with shade cloth so you may take my words with a grain of salt but I've been doing a good bit of research in this area. The Finders use shade cloth in their patch and they are consistently growing over 1000 Lbs. in SC.

5/17/2013 12:56:16 PM

Winston-Salem, NC

Another new NC grower here in Winston-Salem. I've done very little reading until tonight. Sounds like I need to look at some pruning. I'm growing a 20x40 garden behind my house and gave one corner to 2 giant pumpkin plants.

6/29/2013 10:54:12 PM