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New Jersey

The vines of my pumpkins dried, so clearing the vines has been TOO easy because the tops have disconnected from the roots underground. Are there still roots underground? Do I need to turn all of the soil to pull them out? This is my first year with a medium pumpkin. 50lbs ha ha ha

10/31/2018 3:14:03 PM

Anamosa, IA BPIowegian@aol.com

There is no way to get all the roots out. They get real fine and it would take forever to get them. That is why it helps to rotate your patch to a different crop every so often to break disease cycles. If you don't have room to rotate your patch, then fall tillage might help with disease control.

Fall tillage depends on a lot of variables. How much frost do you get in the soil? Do you have heavy clay subsoil? Do you have a compaction problem? Are you adding manure or compost? I like to limit tillage to the minimum necessary. I like my worms and try not to chop them up too much. I can get away with it because my soil is all silt and doesn't compact too much. But your situation might be totally different.

10/31/2018 9:03:06 PM