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Federal Way, WA

Hi guys; felt almost zero desire to grow this year, despite a small PB last year...not sure why. Anyway, I decided instead of doing nothing, I'd at least put a field pumpkin with good genetics, in the ground. I was wondering if someone could run down the basics for me: when to germinate, as compared to AG's, when you should hope to have a fruit set, if pruning strategies and vine burying are the same and any other differences between AG's and FP's that I might overlook. Things I'm worried about are over-watering, over fertilizing, etc.
Thanks a bunch!
Anthony

3/31/2015 12:57:05 AM

Germany

Start the seeds in May (1st or 2nd week), the plants grow fast and the fruit will grow for only 35-45 days in most cases (sometimes up to 60 days is also possible, for example in case of cold weather), and therefore you can start later (less danger of frost damage, no need to worry about soil temperatures after transplanting around end of May) and you will still have enough time for growing a big one.
Plant style like AG (a bit smaller, maybe 200-400 sqft), you can use the X-mas tree pattern. Soil conditions as for AGs. FP plants are more susceptible to powdery mildew. Therefore, try to grow the plant in a not too crowded fashion, and try to spray water/milk (4:1) every week.
Tap roots come out of every leaf node (hence, the same strategies apply as for AGs), but you can easily set 2 or 3 fruit per plant (in case of a big plant of maybe 300 sqft), but you should try to set the fruit on different vines (main vine and the strongest secondaries) and have the pollination dates separated by about 2 weeks.

4/3/2015 12:24:55 PM

Federal Way, WA

Thanks so much Pumpking! Great information that I'll put to good use.

4/7/2015 3:16:38 PM