David Hare-Scott wrote:
"Lucky" wrote in message
oups.com...
They are fairly heavy feeders. How much fertiliser you add depends on how
well you prepared the plot. Even if you added lots of manure and organic
matter then some side dressings of rotted manure or all round fertiliser
every 4-6 weeks once they start to grow would still be good but don't go mad
and overdo each dose. If the soil is not well prepared then go a bit
heavier with compost or other organic material under the mulch, just don't
burn them with raw manure or too much chemical fertiliser. And mulch heavily
to keep down weeds and save water, once they start running they are a bugger
to weed in amongst. Every weed is using up nutrients and water that should
go to your crop. Mulch is also good as it keeps the fruit off the ground
which keeps them cleaner and reduces the chance of rot in wet weather.

Thanks for the pointers! I'm pretty much covered on the mulch and
compost part, just didn't know if I needed to compensate with other
liquid-based fertilizers or soil inserts.



How much room do you actually have for them?

Currently I'm growing them in between rows of Mammoth Grey-Stripes.
I've made sure to have a good size mound and plenty of sun. I'm not
that concerned if they stray too far out of bounds as this will only
give me an excuse for not mowing such parts this Summer!

I've not measured the area per say, but I estimate it at 14 ft long by
4 feet wide. Got 8 pumpkin seedlings and 8 congo watermelon seedlings,
which I plan to thin to about 3 of each variety as time progresses.
(Forgot to state I have two "areas" of such, this would be out front,
and in the back I got a slightly smaller version. Since my land
slants, the row of vines is at a higher level than the sunflowers,
giving them plenty of sun.)

-Jason


David