Gunner wrote:
On Feb 17, 9:48 pm, "David Hare-Scott" wrote:
FarmI wrote:
"David Hare-Scott" wrote in message
...
DavidofWales wrote:
I have Hundred Weight pumpkin seeds and intend to try and grow
some whoppers with the kids this year. Does anyone have any tips
on growing giant pumpkins they'd like to share?

Good deep soil with lots of manure, full sun, plenty of water
especially when it is hot, mulch well, long hot growing season and
keep the fungi at bay. Thin out the set fruit to only a small
number.

And take off the last foot of the vine when it reached 5 ft long as
that encourages the vine to set fruit.

Don't we want a big vine feeding only a few fruit? I would let the
vine run and keep thinning as they set.

D

It is not the vine that feeds the plant, its the roots and manure is
not going to supply the needed N for this growth.

Both of these statements are rather misleading.

The roots absorb water and minerals which is necessary but not sufficient
for strong growth. The vine (stems, leaves) feed the fruit in the sense
that for growth the leaves are required to do photosynthesis and the stems
are required to carry the carbohydrates produced by the leaves to the fruit
for them to grow. It actually makes more sense to speak of the
manufactured carbohydates as food rather than fertiliser as food but both
are common usage. With cucurbits you can also get nodal roots which are an
asset as they supply water to a big vine along its length which helps to
reduce wilting in full sun, thus allowing photosynthesis to continue longer
on hot days before the stomata start to shut down.

Manure will supply sufficient nitrogen if you use the right sort. Bird
manure and rabbit manure are high in N. I would use an appropriate mixture.

One could also use foliar sprays of chemferts if you wanted to go all out.
I didn't mention this before as it is not my usual practice when growing
pumpkins and it may be a little trickier to do for the novice. It's up to
the OP.

David

On Feb 18, 1:29*pm, "David Hare-Scott" wrote:
Gunner wrote:
On Feb 17, 9:48 pm, "David Hare-Scott" wrote:
FarmI wrote:
"David Hare-Scott" wrote in message
...
DavidofWales wrote:
D

It is not the vine that feeds the plant, its the roots and manure is
not going to supply the needed N for this growth.

Both of these statements are rather misleading.


That would depend on the direction you going or how your reading
track, don’t ya think?...

We are talking manipulating plants to grow Giants here David, Your
tweaking this puppy up as much as you can. Hundreds of methods/
examples out there to do that..no reason.. just picked this one
because he Power Points (visual) and has street creds and perhaps
see it from a different perspective:

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/2568819/...Giant-Pumpkins

Roots and shoots. Set em up for the big race. I'm sure your methods
might work well.

With cucurbits you can also get nodal roots which are an
asset as they supply water to a BIG VINE( emphasis added)
along its length which helps to
reduce wilting in full sun, thus allowing photosynthesis to continue longer
on hot days before the stomata start to shut down.

Yeah......and yet not so much with pumpkins as other cucurbits,
right? Regardless, these nodes are nothing but a pipeline pumping
station for the vine's apical dominance wanderlust. Stop that. Also
the extraneous leaf area is a water waster to the tune of several
gallon a day. So If you don’t need them, don't spend the energy to
operate them. Again it is not quantity you seek , but quality, your
tweaking this. Extraneous vines and leave distract from that goal.

Manure will supply sufficient nitrogen if you use the right sort. Bird
manure and rabbit manure are high in N. I would use an appropriate mixture.

David, again the man is fueling up a giant pumpkin for the big
race. You could very well run it with the biofuel blend, tweaking it
as you go or since you spent all this effort to set it up for these
conditions…. you go with that you know works well, get the nitro out.

One could also use foliar sprays of chemferts if you wanted to go all out..

I thought that was the point, to go all out! But “chemferts”…thats a
"really, billy". Still splitting hairs to get to the same point.
I’m of the camp it not so much what you use, but how you use it.

As for foliar sprays? Maybe? just never been in my regime since
reading this: http://www.puyallup.wsu.edu/~Linda%2...%20feeding.pdf

G