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Massachusetts

i am still a little confused about fedding plants during the growing season.. what do you feed these things??

12/28/2006 12:21:38 AM

Sheridan . NY

go to www.candfert.com --hit products---hit giant pumpkin fertilty program----will give you a lot of info--

12/28/2006 12:47:25 AM

Commack, NY

Erick, you're probably going to get a whole host or responses on this one. Some people believe in programs, others do the miracle grow thing, some do the "soil soup" thing, and lastly, some don't feed at all. Successes and failures have happened with all methods. There are no guarantees and no magic potions. i would read as much as possible on this site, get yourself the series of How to grow world class giant pumpkins books, and talk with as many local growers as you can. then make a decision as to how you want to approach this. the most important thing is to have your soil up to speed. no amount of feeding is going to give you "the big one" of your soil is out of whack.

Scott

12/28/2006 8:54:30 AM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

Scott's right Eric. There are many ways to skin a cat. And there are no silver bullets.

This community used to rely on the Miracle Grow thing.

Then there was a shift toward soil test & correct by granular. Some had heavy hands & pay back is a bit**

Then we saw a shift toward sometimes excessive manure & compost additions which negates the need for the first 2 lest fruit start exploding. And they do.

Hence lower concentration spoon-feeding programs like Agro-K deliver a gentler filling in of the loaded soil nutrient roller coaster ride.

Today we see a new World Record grown in a new patch by a grower who had previously hit the wall in his old patch.

Join a few growers clubs & start networking right here in New England for local suppliers. Start with a soil test. UMass is in your backyard & does a reasonable job. Resist the temptation to try to fix it all in one season. Add old composted manures in 2-4 inch layers - no more. Mineral amendments can be used early on to make up for major deficiencies but give time & organic amendments their opportunity to complete the task - then lay off the minerals. Use Aerobic Compost &/or manure teas & steeps with low-dose foliar feeds to fill in the gaps.

More of anything is bad.

12/28/2006 10:03:21 AM

Massachusetts

Ok thank you all for the help. I will take all of these post and consider them thanks again

12/28/2006 11:12:17 AM