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Follansbee, Wv

The season is pretty much over. If you have learned a lesson that might help other new growers please post it here. I will be writing an article and submitting it for publication on the site. I personnaly learned several lessons the hard way, and would like to help other new growers avoid some of the mistakes I made. You don't have to be a new grower to post up...even the pro's make a mistake now and then...I think.

10/18/2005 8:02:00 AM

Netherlands

I planted four plants out a little bit too early and (apparantly) without enough wind protection. I lost one of the plants to the wind and the other three split the main vine.
Lessons learnt: better wind protection and plant the seedlings as deep as possible (up till the first leaves) to prevent them breaking off in the wind (and helping root growth).

10/18/2005 8:35:17 AM

Knopp, Germany

Nice topic Monty, looking forward to your article.

Two lessons from this year alone:
1- Just because the weather report calls for cold and overcast weather, do not close up your green house totally, you will end up burning your seedlings if the weatherman is wrong. A more experienced grower told me it is better to be a touch on the cool side then to overheat them when they are young, he was right.
2- Just because you have supplied protection under your pumpkin from rodents entering in through the bottom, do not think they will not walk over the protection and crawl under it between a rib and the protection. That one almost cost me my big squash this year. Put our bait and traps on top of the protection to be safe.

10/18/2005 8:36:20 AM

addison Il

always make sure you are getting your seeds from places like this just because someones selling a seed on ebay that is pictured with a 1000pdr doesnt mean the seed is comming form that pumpkin and unless your a die hard like me and sis it can break your spirit.
#2-- always follow your gut feeling above all else there are always diffrent views on diffrent aspects of growing follow the one you can live with or do your own experimenting thats what fun is all about.

10/18/2005 11:41:09 AM

Protect those seedlings from the wind! And don't pick favorites! If one plant is better looking, than another in the early stages it doesn't mean a thing when pumpkin time comes.

10/18/2005 1:13:28 PM

Menomonie, WI (mail@gr8pumpkin.net)

1.If the label on the bottle says 2TBSP per Gallon and you spray 3 times a week cut that dosage in 1/2.
2.Do Not mix anything with Neem Oil, only spray at dusk

10/18/2005 1:59:51 PM

San Jose garysand@pacbell.net

Do not dig a deep hole and fill it with fresh mushroom compost in april, then plant over that spot.

10/18/2005 2:16:01 PM

Rockford,il

It is better to plant a little early than a little late.My whole season was ruined by a hot July that prevented my fruit from setting .Have your females flowering by first of July.I would rather worry about getting my big pumpkin to last to October weighoff than praying that I have a hot September to grow an average size AG pumpkin.

10/18/2005 3:01:29 PM

Hayes, Virginia

I have learned that i want Monty to teach me how to grow 1000lb pumpkin.
Ed

10/18/2005 3:14:34 PM

Puyallup, WA

Although I have now grown for six years, I am still amazed how something else can go wrong every season! Each year, when I think that I have planned for every contingency, there seems to be something new that causes a crisis....that makes me lose even more hair! And I haven't got that much left to lose!

10/18/2005 5:59:48 PM

Bristol, ME (stunner906@roadrunner.com)

I learned how much fun it is to see two good friends bring fruit to the scale that weighed over 1000 pounds, in a state that has never seen those numbers before.

10/18/2005 7:02:36 PM

Long Island,New York

Even when everything goes wrong-you can still do well.
Wallmart bathroom scales suck.
The bullshit stops when the tailgate drops.

10/18/2005 8:28:53 PM

Butler, Ohio

1. Dont pollinate too early
2. provide better support for the vines to avoid "the splits, cause rotten punkins stink.
3. Get some better wind protection
4. set up some kind of automatic watering system cause dragging the hose out to the patch through the wife's flower bed can get you in alot of trouble!

10/18/2005 8:33:47 PM

Ri

monty actually this is the beginning of the season. soil! soil! soil!!! get the reports in to your lab and then make your ammendments befoe the the earth gets too hard Peter

10/18/2005 9:05:56 PM

Picton,ON (j.vincent@xplornet.ca)

If you plan to grow six or seven hot seeds, be sure to start several extra plants and plant them on time. I held back three seedlings from "hot seeds" because they just wern't ready when I wanted to plant. I planted them two and three weeks late. Even "hot seeds" can have the odd one with low vigor. If you get a seedling with poor vigor, pitch it!
Have your irrigation set up and ready early. Be ready for an unusual hot or dry spell.
Bury you main vine as soon as the secondarys are running.
John

10/18/2005 9:40:37 PM

Owensboro, Ky.

Don't do too much on the same day. I terminated secondaries, sprayed folaries, and watered, on the same day that I culled a secondary....next day...Ka-Boom. Can you say...big enough to stick yer arm in. Peace Wayne

10/18/2005 11:35:56 PM

valparaiso, in

make sure you keep up with your deweeding before it gets out of control.

10/19/2005 3:30:32 AM

Austria

1) Provide for wind protection
2) Beware of soil compaction
3) Grow no more than one fruit per plant
4) Don`t plan to break records when you just can`t

10/19/2005 11:32:58 AM

Midwest

1. Don't over-fertilize with chemical fertilizers when digging the growing 'pit'.
2. Always remove the leaf axle the connects to the stem of your pumpkin when the pumpkin is small.
3. Start your fungicide application in July and be consistent through September.
4. When you set the plants outside, surround them with wire mesh if you don't use a hoop house. Don't allow deer, cows, dogs, squirrels, hedgehogs, mice, etc.. anywhere near your patch.
5. Use well-composted manure.

10/19/2005 1:54:54 PM

Abbotsford, B.C

I have learned that... it's almost impossible to be ready for everything. You can try and imagine every possible circumstance, but there's always something you haven't thought of. You sometimes just have to do the best you can with what you've got. So, it's known to get windy where you live. Well, make a windbreak. But what if the wind blows that windbreak down? Ooops!

I have learned to never play favorites, you never know which plant will grow the biggest pumpkin.

This one's important. I have learned to never set a goal that it is very unlikely that you will break! Do not set your heart on a 1000 lber and then be disappointed when you don't grow one that big! Also don't plant seeds that are known for going quite light to the charts. There is nothing more disappointing than seeing a pumpkin that tapes a 1000 weigh only 850 at the scale.

10/19/2005 2:58:55 PM

Tipp City, Ohio

Fix the fence so the goats don't get out!

10/19/2005 8:38:49 PM

Mill Creek West by god Virginia

i learned to not let grade school children into the patch for tour when im not home cost me my pb 681 lb fruit oucg

10/19/2005 10:53:05 PM

Austria

Absolutely! Likely the MOST important thing at all: If you have visitors in your patch, explain them BEFORE not to step into the plant or even touch it. When leaves are damaged, the are damaged. Second, if you have helpers when moving pumpkins, explain them that hell awaits if they ever touch the stem or try to lift up the pumpkin all by themselfes. I had a small pumpkin of 170 lbs that I let grow on a plant, which had aborted the last fruit on the main vine and it was the smallest, so I wouln`t care. Still we tried to move it, and a friend with too much enthusiasm lifted it up all alone before I was able to say anything (he grabbed it at the stem for sure) and fell right on his face as the pumpkin fell back on the ground and split in two parts. I hope lesson learned for both of us ...

10/20/2005 3:42:24 AM

Lexington, Ky

If you have a plant(s) at the bottom of a hill, they will receive most of the fertilizer eventually. Mine also had a tendancy to be wetter than the uphill plants.

10/21/2005 1:02:55 PM

Ontario, Canada.

1. Young Organic soil patches often require lower PH levels than we are accustomed to.

2. Adequate water and uninterrupted flow of Calcium at fruit set is most beneficial to prevent splits.

3. PM can be controlled using Baking soda, Teas, HC oil and soaps.

4. Keep the plant leaves young by spraying teas and occasionally week sugary molasses mixes in small quantities.

5. Use a root zone Calcium & Phos fert. application periodically to promote root growth and calcium uptake.

6. Use topical fruit sprays of Calcium with disinfectants.

7. Pray, that the fruit goes heavy.

10/23/2005 5:36:11 PM

Walkerton Ont

over the course of the year, lessons learn for this year would be
1) never give up on a plant that u think is not doing nothing,
2) dont get lazy and keep at prunning, even if ur plant sucks lol
3)take fruit off,
4) have better spirts

All of this would of helped me reach my goal of 1000 but instead i half to settle once again with 911.5 this year, cant complain i guess.

10/23/2005 5:51:33 PM