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Reed Point Montana

hello again! I wondering if aerating the pumpkins roots was very important, if so how would i go about doing it?

aslo i had an idea of maybe making a sorce of water under the pumpkin by maybe running a pipe with holes in it or something else to encourage root growth and pumpkin growth, is this a silly idea?

4/2/2008 2:07:35 AM

Minnesota

Thats why people use walking boards, to keep from compacting the soil.

4/2/2008 7:42:12 AM

Rhode Island

last year we used a pitch fork.

did this several times from mid season out by opening the soil about two ft away from the plants outer edges.

no need to turn the soil over disturbing roots etc, just rock the pitch fork back a couple inches.

there is also a professional fork that is sold for this purpose. i believe its called a broad fork.

yes we believe in airating our soil - especially once the rains etc pack it down a little.

pap

4/2/2008 8:11:56 AM

Farmville, Virginia (mfowler@hsc.edu)

Not sure what you mean a water source under your pumpkin but if you are talking about water under the fruit itself I would definitely stay away from that idea! No roots come out of the bottom of the pumpkin and adding water under it just encourages rot to the fruit.

4/2/2008 10:37:48 AM

Pinedale, WY

I think he means burying a pipe a couple feet under the ground and having a few holes poked in it so the water will water from below. I don't know if it will work, but I think that is what mid means.

4/2/2008 11:20:12 AM

Farmville, Virginia (mfowler@hsc.edu)

Ok pastor you might be right. I'm still not crazy about creating more water under that pumpkin than whats already going to be there from normal watering and rainfall. I have nightmares about finding the bottom a big fruit rotten. Those usually start occurring about a week before harvest!

4/2/2008 12:56:33 PM

Pinedale, WY

The question I would have about watering from underground, is 1. would the ground begin to washout and cause a sinkhole where you water? 2. If you lower the volume enough so that wouldn't happen, then how far will the water really travel?

4/2/2008 1:26:59 PM

maine USA

It seems to me that a pipe with holes in it would fill up with mud in a short period of time??

4/2/2008 4:25:48 PM

Boulder County Colorado USA planet Earth

A couple yrs ago, I took a 6 inch pvc pipe about 18 inches long and buried it about 12 inches or so. This in theory allowed the plants roots to go deeper and find water.

I never had a problem with this, and everyday i would fill the pipe and the next day it would be empty. Of course I also watered the mound/hill as well.

4/2/2008 4:57:23 PM

Reed Point Montana

thanks cold weather you seem to understand me a lil better then the rest lol and i was thinking of keeping the pipe from filling up with mud by coveing it with moss or a screen to allow good root water distribution. and with 8-10
inches if rain a year and literaly no rin during august and september in not worried about water problems. one more thing why would i water under my pumpkin lol you had to know i meant the roots

4/3/2008 1:48:58 AM

Williamsburg,KY

I have used aqua spikes on some of my plants and it seems to work ok, but sometimes the holes in the spike do get filled with soil and you have to remove it and clean the hole and so on..a drip line would be better. Just my humble not too experienced opinion..good luck.

4/4/2008 1:55:14 PM