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Calgary Alberta Canada

My pumpkin vine is about 17-18 feet long. I have a few secondary vines about 5 feet each. It has one golf ball sized kin growing. How much water does this plant need. Our Temps have been 24-33 Celcius. Today I watered in the morning and this afternoon I noticed some of the leaves sagging. I added some water and it seemed to perk fight back up.

Thanks everyone.

8/12/2015 8:20:09 PM

Alberta

Hi newgrower, its hard to answer..
#1 By the time your plant main is 17 ft long your sides should be around 15ft long and you should have at least a dozen in front of your kin
#2 your situation tells me that your soil is not ideal (probably still heavy in clay)
#3 Clay soil will not drain very fast..so you will be limited to how much water you can add before rot sets in
#4 The flaggin is usually caused from not having enough roots..so your plants will droop
#5 Roots grow better in soil with either a lot of peat,compost or manure..better yet a combination of all three
#6make sure you bury your vines,,you want the extra root you get at each leaf node
#7 Next season get hold of some Mycho as well..this will increase your rooting ability

8/12/2015 8:44:30 PM

Alberta

For now..keep the soil damp not soaked..dig down in dirt 6 inches check it there

8/12/2015 8:46:17 PM

Taber, Alberta

See what you can get out of this year by learning as much as you can for 2016. The better start you get in the spring by protecting the plant, the further you will be when it comes to the actual pumpkin growing in July and August. Did you use any type of greenhouse or hoophouse?

I went from 141.5 pounds my first year when I had no clue what I was doing, to 716 my second. I still mess things up now and then, but with your growing season being so short, you need to get off to a good start in the spring.

Ray gave you some great ideas. Some areas in Calgary are known for the clay soil. Get it tested if you can and add some amendments to improve it for the spring.

8/12/2015 11:04:29 PM

Calgary Alberta Canada

I built my garden this year. The dirt is 40 % soil 20%sand 20% compost and 20% peat. The garden is about 24 inches deep at the pumpkin end. Below that is clay. Should I build a mound for it next year?
I will get what I get.this year and have learned quite a bit. Next year I will start in a hoop house with a small heater much earlier than I did this year.

8/13/2015 4:18:01 PM

Eastern Pennsylvania

18ft long, 10ft across the back is an odd plant configuration. Watering in the morning, flagging, then more water perks it up. That sounds like you are not watering deeply enough. Your soil should be plenty deep to water more. I suggest watering heavily every other day instead of just a little each day if that's what you're doing. On a hot period, I could easily go 75 gallons per plant each watering day. Are you giving them this much water at the moment? They need a lot.

8/13/2015 4:38:16 PM

Calgary Alberta Canada

I haven't been giving them 75 gallons of water each watering day. I'd be surprised if I have been giving them 5 gallons a day. Today I noticed that the plants were only sagging in the heat of the day. They weren't when I got up,but when I came home around 3 hours later the plant looked deflated. I'll try to heavy water tomorrow am. I don't have any of the vine buried. How much difference will that make?

8/13/2015 10:16:36 PM

Eastern Pennsylvania

If your plant is around 200 sq feet and from what I can tell it is, you need to deliver much more than 5 gallons per day. Try quadrupling your watering. Worst case it would be like you got a heavy rain one day. Then check the soil the next day. Your soil should be a little damp the next day especially under the leaves. If so you can take the day off watering and repeat the following day. You've got to get those roots diving deep. If you water lightly every day the roots sit just below the surface waiting for a few drops of water and never really develop. Burying vines won't help at all unless you are giving enough water to the plant so that it can take advantage of the extended root system. You can get a 1000 pound pumpkin without burying roots, but not without water.

8/14/2015 12:54:35 AM

Eastern Pennsylvania

*you can get a 1000 pound pumpkin without burying vines* sorry should've proofread. Good luck to ya!

8/14/2015 12:57:46 AM

Alberta

Watch the weather like a hawk newgrower..if nights are above 55F for temps then you should be watering somewhere around 25-45 gallons a day for that plant..and water out past the plant..the rule I use is ..if the plant is 18 ft long the roots can be 18 ft long and you might not have plant on that area,,but you might have roots there...water a big area...once temps drop below 55 at night...I cut my water in half...seems that they suck up water during the day,,,then if below 55F the pumpkins won't expand like they should and Kaboom ...splitsville...so watch the night temps and give that plant more water till you see night temps fall off

8/14/2015 2:49:07 AM

Alberta

I have found with our cooler temps we don't need as much water as our southern growers do. Then again because of our cooler temps we have usually no issues when we bury the vines. If you watch closely you will notice that a vine that has dirt covering the leaf nodes will grow an extra root at each leaf node..twice the roots..twice the ability to grow big azz kin.
PS ..I still don't bury the main vine..I like to be able to keep an eye on it!

8/14/2015 2:56:30 AM

Manitoba

I don't see the magic word "mulch" anywhere in these discussions. I love the stuff; you have to water less and there's hardly any weeds that can struggle through.

8/14/2015 4:36:31 AM

Eastern Pennsylvania

Mulching and giNt pumpkins don't work.... For me. Wood chips find their way into the soil and that locks up nitrogen. Straw creates a paradise for rabbits and voles. Anywhere else in the garden mulch is great but all attempts in the giant pumpkin arena have failed for me. So far as I know the majority of top giant pumpkins have been grown without mulch.

8/14/2015 11:55:15 AM

Manitoba

I am using a small layer of "lawn" clippings. (Ain't much of a lawn, but you know what I mean.) Enough to keep the soil cool but not deep enough to attract field mice. Helps with weeds, also.

8/14/2015 12:09:03 PM

Easthampton, MA

I've been wondering about mulch myself. I've been using grass clippings and was putting them down fairly heavily. Looks like they are leaching out too much N -- obviously a problem.

But I would like to know what the best option would be. I really don't want to be weeding all the time next year. :)

However, I do hear your warnings about voles. I've had some problems with them in the past in my flower beds. Our cat has been keeping them in check over the past few years, but I'd hate to see them show up and start chowing on roots.

8/14/2015 3:40:51 PM

Calgary Alberta Canada

So I dug up a small hole in the garden today. The soil was moist but no saturated. I also watered them with a good 60 liters or water. When I got home this evening I noticed both plants looked.go

8/14/2015 8:29:30 PM

Calgary Alberta Canada

Good. Lol...I'm doing this on my phone. Anyways I'll skip tomorrow's watering and see how it goes.

Again, thanks everyone.

8/14/2015 8:31:08 PM

Eastern Pennsylvania

So there are 2 plants? And 60 liters should be around 15 gallons I think. See how the soil and plants look tomorrow, I think you can go heavier with the watering next time. You are on the right track now. Water then observe. Water heavier then observe. every other day refine and remember that as the plant size increases so does the need for water. And when your pumpkin starts really growing it is even more. In about a week you'll have it dialed in!

8/14/2015 10:41:42 PM

Alberta

I grow in a greenhouse newgrowercalgary so my temps are 20 degrees warmer so I will probably use more water than you..I water everyday.
Orangeneck is right, water observe increase or decrease as needed..I like consistent watering so I water everyday.
I don't get rain in greenhouse, but you will have to adjust for rain.

8/15/2015 12:38:25 AM

Alberta

My outside plant is in heavy clay soil but I give it at least 15 gallons a day..in good soil I would guess you could be 15-30 gallons a day per plant(covering around 600-700 sq ft per plant site) and you really should water a larger area than your plant is long

8/15/2015 12:48:39 AM

Mill Bay, British Columbia

I personally would never mulch with anything but the soil you are growing in and never with lawn clippings. As those lawn clippings decay the are going to decay your vines and stems at the same time. There is a reason you don't see much discussion about mulching with foreign material, because most giant pumpki growers just don't do it.

Each year I save some compost and the mix it with peat moss for covering and burying vines. Don't mulch, you are inviting issues.

8/15/2015 11:12:20 AM

valparaiso, in

I have been watering 50 gallons a day. Last night it wasn't supposed to rain until 4am this morning, but it started raining around 7pm. I finished watering a few hours earlier. It was a decent amount of rain too. I went out this morning expecting to see that the pumpkin exploded. That has happened to me before. To my surprise it looks great. I am starting to think that I am under watering it? I will do some trials of 75 gallons a day to see what happens.

8/15/2015 12:58:43 PM

Easthampton, MA

Thanks for that North Shore. I know I haven't seen any mulch on patches in pics. I'm so used to mulching, it was just a default behavior. ;)

However, I can't help but ask (even though the answer will probably be 'not a good idea), what about straw? It's a N hog I imaging so perhaps that's the biggest issue with it?

Hope this isn't co-opting the thread. ;)

8/19/2015 5:03:16 PM