Pumpkin Patch Project

[TNhobbyfarmer]

I am in the process of working on a small pumpkin patch, about .15 acre. I plowed and disked the area a month or so ago. I used a two bottom Ford 101 plow. Today I plowed it again with the scarifiers on my box blade. I want to keep the soil loose and weeds out until I plant in early to mid June.

I will spray Command for pre emergent weed control. Also I plan to spray something (any suggestions?) for insect control once the plants come up.

I saved seeds from a pumpkin last fall to plant. I probably would have bought seeds, but I know someone who did it this way last year, and it worked surprisingly well. If this is successful, I plan on inviting members of my Sunday School class to my place in the fall. My class members are all in an age range to have grandkids, so I want them to bring as many kids as possible to get the pumpkins to take home for holloween.

This will be a new experience for me. Any suggestions or helpful hints from you pumpkin experts will be appreciated. The first two pics are the day of using the turning plow. The last two are today when I used the box as a plow.

If there appears to be any interest in this thread, I will update it periodically as things progress.

 

[HCJtractor]

I'm in. I want to do the same so i will follow and learn. Good luck!

 

[MarkV]

I don't know anything about the product Command but wouldn't a pre emergent also work against the pumpkin seeds and prevent germination?

MarkV

 

[kiotiken]

Last year was my first kick at the can and the biggest lesson I learned was that each plant needs more room than I gave them. Looks like you have lots of room so you maybe fine, just make sure you give each one some room to stretch out. Also, I'm thinking June is too late. I'm starting them in pots inside this weekend, but you being so far south, you could go straight to planting now.

 

[Briar Hill Brittanys]

First, let me say I'm not a "pumpkin expert". Second, I'm in like HCJtractor. I am working on a pumpkin patch, too, and trying to expand into watermelons. This is my first attempt at more than a couple of hills of pumpkins. The area I'm planting was plowed last year to kill the sod. Then a couple of deep passes with a spring tine cultivator, followed by discing. I layed off the rows by leaving a tractor width on each long side, and a little over a tractor width between each row. Drew up the hills. Planted 3 seeds, spaced 10'. Plan for weeds is to wait about a week or so and cultivate between rows. Then I'll drill buckwheat to crowd out the weeds. The added benefit there is organic matter and bees. Once the pumpkins start vining, there's not going to be any cultivating. I got this idea from a fellow on another forum. He actually planted using a JD 71 Flexi-Planter. Dude, that's some major pumpkin patch. Mark

 

[TNhobbyfarmer]

I don't know anything about the product Command but wouldn't a pre emergent also work against the pumpkin seeds and prevent germination?

MarkV

Command is labeled for pumpkins so it should not be a problem. I think it has widespread use among commercial growers. I have read some articles and it is recommended.

 

[TNhobbyfarmer]

Last year was my first kick at the can and the biggest lesson I learned was that each plant needs more room than I gave them. Looks like you have lots of room so you maybe fine, just make sure you give each one some room to stretch out. Also, I'm thinking June is too late. I'm starting them in pots inside this weekend, but you being so far south, you could go straight to planting now.

The problem with planting now is that the pumpkins would mature too soon before halloween, late Aug. to early Sept. The ideal situation would be to mature late Sept. to early Oct. Of course, where you are located freezing would occur much earlier so you will have to plan differently.

The main problem I can forsee with planting in June is the possibility of a dry summer. I think pumpkins will need good rain to prosper. Guess I'll just hope to get lucky with some decent rains.

 

[TNhobbyfarmer]

Dude, that's some major pumpkin patch. Mark

I think the picture is somewhat of an illusion. It's really not as big as it looks but will probably feel big when some of the manual labor starts. I plan to plant by hand which will be a chore.

 

[Ranger Rick]

The problem with planting now is that the pumpkins would mature too soon before halloween, late Aug. to early Sept. The ideal situation would be to mature late Sept. to early Oct. Of course, where you are located freezing would occur much earlier so you will have to plan differently.

The main problem I can forsee with planting in June is the possibility of a dry summer. I think pumpkins will need good rain to prosper. Guess I'll just hope to get lucky with some decent rains.

You are right to wait until middle to late June with planting your pumpkins. The maturity dates of pumpkins range from 90 days to 120 days. There are many different varieties and sizes of pumpkins and sizes. Some varieties are very compact plants and others need lots of space between plants and rows. Since you recycled these seeds do you have any idea how big the plants were last year? That will help in determining the spacing on your plants. If you plant them too close you will get smaller pumpkins. You can always mulch the plants with straw to keep down the weeds. What we did was plant a cover crop in the fall and then spray it to kill it in May and then no till plant the pumpkins in the mulch of the cover crop. That kept the weeds down pretty well. Rick

 

[Luremaker]

I've grown a few pumpkins over the years. There are a few large growers here on TBN. I plant between 2-3 acres a year. I till and cultivate until the plants fill in the rows, so weeds are generally not a problem. I've been really lucky when it comes to bugs. I've only had two or three years where I had to spray.

I like long (500 feet) and wide row spacing (10-12 feet). I use both a Cole 12MX and JD 71 planter to plant the seed. I like to plant between the 7th and 15th of June. I have planted as late as July 4th and still have great crops. The Cole 12MX plants in hills of 3-4 seeds spaced 36 to 40 inches apart in the row.