Pumpkin Patch Project

[HCJtractor]

Wow, that's really a pretty pumpkin patch! Can I just plant several rows with a row planter and expect them to do ok? I can't water them. How about fertilizer?

 

[Luremaker]

Wow, that's really a pretty pumpkin patch! Can I just plant several rows with a row planter and expect them to do ok? I can't water them. How about fertilizer?

Thanks. I like to side dress fertilizer when planting and again just before the plant begins to vine. Pumpkins like lots of phosphate and nitrogen. If you really want a good crop I'd recommend a soil test and bring the phosphate levels up a week or two before planting your seed if you do not side dress. I do not water my pumpkins I let Mother Nature take care of that for me. I do shallow till between the rows every 10-14 days for weed control.

Pumpkin and Squash Production

 

[TNhobbyfarmer]

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.

Fantastic looking pumpkins. I hope I can do half that well with my patch. Do you scout for insects and only spray when you see evidence? What insect control chemical do you use? I have heard about a bug that bores into the stems and kills the entire plant. Do you know what that would be?

 

[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.

Fantastic looking pumpkins. I hope I can do half that well with my patch. Do you scout for insects and only spray when you see evidence? What insect control chemical do you use? I have heard about a bug that bores into the stems and kills the entire plant. Do you know what that would be?

I keep an eye out for cucumber beetles. If I see them very early when the plants are small in under 6 leaf stage I'll spray with seven. If I see them later after the plants have vined I don't bother spraying. I have been very lucky and have had little insect or disease problems. I always rotate my patches and I am sure that helps. I am further north than you are and we have deep frosts which I am sure kills many insects as well. The most common disease problem I have is powdery mildew.

I think the insect you are asking about is the squash vine borer. In all the years I have planted pumpkins I have only seen these once. I know some pumpkin farmers have rigorous spray schedules to control diseases and insects but they have large investments and must avoid the risk of losing their crops. I give most of my pumpkins away so if I have a bad year I only hope for a better crop next year.


"Squash Vine Borer
The squash vine borer is a pest on pumpkins, squash, marrow and gourds. The adult is an attractive clear-winged moth with black and orange body and orange legs fringed with long, black hairs. The larva is the destructive stage of this pest as it feeds within the vine and causes the plant to wilt and/or collapse often causing death. Although squash is the preferred host, butternut squash is apparently immune to this pest."

 

[ShenandoahJoe]

Sounds like you're doing it right. Just don't do what I did, and plant the patch where a squadron of hazmat trucks will have to clean up an oil spill.

 

[farmall 55a case]

How's it coming along?

 

[TNhobbyfarmer]

How's it coming along?

I haven't posted in awhile because nothing's currently going on. The field is prepared and the next phase is going to be planting, probably in the second week of June.

I recently went to Youtube and searched "planting pumpkins". There were quite a few videos, most of which were of the backyard planting variety. However, there were several that dealt more with commercial planting. For obvious reasons, the commercial guys use mechanical planters and tractors. There was some good information. One guy just drives a tractor slowly along with a JD 71 planter attached. Instead of using some sort of pumpkin plate, he removes the seed box and puts a funnel into the seed tube. A person walks beside the planter and drops a pumpkin seed often enough to get a reasonably accurate seed population. I have heard about doing something similar with a mechanical tobacco planter. The person will count off a few seconds and drop a seed, over and over.

I have a 71 planter so I think I will try this method. Sounds a lot easier than doing it manually. I 'll post more with pictures as this thing progresses. Don't know if I'll get any pumpkins but I'm having fun trying.

 

[Luremaker]

I haven't posted in awhile because nothing's currently going on. The field is prepared and the next phase is going to be planting, probably in the second week of June.

I recently went to Youtube and searched "planting pumpkins". There were quite a few videos, most of which were of the backyard planting variety. However, there were several that dealt more with commercial planting. For obvious reasons, the commercial guys use mechanical planters and tractors. There was some good information. One guy just drives a tractor slowly along with a JD 71 planter attached. Instead of using some sort of pumpkin plate, he removes the seed box and puts a funnel into the seed tube. A person walks beside the planter and drops a pumpkin seed often enough to get a reasonably accurate seed population. I have heard about doing something similar with a mechanical tobacco planter. The person will count off a few seconds and drop a seed, over and over.

I have a 71 planter so I think I will try this method. Sounds a lot easier than doing it manually. I 'll post more with pictures as this thing progresses. Don't know if I'll get any pumpkins but I'm having fun trying.

You can also use the John Deere large pumpkin seed plate B27436 with the false ring if you can find one. You can also modify a large sunflower plate or even make your own from a blank plate.

I should have the results of my soil test this week and will be adding any required MAP to the patches over the weekend and till it all up. I'll let it all sit for two weeks or so to allow some weeds to germinate then till just before staking my rows and planting with my Cole 12MX planter.

I heard on the radio yesterday that if you have cucumber beetles to spray with soap and water to control them. The spray must come in contact with the beetle to kill it though.

 

[TNhobbyfarmer]

You can also use the John Deere large pumpkin seed plate B27436 with the false ring if you can find one. You can also modify a large sunflower plate or even make your own from a blank plate.

I should have the results of my soil test this week and will be adding any required MAP to the patches over the weekend and till it all up. I'll let it all sit for two weeks or so to allow some weeds to germinate then till just before staking my rows and planting with my Cole 12MX planter.

I heard on the radio yesterday that if you have cucumber beetles to spray with soap and water to control them. The spray must come in contact with the beetle to kill it though.

Luremaker; Since this more of a fun project for me instead of a serious agricultural venture, I did not do a soil test. I did throw a couple of bags of lime pellets on the small plot and will put some fertilizer on the rows after planting. When do you recommend fertilizing? Pre emerge or post emerge or does it matter that much?

What does the MAP acronym mean?

 

[Ranger Rick]

One guy just drives a tractor slowly along with a JD 71 planter attached. Instead of using some sort of pumpkin plate, he removes the seed box and puts a funnel into the seed tube. A person walks beside the planter and drops a pumpkin seed often enough to get a reasonably accurate seed population. I have heard about doing something similar with a mechanical tobacco planter. The person will count off a few seconds and drop a seed, over and over.

I have a 71 planter so I think I will try this method. Sounds a lot easier than doing it manually. I 'll post more with pictures as this thing progresses. Don't know if I'll get any pumpkins but I'm having fun trying.

The first year we planted pumpkins at the park for pick your own, we just made a furrow and walked along with a bucket a seed dropped a seed and kicked some dirt over. That was a pain in the back. Then we got fancy we took the old corn planter and put a bench on it with a couple of simple tractor seats and dropped seeds down the funnel with a tube attached to it. We painted a stripe on the tire and each time the stripe came around we dropped a seed. It was a four row planter and we used the two outside rows to get the spacing we wanted. That worked well. A few years later we were getting many acres of pumpkins we got a dedicated pumpkin planter.