Pumpkin Patch Project

[TNhobbyfarmer]

Both those pictures are from past seasons. I'll have to take a few pictures soon. Over the weekend I was going to run my tiller between the rows to clean up newly germinating weeds. Since I already had my dethatcher on the tractor I decided to give it a try. I was impressed with how well it pulled out all those small weeds. Much faster than running the tiller. If you have a dethatcher give it a try.

So far no weed problems. I sprayed with Command and it appears that it is doing the job. I'm glad there are no regulations here that prevent us from buying and spraying herbicides.

 

[TNhobbyfarmer]

The pumpkins have been in the ground 1 month now. We had one small shower the day after I planted and then 3 weeks of no rain and 100+ temperatures. I had to hand water the plants for that period of drought. The last week we have been getting quite a bit of rain. The plants survived and now look to be thriving.

I am afraid of mildew with all the wet weather we are having. I plan to spray a fungicide in the next couple of days to hopefully keep them from getting sick.

In the picture you will notice that some of the plants are much larger than others. In the initial planting, I had some skips and had to go back and replant some spots. I think the younger plants will catch up fairly soon.

 

[Luremaker]

The pumpkins have been in the ground 1 month now. We had one small shower the day after I planted and then 3 weeks of no rain and 100+ temperatures. I had to hand water the plants for that period of drought. The last week we have been getting quite a bit of rain. The plants survived and now look to be thriving.

I am afraid of mildew with all the wet weather we are having. I plan to spray a fungicide in the next couple of days to hopefully keep them from getting sick.

In the picture you will notice that some of the plants are much larger than others. In the initial planting, I had some skips and had to go back and replant some spots. I think the younger plants will catch up fairly soon.

Those are looking great. I hate to say at least half of mine have been destroyed by cucumber beetles. The plants were doing really well then out of nowhere came thousands of beetles. The came the same weekend I was gone so I could not do a thing. By the time I got back many of the plants were dead or dying. To make it even harder on the plants we are having a hotter and dryer summer. It looks like all the Atlantic's, cinderela and most of the miniature did not make it. Saturday morning I'll go out and till the weeds and see what remains of my patch.

 

[TNhobbyfarmer]

Those are looking great. I hate to say at least half of mine have been destroyed by cucumber beetles. The plants were doing really well then out of nowhere came thousands of beetles. The came the same weekend I was gone so I could not do a thing. By the time I got back many of the plants were dead or dying. To make it even harder on the plants we are having a hotter and dryer summer. It looks like all the Atlantic's, cinderela and most of the miniature did not make it. Saturday morning I'll go out and till the weeds and see what remains of my patch.

Man that beetle story is the pits. Nobody likes to see the stuff they're growing die. Good luck on the ones that survive. I've always thought I would like to be a real farmer but not sure I could deal with mother nature's cruelty. A lost crop to a farmer is serious business unlike my hobby farming.

 

[downslope]

Do you think these will make it by OCT 1? It's been dry and they haven't been growing much, but almost an inch of rain in past 5 days and hot, so I'm hoping they'll take off.

 

[FreshRouteFarm]

Those are looking great. I hate to say at least half of mine have been destroyed by cucumber beetles. The plants were doing really well then out of nowhere came thousands of beetles. The came the same weekend I was gone so I could not do a thing. By the time I got back many of the plants were dead or dying. To make it even harder on the plants we are having a hotter and dryer summer. It looks like all the Atlantic's, cinderela and most of the miniature did not make it. Saturday morning I'll go out and till the weeds and see what remains of my patch.

The same thing happened to my small patch. What's left is doing well besides the lack of rain.

 

[TNhobbyfarmer]

View attachment 274044Do you think these will make it by OCT 1? It's been dry and they haven't been growing much, but almost an inch of rain in past 5 days and hot, so I'm hoping they'll take off.

I'm betting they'll make it by Oct 1. We weren't getting much rain either, but getting quite a bit last couple of weeks. My pumpkins really took off. The plants look great, but I'm a little concerned about the low number of blooms so far. A few blooms but not many yet. Hope I didn't put too much nitrogen on them.

 

[Luremaker]

I'm betting they'll make it by Oct 1. We weren't getting much rain either, but getting quite a bit last couple of weeks. My pumpkins really took off. The plants look great, but I'm a little concerned about the low number of blooms so far. A few blooms but not many yet. Hope I didn't put too much nitrogen on them.

Jerry, I think your plants will do fine. Remember most large pumpkin varieties only average 1-2 fruit per plant. It's been a month since our last real rain. We've had a sprinkle here and there but that's all. I tilled under 1/2 acre of corn today and the soil was dry as a bone.

 

[TNhobbyfarmer]

Jerry, I think your plants will do fine. Remember most large pumpkin varieties only average 1-2 fruit per plant. It's been a month since our last real rain. We've had a sprinkle here and there but that's all. I tilled under 1/2 acre of corn today and the soil was dry as a bone.

Luremaker, sounds like you are having a rough year with the corn and pumpkins. Hope you are able to salvage something out of your efforts.

One question....where do you get your seeds? I'm having a lot of fun growing the pumpkins. I'll probably increase my patch size next year and will need to get seeds in larger quantities so I'll probably mail order. I got a Rupp Seeds catalog and they have a good selection. Any other suggestions?

 

[downslope]

Luremaker, sounds like you are having a rough year with the corn and pumpkins. Hope you are able to salvage something out of your efforts.

One question....where do you get your seeds? I'm having a lot of fun growing the pumpkins. I'll probably increase my patch size next year and will need to get seeds in larger quantities so I'll probably mail order. I got a Rupp Seeds catalog and they have a good selection. Any other suggestions?

For commercial pumpkins, I would say Rupp and Harris Seeds are the big guys. Also Siegers Seeds and Seedway have large selections. Unless you're growing organic I would stick to the seeds with the Farmore coating; that will do a lot to help with early beetle problems. The seed companies seem to like to restrict the treatment to their proprietary varieties, probably to encourage you to buy those.