Creating 1 Acre Pumpkin Patch

[ratter]

ps - did you buy your seeds online? If so, mind if I ask where?

 

[Greyfields]

ps - did you buy your seeds online? If so, mind if I ask where?

^^^---- I want to know too. Everything I've found online has shipping prices which exceed the 50 lb bags of seed I want.

GrainFarmer.com-Used Farm Equipment, Grain Market Information, and More! has a page of links to seed suppliers:

GrainFarmer.com: Seed Company Links

 

[johnk]

I used to buy my seeds from here..
Flower Garden Seeds and Vegetable Garden Seeds | Stokes Seeds

 

[Luremaker]

ps - did you buy your seeds online? If so, mind if I ask where?

I purchase most of my seeds from OSC seeds. They are located about 2 hours from me. I have also purchased seeds from Veseys in PEI. There is also a local feed/seed supplier in town that offers excellent service. They will special order just about anything you ask for.

OSC Seed Inc.
Veseys

JohnK how do you like the quality of the seeds from Stokes?

 

[Luremaker]

You did a terrific job on the pumpkin patch. Had to be a little tough with that seeded. How long did it take to plant all those rows. I have the same seeder and all the animals in the vicinity were glad I gave them varied treats. I used to plant about 3/4 acre and it everything was always eaten to the soil. Didn't feel like putting a fence around the place so I planted hardwood cherry and Black walnut in the garden spot. Still have the seeded and plates though.

It took four of us about 6-7 hours to plant the whole patch. We have lots of rabbits around here but I do have 2 dogs and several cats and all of them like rabbit meat.

 

[Luremaker]

Steve, I believe everybody has one of those planters. They work great. It does seem to be quite a job to hand plant a whole acre, but with your well-prepared soil, I'm sure that was just a nice "walk in the park."

The planters are great. I would be lost without one.

I'm looking forward to about two weeks from now when you thin your plants and take some more pictures. You are going to have a really nice fall pumpkin patch. I just have a few hills this year and mine will be early, probably by the end of September.

The vines should begin to spread in a few weeks. Hopefully there will be no viruses or beetles this year. I just might spray in late July as a preventative measure.

 

[johnk]

Come October maybe I'll buy a pumpkin off you and pay the postage....

 

[Luremaker]

Come October maybe I'll buy a pumpkin off you and pay the postage....

johnk, tell you what ... I'll send you one my Connecticut field pumpkins and and you send me one of your specialty pumpkins. I have always had a small patch but after seeing a few of your pumpkin posts last year and decided to make a large patch of my own. Steve

 

[jinman]

johnk, tell you what ... I'll send you one my Connecticut field pumpkins and and you send me one of your specialty pumpkins. I have always had a small patch but after seeing a few of your pumpkin posts last year and decided to make a large patch of my own. Steve

We had pumpkins come up voluntarily in front of our goat barn this year. They have grown for 4 months and the goats just walk around the vines and leave them alone. Last week, I noticed one of the goats nibbling around the edge of the patch. The next day, all the goats were eating plants and I took these pictures. The last picture shows one day's damage. Now, the patch is 3/4 gone and the goats are busting the pumpkins and eating them. Maybe the plants just started making lots of sugar as the pumpkins matured and the goats can sense it. I was sure the goats would leave the plants alone, but they didn't. Oh well, they seem to make decent goat food.

 

[nickspalding]

3. Yes, I did a soil test and I plugged the results into the OMAFRA's fertilizer calculator, selected pumpkins and I went with the recommended amount of fertilizer.

Would you please post the link to the fertilizer calculator you used?