Growing Pumpkins

[EliLeonard]

I am in a Pumpkin Growing contest with my brothers in law and I am looking for tips on how to boost the size and quality of my pumpkins this year.

Usually they have nice color and shape, but the never get too big before they start rotting on the bottom...

Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Eli

[rootsy]

spray for powdery mildew to keep them from rotting.. Pumpkins like A LOT of nitrogen... AND space... So don't crowd them... make sure they get A LOT of nutrients... Keep the mildew out of the fruit...

You didn't say which variety you are competing with...

[cynthia_h]

Be sure NOT to let the pumpkins rest directly on the ground. Place straw or newspaper or, if you can, pallets underneath the pumpkin(s).

They need contact with the air so they won't rot.

And if you're growing a Sugar Pie pumpkin vs. an Atlantic Giant, yours will definitely be sweeter! But...it will also be much smaller...

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

[sixshooter]

I don't mean to highjack the thread but when is a good time to start pumpkins? ... in michigan?

[rootsy]

Depends on the maturity... You could get away with some 90 day pumpkins if you plant them NOW. If you go with larger (100 - 120 day) pumpkins you'll have orange pumpkins after Halloween. I put pumpkins in the ground from seed mid June. Gives me pumpkins ready for sale by 1st week of October.

BTW, Pumpkins directly on the ground will not rot until extremely past "ripe". PM infiltration causes them to rot from the inside out... Many of the Dill Giants are placed on plywood or a pallet to keep them from sinking into the earth and to make them easier to load. Helps prevent against ground pest infiltration also.

[pharmerphil]

You should look at the 3 links below, I have detailed instructions on Raising GIANT PUMPKINS
there is everything oyu need to know to raise the big ones
[url=https://pharmerphil.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=biguns&action=display&thread=5244]Giant Pumpkins part 1[/url]

[url=https://pharmerphil.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=biguns&action=display&thread=5245]Giant Pumpkins Part 2[/url]

[url=https://pharmerphil.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=biguns&action=display&thread=5247]Giant Pumpkins part 3[/url]

We do it organically, so We HAVE NPT exceeded 527 pounds, but I belive it can be done organically, most the other growers involved in competition use massive amounts of chemicals, and the worlds record is now over 1500 pounds, but the techniques, are the same as outlined in the three links

here are pics of the 527 pounder and the 461 pounder and the small 237 pounder we raised a couple years back..oh and the children LOVE big pumpkins
[img]https://www.imageviper.com/displayimage/141051/0/kids_and_pumpkin.jpg[/img]

[EliLeonard]

WOW!!!!

Thanks for all your ideas! I am growing Jack-o-Lantern pumpkins, but everyone got to pick their own larger variety carving pumpkins.


Rootsy--you mentioned spraying for powdery mildew. Any suggestions on what to use?

PharmerPhil those pumpkins are amazing! Thanks for the instructions!!


Thanks Again, and if any one else has any tips, keep 'em coming

-Eli

[nes]

There was a really great doc. on CBC last year about Giant Pumpkins, I wonder if anyone can track it down?

All about growing them, it was quite entertaining - we watched it twice (too bad my dogs ran over my baby pumpkin plants, so no giants for us this year!)

[rootsy]

Chlorothalonil (active ingredient) is about the easiest for the average joe to acquire. You can get it pretty much anywhere...

[applestar]

OK I'm REALLY curious. Have you read Laura Ingalls Wilder's The Farmer Boy? Her stories give you a glimpse of everyday life in the pioneer days. This one is about a year during her husband's childhood.

Anyway, he raises a milk-fed pumpkin for the county fair. The pumpkin wicks a bowl of fresh (raw) milk every day. I've always wondered if this really works? I think that raw milk with all the live enzymes vs. store bought pasteurized modern milk would definitely affect the outcome. In view of all the diluted milk spray anti-fungal recommendations we've been giving out left and right, I wonder if there is any connection?

Here's the link to GoogleBooks of The Farmer Boy. Milk-fed pumpkin is on pg. 191
https://books.google.com/books?id=BbBCUdxz7xYC&lpg=PP1&ots=Vu22fsl0lI&dq=laura%20ingalls%20wilder%20the%20farmer%20boy&pg=PP1

[freedhardwoods]

I can't give any advice, but I do wave a distant neighbor that has raised world record pumpkins at least three different times. It has been a while since I talked to him about his pumpkins, so I don't know if he has set the record in the last couple years or not. He told me that when they get big toward the end, they will gain 25 to 30 lbs per day. You really have to pour the water to them when they are growing at that rate.

[2cents]

mycorrhizae, organic compost, and lot's of organic manure....preferably cow.

[pharmerphil]

There was a really great doc. on CBC last year about Giant Pumpkins, I wonder if anyone can track it down?

All about growing them, it was quite entertaining - we watched it twice (too bad my dogs ran over my baby pumpkin plants, so no giants for us this year!)

Was the show you are speaking of called "Lord of the Gourds" Nes?
I missed it here, but I heard it was a good program.

Applestar, Yes, fungicidal properties and a good dose of calcium..and vitamins

[nes]

Yes I believe that was it! It was a while ago though