Pumpkin planting time! | FerrariChat

Pumpkin planting time!

Discussion in 'California (Southern)' started by TestShoot, Apr 4, 2014.

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  1. TestShoot

    TestShoot F1 World Champ
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    Sep 1, 2003
    12,026
    Beverly Hills
    I have a slope in the canyon here and got some giant pumpkin seeds for planting. I remember another member doing it a few years back but I thought I'd give it a shot and see if anyone has kids and is going to want a monster this fall.
     
  2. Steve R

    Steve R F1 Rookie
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    Sep 15, 2004
    3,018
    MeSoNeedy, CA
    Full Name:
    TorQ Master
    Hello!

    I just brought in 50 tons of amendment and 23 tons of steer manure, much in anticipation of growing some big pumpkins...perhaps I'm the member you remember some years ago looking to grow pumpkins.

    Gimme a shout

    -Steve
     
  3. TestShoot

    TestShoot F1 World Champ
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    Sep 1, 2003
    12,026
    Beverly Hills
    w00t! This is my first attempt at the giants. Any advice is appreciated!
     
  4. wax

    wax Five Time F1 World Champ
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    Jul 20, 2003
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    Dirty Harry
    #4 wax, Apr 8, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Man, been over 35 years . . . We grew 10 acres of edible pumpkins a few seasons - not giants. Other seasons it was watermelon - either way, harvest [the HS guy who got to slice stems, throw over pickup with high, high, high stakes was yours truly] was more than a handful before taking to market, where um, marketing & haggling took over. Left quite a few 'kins out for field-trippers from local schools to get a semblance of before *they [*ahem, pumpkins] and yokels to buy before *they went to market. Good to let that land grow something aside from cotton, alfalfa or corn which was already on @ 25 times the acreage. Oh, even grew some between 40 acres of well-spaced walnut trees a few seasons.

    Point is - It can inspire.

    Hell, it inspired a cousin from other side of the family so much he manages a superfarm. Just . . . ginormous.
    [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsJOJq2TDKo]Giant Pumpkin Time Lapse - YouTube[/ame]
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  5. Steve R

    Steve R F1 Rookie
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    Sep 15, 2004
    3,018
    MeSoNeedy, CA
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    TorQ Master
    Yeah, I'm just an enthusiast at best....but this year I'm hoping to have some fun with it. I'm hoping to grow a couple really big boys but mostly a bunch of basketball sized pumpkins to take over to Casa Pacifica for the kids (it's a place they take interim kids removed from their abusive parents).

    What I can tell you is that your plant is only as good as the soil you plant it in. You probably want to dig a big hole and start with adding a LOT of amendment, decomposed manure and other rich soils. You can do a search on YouTube and find all sorts of stuff.

    The only tricky thing is the summer, once the heat hits it tends to ruin the plants...they get stressed and it all goes downhill fast. Just have fun with it.

    Wow, now here's the guy you should be talking to!

    You're spot-on with crop rotation! I had 2 great years and then the 3rd and 4th went bust. Evidently it's not just soil depletion of nutrients but more so how fungus, parasites and other bugs can build up and ruin entire crops.

    Gardening, it's incredibly simple and yet uber complex at the same time. :)
     
  6. TestShoot

    TestShoot F1 World Champ
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    Sep 1, 2003
    12,026
    Beverly Hills
    I live on a slope in Benedict Canyon. We get full sun for a lot of the day. I was thinking since my grapes died before I moved in, I would use that structure that is surrounded and covered in chicken wire. We can hang some soil separator to diffuse the light, but the heat itself may be an issue.

    We also have a slope from below my house to the street below. Probably the perfect spot for a giant. I can run my low voltage light in to one and have a massive jack-o-lantern. This is my girlfriend's idea.

    I am starting a few seeds in soil, and a few in some formed peat moss "cups". This is mainly an experiment, I am not expecting miracles so if I get one 'kin from all the seeds I plant, hooray.

    *edit:

    Another thought, since they are too heavy to be properly shaped and supported by the stem, what about planting in a box? Form it in to a square pumpkin?


    LOOK! http://square-watermelons.com/
     

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