Great pumpkins are made in July
It takes care, water and fertilizer to grow a pumpkin this big. ( Photo courtesy the Elk Grove Giant Pumpkin Festival) |
It's not too late to start thinking Halloween
By Debbie Arrington
When it comes to pumpkins, July weather helps them put on the pounds. For the gardeners and farmers dedicated to producing mammoth pumpkins, a good July growth spurt is key to success.
According to experts, giant pumpkins will add 25 pounds or more a day during these hot days of midsummer. Contest pumpkins, such as those competing at Elk Grove's annual Giant Pumpkin Festival, can add 40 to 60 pounds a day in late July.
Potential contenders need to be up in the half-ton range by September for this year's festival, set for Oct. 6 and 7. (https://www.yourcsd.com/392/
What does it take to grow a giant pumpkin? Time, space, good soil, fertilizer, luck and lots of water. To produce that rapid weight gain, one giant pumpkin plant can suck up 500 gallons a day.
Most pumpkin plants need far less water to produce their harvest, about a gallon a day in midsummer. Too much water can lead to cracking on the maturing pumpkins, too little to blossom end rot.
Pumpkins are heavy feeders as well as drinkers. They need fertilizer. While vines are developing, serious growers feed them once a week with diluted fish emulsion or other high nitrogen fertilizer before switching to a high phosphate fertilizer when blooms appear.
Pumpkin vines can get very large very quickly. It's tempting to prune them way back. But the developing fruit need those leaves. The foliage provides the energy for that growth as well as a little shade to protect the pumpkins' tender skin. Pumpkins prefer full sun, but will also produce fruit in partial shade if the vines still can get four to six hours of sun a day.
Unless growing for competition, gardeners tend to aim their pumpkin harvest closer to Halloween. Planted too early, most pumpkins will rot if left on the vine in October. Planted in June or transplanted in July, these big squash will mature right on time for decorating and fall dishes.
It's not too late to transplant pumpkins or winter squash into the garden. They can still be grown from seed now for November pumpkins and squash. Dig in well-rotted compost into the planting mound first, then surround the mound with mulch to retain moisture. Remember to water. Those plants will need consistently moist (but not soggy) soil. That may mean daily irrigation in triple-digit weather.
For more tips on pumpkins: http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/
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