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Napa, CA

I pollinated on tuesday. I am looking for early care tips.
When should i start to cover the pumpkin with a sheet?
Should I use different fertilizer? If so what kind?
Should I support the stem with something?
Thank you for your help.

8/6/2010 12:52:00 AM

Newfoundland & Lab, Canada

Hi Sonja, I'll see if I can offer some answers.

You should start covering your pumpkin with a sheet anytime extremes of temperature may affect it as long as the fruit isn't so small that the sheet will damage it. Low temps particularly. At the start, and if the temps are high, I'd go with some form of shading over the fruit rather than actually covering the pumpkin with a sheet so that air can circulate. Shade covering also works better for sun protection which is important to keep your pumpkin from maturing to early.

From what I've read here, at the 'fruiting' stage the plant should receive a very low nitrogen/medium-low potassium/high potash fertilizer around once per week (someone may correct me on that, I'm still learning the Alchemic mysteries of fertilizers myself). Opinions vary greatly on the frequency and method from my experience, and depend on other factors like your soil nutrient levels etc.

As a general guideline I've learned this fertilization theory from the growers on bigpumpkins.com ...

Early growing stage - Medium-high Nitrogen fertilizer/Medium potassium/Medium Potash
Flowering stage - Medium-low Nitrogen/High potassium fertilizer/Medium potash
Fruit growing stage - Low nitrogen/Medium - low potassium/High potash fertilizer

(cont..)

8/6/2010 6:31:39 PM

Newfoundland & Lab, Canada

(cont..)

After you've pollinated, begin to gently train your vine in an S shape somewhat so that the fruit is on the 'outside curve' and have enough slack in the vine for your pumpkin to grow (i.e. cut tap roots on the first leaf nodes to either side of the stem. As your pumpkin gets larger you may have to cut more tap roots further along each side). By the 10-day mark you should definitely be thinking ahead about the stem of your pumpkin, and trying to keep the vine elevated with objects to relieve any vertical stress on the stem. That will end up as a continuing process as the pumpkin grows. I've seen a lot of people in their diaries now using cut pool noodles to support/elevate the vine (I used to use wood blocks), keeping it horizontal with the stem area as the fruit gets bigger.

8/6/2010 6:32:10 PM

Newfoundland & Lab, Canada

OH!... and visit the Fertilizing and Watering Board for even more info on fertilizers and usage!

http://www.bigpumpkins.com/msgboard/ViewBoard.asp?b=10

8/6/2010 6:40:19 PM

Newfoundland & Lab, Canada

After reviewing some of the threads on the Fertilizing and Watering board, I may be way off with what I 'thought' I knew about fertilizing. As I mentioned in last post... it's best to look there for your answers regarding fertilizers.

(Note to self... do more study!)

8/6/2010 7:01:29 PM

Newfoundland & Lab, Canada

Well, my first mistake was confusing potassium (K) with phosphorus (P). And then inserted potash for potassium. Sheesh.

8/8/2010 7:23:06 AM