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Sage, Arkansas

I have been debating digging a pit in my pumpkin patch where we will be planting next year and add lots of rabbit manure and other items. I have read where several growers have dug pits in the past. What are the pro's and con's to doing this? What are the best items to put in the pit/hole? How deep is a good depth to dig.

Thanks 4 kids

11/10/2007 7:33:35 PM

Puyallup, WA

Did you by any chance go to the site search feature and type in "pits"?

11/10/2007 8:25:58 PM

Mill Bay, British Columbia

Here are some links (sorry Tracy) that may help;

http://www.bigpumpkins.com/MsgBoard/ViewThread.asp?b=3&p=34834

http://www.bigpumpkins.com/MsgBoard/ViewThread.asp?b=3&p=70219

http://www.bigpumpkins.com/MsgBoard/ViewThread.asp?b=3&p=102871

http://www.bigpumpkins.com/MsgBoard/ViewThread.asp?b=3&p=15084

http://www.bigpumpkins.com/MsgBoard/ViewThread.asp?b=3&p=15156

There you go, that should help.

11/10/2007 8:42:38 PM

Minnesota

I have room for two pumpkins, one I dug a pit, 4ft x 5ft the other I'm just going to raise the area with alot of compost, dirt, manure and spagum moss. I read don't dig a pit (I dug a pit because there is alot of clay) it means I made a bowl, if it rains alot I could get root rot. I also read some people sware by them, many personel bests.

11/10/2007 9:09:01 PM

[email protected]

I believe pits are just problems waiting to happen. The plants roots don't go more than an inch or two below the surface. Pumpkins are top feeders. Any time you get a heavy rain you end up with a pond under your plant. Pumpkins don't like to stay wet for prolonged periods of time. Put your efforts inot keeping the soil loose in your whole patch.

11/10/2007 9:45:49 PM

Crossett Arkansas

hey another arkansan !!!!!!

11/10/2007 10:04:44 PM

Rexburg, Idaho

I dig pits. One for each plant. They are about 5x5x2 in size. Fill it with a mixture of soil, leaves, old manure. Seems to work well for me. I have a sandy loam soil so I don't worry about drainage issues.

11/10/2007 10:31:54 PM

Eastern Pennsylvania

pulling a soil sample does you no good if you dig a pit. the whole garden should be your pit.

11/10/2007 11:28:04 PM

Puyallup, WA

Brian makes an important point.....a pit will not be a "bathtub holding water" if the soil on the bottom is sandy loam.

11/11/2007 12:59:32 AM

Dummer Twp - Ontario

I dug pits for my plants this year and when I took the stumps out the larger roots went down several inches. Also when the vine from one plant happened to grow over the edge of another plants pit it's roots also grew much better. I agree that they do not hold any extra water as stated above. I have soil that is not to sandy and not overdone with clay.

Kirk

11/11/2007 6:07:49 AM

I use pits/mounds for a couple of reasons, I use heating cables to warm my cold soils in early spring so I have to dig anyway, by adding materials (the same exact materials I've deemed necessary for spring amendments but in a bigger quantity for these stump areas) I end up with a mounded area that ends up being 6-12" inches higher than the rest of the patch. Mounds warm faster, drain better, and help with air flow/drying at the stump.

I dig to the subsoil, loosen it and start at that level with the cables, pics in my diarys.

After disecting the roots/stumps the last 2 years I know that they run to subsoil depths and are only "top feeders" if your water supply isn't adequate(meaning they use all of the topsoil that is available if you can maintain an even moisture content throughout the growing media).

This idea is totally dependant on your soil type and the structure of your subsoil as previously stated, I have sandy loam about 16" deep and sand/gravel base. In the case of clay subsoil unless you dig to a level that drains you will create that much taked about soup bowl IMO.

11/11/2007 6:21:47 AM

Sage, Arkansas

Stan, yes I did search this site and found several post regarding pits....but much of that information is as much as 5 years old. The old stuff is great and I have read that, but I am sure many people have tried using pits since these post were entered. I appreciate all the people who entered there advice pro and con.

Hey Coop---great to see another Arkansan on this site...give me an [email protected]

Thanks to all who have helped.

11/11/2007 12:36:32 PM

Hobbiton New Zealand

i have used pits the last 3 years i think. I go into pretty hard clay at one end of patch and the road used to go through the other end a long time ago so it pretty hard and poor draining. I dug out 3ftx3ftx3ft and then in the bottom of each one drilled a hole with post hole borer down a further 10ft and filled this with broken bricks to allow water to get away from pit area.

11/11/2007 3:08:12 PM

Ohio

I dug pits last year(and this year) in the fall and filled them full of half composted material, in the spring I then tilled and blended in the entire patch with the pits, id mark where the pits used to be to kinda give me a little sweet spot for where my plant is going to be. It worked for me this year very well.

11/11/2007 6:01:55 PM

Netherlands

Never again will I dig pits. I have done that for the past two years and have lost either the pumpkins or the plants. We have excessive rain fall in The Netherlands and every year the pits become swimming pools, regardless of what kind of drainage I use.

The plant gets waterlogged and every single pumpkin (there were 9), except one in the past two years split. The one that didn't split had lost the entire main to rotting.

Furthermore, if your pit is smaller than 15 feet by 15 feet, then the roots will eventually hit the walls of the pit, somewhat like a plant in a pot. If it goes through the walls, the nutrient level and soil compaction will be totally different and the plant could (temporarily) go into shock, which could stunt growth, and perhaps cause splitting.

For me, the pits are the pits. Mounding would seem to be the way to go here.

11/12/2007 2:24:10 AM

Minnesota([email protected])

I dug a pit my first year of growing, with no problems....I grow in well draining soil. The last two years I've used a specially designed, heavy duty, soil loosening fork, to loosen the soil good, in my planting spots. This is much less work.

11/12/2007 6:14:27 PM

I think it was Pap who said a few years ago to make your whole garden the pit I believe someone also said elbow deep

1/3/2022 8:15:44 PM