From

Location

Message

Date Posted

Kuna, Id.

I read that some of you are watering 20 plus gals. How often? Also 1 1/2 lbs. of fert.Is this all combined from root to vine end? If so mine must think they are growing in the desert with nothing but rocks for food.With out this page my cantaloupe would be bigger then my pumpkins. There are a great bunch of people here. Thanks, Ken

8/6/2001 1:06:05 AM

Omaha, Nebraska

I started using an overhead sprinkler a couple days ago that covers the entire patch. I let it run for 12 hours every other day. How many gallons would that be in a 12 hour period? hmmmmm

8/6/2001 1:45:11 AM

Commack, NY

623 gallons in a 1000 square foot area is 1" of water. depending on your soil type, and weather conditions you have to adjust, but its a good ballpark.

scott

8/6/2001 9:10:05 AM

Herndon, VA

How often you water will vary based on several facters. The type of soil and the weather are probably the two most important. I can go weeks without watering if I get enough rain, however if the temps are in the 90's with no rain for over a week I have to water every 2-3 days.

You need to water the whole plant, not just the stump. There are taps roots on every leaf node that need water too. My patch is 1400 sq. ft. and my estimated water usage is 450-600 gallons.

8/6/2001 10:05:53 AM

Utah

you guys need a per in there somewhere... i.e. gallons per week.
Scott's right your plants need 1 inch of water per week, and 623 gallons covers 1,000 square feet with 1 inch. you will need a little more, like 1 1/2 inches of water per week if you have sandy soil, and/or live in a dry area. Burzier is right too you want to water over you entire plant.
you can find out how much you water by sticking a bunch of
cans or buckets (straight sided) in patch at various locations and then watering. then measure how much water you have in your cans. then adjust your watering to get what you need per week.
good luck
gordon
maple valley wa.

8/6/2001 10:26:06 AM

Kuna, Id.

Thanks for the help.Sounds like I need to add about 500 gals. a week. Will try what yall say and let yall know how it grows. Thanks Ken

8/7/2001 12:11:45 AM

Puyallup, WA

Ken....I failed to see how large an area you have covered with your plants....nor the number of plants or pumpkins.
Watering can be a very complex subject because of so many variables. Look at that fellow in Nevada who floods his entire patch in two inches of water every week!
For me, the two key factors are soil and temperatures. The plants need adequate water to photosynthesize in order to make sugars for the pumpkin to grow. Remember what happens in the early stages of growth if you have too much heat and not enough root capacity to to draw up the needed water....the plants wilts! In the mature stage, if the plant does not get enough water, it will stunt pumpkin growth....remember, pumpkins are 95% water. If you have alot of clay in your soil and the temps are in the 60's, one can water once a week....of course your pumpkins won't grow very fast either....I'm speaking from experience here!!! I believe that pumpkin roots need air to function properly. Too much water in a "heavy soil" will smother the roots. With a sandy soil and temps in the 80-90's, you will have to water nearly every day and fertilize far more frequently. That is why we all want "sandy loam" for soil....it is the best of both worlds....provides air and holds water. The perfect balance!
Bottom line...here are the guidelines that I use. After watering, just take your shovel and see how far the water penetrated the soil in various places around the patch. Now take the soil in your hands that you have dug up and squeeze it...if it "balls up and drips water" it is too wet!
Hope this help you in your efforts to grow the "big one".
I am speaking from my experience of last years failure!

Stan Pugh
Puyallup, WA

8/7/2001 1:34:58 AM

Utah

Ken-
Stan is right watering varies GREATLY depending on your soil, drainage and weather. So you have to find out what
works for what you have. But generally speaking i think newer growers tend to under water.
The other thing that no one has mentioned is rain.
you need to keep track of how much it rains and take
that into account with your watering.

let us know how things turn out for you.
gordon

8/7/2001 10:18:19 AM

Puyallup, WA

Right on, Gordon!

8/7/2001 11:12:07 AM

Kuna, Id.

This was my plan as a first timer. The soil here has alot of clay the water just sits on top. Many times I had to lock in 4wd just to get moving in my pasture. So I tilled up a 400sqft area next to my garden added 960lbs of sand, two pick-up loads of seasoned horse,dairy cow,and goat crap.I then mixed in 100lbs of 20-20-20 fert. and 300lbs of peat moss.It's a old alfalfa field.I dug a 5ftx10"x8" trough it holds about 15gals of water have since made it bigger now holds 25gals. Mistake #1: Planted 5 comm.AGs at the watering hole. I spread the vines as they grew to form a 3/4 circle. I thought this would make watering easy. It did but I now know I have to many plants.Two of the plants are now gone. The others have 100 plus pounders on them and all seem to be growing 21/2-3" a day I'll have to leave them as they have been given to kids in my area.I do soak the vines with fert. when I water along with about six pounds at the trench{root zone} I fill the trench 2-3 times a day adding the fert. every fri. This gives the plants 350-525gals at the roots plus another 50-100gals on the vines. Can or should I add more water or fert? I won't make this mistake next year.Thanks for the help. Ken

8/7/2001 10:24:41 PM

Kuna, Id.

P.S. the weather here has been in the high 90's low 100's for the last week no rain. They do get some water during the hot times of the day so the don't go limp. I wonder If Viagra would help? Thanks again. Ken

8/7/2001 10:30:37 PM

Puyallup, WA

....and I thought that my fertilizer bill was expensive!

8/8/2001 1:27:53 AM

Rexburg, Idaho

With our dry weather here in Idaho I wouldn't hesitate to overhead water with sprinklers. It gets the water more evenly distributed over the entire growing area. I turn the sprinklers on for about 2 hours every other day. (About 650 gallons per hour) but my soil has more sand to it.

8/8/2001 9:08:49 AM

Utah

Ken-
so how big is the are that you are growing your pumpkins? 400 sq ft total ? or are they in the garden also ?
if it is 400 then to get 1 inch of water per week you need 250 gallons per week -spread out over the entire patch. (as best you can- most growers water more around the stump.)
i assume your soil still has a lot of clay in it, even after all the additions- so you need to watch that you don't over water or get standing water.
BUT- since the weather has been so hot there latey you need to water more to compensate for that. how are your plants holding up in the heat ? do the wilt ?
misting or overhead watering is a good way to cool your plants, if you have the time and do it during the heat of the day - just like a swamp/evaporative coolers people have in their homes, in dry/ not humid areas of the country.

as for fertilizing- every grower i know does something different. it seems like have you have been doing, has been working OK. one thing you can do is get a soil test -
it will tell you lots of good stuff, pH, P, K, N, trace minerals etc. and will let you know what you need to add to balance out your soil.
gordon

8/8/2001 11:27:35 AM

Kuna, Id.

Thank you all for your help since I started a new watering program with the the help of you all the growth this week has jumped to 4" plus a day I'll keep doing as you all have told me. Can you tell when the pumpkin has had to much water and may split? Ken

8/9/2001 12:14:32 AM

Sloughhouse, CA

My soil has lots of clay and it is not unusual to put the Ford tractor in granny low with 4WD. When is is 90 or avove i water about 1 hr. drip hoses and also mist. as a new neighbor around here your are not baptised until you bury your car or truck up to the axil in your driveway.

8/9/2001 12:41:20 AM

Puyallup, WA

....that's nothing! This spring, my soil stopped my neighbors's 250 hp John Deere with a four prong sub-soiler!! He got pissed!! Backed up....dropped the hammer....then lowered the sub-soiler as he was gaining speed! I stood back....not sure what would give first!!

8/9/2001 1:40:55 AM

Ga.

I got red clay here,,but it's about 15" down,,,my best pumpkin I got is in a place that I fixed with a shovel,,,,hard labor,,hehe,,before I got my tiller going,,

8/9/2001 6:45:17 AM

Greencastle, PA

my soil has a ton of clay so I raised my patches, only problem is when they fall over the edge and split. it's been hot here too yesterday it was 96 degrees with a heat index of 113! It's suposed to be worse today and I've not been seeing much growth. it's going to start cooling down over the weekend and I'll get some good pumpkin weather next week.

8/9/2001 8:19:24 AM

Utah

Ken -
Know one knows for sure, but -
I don't think you are in danger at 4 inches a day.
we are talking circ here right ?
I know a guy who had 6 to 8 inches a day circ., every day !
over a two week period and his pumpkin held together.
it was in the 100 to 300 lb range during that time.
remember the bigger it gets the more weight put on
per inch. so it might appear that a pumpkin is slowing
down when it isn't. but eventually they all will
slow down.
gordon

8/9/2001 12:09:54 PM