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Roanoke Il

Lets try to help new growers If you can think of a mistake you made your first year or two growing the prevented you from geting a bigger pumpkin post it I really think this would help some of our newer growers.
First mistake I made was that I pushed my pumpkins to hard with a heavy folar feeding program- this caused to fast of growth causing splits in fuits also caused premature aging.
Seound big mistake was under estamating bugs (squash vine borers cuke beattles squash bugs apids) this can be prevented by using a proper insecticid program warrior-t and merit.
Third big mistake was not controlling fungi powder mildew this can be controlled by a weekly fungicide program one needs to use 3 to four different fungicides for best results because fungi build up a resistance to them.
Last years biggest mistake was starting to late. One has to get there plant ready to pollinate early enough in your area to maxize growth of the fruit. Everyone in my area said may 1 start your pumpkins I listened in the past I've had better results by starting 2 week earlier,so i'll go with what works for me. Don't start to early if you live in a cilmate which is warmer you may not need to start until middle of may. I would suggest that you start a pumpkin every week from late apirl if you don't have a good idea what is best see which one does better.
Finally to many plants can be a big mistake but if you prune heavy and keep your plants around 350 square feet you will find that you have time for more. hope this helps mark

4/5/2004 8:23:06 AM

Bemidji, MN

I think first year growers tend to make things more complicated than need be. Keep it simple. have good soil, seed,water and sun, and the plant will do the rest. No need to get scientific over this.Steve

4/5/2004 8:32:29 AM

Knopp, Germany

biggest mistake last year was not allowing enough space for plants to grow. resulted in overcrowded secondaries, little to no air circulation which only helped the powdery mildew get worse, and inability to prune tertiaries and not needed male/female flowers effectively.

4/5/2004 9:07:00 AM

[email protected]

first year growers first mistake.. .

GOT MILK? Get rid of it..

4/5/2004 9:33:17 AM

Indiana

too much fertilizer.
Steve

4/5/2004 9:44:03 AM

South Hill, Virginia

Starting too early.

4/5/2004 10:49:00 AM

Puyallup, WA

The most common mistake is allowing the plant to "grow wild"! One must show it, "Who's the boss!"

4/5/2004 10:50:17 AM

Esneux / Li�ge / BELGIUM

1. To have more than 2 plants...
2. To think that reading is learning...
3. To start too early...

Good luck !

4/5/2004 11:07:38 AM

Well since it's only my second year, maybe I can't say much. But last year, I limited myself to two plants (go for quality not quantity until you get the hang of it), and also I didn't do EVERYTHING that I read or heard about... I just focused on the basics.

Don't forget to have fun, and remember that it ain't rocket science.

4/5/2004 11:26:20 AM

Waquoit Mass

listening to every idiot who grows AGs instead of visting the best grower in his area to learn first hand dave

4/5/2004 11:30:53 AM

Nj

Last year was my first year, and my biggest mistake was planting in an area that was too wet. I planted in that area due to the years of drought that we had been recieving. Lo' and behold the floodgates opened last year. Eventually there were problems with stem rot that I held off by keeping fans on them, but It pretty much put a halt to any real growth. My advice for new growers this year would be to read more information at your leisure. Enjoy watching them grow, remember that nature does a lot of the work for you.

4/5/2004 12:06:45 PM

Hayes, Virginia

all of the above
still learning!!!
thanks for all the help and great post from people like,
Rocky,Doc,Tremor,svrichb,moondog and many other's i didnt list.plus a big Thanks to ROCKY, always there for all my stupid questions.

good luck to all!!

4/5/2004 12:57:14 PM

Commack, NY

1)well if a little miracle grow is good.......then alot must be better.
2)If i start my plants the first week of april i'll get a jump on the competition.
3)We never grew giant pumpkins before, so i wont have to worry about dealing wtih squash vine borers.

4/5/2004 1:34:31 PM

Nova Scotia

starting to early and not consistant on watering or fertilizing.

4/5/2004 1:40:42 PM

San Diego

my first year, tried to bend the main vine too much in one day, snap:)

4/5/2004 2:43:32 PM

Sequim, WA

Don't go with that first female that's only 4 feet out on the main vine. Be patient and build a good plant before you build your pumpkin.

4/5/2004 3:03:33 PM

Massillon, Ohio

these are funny to read you guys !! duster: "snap" LOL!!!

my biggest mistake EVERY YEAR is living next door to my grandparents.....they always know 'best' and are on a mission to sabatoge ;)

4/5/2004 3:23:50 PM

Key West, FL

starting too early

4/5/2004 7:27:53 PM

Key West, FL

ok, that one was already covered, everything about is good. I would also say, don't till too much. Take it easy on the chemical ferts.

4/5/2004 7:30:24 PM

Midway City, California

Positioning the pumpkin on the vine. My first year I was going great until the pumpkin grewover the vine and pulled the stem right out of the pumpkin. Read how to position the PUMPKIN and follow the information

4/5/2004 7:42:42 PM

Ri

severing the tap roots before and aft of the pumpkin never eal;ized the amount of strain and sometjing IS going to give

4/5/2004 7:49:54 PM

Aberdeen, SD

i know my first go round last year, i planted the seedlings too soon, then i over did the potassium and then there is always incorrect construction of the wind breaks, they roasted the first seedlings. so the possibilities abound

4/5/2004 8:06:11 PM

In the shade - PDX, OR

1) fruit too close to the stump.
2) too much stem stress
3) starving then spiking the fertilizer

4/5/2004 8:09:30 PM

Tipp City, Ohio

My first year I was told to just plant the seed and watch it grow..not only did the plant grow but so did the weeds, bugs and fungii!

Too many plants(55) to take care of now down to 4 or 5 plants.

4/5/2004 9:51:41 PM

Sequim, WA

Don't wait until your pumpkins weigh 150 lbs. when you cull them so that when you go to carry them out of the patch you end up dropping them on the one you want to keep and splitting it in two. That's a mistake you want to make when you are a 4th or 5th year grower.

4/6/2004 12:42:00 AM

Deer Park WA

Not having cared enough for the soil I planted in.

4/6/2004 12:57:27 AM

Ljubljana, Slovenia

First year I did nothing but plant it so I could over fertilize it next year.
Brrr… the SNAP sound… follow Old Doc’s advice but I guess that every grower hears the sound eventually. Jernej

4/6/2004 2:07:03 AM

Caceres, mid west of Spain

The two things I didn't like was:
1) Not cut the tendrils. THis year I will, so I will be able to weed better in august.
2) Only curve the vine in 120 degrees at the stump. This year it will be curved in 90 degrees, though slowly, so it will be able to stay with evn less stress.

4/6/2004 2:40:42 AM

Key West, FL

What do you mean curve the vine at the stump? Are you talking about the stem of the pumpkin?

4/6/2004 3:56:20 AM

Cornwall UK.(50N 5W)300ft.

My first mistake was not anchoring down my mini greenhouses they ploughed into the plants during a gale.

4/6/2004 5:33:57 AM

Menomonie, WI ([email protected])

Making sure the seedlings are protected from frost. I lost my entire patch in my second year on a late May frost. I five gallon bucket or styrofoam cooler with a 15 watt bulb gives plenty of protection at night. Also if the bottle of insecticide says 1TBS per gallon. Don't figure you will just eye ball it. You will end up with crispy pumpkin leaves, and a sick plant. Last but not least Prevention of pests and diseases. Once you find out its normally to late. Watch the more experienced growers diaries in your area.

4/6/2004 5:45:10 AM

Garden State Pumpkins

Start right away with the vine....lay it down slow using sticks..protect it from wind....keep with a good pruning regimen...a week away can cause disater with tertiaries. Nothing worse then a jungle surrounding your pumpkin...keep it dry and make sure the air moves through or the powdery mildew will end your season early....half the dosage is better then double!!

4/6/2004 7:59:13 AM

Napa, CA.

Too much Water,Over watering really hurt me my first year. Greg

4/6/2004 8:36:10 AM

Hobbiton New Zealand

Keep the neighbours cows away they gotmine the first year

4/6/2004 4:47:05 PM

[email protected]

Here it was impatience. 4X on the Gibberellic was *NOT* a good idea.

4/6/2004 7:12:59 PM

Norton, MA

DO NOT keep seedlings in groups of four in a 1 quart pot for 8 weeks before you plant them out! DO NOT then plant 32 seedlings in a 10 sq. ft. mound! Alex.

4/6/2004 9:14:18 PM

Caceres, mid west of Spain

Yes, Ben, I wanted to say stem.

4/7/2004 3:29:20 AM

In the shade - PDX, OR

oh yeah.... not culling fast enough.

either back up plants or the # of fruit on the same plant.

4/7/2004 5:14:05 PM

Colorado Hail, CO. Elev. 5,900 FT

I'll swallow my pride and admit my stupidity...Here is a top 10 list of my mistakes which I made since 1990. Format written in the same humorious Scott Armstrong style...

1) I'll plant a bunch of seeds and pick the most agressive one from all of them (while wasting a ton of seeds that one day I'll look back on and wonder why the hell I did that}

2)Hmmm.. this looks like that one diluted liquid seven jug... I don't think this needs any mixing (let me ruin my 723 Bobier plant nobody knows anything about yet}

3)I'll just lean some silding glass doors in on each other for my cold frame (And later have them collapse on my plants after heavy winds)

4)Miricle grow fertilizer says it doesn't burn the plants. I'll schedule spraying it every 3rd day on top of the granular fertilizers I just plowed in (and make my salt levels go through the roof for years afterwards}

5}I really don't see the point of pruning anything... the
more plant, the better (and then I'll watch my yard dissapear while all my fruits abort)

6

4/8/2004 1:41:30 AM

Colorado Hail, CO. Elev. 5,900 FT

6)Since I don't know much about bugs or disease, maybe if I ignore them they will go away {then I'll use tons of pesticides and fungicides and cause even more damages to the leaves}

7}My leaves look really bad witing in this 94 degree heat, I'd better not spray them down or I'll burn the leaves like
I was told {Instead I'll watch them burn into a crisp anyways)

8}Since my leaves got ruined in yesterday's heat, today I'll spray some Miricle gro fertilizer on them once it starts getting real hot. that might help {then REALLY watch them burn them to a crisp)

9)Since they forcast frost, I'll cut off my pumpkin off today, rather than let it loose weight after all the leaves die {and watch it loose 50 pounds over the next week, not knowing they loose nothing staying on the vine}

10)There are other growers I've heard about, but why call any of them... I'm sure none of them will just give me free
seeds or say anything about the methods they used to grow a big one ( I'll just buys K mart big max pumpkins or catalog seeds for the next 8 years.. they are all as just as good as
there isn't much of a difference...seeds are seeds}

4/8/2004 1:42:02 AM

Norton, MA

LOL! LOL! LOL! SOOOOOO Funny! HAHAHAHAAAAAA!

4/8/2004 9:37:25 PM

Norton, MA

I guess I'm a bit tired.

4/8/2004 10:50:26 PM