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Entry Date
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Nick Name
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Location
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Thursday, April 15, 2010
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P and P (Pilot and Pumpkin Grower)
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Issaquah, WA
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Entry 11 of 96 |
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New bed preparation
Today Jeff, my brother, and I added new dirt to the growing bed. The bed was around 4-6 inches of soil. The new dirt was laid down on top of the previous dirt. Tilling did not reach the level of the previously added soil. From the suggestions of other pumpkin growers I decided to add more dirt to the growing bed. With only 4-6 inches of soil over hard packed clay/pea gravel there was concern over the water collecting at the clay base and potentially rotting out the roots. I added 3 yards of dirt. 1 yard of Pacific Topsoil Nutrient mix (a manure blend of horse, cow, and chicken). 1 yard of Pacific Topsoil Supreme Mix (1/3 loam soil 1/3 compost 1/3 sand. 1 yard Pacific Topsoil Pacific garden mulch (composted yard and garden material).
The soil was amended with 2 pounds of sweet lime, 5 pounds of bone meal, 5 pounds of kelp meal, and 7 pounds of Dr. Earth Life fertilizer. 2 pounds of fish meal was worked into each planting mound and surrounding area. The growing mounds were prepared with Cedar Grove Booster blend and the imported soil. The remaining bed was covered with Cedar Grover booster blend as well as Cedar Grove Compost as a dressing.
The bed was walled with cedar fencing boards to add a wall to the entire new growing area. The soil is now 12-14 inches deep. With the cedar boards added the growing area was resized to 13.5’ X 16’. And looks great I might add. Green houses were prepared to cover the new growing areas. The green houses for each planting mound is 4’ X 6’. 2.5’ X 5’ green houses were prepared for the side growing areas. They were built with a wooden frame and then curved ½” PVC over the top.
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