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Location

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Date Posted

Somewhere in North Carolina

is 1 1/2 feet deep enough for a pit. also can i mound it too? thanks

5/3/2002 4:47:17 PM

canal winchester ohio

I wouldn't dig a pit unless you have very loose soil. If you have clay soil & you dig a pit you are only creating a bowl in which to drown your plant. Mounding is a very good idea, it creates warmer soil & allows for good drainage.

5/3/2002 5:18:25 PM

Paradise Mountain, New York

i have hard pan about 2 feet down. so i dig a hole 1 1/2 feet deep and i fill the hole back in. but i also raise my bed about 12 inches above the rest of the garden. you also have to watch how much rain and watering you do

5/3/2002 5:42:22 PM

Somewhere in North Carolina

you fill the hole back in ? with what the same dirt of manure

5/3/2002 5:59:00 PM

Pulaski Tn [email protected]

not that i know anything but.. digging a pit just aint what you want to do..unless you got a pig to put in it.. you see a pumpkin vine has a root under every stem which is what the leaves are connected to.. if you dig a pit it would need to be about 200'x 200'. the plant gets what it needs from all along the lenght of the vine not just around the stump. i did the same thing when i got started i know from experience.

5/3/2002 7:30:49 PM

Paradise Mountain, New York

blkdoud, there is some world top growers who will disagree with you. some beleive that the stump is the most important. yes, all the vines have roots and support the whole plant

5/4/2002 1:31:41 AM

Pulaski Tn [email protected]

LIKE I SAID IN THE BEGINING OF MY POST, NOT THAT I KNOW ANYTHING BUT.. WHICH SHOULD LET YOU KNOW RIGHT OFF THE BAT I'M NOT AND EXPERT, BUT FROM ALL I'VE SEEN AND READ ON THE SUBJECT (AND I'M SURE IVE MISSED IT) I JUST CANT RECALL EVER HEARING OF ANYONE USING THE PIT METHOD, IT SEEMS LIKE THE MAJORITY OF THE POST HERE ALL HAVE THE SAME SENTENCE IN THEM..(JUST TILLED IN SO MANY YARDS OF MANURE IN MY PATCH BLA BLA BLA)AND YOU SEE A PICTURE OF A TILLER BURIED TO THE HILT IN THE PATCH, SO TO HELP ME IN MY PATCH I'D LIKE TO KNOW HOW MANY OF YA'LL USE THE PIT METHOD?? IS THIS SOME SECRET YA'LL ARE KEEPING FROM ME?? ARE YA'LL POSTING IT IN THE "ADVANCED GROWERS SECTION ON THE OTHER SITE"? I NEED TO KNOW!!!

5/4/2002 2:24:30 PM

North Ga

I just dug a few holes about 3 ft in dia. and a good 18" deep. Filled and mounded with spagnum moss, manure, fert. and dirt.

5/4/2002 3:19:00 PM

Pulaski Tn [email protected]

well that settles it, i'm digging me some to!!!

5/4/2002 4:26:20 PM

Indiana

I dig holes. Grew an 837 UOW like that. Never had any trouble with disease from "pooling water" and I have clay that holds water. What ever you like is what you should do. Personally I like holes best.
Tom Beachy

5/4/2002 8:05:29 PM

Deer Park WA

I had a small problem with digging pits last year, I dug up a gas main, and the police had to evacuate the neighborhood! other than that I have noticed over the years that the "stump" roots never really go more than 18 to 24 inches deep. I dig twice the pot size and plant it.

Best of luck, Gerry Gadberry
Personal best 644# in 2001
Third year grower.........

5/5/2002 1:12:20 AM