From

Location

Message

Date Posted

Deerfield, Michigan

Every year I try to improve what I did in my patch by making changes or adding something. For me I will add walking boards and do better at burying vines. I would like to hear what changes or additions everyone else will make.

10/9/2013 3:43:05 PM

NSW, Australia ([email protected])

Hopefully truck in some decent soil and get my plants to lay down ASAP..

10/9/2013 3:51:39 PM

South of Buffalo

I will magically eliminate all soil based disease from my patch.

10/9/2013 4:02:26 PM

Nottingham, UK

1. Water more evenly with drip tape

2. Definately bury more vines

3. Pin down my vines with one cane at an angle at each node so that it supports the leaf stem too and prevents the vine from getting uprooted by the wind

4. Wind breaks!

5. Better 'under pumpkin' area prep.

6. Change patch layout to fit an extra plant in the combined wasted space

10/9/2013 4:05:37 PM

Johnston, R.I.

Grow on semi flat ground..

10/9/2013 4:13:33 PM

Massachusetts

i will leave my silt fence up 6" or so , for better air flow.
I will un-bury my secondary's after the roots are established.
and change to drip tape.
and never again throw a giant handful of blood meal on my transplant...
oh, and stalk abby more.

10/9/2013 4:30:50 PM

Torrance, Ca.

Jeffp,,, when you figure that one out,,,,,,please send me an email:)

10/9/2013 4:40:49 PM

Concord, CA.

Marly,
Why un-bury your secondaries? Is it to prevent vine rot?

10/9/2013 5:16:49 PM

Massachusetts

yup, just ripped up the vines I had under, all rot,. the other half of the plant I did not bury, all healthy and still growing. will try to leave leaf nodes under though for the top root.

10/9/2013 5:25:25 PM

Stanwood, Washington

1. Deeper soil by breaking up hard pan and adding volume to the top. I have already done this on my driveway patch more than doubled the effective soil depth. Really excited about this.

2. Pull the apple tree out of the center of my 2nd patch. The tree is a Lodi which has pretty worthless fruit anyway. I will have to sacrifice all of the Jonagold grafts that I put on it over the last two years but I get enough fruit on my other trees that I wont miss it.

3. Pay more attention to early season vine positioning. I lost several vines and had things going the wrong way on two of my plants. I think it delayed the development of the plant

4. Focus on plant health with a better spray program. I lost a bunch of leaves in early July to Downy Mildew. Cant afford this with such a small patch size so I wont make that mistake again.

5. Try under canopy micro sprinklers for foliar feeding on one of my plants. I think this will give better coverage than I get with my hand sprayer and it should save a whole lot of time.

6. Broadcast my left over Mycho into the soil before I plant the cover crop. If I can keep the Mycho Colonies going all winter hopefully they will be there waiting for the new plants in the spring. Plus a healthier larger cover crop cant be a bad thing.

7. I may try a second covercrop planted in the spring that gets tilled in as the plant grows. I think it will keep the microbiolgy in better shape. It Seems like it would be a pain to do because of working around hoophouses and irrigation lines so I am not sure about that one yet.

10/9/2013 7:10:08 PM

South Hero, VT

Cover patch with plastic in fall to keep ground dry for earlier spring tilling.

Start seeds in mid April, start hardening off in small greenhouse with layers of Remay to prevent sun scorch which happened this year and set me back 2 weeks.

Use more kelp, both granular and soluble.

More foliar spraying of everything, using one half to one third of recommended application.

Try buckwheat as a second cover crop to keep weeds down, and pull/lay down buckwheat as vines grow.

Use more molasses to feed soil micro organisms.

10/9/2013 8:21:58 PM

Niagara Falls,NY

I will plant next year!

10/9/2013 8:30:32 PM

Petersburg, Mi

Will do a wind break and start the plants earlier, mid April and cross my fingers that I wont have four years of no pumpkins.

10/9/2013 10:13:54 PM

Anamosa, IA [email protected]

1. I already have a better soil test and will have the deficient nutrients covered.
2. I will anchor the hoops better so we don't lose plants to wind.
3. I will have more time to devote to the patch early in the season.
4. I will have some better seeds to grow.
5. More leaves and other organic matter.
6. I will order better weather.

10/9/2013 10:32:50 PM

Jacksonville, IL

Drip irrigation

10/10/2013 3:17:54 PM

Manitoba

Iowegian: what the hey does "anchor the hoops" mean? I am planning to grow GPs next year for the first time. Thanks.

10/10/2013 8:28:04 PM

South Hero, VT

Metoo: Make sure temporary hoop houses don't blow away by staking or securing them to cinder blocks. Winds blow pretty fierce in mid-west.

10/10/2013 9:18:34 PM

BC, Canada

MeToo
I just had a look at Iowegians diary. If you look at the June 1st entry you will read about it.
Next year improvements for me? It's a long list.

10/10/2013 10:26:27 PM

Deerfield, Michigan

I got a broadfork and will use it more as the plant grows. It's alot of work but I think it helps roots and getting water down deep.

10/10/2013 11:13:05 PM

Anamosa, IA [email protected]

I had a big wind on May 10 blow over 2 hoop houses and break off 2 plants. Jacob and I had to start 2 new plants the next day. They ended up being our best pumpkins, but we lost earlier starts with big genetics. We went orange for replacements. Next year I will shove the hoops farther into the soil and add guy lines to hold them down.

10/10/2013 11:45:56 PM

Germany

Will try to entertain the tendrils. Happy tendrils = happy plant.

10/22/2013 2:50:42 PM