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Sainte-Catherine-de-Hatley, Quebec, Canada

I have a plant that has about 1-2’ of weed free space before huge weeds should I cut the weeds although they’ll come back or try to keep more distance between them? I know that the 990 pound WR back in the nineties had an insane amount of weeds what should I do

7/29/2026 9:44:56 AM

Grittyville, WA

I think the square footage that is weed free is the square footage that you are using to grow the pumpkin. 150 sq ft free of weeds should yield a 600-800 lb pumpkin. 15 sq ft free of weeds will yield a 60-80 lb pumpkin, at best. My guess is the 990 WR may have had some annual weeds pop up but the annual weeds arent nearly as hungry as the perennial weeds in my experience. In my experience, a pumpkin plant can compete toe-to-toe with annual weeds (it's not ideal and might reduce the fruit size as much as 50%) but not with perennial weeds. With perennial weeds you may get no pumpkin at all? That just how it is.

[Last edit: 07/29/26 1:54:55 PM]

7/29/2026 1:51:07 PM

Nova Scotia

Correct Ketchup, I knew a good grower who visited that patch back then, it was just annual weeds that came along later in season. The grower already had a good plant established well before that. One has to be on top of the weeds steady from the start and through out growing season or your plants will suffer big time! It's called a strong back and hoe at least.

7/29/2026 2:12:07 PM

Sainte-Catherine-de-Hatley, Quebec, Canada

I saw a grower who always keeps like 2’ in between weeds and plant and keeps weed8ng as the plant grows he grew a 2000 pounder and the weeds were like 3’ tall and perennial

7/29/2026 3:28:38 PM

Sainte-Catherine-de-Hatley, Quebec, Canada

Also my patch is 720 ft2 do I have to keep the patch weed free the whole year??? I think I’ll cut to keep them less than 3’’ tall when the plant gets there weeding t8me!

7/29/2026 3:30:15 PM

Nova Scotia

The grower(s) you are referring to probably have what they call a "green manure crop" not weeds. And till it into soil for nutrients so when vines arrive and root down have plenty of good stuff to feed off. And actually I believe one of them, a top grower from Quebec!

7/29/2026 3:49:16 PM

Upa Creek, MO

Howard, what do they do mid season when they pop up? Cannot pull them or you'll be pulling pumpkin roots too?

7/29/2026 4:39:15 PM

Sainte-Catherine-de-Hatley, Quebec, Canada

Tomorrow I’ll weed like never before than because I want 1300. The grower im referring to with the weeds it’s not cover crop is here: https://www.youtube.com/@theturnerranchwi not sure in which one he mentioned it but you can always see the weeds

7/29/2026 9:20:10 PM

Ontario

My preference (although im.not a huge fan of tilling this much) is to pull out the rototiller every few weeks through may/june. Ill rototill the patch right when the plants exit their hoophouses. Then again every few weeks a strip around the plants, staying 3 or 4 feet away from the vine tips, just keeping the soil from letting weeds establish
However, I just recently added drip lines to a patch and realized i can no longer rototill once my drip lines are in... im going to try putting down weed plastic immediately after tilling, and peeling the weed plastic away from the plant as it grows next year.

7/30/2026 5:17:45 AM

Bethlehem CT

I think the biggest problem with weeds is the shading that they create when they extend above the pumpkin leaf canopy. second to that is that they reduce air flow around the plant and the plant becomes more vulnerable to insects and diseases. Because you cant see them nor spray properly for them. Trust me I know a lot about weeds. I have played with whats tolerable and whats not and tried just about every different management technique. Like Danny was saying.... in a lot of the old school photos you see very weedy patches.... Well that plant i can guarantee you did not look like that until later in the season once the pumpkin had mostly established itself and was therefore more able to handle them. And yes once they reach a certain size...it is often better to snap or cut them down, because if you pull them you will be pulling and harming the pumpkins sensitive roots too.

7/30/2026 7:37:59 AM

Nh

I make sure the area im growing is weed free to start. Manage new weeds that pop up until I set a fruit.After that I really only weed when ir if I have to go into the canopy for various maintenance reason and try to not aggressively mess with weeds. Maybe im wrong I just feel no matter how careful iam, that im negating the benifits of weeding vs. Not compressing roots of the plant

7/30/2026 8:05:09 AM

Nova Scotia

Smallmouth every grower has their own preferred practice of weeding and controls. Many factors at play as well but yes agree you can't pull them when too close due to pumpkin roots. What I was referring to they till but much further out as they already have them under control mostly further in and canopy established shading out weed growth and any bigger ones amongst leaves just snip them off with pruners/scissors like John stated. All our AGs now about 20 of them have some small weeds popping up again amongst plants but I'm not concerned with them. We're just getting pollinated here within the last 10 days just hoping for some nice orange ones and reasonable sizes.

7/30/2026 8:08:23 AM

Grittyville, WA

Good video link Maurice. I think that's interesting! That is a massive crop of lambs quarters? Its relatively easy to pull and the roots probably dont spread far enough to compete with the pumpkin plants. I assume he is pulling it and maybe hoeing or something as more space is needed. It's so dense it would smother any grass, which is nice.

7/30/2026 2:32:53 PM

Grittyville, WA

I have found pigweed and grasses to be completely intolerable. Figure out which weeds cause the most trouble. The highest concerns are ones with dense and extensive roots or the ones that may act as hosts for disease or pests.

[Last edit: 07/30/26 2:38:05 PM]

7/30/2026 2:37:37 PM

Ontario

Yeah, lambs quarters does smother everything else, I can attest to that, but its a pain to pull when you have it in an established pumpkin patch because they get so big, its nearly impossible to pull without disturbing a plant

[Last edit: 07/30/26 3:12:10 PM]

7/30/2026 2:54:41 PM

Ma

I had a feeling Maurice was referencing the Turner patch. I watch everyone's videos and he routinely allows whatever weed is growing in his patch to grow several feet tall and he seems to allow it to grow within a very close proximity before he appears to pull it because you don't see any residual evidence of crimping etc. I can understand how this keeps any root dwelling fungi/bacteria alive for his pumpkin plants roots to benefit from as the plants grows. If you read available material, it suggests things like mycos and azos need roots to live and will die off within a couple of weeks if none available. I think you could get same benefit from growing into a cover crop with the goal of keeping beneficial fungi/bacteria alive until your pumpkin plant roots have time to bond into that symbiotic relationship. Since I am just starting out, feel free to let me know if I am way off track with this but great foundation topic

7/30/2026 6:36:27 PM

Upa Creek, MO

Thanks Howard!

7/30/2026 7:07:14 PM

Grittyville, WA

Some weeds/cover crops are tolerable meaning they wont affect the pumpkin significantly. But I don't know of any that are truly beneficial, in other words you'd grow a bigger pumpkin by having abcxyz also growing within the footprint of the plant. It doesnt really work that way. Maybe could mix some garlic in and get a better result if it actually kept your main pest nemesis away.

7/30/2026 8:35:21 PM

Sainte-Catherine-de-Hatley, Quebec, Canada

Yeah, next year I’ll try planting a cover crop that is easy to pull as the plants get there and suppresses weeds (if it exists) I tried peas this year and the weeds took over

7/30/2026 9:32:21 PM

Sainte-Catherine-de-Hatley, Quebec, Canada

What is abcxyz? The covering the patch with/ weed fabric sounds good but covering 1500 ft2 would be a lot. Maybe if I could somehow get a large amount of mulch or just the simplest way keep 8‘ distance between plant and weeds but if that’s what I do I won’t b3 growing more than two next year I’ve got 4 this year

7/30/2026 9:35:28 PM

C N Y

All---Pull weeds at a severe angle, firmly using both hands for the greatest pulling ability. Also, pull in 2-3 directions at first; That's what they don't expect. Pigweed/Nettles/anything that is especially taller than the AGs are a definite drain on soil resources and that's what I've had on 3 plants that were being banked on: (2003 Haist, 1940 Urena and my 166 X 2) that all have had lately-poor color and have each aborted a fruit - butt, the 2003 blew one up! Say, 5-6-ft-tall, mentioned weeds. These guys are also not a hardship to PULL, but there are unreal #s of them. If I took the time to wade on in and 'just do it', I'd be amazed at my progress - but it'd be short-lived, lol. I actually 'like' pulling these tough-ass weeds. (You) can pull aside a few dozen, maybe lean a WalkINg BoaRd up against them and spritz-drizzle with ol' Glyphosate. Do not worry about the 1% of the root system that is MayBe gonna be disturbed, probably due to lack of walking boards. (Hey, I don't have as many as I used to, either, lol.) Oh, yeah, they'd still need to be 'pulled', but *easier on you mentally* if it's not gonna grow back.
Oh, yeah... the seeds. The Seeds. THE SEEDS! They lie in wait for me, plotting to sprout all at once after the Plants are ALL in...
Anyway, they need CDCSeed Removal, lol. There are ThouSanDs per loose handful. We should USE them to our advantage - I have a patch with
chicken manure and the same problem, butt the weeds contain the Whizzer sprinklers' over-streams very well. No. Untamable, they are.

I Googled
does 'using' roundup for weed control hurt non-roundup-ready commercial crops' value or volume via its remedial soil existence?

Read up on it and you be the judge. No one will generally do what anyone suggests about it any more than I would, lol, but it's
an interesting topic that is NEVER going away, lol. I will make more of an effort to go weed-rampaging once I get the GRASS mowed
that is also around my AGs, (NOTlol), lol---eric g

[Last edit: 07/31/26 2:39:20 AM]

7/31/2026 1:56:36 AM

C N Y

PS---WALKING BOARDS are the best weed-killers ever and Little Ketchup's Solarization techniques are well worth a looking at.
Put a loaded window frame onto some weeds and give it like 5-7 days. "Wow" I said! Laters--eric g

7/31/2026 2:18:57 AM