Topic: Not quite 200lbs

[kenkew]

There does seem to be a lot of 'planting in the compost bin' going on these days. Personally I see it as a waste of compost, Camby'. If you want to make good use of your compost to grow extra's, then I would say in late March (earliest) empty your bin, fill up another smaller tub with well rotted compost from it on top of a layer of rotted manure and plant your seedlings in that. The rest of the compost is either turned and put back in the bin or used on the garden.
If you put plants into a compost heap you're a bit stuck when you want to dig into it. Maybe you have enough compost to make more than one pumpkin garden. The way I did it last year for squash and melons was to half bury a cut off middle section from a wheely bin, turn over the soil at the bottom, put in 6 shovels of horse manure followed by a mix of soil and good compost from the heap. I fed twice weekly a home-made manure liquid feed when the fruits started.
Let me know how you go. (Don't like pumpkin's acually...well, not to eat although I had some very nice soup last Sunday.)

[MikeB]

Question for Mike...

It mentions that potatoes should be planted 4" deep, but how close together are the tubers?

Having given up my lottie, but wanting to grow stuff in the garden, I might try this.

Debs :D

Hi Debs,

There was no information given on planting distances or type.  I planted 8 potatoes (4 kestrel and 4 Picasso) equi distance in the container.  I kill two of the Picasso's by over earthing them.  Kestrel is a 2nd early and Picasso 2nd early/early main crop, I thought this would give me reasonable size potatoes, hence greater weight.  On further research on the internet it appears that you should use first earlies planted 6" in each direction.  Apparently 'Swift' potato type is bred for container growing.  The only knowledge on this that I have is from the internet and 1 years growing experience/failure, I intend trying again this year with 22 'Swift' tubers in the box shown above.  I'll report later in the year on my success/failure.

Regards

Mike

[cambourne7]

I LOVE PUMPKIN AND SQUASH

but i want to enter the soham pumpkin comp this year and i have some Atlantic Giant i want to try growing really really big!

I Have 2 compost bins one was full but its not mixed well and will take a while to rot down, i think that it would have gone down a little by now but certainly not more than half.

http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n61/cambourne7/P1010002.jpg

( the one that does not have the wheelbarrow in front. Its about 4-5 foot wide.

We only get horse manure delivered fresh to the site and have to pop it on our plots to rot down.

So the plan would be to compact down whats there add another wooden board to the front.

Add a layer of shreaded paper and leaf mould over the compost followed by manure, straw and some soil.

I was going to use it with a plastic over to start as a place to start seeds until i can repair my greenhouse ( plastic cover ripped to shreads in the wind and blew off ) and then when i move the seeds into other beds then i replant it with 2 pumpkin plants.

This is just in case one dies or is damaged.

That still gives me a large compost bin on the side which will see me though mose of the summer ( and i have a darlek one i want to move to the plot from home as well.

When the pumpkin is finished i should be able to use this to fill my fruit beds as it should be quite well rotted by then.

I was thinking that i can plant the pumpkins though the plastic which will help direct water though to the plant?

Cambourne7

[kenkew]

If you're looking at competition growning then that's something else. By all means listen to the experts on that matter. You're mention of plastic frightens me a bit. I'd use the stuff that's used for weed suppression, plastic will encourage rot at the point where your fruits touch it...even then, pack straw between.

[cambourne7]

good thinking ken :-)

will still use the plastic to cover to make the seed bed as it will let light in.

Cambourne7

[kenkew]

I'd be tempted to start your seeds off under cover and transplant the strongest ones to their final place and do away with the plastic altogether. Plastic's OK for cloche use and keeping the rain off heavy soils, but using it as a long term bed cover has quite a few draw-backs.

[cambourne7]

yep i only wanted to use it while this first set of seeds took then i would convert to the pumpkin bed and remove the plastic...

[Columbus]

Hi all,  :)

I used my pallet-boxed leafmould piles with horse muck added to grow pumpkins in after I realised how hot a leaf mould pile can get. (I stuck my hand in to see how it was progressing). So if you have leaf mould hanging around for a year its a way to use the space it takes up. The pumpkins did fine btw.

Col

[cambourne7]

cool i was going to make something traditional for leaf mould with wire.

(it just so happens that the pack of our car park is where the landscapers put the leaf mould for a 10 acre site so when i am feeling better i plan on picking up some to take to the plot but in the mean time the local bunnies play in it. Got 2 blue Ikea bags for carrying mucky stuff and thanks to freecycle got 2 large baskets to help bring stuff down to the plot)

[cambourne7]

I was wondering if a conical compost bin upside down would do the same job as the wooden structure for spuds?

[carolinej]

Mine would be a bit floppy for that. Dont think it would handle the weight of the compost as it gets wider either. Then again, dont take my word for it.

cj :)

[cambourne7]

many thanks i think i am going to have to have a bit of a think about this :-)

[supersprout]

what about this cambourne?
http://www.organicgardening.org.uk/organicgardening/nd_spuds.php
SSx