The Show > Pumpkin 'tastic
Got an Atlantic Giant to grow
chriscross1966:
Tried several tiems and they've never worked out.... this year I've got one to grow properly on a massive pile of poo.... currently the fruit is about 18" across adn growing like topsy.... I've got it u pon a breezeblock and scatter slug pellets round it quite frequently....anything else I need to watchout for?... can't imagine it will need water this year unless we get a dry month....
Dandytown:
I would say give it plenty of water as they need about an inch of water a week over the entire plant area and the roots spread out everywhere!
Better to spread the watering out rather than in one big drench.
Just for info, my patch size is around 550 square feet and the plant and roots fill the entire area. To give the entire patch one inch of water a week I have to water in the region of 220 L each day which is aroung 31 watering cans full.
Most seasoned AG growers place sand under the pumpkins as it assists with drainage, keeps the pumpkin off wet soil (rot) and acts as little ball-bearings to help the pumpkin slide along as it grows (the biggest is in the 1800lb region).
I'm not too keen on the breezeblock method as the skin of the pumpkin is extremely soft and prone to damage. As it grows the bottom will scrape the breeze block and there's your entry point for bacteria and bang goes your cherished fruit.
Chris, measure your pumpkin circumference from the pumpkin stem right around the blossom end and back to the stem. See these links:
http://www.bigpumpkins.com/viewarticle.asp?id=37&gid=4
http://www.giantpumpkins.co.nz/how-to/weight-table/
chriscross1966:
OK, I've got some bags of sand somewhere.... will sort out tonight.... is it worth salting the sand with slug pellets?
chriscross1966:
Well I'm well underneath anythgin that calculator does.... if I get onto that I've broken the family record held by my brother :D..... ATM all of the ground underfoot there is squelchy, and I can't remember the last week we had without an inch of rain during it somewhere so I still reckon I'm ok.... for next year I'll use a polytunnel adn it has an autowatering rig fed by a 1000 litre tank....
Dandytown:
A polytunnel will be a good move and a 1000 litre tank is perfect! I am mainly using the mains via soaker hoses but a gravity fed tank of warmed water would be better. I also have one of those black cold water tanks that you tend to find in household plumbing systems. It holds around 70L, is raised 1m high and can be emptied in a few hours through the 45m of soaker hose I have running through the pumpkin patch.
I'm not sure about the slug pellets being mixed in with the sand. Everyones slug problem will be different so I guess for you its weighing up the risks. Do you have any polystyrene? You could get a square of it and punch some small drainage holes in it and then put the sand on top followed by the pumpkin. That would provide some extra protection
Here's an example from a friends pumpkin diary
http://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=183852
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