6/3/2019 3:43 PM
Pumpkins are doing great getting established in the patch with warm nights thanks to the tea, and warm 80F days. Three plants, with #2 starting to vine.
Of course it helps having great help! Thanks to Julia and friend Taylor. And what do our helpers do after the work is done? Go play in a neighboring creek, of course.
This week: installing soakers to replace the overhead sprinkler, and designing a semi-permanent shade structure.
6/5/2019 2:48 PM
Summer has arrived, with 80s and 90s in the foreseeable daily forecast. Lows in the 50s.
The plants have been in the ground a week, and are looking nice and healthy, although a little bit of sunburn is already showing up.
Un-forecasted rain yesterday at ¾”, after we installed the soaker hoses.
Steve
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Payson Pumpkin People
6/6/2019 3:15 PM
All is well in the patch today: the plants are well feed, well-watered and have had full applications of fungicide and insecticide -- all the good stuff have been done.
The pumpkin plants seem to be warm and happy, and are growing. The plants have been in the soil for nine days. Plant #2 is about 50% bigger than plants #1 and #3.
In six weeks or so, we will have eliminated one or two of the plants, with ‘survival of the fittest’. We are looking for vining to start now, with foliage growing rapidly through June and into July.
We won’t see the blossoms and fruits appear until early-to-mid July.
Once that happens, we’ll pretty much stop the vine growth, and just concentrate on growing those giant pumpkins.
We removed the water/tea jugs today, with overnight lows now in the mid-50s, we probably don’t need them.
And we have put the ‘sun hats’ on the plants, to shade from sunburn. Large-scale sunshade will go on in the next week, as these “hats” will be too small within a couple of days.
Steve
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Payson Pumpkin People
Payson Pumpkin People update -- looks like growing weather!
6/9/2019 10:47 PM
Looks like pumpkin growing weather! Highs are in the low 90s for the next 10 days, overnight around 60F. Our soil temp is 80F. Perfect!
Our soil is still a bit high pH, and we will continue to add pH reducer to our frequent applications, and will do this for the rest of the season.
Payson People: It’s time to put shade over the plants to prevent sunburn, and add insecticide and pesticide to your weekly fertilization. We use 50% shade, and we are talking about putting a full structure over the patch, rather than the piece meal approach we used last year, and we used today (photo) --- this approach works well, but is rather a pain to remove then reset, as necessary, several times a week.
And now is the time to start staking the plants to the ground – gradually, so that the vines will put down roots as they start to explode outward. We use bamboo sticks that we get from Plant Fair Nursery in Star Valley.
We put in x-cross stakes today, but it will take 4-6-8 days to actually get the main vine to the ground. And we will stake those vines, then cover them with dirt (not the nobs) through the summer.
Other than our well running dry over the last several days (another ‘pest’ on our list of pumpkin enemies that include disease, insects, wind, monsoon storms, rattle snakes, mice, rabbits, wiener dogs, elk, deer, racoons, badgers, bad luck, etc.) -- everything is very good at the patch!
Payson Pumpkin People update
6/13/2019 1:15 PM
We are off and running: The pumpkins seem healthy, happy and are vining.
No insect issues, no disease issues, no stray critter issues, well pump issue resolved, so no water issues.
We are staking those guys to the ground, pointing them in the right direction, and they are taking off.
More semi-permanent shade structures going up in the next week.
High temps are in the low 90s, lows around 60F. Longest (most sunlight) day of the year coming up.
Perfect! All is good at the patch.
Payson people, let us know how your plants are coming along.
Payson Pumpkin People update
6/16/2019 8:45 PM
And they are off to the races!
Plant on the left is at about 3’, the one on the right at 4’, with vines stretching out and putting on good new growth every day.
All is good in the patch, with the shade cloths (50%) up, minimal sunburn, everyone fertililzed, and doused with insecticide and herbicide. Highs continue in the low 90s, lows around 60F, no storms in the forecast , although the “official” start of the monsoon was yesterday. Water is doing fine, blossoms are forming, the vines are running -- all is good in the patch.
Payson Pumpkin People update
6/17/2019 7:26 PM
This is plant number 3, that is a backup if we need one in the next month or six weeks.
Are we compulsive about shade?
Yes.
There’s a good reason for that: These guys burns easily!
Plant number 3 sits in the natural afternoon shade, but is exposed in the morning hours to our bright, 5,000’ elevation sunshine.
Steve
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📷 Payson Pumpkin People
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