how do i grow a huge pumpkin?
Wednesday, February 10th, 2010 at
12:48 am
I’m going to try ro win the pumpkin contest! Any helpful ideas in how to grow a HUGE one?
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It takes 125 to 130 days to grow a huge pumpkin, & it is started indoors in the spring. Start with the right variety. ‘Dill’s Atlantic Giant’ has set many world records. ‘Prizewinner’, ‘Big Max’, or ‘Big Moon’ are also good.
Start early. "The more competitive growers start their seeds inside and have them ready for transplanting when the plant is in the three-leaf stage," says Howard Dill of Nova Scotia, breeder of ‘Dill’s Atlantic Giant,’ a variety that’s produced many world record holders.
But don’t start them too early, Dill warns, "because the plant may become spindly and have a weak root structure." Also, bear in mind that "transplanting can stunt pumpkin seedlings’ growth." Even under the best conditions, it may take up to two weeks before a transplant finally root in and starts growing.
Whether you start with seeds or seedlings, give them plenty of room to spread out—25 feet from each other. They are vigorous growers and heavy feeders, and good soil is important. Enrich your planting bed with any type of aged or composted animal manure. Dill strongly favors cow manure but other pumpkin growers have used other kinds of manure.
Of the 125 to 130 days it takes to grow a giant pumpkin, "the first 60 are very important," Dill says. "That’s when the plant extends itself, flowers begin to appear and the fruit begins to form." To achieve record size pumpkins, you must select one or two of the first few on the vine (typically those with the best shape) and remove the others. Also, pinch off any that form later.
During the second 60 days, the fruit may grow 8 to 20 pounds per day. To fuel that growth, "organic gardeners can feed with manure tea or compost tea after the fruit is set," Dill says. Weekly feeding is essential for growing giant pumpkins.
To become an eye-popping behemoth, your pumpkin has to grow at a good steady rate. So, do everything you can to protect its leaves. They supply nutrients to the stem of the pumpkin. If you’re growing in a windy location, plant a few rows of corn around your pumpkin patch to keep the plants from being damaged.
Pumpkin leaves need lots of sun, but direct sunlight on the pumpkin itself will harden its outer skin, limiting its growth. You can construct a shade out of burlap or other lightweight material.
Temperature is important, too. Daytime highs around 80 to 90 degrees F are ideal for growing giant pumpkins.
http://www.organicgardening.com/feature/0,7518,s1-5-16-164,00.html
Give the vines 25 feet in each direction,
Water it, regularly, daily even
Feed it: composted cow manure or compost tea, weekly.
Another site with tips on growing giant pumpkins:
http://www.pumpkinnook.com/giants.htm
Good luck! Hope this is helpful.
Keep plants well watered and use a good low nitrogen fertilizer.
Select 1 fruit to keep and remove all others from that plant, this allows the vine to supply all it’s energy into developing 1 Large pumpkin.
just a lot of TLC and you need to start at the very beginning of the season to get an early start, good luck