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Ontario

Why does everyone say not to fertilize until 10 DAP ? Are we not trying to get everything we can out of the season we are dealt , if it looks like it's growin then give it hard and don't back off !!

7/17/2017 7:35:24 PM

Torrance, Ca.

Most of the big guys feed all the way through, no breaks during pollination.

7/17/2017 7:59:18 PM

Anamosa, IA BPIowegian@aol.com

If you give the plants too much nitrogen too close to pollination, either way, the plant can switch to vegetative growth and abort the fruit. I learned the hard way when I got my nitrogen way too high on one plant a few years, and it aborted over 20 fruit, never got one to grow, but leaves and vines were huge.

I try to get my soil fertility up to start with, only add fertilizer before pollination if I see an obvious deficiency, hold off all fertilizer after about June 10, and start feeding once the fruit is beach ball size. One thing I did this year was to use a little Osmocote around the planting hole and first 6' of nodes on the main. It is a slow release balanced fertilizer with micronutrients, to keep just a little feed going all season. I'm not a "big guy" but I did take 5th at Anamosa last year when most growers lost most or all of their pumpkins.

7/17/2017 10:51:05 PM

Deer Park WA

Slow steady and in small doses all season will give steady gains. Switch from high nitrogen early on to balanced as the plant fills out then increase k as the pumpkin kicks in to high gear but always small steady amounts. Just my 2 cents.

7/17/2017 11:58:31 PM

Central Illinois

stay with what you have, try to keep it there with small maintenance doses, dont do a drastic change in the schedule

7/18/2017 8:07:46 AM

Ontario

We have been getting at least a inch of rain every week since May my soil is being depleted of nutrients according to soil sample that's why I asked, just asummed there was other growers in the same situation

7/19/2017 9:32:53 PM