Pumpkin planting

Richard G. · Jun 22, 2009

Planting 2 acres of pumpkins tomorrow. What depth should they be planted?
Thanks, Richard

Don-Wi · Jun 22, 2009

They ussually need to only go about 1-1 1/2 inches deep.

On a side note though, pumpkins ussually go in the end of May for a harvest in Mid September through October up to Halloween. Helped my brother a few years and he's on his own now. He always plants Memorial Weekend.

Donovan from Wisconsin

Richard G. · Jun 22, 2009

Thanks, here in SC we have a longer growing season and the variety we have should be ready in mid Oct.
Thanks, Richard

landlord7012 · Jun 22, 2009

Hi Don,

I'm not disagreeing about the "plant by Memorial Day" thing as I'm sure it's still quite applicable for most crops and my first wifes father (dairy farmer) always told me that. Problem is that the last two years I have been planted by the first weekend in June and have lost almost half of my seed to rot. I realize there other other factors involved, namely excess moisture. I am convinced that because of my local near Lake Michigan and being so close to a cool creek bed that I will be closely monitoring the ground temperature instead of just the date.

How are your brothers pumpkins doing? Is that tank working out for him? If I ever figure out how to post pics I'll post my new water wagon using the same style tank and an old ski boat trailer.

Regards,
Bill

yak651 · Jun 22, 2009

Same as Don, i plant mine memorial day weekend. This year it was cool and damp, it took about two weeks for them to come up but they seem to be doing well now. The only thing that didn't do well was a variety call Wolff, this is the second year i tried this seed and only got about 4 plants out of two rows around 30' long. Not going to try them again...

Don-Wi · Jun 22, 2009

It's actually been wet enough the last couple years he hasn't had to use it too much. We use it in the garden though.

He's been sticking in some plants here & there that he started in his greenhouse and he's had to replant a few, but he's got a covington planter he bought last year for a good price and what took him 3 days by hand he can plant in 1 day now.

Our neighbors have had to replant over 1/2 of their patch this last weekend because of the weather and the ground. They've put pumpkins in the same exact spot for atleast 6 years in a row and the ground is very hard clay. They use a roto-tiller and pulverize it, and then it rained and turned it into concrete so the seeds couldn't come up and they rotted.

Donovan from Wisconsin

Don-Wi · Jun 23, 2009

My brother plants Wolf and it does fairly well here. The other one he plants a lot of is the Howden Biggie. He does a bunch of other odd ones and some really cool ones that no one else has- That brings in lots of customers.

One he tried a couple years ago was called One Too Many. Kinda looked like a blood-shot eye and hence the name. It was a new hybrid though so out of $50 worth of seed he only got 5. I think the couple he did sell he sold for $12-13. He's gonna give that one a couple years before he tried them again, as the customers all made comments on how cool they looked.

Donovan from Wisconsin

Stephen in SoKY · Jun 23, 2009

I planted 2 acres Saturday. Any earlier here & I lose a high percentage to rot before they sell good. I use an old Holland transplanter:

<a href="http://s184.photobucket.com/albums/x105/StepheninSOKY/?action=view¤t=Pumpkins001.jpg" target="_blank">

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</a>

With the pocket chain removed & a piece of PVC for a seed tube:

<a href="http://s184.photobucket.com/albums/x105/StepheninSOKY/?action=view¤t=Pumpkins005.jpg" target="_blank">

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</a>

Two of us planted 2 acres in under 1 hour while seated the entire time. I"ve used it for years raising up to 7 acres annually.

Rootsy · Jun 23, 2009

My pumpkins went in a week and a half ago as seed. They were out of the ground as of last weekend. I don't like having pumpkins ready before Oct 1... they don't begin to really move until about the 2nd week of October. Planting mid June gives me an end of Sept / Beg of Oct maturity on a 110 day pumpkin.

PM tolerant varieties are all I put in. Helps minimize sticking my hand into rotten pumpkins and popping handles off when I go to move them out of the field. Still have to spray fungicide from August thru Sept.

barrybro · Jun 23, 2009

I have read a lot of different studies that suggest your yield will not be significantly different if you plant on Memorial day or throught the second or third week in June. You will have cull pumpkins for different reasons but yield will generally be the same.

I planted an acre on Memorial Day and two acres a week ago.

DoubleR · Jun 23, 2009

We plant ours during the first two weeks of June about a 1-2inchess deep. We live in mid Michigan. It took about two weeks for them to come up this year. I mark the rows and my wife walks along with a 3ft.by inch and one half pvc pipe and drops the seed in the row and kicks the dirt over seed and covers it with her foot. She plants about 3/4 ac. per hour which isn't bad for a 60 year old. She doesn't want me to use the planter and doesn't want me to help her so I let her go. We do about 3-4 ac. per year.

yak651 · Jun 23, 2009

(quoted from post at 03:13:59 06/23/09) My brother plants Wolf and it does fairly well here. The other one he plants a lot of is the Howden Biggie. He does a bunch of other odd ones and some really cool ones that no one else has- That brings in lots of customers.

One he tried a couple years ago was called One Too Many. Kinda looked like a blood-shot eye and hence the name. It was a new hybrid though so out of $50 worth of seed he only got 5. I think the couple he did sell he sold for $12-13. He's gonna give that one a couple years before he tried them again, as the customers all made comments on how cool they looked.

Donovan from Wisconsin

I planted a section of Pankow, Howden, Howden Biggie, and then some gourds and some odd shaped pumpkins, we'll see how that does. Last year my Indian Corn turned out real good, this year I plowed up a new section of sod to put the indian corn in and it's not turning out too good.

Pumpkin planting

Richard G.

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Don-Wi

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Richard G.

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landlord7012

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yak651

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Don-Wi

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Don-Wi

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Stephen in SoKY

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Rootsy

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barrybro

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DoubleR

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yak651

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