Have you ever wondered how some gardeners grow pumpkins that are as heavy as small cars?
1. Forget your casual watering routine like your life depends on it. These monster pumpkins need 100-150 gallons each day on hot summer days. But here’s the kicker. The surface will dry out during watering. As world record holder Benny Meyer puts it, “it’s better to lean on the dry side rather than the wet side.” Water cannot be negotiated about the status of the PH-Ton Club either.
2. Training these grapes like the Pro One Christmas tree pattern includes 36 secondary grapes (18 before and after fruit). Gently fill those grapes. Leaf nodules germinate the roots and create a huge nutrient highway. All growth is completed by the 20th day after pollination to concentrate energy on fruit development.
3. Bug Wars are real. It gets intense here. Daily bug checking is required. Squashvine bowler east of the Rocky Mountains? Your worst nightmare. Cucumber beetles spread the bacterial wiltness into a “small orgy” of plants (yes, that’s a direct quote). Whether you’re organic or chemistry, missing two weeks means a disaster.
4. Not smart, not focusing on three nutrients: potassium (400-600 ppm), calcium (3,000-4,000 ppm), and boron (1.5-3 ppm). Microadminister every week at a intensity of 1/8 to 1/4 each day.
5. Create an S-Curve or horseshoe shape on the vine for positional flexibility for success. Use the sand below to prepare the pumpkin to slide over and over as it grows. Poor positioning is comparable to broken grape grapes and broken dreams.
