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Canada

Is growing the Pumpkings out of the main garden onto a lawn a bad thing? my garden isnt overally hudge so i was thinking of planting my plants at each corner of garden ( 4 plants total) and growing them out onto the lawn

is this a bad thing or not? also once the plants set fruit
is it best to place the pumpking onto a piece of wood or
what is best to put under the plant to protect it from diseses and mold from the grass and what not ?

thanks

Dave

another question.

My "spring" soil sample is in the mail right now i should have results back within a week or 2. when is is best to start turning over the soil and adding stuff? i plan on haveing my plants in the ground by last week in may
thanks

3/27/2004 11:28:16 PM

Dillsburg, PA

Due to space limitations I have to do the same thing. The plant will not be very productive where it starts to grow in the grass. The tap roots on these plants are huge and they will not grow very well in grass. Hopefully you have enough garden to support a good plant. I have about 20 ft before I run out of space which seems like enough to get a decent sized pumkin. I grow two in a 40X20 area and these plants take up more room than that.I am not sure but I am might experiment with cutting the main at 20 ft and letting the secondaries grow to 20. This is my second year growing so hopefully you will get some advice/experience from other members on the grass issue. Good Luck

3/28/2004 5:28:31 AM

San Diego

Dave,

Due to my lack of dirt space, I have grown the majority of my plants over grass here in southern california. Two years ago, all I had was a 4 by 5 foot dirt oval for my stump, everything else went over grass, 400 sq foot plant. I was inexperienced at the time and still managed a fruit pushing 400 lbs. Now i have a 8 by 12 foot area of dirt and start my plant in this area, then let my main run out of it onto the grass still. My pumpkin last year was headed over 500 lbs but split at day 42. try to utilize your dirt as best you can, but don't be afraid of the grass, it seems to work fine. You can even put dirt over the tap root areas on the vine when it's on the grass and it will root into it down through the grass. I've done it. Don't let a limited space limit your goals, set them high and go for it.:) best wishes, Jim

3/28/2004 1:56:38 PM

Glen Echo, MD

I grow my pumpkin (single plant) in my front yard. As the vines begin to run over the grass, I lay down a 4' wide layer(s) of newspaper and mulch in front of them. The paper and mulch keeps the grass away from the plant. I rip the newspaper under the areas I want the vine to root, and cover the vine with soil. At the end of the season I pull up the newspaper that has not decomposed, rake in some compost, and throw down some grass seed.

My first season I thought I could trim the grass from around the vines - big mistake. The grass made it impossible to tend to the vises, and encouraged mildew and insects. The newspaper is effective at keeping the grass away, and the mulch keeps the paper in place. It is not the most ideal method, but for those of us with limited growing space, it works.

4/2/2004 3:46:15 PM

Appalachian Mtns.

I've grown a 620 on yard grass out of a pit.

4/2/2004 9:23:44 PM

Montoursville, PA

Let me add that a 620 is a darn nice fruit just waiting for some more and better growing conditions and grower skills to take it on into the "o me gosh" category. 620 is impressive to most people.

4/4/2004 7:32:38 PM