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Santa Ynez California

Hi. It is our first year and our biggest pumpkin is just under 600 pounds at about 47 days old. up until this week it has been growing a pretty solid 20 plus pounds a week for a few weeks. this week it seems to be slowing to around 13 or so a day. Is there something we can do to jumpstart it. Our weather has been quite hot during day though. The vines look very healthy and we have great weather until november or so so I did not expect this sort of slow down as vines are now at their biggest and healthiest. And ideas are most appreciated. also thank you for all advise thus far. instead of two dead pumpkins we have two that are over 500 pounds on our first year lol. thanks again. steve
ps i have photos posted on diary. i have also been pumping on some seaweed extract the last couple of weeks. thanks. steve

9/3/2008 10:51:02 PM

San Jose garysand@pacbell.net

if you are a gambler you can put some 0-0-50

do some research before you do so,,,,

9/4/2008 10:53:34 PM

Utah

They all naturally slow down over time. this is normal. but you can try to slow the decline. Do you have a regular fertilizing schedule?
If not I'd suggest 2-3 tablespoons of something like a 20-20-20 once a week. Some fish and seaweed fertilizer would also help.

9/5/2008 10:45:51 AM

Rhode Island

first year with a pumpkin at 600 pounds still doing 13 lbs a day ? ya got nuttin to fear but fear itself.

just keep doing whatever you did all season. no need to push fertalizers in excess on a fruit that is trying to naturally slow its growth.
they can split as well.
if you do use anything to add weight use two pounds of granular 0-0-50 on the plant.

thats a great pumpkin for any first year grower. especially
if its one who did it without the benefit of an onsite experienced grower

good job
pap

9/7/2008 10:55:14 AM

Santa Ynez California

Hi. Thanks for all the input. Yes we are doing it on our own this year and had to raise them completely on top of chicken wire to keep the gophers from them hahaha. It did put on 100 pounds this week so we are still getting decent growth. Our other pumpkin is doing about 50 pounds a week now but is at 500. I have been putting a lot of seaweed extract on them in last two weeks and they seem to be sucking it right up and am starting to add some fish oil too. Our local contest winner was about 675 last year so we are hoping to cruise in past that but having never grown them before have no idea of what to expect as far as growth. The vines still look so healthy that I thought the incredibly hot weather 100 plus each day might be slowing them down. It is starting to really push out at blossom end now. thank you again. Steve

9/7/2008 11:03:50 PM

Santa Ynez California

Ps. we got these pumpkins in so late this season that we were happy to just get anything over a couple hundred pounds but once they started to hit 400 and growing fast we started to shoot for 500 hahaha. now that they have topped that we are trying to hit 800 for contest on oct 18th. if we hit that we will have i think raised largest pumpkin in county ever hahaha. that would be very cool for first year but at same time we don't want to blow it and end up with nothing too hahaha. thanks again for all help. i think we will just keep hitting with seaweed and fish fertilizers and play it safe as my third grader is happier to have a big one than nothing at all and go for record next year if we don't make it this year hahaha. thanks again. steve

9/7/2008 11:43:29 PM