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http://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=303365

The Patons think that their new watering system is the biggest improvement to their patch. Looking at their reasoning, have people been watering all wrong if you put an equal amount of water over your plant the whole season? (I cannot recall anything being posted otherwise.) Thoughts?

6/21/2019 3:32:20 PM

Wisconsin

Steve Daletas presented at the big show his findings with moisture meters. In a nutshell, depending on what age the growth is the different amounts of water it would need. Example later in the year the first growth of the plant is shutting down not as efficient at water uptake where the later growth is still good and uptake water well. So if one waters evenly, the old growth can become too moist and newer growth can become to dry.

6/22/2019 7:57:00 AM

Thanks. I take it that the plant would suffer and you might end up with lower end of season pumpkin weight gain?

6/22/2019 8:40:23 AM

Hopedale Ohio

I looked online for information on Ian and the new watering system, having trouble finding anything. Is there another site they have posted? Thanks

6/22/2019 9:26:28 AM

Lymington UK

The reason is this.
We have always run our watering with a header at the back of the plant and the tubes running to the front of the plant.
Early in the year the back of the patch gets covered with leaves and needs more water than the front.
By the time the front area is covered the back is probably 6 weeks old.
This old part of the plant eventually needs less water.
It was something that has been bugging us for a couple of year and it turns out that Steve Deletes has seen the same thing with his moisture probes.
With this in mind we've changed our header round to the side of the plant.
The new header divides the plant into three so that the back of the plant can be dried out if needed.
We're positive that it will keep the backs of our plants in better shape.
I hope this helps and I'll try to put a short video on instagram showing how we have them laid out" ianpaton2269 "

6/22/2019 11:11:28 AM

Hopedale Ohio

Thank You very much Ian for taking the time to answer my question. Very helpful and I really enjoyed seeing the response from you. Have a great summer. Thanks Again, Rick

6/22/2019 12:54:54 PM

Thanks for the info. Going to have to rethink my watering.

6/22/2019 4:32:09 PM

North Pole,Alaska

Just a thought I'd give a little input here. I've had to feed isolated sections of the plant for years due to access constraints with an aeroponic system. First 7' of main with all secondaries in first section, followed by individual 4' sections. Each section is self contained, allowing me to monitor exact water/ nutrient usage for each section. Although Ian is correct about the older portion of the plant being less active, the associated roots do not slow down in usage, especially the main. What you are seeing is less loss from evaporation in a heavily leafed area, due to the localized higher relative humidity from transpiration, reduced localized airflow, protection from direct radiant energy, and prevention of convection currents. Set multiple moisture probes at varying depths following the main especially, and you'll see a usage pattern.

6/23/2019 10:04:26 AM

North Pole,Alaska

I've been able to monitor usage of each section on an hourly basis, through hot, sunny weather, cool cloudy weather, etc, as well as watching the nutrient concentration change under each condition as water vs nutrient demands change both under varying weather conditions and just the diurnal cycle itself. Years of feedback. I can come in in the early am, test the nutrients, and tell what the weather was like for the previous 24hrs.

6/23/2019 10:09:40 AM

North Pole,Alaska

It's great to see everyone implementing new, better techniques based on group feedback. Keep pushing the boundaries!!!!

6/23/2019 10:13:01 AM

Westmoreland, KS

Great question and thanks for the excellent response Ian.

6/23/2019 10:59:35 AM

North Pole,Alaska

Overall a great observation and your approach should still provide great benefits. Greater disease control, improved oxygenation, and less of the nutrients leaching down below the main root zone.Attention to details like this are what set growers like Ian apart.Best of luck

6/23/2019 12:12:58 PM

Lymington UK

I think the problem occurs when we continue to water an area that is all ready at field capacity.
I agree with David. Roots can remain active well after the leaves start to die and are very good at re-growing esp the very fine root hairs.
When we over water soil, the water is filling up the very vital air pockets. We're trying to keep the soil at the back of our plants from being waterlogged. Keeping the back slightly drier should encourage those fine root hairs.
Thanks for asking the question, we're all working towards some awesome pb's

6/23/2019 12:55:24 PM

Lymington

Because we grow pot plants commercially we spend a lot of time taking pots of plants to check the roots and the moisture content. We sometimes find waterlogged plants and see as a result root loss and disease. If we dry that plant out a little only a few days later we usually see new white roots. It’s a very delicate balance between giving our pumpkins enough water to avoid splitting them and giving too much water which can damage the roots

6/24/2019 8:29:38 AM

Germany

Just wondering if back-to-back growing of two plants would already help, because the parts closer to the stump (where the roots become less active earlier in the season) are more densely crowded by roots from two plants, whereas the outer areas (which require more water later in the season) are more occupied by roots from one plant. Hence, for those who want to get the best out of even watering across the whole patch (because of thewatering setup they use), this back-to-back planting should do them a favor. Can´t recall where and when I have read about that, but I am pretty sure in an older post someone had written that back-to-back planting helped them reduce the number of foamers. There could be a direct link between the two phenomena.

6/24/2019 8:52:11 AM

North Pole,Alaska

Just want to point out again that water/ nutrient usage at the rear of the plant does NOT slow down as the season progresses in relation to the rest of the roots. EVAPORATION decreases in this area.If not for vine burying, the main would be doing ALL the work. Nutrient usage at the main would follow the growth curve of the entire plant. Auxiliary roots definitely help, but every new bit of growth on the plant still has complementary new root growth at the main. Try a simple experiment. Set out 2 bowls of equally saturated soil, filled to the top. Set one under the canopy at the rear of the plant and one near the tip where it is exposed. Watch the difference in evaporation rates. If you want to get nerdy, weigh each first and get a quantitative comparison.

6/25/2019 12:04:03 AM

Colorado

Great info dave-thanks for sharing.

6/27/2019 6:29:41 PM