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Post by smsmith on May 21, 2021 7:06:19 GMT -6
I have to admit that one big reason I'm growing pumpkins this year is for our granddaughter It'll be cool to see her with a bunch of pumpkins (and apples) Back in 1971 as a little kid I worked for a specialty crop farmer in Brooklyn Park MN that grew everything from flowers to squash and pumpkins. When we harvested the squash and pumpkins the guy left thousands of odd balls laying in the field in the fall. Soon as it started freezing the deer poured into that field for those things. Looked like one of the best food plots I ever seen. You may have to protect yours. Just sayin. My wife planted a few hills in our fenced in chicken pen (no chickens this year, we still have 10-15 in the freezer) so there should at least be a few for the granddaughter. We've grown squash and pumpkins in our compost pile (we didn't plant them, just let them grow) a few times. Deer never touched the vines or the fruit. One year we did display some of the pumpkins down by the road. That year, after some hard frosts the deer did nibble on the pumpkin mush.
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Post by biglakebass on May 21, 2021 7:43:35 GMT -6
Was that over by the dam on the Mississippi John?
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Post by badgerfowl on May 21, 2021 9:59:13 GMT -6
A few years back, I had a deer eating the center out of a squash vine. I opened the window and pounded on the steel siding with my hand. She just looked at me and kept chewing. My neighbor usually has a pumpkin patch for grade school kids to come out. I see lots of pumpkins laying there all fall, but have never walked over to see if they nibble on the pumpkins. It doesn’t seem like they get much use. I have to admit that one big reason I'm growing pumpkins this year is for our granddaughter It'll be cool to see her with a bunch of pumpkins (and apples) My nephew (4 year old) took about a dozen for his classmates last fall that uncle and grandpa grew. They loved them.
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Post by biglakebass on May 21, 2021 10:14:40 GMT -6
pumpkins are a lot of fun when the kids get to pick em.
We were able to fill a 5x8 trailer with 12 inch sides one year.
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Post by benmnwi on May 21, 2021 10:59:14 GMT -6
Deer didn’t touch our garden pumpkins last year. Not sure if my dad sprayed them or not. I’m planning on planting mine this weekend along with EW screen and a game bird mix. It’s warm enough and we’ve got moisture. Then I’ll be good til august. You guys have deer on your properties? I'm glad there are no deer in Koochiching County. I want my pumpkins to grow. But seriously though, do deer eat pumpkin vines? I guess when they are young and tender they might not be too bad. I've never had any issues with deer eating vines. Or perhaps they do eat them and the pumpkins grow so fast it doesn't stunt them too bad.
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Post by benmnwi on May 21, 2021 11:08:38 GMT -6
My kids can't wait to pick pumpkins every year. I usually tell them to pick a couple each and leave the rest for the deer, but they demand more and we end up with 100+ pumpkins scattered all round our front yard, driveway and front steps. They like giving some away to their grandparents and friends and the deer get thousands of pounds of leftovers.
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Post by kooch on May 21, 2021 11:26:33 GMT -6
How many do you plant to end up with 100+ around your house and still have some left for the deer? I planted about 15 spots with 3-4 seeds a piece. And do you fertilize? I see the fertilization recommendations for N early, then P and K later in the growth cycle. I'm just going to use some 10-10-10 a couple times, if anything.
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Post by benmnwi on May 21, 2021 11:42:43 GMT -6
How many do you plant to end up with 100+ around your house and still have some left for the deer? I planted about 15 spots with 3-4 seeds a piece. And do you fertilize? I see the fertilization recommendations for N early, then P and K later in the growth cycle. I'm just going to use some 10-10-10 a couple times, if anything. Last year I planted about 1/2 acre of pumpkins and this year it will be about an acre. I'm planting more year because I think the pumpkins will make low cost pig food. I've read that you can get 15,000 - 30,000 pounds of pumpkins per acre and I don't think that's an exaggeration if you have decent soil and can catch some timely rain. I usually broadcast some P & K fertilizer in the spring when I have some fertilizer leftover from food plot work. Then if I have leftover urea or 10-10-10 I will sprinkle a little around the pumpkin plants a few times during the summer before a rain if I have time. Sometimes I bury fish guts or raccoon carcasses in the pumpkin patch too.
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Post by kooch on May 21, 2021 11:45:50 GMT -6
You plant them by hand?
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Post by benmnwi on May 21, 2021 11:58:14 GMT -6
Yes, we plant them by hand. I give my boys each a bag of pumpkin seeds (saved from seeds we dried from the prior year's halloween pumpkins) and they drop a few seeds on the ground and my dad and I cover them with 1" of soil with a shovel. We repeat this about 500 times and then we are done. It actually goes fast with 2 people and really fast with 4. Right after planting I spray round up over the whole planted area to kill off the existing vegetation. Most years that gives the pumpkins enough of a head start to take over the entire area. Last year I had more weeds than normal for some reason, but normally I do very little weeding.
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Post by benmnwi on May 21, 2021 12:01:24 GMT -6
This year I'm planting some full season brassicas between the pumpkin rows in one section of my pumpkin patch. They might decrease the pumpkin yield a little, but I'm hoping they will take the place of weeds. At about $2/lb for the seed it will be a pretty cheap experiment.
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Post by badgerfowl on May 21, 2021 14:28:53 GMT -6
I’m planning on spreading some urea and triple 17 prior to tilling and planting. Probably on their own after that.
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Post by mnfish on May 21, 2021 15:02:56 GMT -6
I will be planting some squash and pumpkins this weekend. I like diversity. My problem is rabbits and the blossums
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Post by sd51555 on May 21, 2021 15:28:17 GMT -6
I will be planting some squash and pumpkins this weekend. I like diversity. My problem is rabbits and the blossums I gotta get all mine in this weekend too. I didn't get any started early.
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Post by benmnwi on Jun 8, 2021 21:49:27 GMT -6
hopefully this is the start of an impressive before and after pumpkin patch picture. The left side of this pic is my 2 rows of pumpkins that is about 250 yards long. My dad and I planted it last weekend by hand in 95 degree weather and I sprayed it all with round up the next day. Tonight I overseeded this strip with full season brassicas- kale. I've never planted kale before, but it was worth a shot. We need a lot of rain, but if the weeds are killed I should have a chance.
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