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Canada

Hi found this site this Past Summer and its been of Great benefit to myself and Father and our Garden thanks :-)

Ive always bought my pumpkin plants for the stores in the early spring and never really had any great luck growing large ones. Ive always gotten Nice Halloween sized ones but thats about it. After reading and watching the photos that have been posted over this past growing season I'm wanting to grow large ones as well

First off can i still have my regular garden ( tomatoes , peppers, corn cucumbers ext) and still grow Large pumpkings off to the side of the garden so they can grow off and down the hill of the my back yard? or growing large ones does it pretty much take the entire garden up?

also should i chose a Really HOT sunny location or a location were it only gets the sun in the afternoon?

My current garden is 15 ft x 10 x wide and i usually grow my plants in rows at the farthest end of my garden were i normally grow my tomatoes its were it gets sun about 10 hours of the day the lower portion of my graden gets about
4-5 hrs of afternoon sun but thats about it

also is it recommened to pour in say 4-5 buckets of PURE cow manure from a farm say come this Nov and dig it in so it has a chance to brake down over winter or what do you suggest?

Last but not least were can I get large seeds from and
what are they going to cost me

thanks

dave from Ontario canada

8/24/2003 8:10:37 PM

Ypsilanti Michigan

First of all, welcome aboard Dave! You will find this web site full of help on growing big pumpkins. You might consider making your garden bigger if you want to grow large pumpkins. Your pumpkin plants need alot of room for vines to grow. I wouldn't plant your other veggies too close to your plants, or else they will be covered up with leaves and vines. Plant your pumpkins on a flat ground, so when they start forming fruit, they wont roll down hill and break your vines. Pumpkins love heat, and alot of sun. I wouldn't use fresh cow manure straight from the cow, it should be composted first before using. Ya buddy, till it in real good. You can get your seeds free of charge on this web site, but you have to pay the shipping costs. Most people on this site start seeds on there own, this way you can know what your growing. Good luck on next years growing!

8/24/2003 9:13:04 PM

KENTUCKY

well first off, If you get started in this GIANT PUMPKIN growing, it becomes an obsession. You will need 400-700sq. ft per plant. You want it's location to be for the most amount of sun all day every day. You can get seeds free from this site ($3.00 s&h). Manure, not buckets full, but truck loads for the patch area! There is alot you can learn from this site, if you really want to get into this, order "How to Grow Gorld Class Pumpkins" volumes 1 and 2, volume 3 to be out soon by Don Langevin!

Good Luck,
MIke

8/24/2003 9:16:18 PM

We are warning you, it's sort of addicting, especially if you already enjoy gardening. get the sunniest location possible. i plant on a hill, so if that's the sunniest spot you have, you can make it work. i dug the dirt around my pumpkins so there's a little flat area where they rest. anywho good luck and leave now if you don't want to get hooked!

8/24/2003 10:04:32 PM

Canada

OK Am gonna order the Books.. Ive been hooked on gardening
since i was a litte.. I love to have the nicest lawn
and flowerbeds in the neaighbourhood.. next comes the garden
im out pulling weeds and watering and fertilizing daily
i LOVE watching things grow and LOVE to have a challenge
( growing large pumpkings) so whats the best way to select
seeds? i usually start my vegitable garden plants in doors by seeds over winter.. I hardly ever buy my plants but i do the odd time if my plants started in doors are too weak ext ext.

what seeds do you suggest? thanks
Take care
daveM

8/24/2003 11:41:14 PM

Menomonie, WI (mail@gr8pumpkin.net)

Those other gardens will be a thing of the past, the lawn will go unkept, the neighbors will start whispering about what the heck are you doing in the back yard. You will not care. You will raid other people patches in the middle of the night just for some pollen. If you are married please try to involve your other half or they will become jealous. Good Luck.... Wait until this Fall to get your seeds on this site in the seeds link. Picking the seeds out are half the fun. The friends you make will hook you up. Shannon

8/25/2003 12:03:43 AM

wilmington,ma.

Dave if you like watching things grow,
well don't blink your eyes. You'll miss an inch
or so of growth!!

8/25/2003 3:51:36 PM

Brillion Wisconsin

Hi Dave, You can buy seeds on the internet. The two sites that I recommend are www.howarddill.com and www.pandpseed.com. You can also get them for free from other growers or this website. You have been warned about the additiveness of this sport....I think you are hooked already. Good luck Dean o

8/25/2003 5:05:37 PM

Western Pa.

Plan on putting another garden in for those tomatoes,peppers.etc. You need at least 500' for 1 giant pumpkin plant. The best seeds to start with are free seeds from this website. John D., anyone there know what the largest grown from your free seed list has weighed? Good luck Dave, with those giants. The reason for this website is because no one else "understands!"

kilr

8/25/2003 5:32:13 PM

Mill Bay, British Columbia

Dave, I'm a first year grower and and hooked!! Forget any other veggies and expand your garden if possible. I'd suggest getting seeds from someone in your local area. Something that is proven for your climate and area. I'd be happy to give you seeds.

8/25/2003 9:20:25 PM

Canada

Ya I wish the growing season was just starting :-(
I wish i would have found this website last winter.
Bu at least I have the time now to do the re search i need
and find out as much as i can for the following season.

As far as haveing 500 Ft of space for one Plant / Giant pumking My garden really isnt that Big and I also enjoy
growing tomatoes and peppers and stuff of that sort
so i think i'll grow that stuff at the lower end of the garden next spring and grow 4 plants at the high end of the garden were it gets the most sun and heat My current garden
is borded in the middle of my yard BUT i do have ALLOT of
space bewteen the garden and the fence ( to my neaibours yard)
so there would be nothing wrong with haveing my pumpking plants growing out of the garden onto the grassy lawn towards the fence would there?

But ya thanks for all the suggestions

take care DaveM

8/26/2003 1:14:06 AM

Canada

P.S One last thing.

is it too early to start gathering seeds now for next growing season? whats the best way to store the seeds?

is the fridge in a dark place all right or whats the proper way to store the seeds so i can start them come Feb Or March indoors and have them outside and planted in a cold fram come april ? I usually put the garden in first or second week of May of each year when frosy has past BUT because of the location of my graden it wouldnt be that hard to frame part of it in and cover it in plastic come april so i'm thinking of getting an early start if possible
possibly on a few plants for testing
thanks again
DaveM

8/26/2003 1:17:18 AM

Garden State Pumpkins

Hey David, Going through old posts while you wait for your winter readings is great and you best friend is the site search box on top...Many ways to store seeds...Good Luck and Grow Em Big! Chuck

8/26/2003 6:04:03 AM

Oz

i have seen pumpkins with corn, and beans on vert nets. look at my photos. i know its alot of land,,but the plants dont take up much room(bigger pumpkins need longer vines). matters and tatters can grow in pots.
best of success!

8/26/2003 10:06:34 AM

Oz

oh yes ontario,,aka,,east michigan(lol),has fine weather and soil. the lakes produce lots of clouds for rain and shade. if you have open land you will need a wind break.
prevailing wind direction blocked by tall trees is good also.

8/26/2003 10:14:11 AM

Caceres, mid west of Spain

Hi Dave, maybe you will start with the other stuff in one corner and you let the vines grow onto the lawn. Then you'll harvest one or more medium size pumpkins (because you wont find the courage for culling all but one fruit) from a plant eaten by the grey spots of the powdery mildew. And you will ask yourself: why in the Hell didn't I give all the room to my pumpkin plant and keep all the soil underneath neaty? Then, next year all the other stuff will go %&$$=?ª#! or you will move to a bigger garden, because you will truly be infected by the AGP virus.

Carlos

8/26/2003 12:29:03 PM

Garden State Pumpkins

LOL@Carlos....well put!

8/26/2003 3:35:19 PM

Taber, Alberta

It's great to see you starting to grow the big ones. I grew Prizewinners for the past 5 years and took the plunge to the AG's this year and I am addicted. My garden is just a little bigger than yours (18x25) and I grew one plant this year and it took up the whole space. I grew peas on the opposite end of the patch as they were finishing by the time the vine got to their spot. The plant now takes up the entire space and is starting to branch out through the fence and into my son's sandbox.
I grow tomatos and onions and a few other things, but they are in a separate location away from my pumpkins. The problem is, all my attention seems to go into my pumpkin and my other veggies, flowers and my lawn get neglected. I start all my veggies and flowers from seed, but once the pumpkins get going, everything else is not as important for some strange reason.
Try to get as much sun as you can. I have two lilac bushes on the edge of my patch that hog the sun in the early morning. My wife likes them too much so I just have to keep them trimmed, but the more sun you can get, the better off they are.

I've learned so much from my mistakes this year. My biggest pumpkin is around 110 lbs now and is not growing very much now. Keep asking questions and good luck next year

8/26/2003 10:24:02 PM

Sloughhouse, CA

Hi Dave, Try to get together with other growers in your area. I got my first seeds from Len. Have lots of fun and get the whole family involved.
Good luck. Suzy

8/27/2003 12:28:56 AM

Garden State Pumpkins

Hey Dave, go to my 2001 diary and see entry 10...I always grew big max in with my tomatoes and managed to do it...see what happened when an AG went in there....Yes there are 6 tomatoe plants in there!!! About the same size as your plot!
Chuck

8/27/2003 7:59:59 AM

Manchester, N.h.

Hi Dave, Everything everyone is saying here is so true. This is my third year growing and it gets crazier every year. I planted tomatoe's, cukes, squash, and peppers. Oh, ya and of course my pumpkins. The vines start growing at such a speed that before I knew it I was pulling the beautiful tomatoe plants out and over the hill. Then the squash plants got in the way so they had to go. (hey the pumpkin's needed room) Let me tell you something right now, I have always loved my garden and if anyone would have told me back when ( before my obsession ) that I would be killing other plants for these pumpkins I would have laughed in their face. I do suggest that you grow at least one other veggie so you don't appear completely insane. Hey ever one corn stalk will do. LOL.....Good luck....Flora

8/27/2003 9:06:45 AM

Caceres, mid west of Spain

Or maybe one carrot, it wouldn't take too much room.

8/27/2003 11:49:15 AM

Grants Pass, Oregon

Dave

I started with one plant a few years ago and because for me AG's are an obsession I got the old tiller out and took out some more grass in the pasture, hubby started to say something and then thought better since these make me happy, now each plant gets 700 sq ft. We shall see what happens next year when it comes time to till...

8/27/2003 12:19:33 PM