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Ny

How soon can I fertilize with miricale grow? my plant has leaves about 5" big
Thanx, Farm boy

7/1/2004 10:30:48 AM

Enumclaw WA

How many leaves do you have on your plant? Some growers will hold off on fertilizer until there are 5 - 7 leaves. If your leaves are 5" big, it sounds like this might not be an Atlantic Giant, or it is still a "baby". Fertilizer also depends on how nutrient rich your soil is. Some growers have such good soil that the nutrition in the soil will support the plant in the early stages while the plant puts out roots. So lets say you have average soil and you want to grow a nice size pumpkin and learn a thing or two along the way. You could always mix up the miracle grow per the instructions and apply to the plant... for me, I'd wait until there are 5 - 7 leaves and the plant is less tender. Avoid fertiling in the heat of the day and resist the temptation to over-fertilize. As you get more experience, you may try other fertizing regimes. Some are very sophisticated and involve feeding the leaves and the soil with a variety of ingredients....both organic and synthetic. You can read about them in the "fertizing and watering" message board. During my first year, I used miracle grow through a soaker hose. It worked just fine for a new grower. Have fun. Kayla

7/2/2004 12:00:29 AM

Ny

Yeah your right they are babies I'm kinda late in the season to start but I wanna learn all I can learn this year so I can get a game plan together for next year. My soil is very rich it's basically just decomposed manure. Some topsoil pressent but not a whole lot.

7/2/2004 8:26:25 AM

Enumclaw WA

That sounds like pretty good stuff to grow in. In that case, I would wait a bit on the fertilizer. For example, I planted on May 1st and did not start to fertilize until the vine was 18 inches long... on the first of June. You will have plenty of time to get a nice size pumpkin. Happy Growing.

7/2/2004 10:42:30 PM