August Giant Pumpkin Update

It’s been awhile since my last giant pumpkin update post and a lot has changed in the pumpkin patch! I have been learning everyday as the season has gone by and have been taking notes for the future. I knew going into to this little project of mine that growing giant pumpkins is a lot of work and for the hard core gardener and oh is that ever true! Each week I give my pumpkins a fish emulsion or water soluble fertilizer. Once they started to put out fruit I have been feeding a little potash each week as well. I have been watering several times per week too. Bugs have been a much larger issue than I initially thought. I was prepared for the possibility of squash vine borers so I put down precautionary beneficial nematodes a few times and injected them into the vine. You can see me in the picture with my bucket of nematodes lol! Yes that is a soup ladle, I needed something to spread them around with! I have had several other types of bugs that I have been controlling for. There have been squash bugs, which I think brought in yellow vine disease to one of my vines, but part of it is still growing. I also have had cucumber beetles and Japanese beetles. I spray eight every few days and neem oil which has been helping control everything.

Mid July and August have been the fun time for pumpkin growing because I have been able to watch them grow weekly and document the process. I have two weeks left until the entry day for the Minnesota State Fair. I am hoping my pumpkin adds many pounds before then. I plan on increasing my watering schedule. I know I won’t have the largest pumpkin, but it has been a fun personal challenge this summer to see how big I can grow one.

#GiantPumpkin