How to Use Plants in Your Yard to Help Your Pumpkins Grow

From time to time I find issues in the yard that can be canaries in the coal mine for the pumpkin plants.  For example, my lawn over the last two weeks went from beautiful green and growing nicely to an off color.  At first I thought it might be a nitrogen deficiency so I gave it some more nitrogen with little change in results.  Watching it closer, I've decided it is an iron deficiency, so I gave it some iron today.  At the same time I gave the pumpkin patch some iron. 

Although my lawn doesn't get an anual dose of compost and some of the other treatments, it is sometimes safe to assume if you are low in a nutrient in the yard, the pumpkin patch might be heading the same way.

I'll often use binder weed in the same way.   Binder weed seems to be very susceptible to powdery mildew.  If I see binder weed getting some powdery mildew on it, I'm start ramping up my fungicide program in the pumpkin patch to help fight it off before the plants get it.

In further updates, I've pulled the 2005 Haist that went flat vine (sad!) and will be growing the 1325 Johnson in the greenhouse.  Not overly sad however.  This 1325 is growing nicely and I like the genetics. 

In the hoop house, I'll be pulling the 1325 Johnson which has gone flat vine and growing the 2051 Marshall.  The 2051 has been a beautfiul plant so far and maybe even a better grower than the 1325 so far.

Both plants will have reached the end of their hoop houses by tomorrow.  Weather over the next three days is bad (below freezing some nights), so I'll but cutting a hole in the plastic so they have additional room to grow.  Fortunately after the next three nights it warms up considerably.  I'll try to keep the plants in the hoop houses as long as I can, so I can keep them as warm as I can at night and within 5-6 days I'll have to remove them.