Today I gave the plants a little Actinovate, liquid fish and liquid seaweed mixed into a compost tea. They are going to like all of that. Actinovate is a bacteria that has anti-fungal properties and helps a little with root growth. It is an interesting bacteria because it can help reduce foliar issues as well as soil borne diseases. I haven't used it yet but have spoke to growers that have used it successfully on lawns, trees and tomatoes. I put some on my own lawn today in the hopes that I can have a healthy lawn by the end of the summer but that is another story.
I was pulling weeds in the patch today and was impressed by the number of worms that were coming up with the weed roots as I pulled them. 90% of the time I saw worms come up with the roots. Lots of worms is a good sign. Worms live in healthy soils and they contribute to it's health. When I start this patch there was literally not a single worm in it. Now there must be tens of thousands and they will help contribute to the growth of the pumpkin in another month.
The pumpkin plants were looking a little pale today. All of the plants have been in the ground for about 10 days now and I think about 7 of the days they have been in the ground there has been minimal sun. I'm a touch behind where I would like to be right now in growth but cool days and not much sun have contributed to that. I suspect the plants will take off these next three days. I'm hoping to see the main vines touching the ground by Thursday. They are up in the air like a lightning poles right now.
The 868 has shown the most growth lately and the 1204 Scherber has been coming on very strong these last few days and it is making a strong case to be grown. I'll probably decide next Friday which plants live and which plants get moved out of the patch.
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