growing pumpkins

[roy2636]

It might work, it would be an interesting experiment. If you left a strip of grass at least as wide as your mower, and kept it mowed until the vines really got rambunctious.

While I ate lunch today I was watching a program on PBS under the Victory Garden slot where the featured expert had written a book about Weed-less gardening. He set up his garden so there was wood chips between the rows and he never tilled tne growing strip, just added and covered with mulch/compost. He used a drip irrigation system so as not to provide the weeds much water between the rows.

He also pointed out something I didn't know, and that is that manure from animals that have eaten hay grown with long acting herbicides to kill broad leaf weeds in the hayfield can still contain enough of the herbicide to kill or stunt some of the garden plants. It may take a couple of years in the compost pile for that manure not to be toxic! To find out if your manure-containing compost can cause a problem he recommended running a test on some bean seeds in pots with and without the manure before killing your whole veggie patch. He had obviously learned this the hard way. I have never asked my hay supplier what he did, my guess nothing, but his soy beans are sure weed free.

i have goats and the only hay they eat is in winter, the hay they get is not sprayed with anything. i have read that their manure can have weed seeds from them eating the weeds.

 

[roy2636]

Many years ago when I had a young back we had a 1/2 acre kitchen garden and as mentioned above left the between row areas as grass. Mowed it with self propelled walk mower. Grass clippings blew under plants and made good mulch. At end of season rows were covered by composted goat manure.

The composted manure was tilled in late fall. It all worked well.

this is the rout im thinking of taking. ive also thought about a cover crop instead of grass. i saw a guy do that then knock it down with a sickle mower so it still covered the ground and also added to the soil. i dont have a sickle bar mower though.

 

[zload]

A Cole 12mx is a "classic" single row planter that I understand a lot of small commercial pumpkin farmers use. It will plant seeds spaced from about 1" out to 180" based on drive gear and seed plate and will also apply fertilizer at the same time if desired.

I use mine to plant everything from peas, beans, sweet and field corn as well as watermelons etc. They can be adapted to hook up to just about any tractor. My grandfather converted a Cole mule drawn planter to be pulled behind his 1947 John Deere M and the gears and seed plates from it will fit my 12mx.

There is a Chinese knock off of the 12mx out there too.

http://www.coleplanter.com

 

[Creature Meadow]

If you have a lot of leaves or have a means to get them they will serve you well.

I'll pile leaves at the end of my garden and let them sit there till spring. Once my spring crops come up except for potatoes which I will hill several times I put leaves in middles and around the plants.

My garden is nearly an acre divided into 2 sections upper and lower. I'll have some places 6" deep works great!

 

[roy2636]

If you have a lot of leaves or have a means to get them they will serve you well.

I'll pile leaves at the end of my garden and let them sit there till spring. Once my spring crops come up except for potatoes which I will hill several times I put leaves in middles and around the plants.

My garden is nearly an acre divided into 2 sections upper and lower. I'll have some places 6" deep works great!

yes, I'm making my parents and brother save theirs for this purpose