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  • From: Matt Cheselka <cheselka AT theriver.com>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: RE: [Market-farming] Pumpkin Patch (fwd)
  • Date: Thu, 27 May 2004 18:54:32 -0700 (MST)


Kevin, for some reason my message to you off-list bounced. So I'm sending
it to the MF list instead.

See below....

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, 27 May 2004 18:30:41 -0700 (MST)
From: Matt Cheselka <cheselka AT theriver.com>
To: Kevin Ancell <kancell AT getonthe.net>
Subject: RE: [Market-farming] Pumpkin Patch


Kevin, thanks for the response. As you'd probably expect, I have more
questions:

On Thu, 27 May 2004, Kevin Ancell wrote:

> Matt
>
> I grow 15 acres of pumpkins. I just started planting this week. (sugar
> pumpkins only) I wait another 2 weeks to plant so they'll be ready for
> October sales.

Ok, maybe I'm missing something, but if you work backwards 110 days from
31 October, I get to about mid-July. Why would I plant in late May or in
June? Should I consider planing ASAP?

> I only have two things to say.
>
> WEEDS and BUGS
>
> You'll have to cultivate as long as you can and spray for bugs. 2 acres is
> too much to hand pick.

I want to follow the organic (natural, authentic, whatever the current
word is) standard as much as I can, which means I'd like to stay away from
spraying. Although it's likely it'll just be me doing the work (I don't
count on people even if they've given their word), it possible that others
will be involved from time to time. I may even get some schoolkids in
there to take care of the weeds. Do you have any suggestions about what I
might do to avoid having to spray?

> You'll have to fertilize as well if you want market sized pumpkins.

Again, I want to be as natural/organic as I can. What would you recommend
for fertilizer and how often should I do this? If I can find a source of
say, composted cow or horse manure, could I use that instead? How much
would I need to apply and how often?

> As far as seeds go you'll want to check out sources. I buy all mine from
> Stokes as they are cheaper than Johnny's I wouldn't just get one type of
> pumpkin. I plant 5 varieties including some small baby boo and sugar
> pumpkins for making pies and pumpkin butter.

Yes, I like the idea of variety.

> I recommend you add a couple of rows of assorted small ornamental gourds.
> You'll make more money per pound on those. I sell mine two for a buck plus
> give them away to little kids. Parents (buyers) love that.
>
> I plant mine with a 4 row Monosem Planter. But I only use the inside two
> planter units. The outside ones are locked up and don't touch the soil.

Ok, again, it's likely to be li'l 'ol me out there doing the planting. I
think I can hand-plant two acres over the course of a few days. What do
you think? With a "team" of 6-12 people, the planting could probably be
done in a few hours, right?

> I plant my seeds 43 inches in the row with a row spacing of 38 inches.
> Pumpkins are heavy feeders so you'll want to get your soil tested and amend
> your soil very important if you want good sized pumpkins. I water mine too
> which is good if you have some dry spells.

Ok, I was just going by the recommendations on Johnny's website, which is
18" apart on 6ft rows. It seems like you plant more densely than that.
What are the advantages and disadvantages to the density of planting?

In terms of watering, as I said irrigation isn't really an issue. Plus,
our monsoon season (I'm in southeast Arizona) is July-Sept, which means
rain pretty much every day. The only real hazard is a hail storm, which
is likely to happen at least once. Hopefully the damage won't be too
severe (I've never seen hailstones larger than about 1/2") and the plants
will be able to carry on.

Cheers and thanks for the info! I look forward to your response.

Matt Cheselka
Cosmic Lettuce






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