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market-farming - Re: [Market-farming] No-till Dryland Pumpkins

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  • From: robert schuler <sunnfarm AT bellatlantic.net>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] No-till Dryland Pumpkins
  • Date: Sat, 21 May 2005 12:16:31 -0400

I planted 14 acres of no till pumpkins, seeded rye in fall mowed it down cut slots and seeded pumpkins in June. I hoped to just mow the weeds until vines covered ground. It did not work as well as I planned. Weeds took over after pumpkin vines run. Weeds harbor aphids that spread virus into pumpkins...
A successful no till method developed in NJ is to seed vetch in fall, kill with paraquat in May and follow with roundup at pumpkin seeding. Then apply a residual herbicide like Prefar or Strategy after seeding. When vetch is allowed to grow as a living mulch without herbicides, the vetch sucks the soil dry and pumpkin yields suffer.
If you want to try notill I would grow the bush type of short vined pumpkins, they form a dense 8ft round circle that shades out weeds... Bob.
Sunny Meadow Farm
Bridgeton, NJ.

TxBeeFarmer wrote:

I'm thinking of planting a few rows of pumpkins on a patch of land (sandy loam) that has never been tilled and has a lot of wild rye and other weeds.  If I run two or three foot sweeps where the rows will be, then chisel, then plant, will the pumpkins be aggressive enough to overcome the weeds that will surely come from seeds left behind?  Guess I could chisel and run busters to turn everything under every time a new batch of weeds appears, but by the time all the weed seed are gone I'm afraid it'll be two late to plant this year.  What do you all think? Mark (West Texas Zone 7b)

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