garden news-its pumpkin planting time

GARDEN NEWS-ITS PUMPKIN PLANTING TIME

this is a row of pumpkins that was planted in our community garden by our multiple volunteers

in some years we relied on outside sources for our pumpkin plants
this year we decided to buy our own seeds and start them in our greenhouse
we started these plants from seed about a month ago
i must say they look much more healthy than those we planted in previous years

so we manage the growing from seed purchase to using a really good planting soil mixture to really good greenhouse care to timing when the plants are ready to go into the ground

we hope this will give us even better yields

we will plant big ones and little ones and some gourds and even throw in a few watermelons and i will throw in a few okras
many folks around here havent seen okra growing before
gotta educate them some on southern foods

this large field earlier this year was a field of wildflowers and grasses
before that it was a field of a christmas tree lot

when the pumpkins are ready for sale this fall they will be harvested

before then we will have a several days of classes here with about 500 elementary students to come through our garden
they have one class under the oak tree about squashes and pumpkins 
they also usually get to pick their own pumpkin that we strategically place in paths we make like a maize through the patch

kids and adults love to wander through this pumpkin patch during the fall

we also have fall fundraiser events in this front area in the fall 
the pumpkin patch make a great backdrop for the event


we recruited several volunteers for the planting of the pumpkin days
i wasnt there that day as i was at ucla getting my lengthy tau pet scan
i did prep all the beds and laid all the drip lines so all the volunteers had to do was plant pumpkins
i

n the planting hole we add worm compost
then
water the plant in with a fish emulsion solution

before this the field was weedeated and all the plant material was composted in our compost system
20 yards of a rich compost was spread over the field
fertilizer was spread over the area also
it was then tilled in and raked out
then
i made the rows and did the lines

a fence was placed around the area to keep out rabbits 

our biggest threats to success are rabbits and gophers
the fence keeps out the rabbits and aggressive measures control the gophers

this is a pando view of the completed pumpkin planting of over 100 pumpkins
in the two beds to the left that arent planted yet will be a row of sunflowers and a row of corn
this will provide a path for the school kids to walk through and feel and touch corn and sunflowers
they all like to touch and feel them
we will also have some runner beans planted to run up the corn stalks
ie the three sisters plantings
google it if you dont know what that means

so 
this patch will make money for the community garden
and
provide pumpkins to a lot of folks
and
provide a lot of enjoyment for a lot of kids and adults

its all worth it 

the organicgreen doctor