As a continuation of last years learnings on growing pumpkins. This year I have taken it to another level. We have a south facing bit of land that runs between the house and the neighbours hedge. It is often a good 5-10 degrees warmer due to it being well sheltered. And enjoys good sun, however the trees and hedge do cast some shade on the area. Due to its location there we rarely use it or look at it so i thought it would be ideal for Pumpkin as they can spread as much as they like with no disturbance. The soil at the back of the house isn't brilliant and can get water logged, so i have used car tires to form containers. They have some good benefits, they warm up the soil quickly and maintain the heat during the night, as well as holding the moisture. I've picked up a mix of tires with the big pumpkins being planted in truck tires. And the smaller squashes and zuchini being planted in car tires. As they are containers I have been able to give them a healthy soil mix of compost, manure, and good quality black soil. With last years soil mix going on the tomato bed. There should be plenty of goodness in the soil to hold the moisture and feed the pumpkins. Pumpkin tires ( photo / image / picture from Danjensen's Garden ) The plan is to have pumpkins and squash in the tires on the right and zuchini in the tires to the left. Last year my biggest issue was watering them enough, so i have installed my first drip irrigation system. Allowing me to turn on the tap and leave for an hour knowing it will dose 2 gallons of water per tire. Rather than it getting a watering can full in one shot. It should work great for this application as no water will get on the leaves resulting in my biggest issue of last year, powdery mildew. Pumpkin watering system ( photo / image / picture from Danjensen's Garden ) Finally I have installed an A frame for the pumpkins to grow up ad over. For two reasons 1, is so that they get more light for longer, being elevated they stay out of the shadows at the bottom of the hedge. 2. I'm also hoping that with them being elevated they will get better air flow through the leaves reducing the risk of powdery mildew. The frame is 10 ft wide and 5ft high with netting to be tied up it as support. When the pumpkins come they will most likely fall through the netting and hang underneath. The big ones will probably need support from some old tights. Pumpkin frame ( photo / image / picture from Danjensen's Garden ) Well its a very wet day outside stopping me from gardening so thought i would share this years gardening project with you all. I plan to add to this post through the year as a bit of a journal. If you have tips or advice on growing pumpkins i would like to hear them.
Sounds absolutely wonderful!!! Obviously a lot of time and thought went into your plans!~ I love the drip irrigation system! I haven't grown pumpkins in several years :-? We have been so busy with everything we didn't have time for a vegetable garden. I think pumpkins are a beautiful vine. Are you doing all the same pumpkin or different varieties? I would like to try the little ornamental guys or the white ones :-D
Tried 3 different types last year and trying a few more this year. The list at the moment is. Pumpkin/squash Seeds from a local sweet pumpkin i bought locally vif rouge pumpkin the original cinderella. baby pam pumpkins. early season butternut squash Summer Squash Richgreen a good early green Sunburst are small short yellow cant wait to cook them Golden Dawn III a nice yellow variety Magda Summer light green with nutty flavor. My summer squash were awful last year i think due to lack of water. so looking for good crop this year. Especially as i have so many recipes i can use them in. I'm also hoping all that horse muck will boost the flavour.
It all looks good to me Dan, But I don't have the same set of challenges to work with...Hope it goes well! Last year we had a lack of dry going on. Squash will taste better with cinnamon and sugar on it.
I also grow pumpkins and squash in old tires. Every year they are filled with a fresh mix of compost and aged manure. Each tire gets a large bucket of water during dry or hot spells. This year I have laid thick black plastic under the tires to control the weeds below. Your frame looks like a good idea because I lose a few cucs and a squash each year to mice.
This is exciting, a pumpkin experiment. I have pictures of pumpkins grown in the air suspended in nets by professional growers. Interested? Also in the air, watermelon, eggplant trees, cucumbers peppers and other weird stuff. If only for the reference. jerry
For all of you who go to Longwood Gardens Philadelphia, they do that sort of thing there. In a greenhouse area,it's HUMONGOOOOO there, they have all sorts of veggies growing up and then netting holding the fruit for support. I would like to grow something like that in my greenhouse just to try it. It would be neat. Barb in Pa.
This is interesting, what a ingenious plan you have. I am sure there will be a bountiful harvest soon!
Thanks all. Netty, used your advice last year on the watering, but tap location made it a real chore. Especially when they started to grow, so going to try and acheive the same result with the drip system. i use two tires deep so these guys are pretty high up and the area was weed free which was a bonus. I'm also planning on putting black plastic on the top once they start growing as a mulch. I highly recommend the air suspension for these kind of plants, especially if you are short of space. As long as your frame can take the weight..
I thought i would post an update on my pumpkin experiment. First a couple of questions, The biggest challenge i have had in the past is powdery mildew, i am trying to keep the moisture down with drip feed, but its humid here in the summer. So i have been spraying with a sulfur mix to try and keep it managed and delay it. Any other suggestions? The other problem i have seen is splitting of the main stems between root and seedling leaves, I think this is because they were leggy from growing indoors and i probably should have planted them to those first leaves. However general online views suggest its not an issue and to cover with soil which i have done. But would appreciate your advice as well. Thanks for the help. As you can see from the pic below i've got some great growth on the plants. Especially the squash/zucchini which are starting to put out flowers and fruit. Same time last year I was waiting for the seedlings to grow. Pumpkins on the left squash on the right. ( photo / image / picture from Danjensen's Garden ) I started the seeds indoors and planted them out when the long range forecast showed good air temps. I have placed a layer of leaf mulch over the soil with black plastic covering the rest. With soaker hoses under the plastic and mulch all the moisture should be retained in the soil for the plants. As for using tires, I wish i had an IR temp probe because on hot days these are reaching high temperatures and warming the soil well above the air temp. If i had to guess i would say by a full 10 degrees. When misting the leaves with anti fungal the spray steams when it hits the tires. Heres another shot of the flowers that bloomed today, Squashs in bloom ( photo / image / picture from Danjensen's Garden ) Only problem i may have is the pumpkins don't seem to be running, i.e. growing long shoots towards the netting. I think this is mainly due to its still being early in the year. I must be patient The neighbours have nicknamed it the mini assault course, with the tires and the rope netting. Pumpkins not travelling yet ( photo / image / picture from Danjensen's Garden )
Thanks for the update. I like the "assault course"! :-D I'm glad you addressed the heat added from the tires. I noticed that OkieTriker had painter her tires pastel-like colors. Do you think something like that would decrease the extra heat any? I just put new tires on my truck and made sure I got the old one's back. The guy said "They aren't good enough to use as spares." My reply, "I know. But they are good enough to use in my garden." With the puzzled look on his face, I briefly explained my plan to use them to grow strawberries next year.
i'm going to see how they get on this year cheryl, i didn't see any issues last year when i used them. And to be honest i want the black to absorb the heat to get the soil warmed up quickly in spring and early summer. If it gets super hot and i feel the plants don't like it I'll put something between the plant and the rubber, but the leaves do a pretty good job of shade. With regards the strawberries, it will work great. Its one of the projects i have planned. Especially on truck tires. My plan was to use a wide drill bit (the one for make holes for door knobs) and make holes through the tire (the bit with the tread) This way you get strawberries out the top and sides and hides the tire as well. If i had a small garden I would try this with 5 tires stacked. I find with the truck tires the tire walls are deep so you can put lots of soil in them, i'm always amazed at how much soil they take.
Neato Bandito :-D It looks great! Your pumpkins will start to vine in a while. Once they start they go like gangbusters!
thanks stratsmom, i was impressed how far they went last year. i hoping that with the aframe they can grow full length in a shorter distance. If it works i have this image of the vines above the netting and when you look inside the aframe there are all these pumpkins and squash hanging down
Wow, you had it all worked out since the beginning! One question: should tires be treated before you can plant in them? You do run the risk of chemicals leeching in the soil and in turn, into your plants otherwise, don't you?
