Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Last Till of the Pumpkin Patch Before the Hoop Houses Come Off

Today I did the final till of the pumpkin patch before taking off the hoop houses. I put down 10 pounds of gypsum for calcium, 4 pounds of magnesium, 3 pounds of blood meal, 3 pounds of sugar and 4 pounds of corn meal meal before I tilled the patch. In the early spring I tilled about half of the patch in the planting areas so I tilled the rest of the patch today staying at least 6 feet away from the plants so not to destroy any roots. I like to do it this way because the soil tends to get a little compacted and crusty on the top by this point of the season from walking around and rain. Colorado's clay soils can get like cement if you let them.

From this point forward I will try to only walk on my walking boards to keep the soil from getting overly compacted for the rest of the season. This helps keeps air in the soil, makes it easier for the roots to grow and allows the water to drain better.

I also gave the plants some compost tea today made with alfalfa pellets, worm castings, humic acid, corn meal and liquid fish & seaweed.

No comments: