Almost Pollination Time; Prepping for a Pumpkin

One thing I came away from the last year's growing seminar was prepping the pumpkin for big growth BEFORE the big growth begins.   In the past, I've more taken the approach of feeding as the demand ramps up.   So typically, around day 28 after pollination the pumpkin starts really kicking it into gear and can start putting on 40 pounds in a day.   So what I was doing in the past, is ramping up my potassium around day 25ish so the supply could meet the demand.  The new thinking is to start ramping up much earlier now.

So four days ago I gave the plant a foliar application of TKO.  A four days before that a little 3-12-12 on the soil.  Today I gave the plant some 7-4-5, with a touch more of potassium, some zinc and manganese.  I did a small amount of manganese because my soil test showed it a little low in the spring.  Manganese is used in seed production and it is looking like the female flower at 13 feet will be opening in the next two days, so I figure now is a good time to add a little more to help with seed production.

I should mention, although I'm pre-loading on potassium a little, nitrogen in the big demand in the plant right now.   The vines on all sides are growing very quickly, so spoon feeding nitrogen is still important.