Compost Tea Recipe for Giant Pumpkins

There are many great "recipes" for compost tea, but here is one that I like giant pumpkin plants: 

1/2 cup alfalfa pellets
2 dried leaves
1/4 cup compost
1 tsp RAW Silica
1 tsp liquid seaweed
1/4 tsp RAW Cane Molasses
1/4 tsp RAW Humic Acid

Put all of that in a mesh bag and then suspend the bag in a 5 gallon bucket of de-chlorinated water.  Aerate that water with a fish tank pump for about 24 hours and then pour the compost tea over the leaves and on the ground under the leaf canopy.  Your plant should love you for it.  The beneficial bacteria and fungi that you will be adding will help to feed and protect the plant and you will also get the benefits of the seaweed and alfalfa hormones which will help with the growth of the plant (and hopefully the pumpkin too.)

Compost Tea for the Pumpkin Plants

This evening I gave both pumpkin plants a drench of compost tea.  This compost tea was mostly made from alfalfa pellets which is a good source of hormones. I also put in a teaspoon of liquid seaweed and RAW Silica.  Just before application I put in some RAW Omina into the brew.  That should make the plants happy.

1985 Miller Plant has Left the Building

Today I removed the hoop house from the 1985 Miller plant.  It was going out the door so it was time.  I'm very pleased with this plant so far.  Good color, descent grower and it looks healthy.  Comparing this plant to my 1421 Stelts plant from two years ago, it is definitely longer on the main but doesn't have the width on the side vines that the 1421 on the same date.  Considering the terrible month we had in May, I'm pleasantly surprised with where this plant is at right now.

Gave the plant a drench of compost tea with Rootshield and RAW Kelp (learn more) and RAW Humic Acid (learn more) added to it.  This will be the last kelp I'll give the plants for a few weeks.  I've read studies that liquid seaweed is good for fruit set, but there is some suggestions now that although it may help with fruit set it may slow down the fruit becoming the main sink of energy in the plant initially becomes some of the hormones in the kelp might inhibit that.  A sink is pretty much anywhere there is growth in the plant. Roots, vines and pumpkins are all sinks.  You want the main sink of the plant to be the pumpkin, so it gets the most energy. 

That 1421 Stelts plant two years ago was an incredible sink. Almost a black hole.  The pumpkin grew like crazy and the vines almost completely stopped once the pumpkin kicked in.  Not sure if you want it to that extreme, but you want the fruit to be established as the main sink as quick as possible.

Kelp on the soil, applied as a drench, is a great way to increase the root mass becomes of the hormones contained within the kelp.  Kelp when applied to the leaves as a foliar application in increase lateral branching.   Those results are amplified when humic acid is added to a drench and fulvic acid is added to a foliar spray of kelp.  That is your pumpkin tip of the day.

Compost Tea for Plants

Today I gave the plants some compost tea with a little Actinovate, Azos and Myco Grow added to the very end of the brew.  Actually I gave the plants very little of the tea and most of it watered the rest of the hoop house.  I think with the cooler temperatures and the higher organic matter in the soil I've been over watering a touch so I'm cutting back.  However I want to keep all of the soil moist in the hoop house to get the roots to extend, so I water everything regularly.

The Right Phosphorous at the Right Time for 20% Greater Roots

1985 Miller Pumpkin & Some Fat Head Guy

I'm trying something different this year.  In the past I've given almost no fertilizers, other than a little liquid seaweed at planting time, for the first five weeks after germination.  A very good grower once gave me that tip and I've stuck with it until this year.  I'm now adding very small doses of specific fertilizers at specific times for specific results.  In addition to liquid seaweed at planting time I've started using a B-vitamin fertilizer.  This helps reduce transplant shock and helps the plant's resistance.  This was proven in a good study in the last few years.

The other thing I've added to the mix is monoammonium phosphate, which I gave to the plants today.  I'm using the RAW brand of phosphorous which is the purest form of momoammonium phosphate you can buy.  It is 9-61-0.  I'm using only between 1/8 to 1/16 of a tsp on each plant.  You don't need much.  This form of phosphorous has been proven in a study to increase root mass by 20% when used in the first three weeks of growth.  Phosphorous is the power source of plant growth and early in the season you want to focus on growing roots.  In about two weeks we are going to change that focus to growing vines, but right now the roots of the plant are what we want to grow the most.

In addition to phosphorous, I added in some fulvic acid and yucca.  Everything was mixed in with some compost tea that I started brewing yesterday.  The fulvic acid is a natural chelator which will help the plant get at nutrients in the soil.  The yucca is a wetting agent that helps water and nutrients penetrate more evenly and deeper into the soil.  Some studies have found greater root mass when yucca is applied to the soil.  Some have suggested that something in the yucca is causing that, but I think what will eventually be found is that water is being spread into the soil more evenly with the yucca being applied so the roots extend into more areas of the soil and the end result is a great root mass.

Get Your Pumpkin Growing Products Here & Compost Tea

I've kicked around the idea of adding some of the pumpkin growing products that I use to this website for a few years.  I am the owner of a Denver website design business (pixoinc.com) and that leaves me only with verily enough time to grow my pumpkins and I didn't want to take on the added responsibility.  But then it hit me.  I've got two pumpkin growing children who could use this opportunity, so we are going to be adding a full lineup of great products under the 'Order Pumpkin Growing Products' tab of this site.  Like I've said in the past, there is a lot of stuff on the market today that isn't worth much to a giant pumpkin grower or gardener.  So what I will be listing are quality products that I have experience with that I think can help you grow bigger and maybe save you a little money at the same time.  Watch this site for more details.

Today I watered both of my plants with compost tea that was made mostly from alfalfa pellets. Alfalfa contains triacontanol which is a growth hormone for plants that can help stimulate root growth.  At this point of the season you want to focus on root growth.  Leaf growth is fun to watch this time of the year, but it is the roots that are going to power the pumpkin, so ideally the plant shouldn't be growing a lot of salad which will be powered by nitrogen, but lots of roots.

In the compost tea at the very end of the brew I added 1/8 of a Biotamax tablet.  I water the entire area in the hoop house with it in the hopes of getting a lot of friendly bacteria and fungi going that will help to feed and protect the plants.

Compost Tea for the Giant Pumpkin Plants

Today I gave my pumpkin plants a healthy dose of compost tea.  The aerated compost tea was made in a 5 gallon container and included a mixture of old manure, alfalfa pellets, humic acid and some old leaves.  I finished it with a tablespoon of seaweed then poured the whole mixture across the leaves and ground around the pumpkin plant after brewing it for about 18 hours in water that was chlorine free.