Turns out a new adventure was to green the "no 14" in the small vegetable growing areas. That is after the blackberries were pulled out for one thing.
The blackberries still are a bit of a challenge. Nothing a little watering and a long screw driver cannot fix. Just loosen the dirt around the blackberry root. Place hand low down, grasp and gently tug the root away from the main runner somewhere under the live pumpkins.
Actually this is a sustainable Black Berry 'weed control' method here due to a piece of rope attacked to two pieces of wall. And dehydrating the Blackberry. Now there is Blackberry leaf lea to enjoy while working in amongst the pumpkin vines trailing on the concreate outside of the garden bed areas.
The bigger challenge is to actually reach the garden areas. WHY?
Because even though it has entered into the cooler Autumn time here in the South Eastern area of Victoria, [ Australia] there have been really strange weather patterns.
So it's April and the pumpkins are still in flower. The male flowers falling away after the bees visit.
The fruit of the vine [ so to speak] is growing into smaller pumpkins, butter nuts and gourds. Miniature one useful with Autumn and winter decretive serves.
Maybe the seeds out of these ones are a bit small, however the larger pumpkins have edible to be gently dried off and become dehydrated seeds.
As these pumpkins made good use of the metal wire up the fence they went. What was the first think seen as the fruit started to expand... they just hung there. The vines were strong enough to hold the pumpkins weight.
Not knowing anything different a lot of compost kept being added around the plants. As the pumpkins need a lot of water the dip feed system right now is being prepared for an all round experience next year.
Simply by placing a large plastic bag under the pot and up the sides of the pot the amount of water wastage is then minimized, and thus growth maximized.
Possibly in large plant buckets as the back yard needs something else in it besides the concreate. The thought of having trellis's around the back yard or even tripods as a way of ventilating the pumpkin runners, or helping the dogs here not stand on the vines. They, these twenty year old nearly blind dogs, then stop and look really lost amongst the pumpkin patch.
Yet they will love the share give to them as the dogs lie in the shade.
The advantage here is that the different varieties may be placed in different areas. In some cases utilizing the yet to be built chicken run and the gazebo for over the picnic areas. One in the BBQ area and the other in the actual back yard.
As well these plant buckets would act as a mound of compost and manure, along with their own worm farm. Curtsey of the worms from the worm farm out the back for the two to three seeds to grow within each pumpkin vine to be seed pot.
As the pots will be prepared nearer spring the calcium levels in the soil will receive a fish skeleton each. Just the same as the tomatoes enjoy each year.
For weeks now though the pumpkins keep growing - even though the leaves have shown signs of drying off. These same leaves have been cut away. rather than walk them to the compost area. straight away onto the garden beds they went. That way the direct watering pressure was landing on the leaves no longer required for growth.
Pumpkin's are a warmer climate plant. They really like 15.5 Deg Celsius However, as this post is being typed the first of the near icy cold rains are falling It's my guess that very soon the vines may have to be cut back. Fruit from the vines plucked.
Fare thee well 2021/2 pumpkin growing season. Looking forward to the germination of the new pumpkins. Hopefully have enough pumpkin to get through the then growing period of another four months
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