6/15/08 - How to fertilize your pumpkin by Dave

Pumpkins grow in three stages: 1. leaves, roots, stem 2. flowers 3. fruit (pumpkin). You can help in all three stages by providing the tools the pumpkin needs to grow. Pumpkins (like all plants) need three basic elements. Nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium. By providing these at the opportune time, you can encourage your pumpkin to make the required item. A good rule of thumb is June=nitrogen, July=phosphorous and August/Sept=potassium. You can provide these any way you like. Manure is a favorite for nitrogen. Sea weed products are also quite popular. The numbers on fertilizers relate to the percentages of the three elements so 5-10-5=5% N 10% P 5% K (remember your chemistry?).