Raising Sweet Corn, Pumpkins, and Squash.

[Green Power]

This upcoming year (2014) i would like to raise 2-3 acres of Sweet corn. A 1/2 acre of Pumpkins, a 1/2 acre of Spaghetti Squash, and a half acre of Acorn Squash. I would like to use no chemicals. Are there other food plants i should consider raising? What is the best way to water this? Thank you for your help.

 

[Reyer Farms]

Drip irrigation is very handy. It would probably depend on resources and market as best solution.

 

[/pine]

It's a lot more area than I plant but my experience with vine crops like hard shell squash (acorn etc.) and pumpkins is that it is very hard to control weeds...I suggest sterilizing the ground prior to planting...

 

[smstonypoint]

Pumpkins and squash are in the same plant family. Horticulturalists recommend crop rotations in which members of the same plant family are not planted year after year in the same area. Rotation helps reduce the potential for insect and disease problems. You could consider other vegetables such as beans, lettuce, carrots, etc.

Steve

 

[Green Power]

Pumpkins and squash are in the same plant family. Horticulturalists recommend crop rotations in which members of the same plant family are not planted year after year in the same area. Rotation helps reduce the potential for insect and disease problems. You could consider other vegetables such as beans, lettuce, carrots, etc.

Steve

So i may just do Acorn Squash this year instead and not do Pumpkins and spaghetti. or else i may do pumpkins in a different area.

 

[Green Power]

Does Anyone have experience raising watermelons?

 

[smstonypoint]

Does Anyone have experience raising watermelons?

Yes, but it has been a while. BTW, watermelons are in the same family as pumpkins and squash.

Steve

Edit -- For a listing of the plants in the Cucurbitaceae family, see http://www.walterreeves.com/food-gardening/squashpumpkincucumberwatermelon-pollination-explanation/.

 

[TSO]

It's a lot more area than I plant but my experience with vine crops like hard shell squash (acorn etc.) and pumpkins is that it is very hard to control weeds...I suggest sterilizing the ground prior to planting...

I found this to be the case as well, and I was determined to use no chemicals other than a natural deer repellant, so I fought (and lost) the battle with weeds all year.
Next year I may give in and try some type of chemical to manage the weeds. I don't have time to weed them by hand!

 

[Green Power]

What did you raise TSO?

 

[/pine]

I found this to be the case as well, and I was determined to use no chemicals other than a natural deer repellant, so I fought (and lost) the battle with weeds all year.
Next year I may give in and try some type of chemical to manage the weeds. I don't have time to weed them by hand!

Did you sterilize the areas?...the idea is to make any existing (weed) seed rot....you have to cover the area with plastic sheeting for at least 28 days...there are opinions on both clear and black plastic...

If you use natural fertilizer...i.e., manure/litter etc... it should be applied and tilled in prior to sterilizing...

here in the south we have a semi long growing season so it is no problem to treat one areas and a month later move the sheeting for a 30 day crop spread...realize the more area planted the more work...but it pays off if you realize how much of your fertilizer weeds consume...and how fast they grow (and suck up nutrients) in comparison to garden crops...

Did I mention that I hate weeds?

 

[TSO]

What did you raise TSO?

Punkins and sweet corn ... along with a bunch of other small stuff in our garden.

I had about 1/2 acre planted of Connecticut Field Pumpkins, ended up with about 90-100 nice plants. But after the weird growing season and the darn critters, I only ended up with about 75 decent pumpkins.

I also planted about an 1/8 acre of watermelon and only had 3 plants, and two tiny melons come up. Gourds didn't do too well either.

But, I didn't even disc or till the ground last year, only plowed/cultivated and broke that up with a rake in the spring. Now that I have a tiller I'm interested to see if there'll be a difference.

I'm also going to plant nearly a full acre of pumpkins and see what type of numbers I can get. Last year I went with non GMO sustainable seeds, and they were good for eating (still have a lot of frozen pumpkin mush) but this year I'll probably try something more commercial.

 

[dave1949]

Some years I raise a few pumpkins or squash. Summer before last I grew some Hubbard squash and for the first time the squash bugs found me.

You need a plan to control squash bugs using something organic like neem oil if you don't want to use harsher chemicals. They multiply to problem proportions quickly in the right weather. A poster here, sorry I don't recall their name, who grows lots of pumpkins pointed out that you need a sprayer with enough air power to roll the leaves over and spray the undersides too. That's true. Some days the bugs are on leaf top, some days they are on the bottom. It depends on the weather.

In my small patch I've not had problems with the weeds winning. Eventually the pumpkin or squash leaves shade the bare patches and weeds enough to keep them in check.

 

[Green Power]

Thanks for the reply TSO. It doesn't sound like your watermelon were too successful. But i might have to try some Conneticut field pumpkins. In the end everything i plant i want to be GMO free.

 

[TSO]

Thanks for the reply TSO. It doesn't sound like your watermelon were too successful. But i might have to try some Conneticut field pumpkins. In the end everything i plant i want to be GMO free.

They had a real good taste to them, tasted real similar to acorn squash. According to the literature I read, they are supposed to be the quintessential American pumpkin, good for both eating AND jack'o'lanterns. I bought them online from the Sustainable Seed Company and the price was very fair.

I approached last year as just a true experiment, and wanted to see what yield I could produce with no chemicals, fertilizers, or irrigation... then I figured I'd learn as I go.

------
Regarding the earlier part about sterilizing the ground ... can that effect also be attained by tilling a few times before planting? I would imagine that much plastic would get pricey!

 

[Green Power]

They had a real good taste to them, tasted real similar to acorn squash. According to the literature I read, they are supposed to be the quintessential American pumpkin, good for both eating AND jack'o'lanterns. I bought them online from the Sustainable Seed Company and the price was very fair.

I approached last year as just a true experiment, and wanted to see what yield I could produce with no chemicals, fertilizers, or irrigation... then I figured I'd learn as I go.

------
Regarding the earlier part about sterilizing the ground ... can that effect also be attained by tilling a few times before planting? I would imagine that much plastic would get pricey!

Can you make soup with them, over the past couple of months i decided i really like squash soup.

I am approaching this year as a experiment year to see what i can get.

I agree that the plastic would probably get really pricey.

 

[TSO]

Can you make soup with them, over the past couple of months i decided i really like squash soup.

I am approaching this year as a experiment year to see what i can get.

I agree that the plastic would probably get really pricey.

We did. We made a pumpkin chili type thing with beans & chicken (our own pasture raised birds I might add ) and cubed up pumpkin. Turned out very good. Lots of good recipes available online.

 

[Green Power]

We did. We made a pumpkin chili type thing with beans & chicken (our own pasture raised birds I might add ) and cubed up pumpkin. Turned out very good. Lots of good recipes available online.

Not much is better than making/raising good healthy organic meals.

 

[sixdogs]

Enjoy your first year because no chemicals essentially means no weed control and after weeds go to seed and get buried in subsequent cultivation you will have a compounding weed problem that will be out of control in one year. Take one weed seed today and double it every day for 30 days and you will have a million seeds. Some plants (marestail) produce 200,000 seeds each and some weeds (giant ragweed) can live 70 years in dormancy. You do the math.

Better idea is to concentrate your crops to simplify production problems and rethink herbicides. A few acres of sweet corn--maybe in two or three batches will stagger maturities and one squash variety will be all you can handle. Before you choose the squash, ask the Extension Agent to see what others around there have had success or failure with. My guess for Nebraska is that you will need some sort of powdery mildew protection and some sort of squash bug protection. Find a plant with some natural resistance and you'll have a leg up. Sweet corn should be no problem for you, especially so if you plant the seed deep enough and maybe have someone spray a pre-emergent to keep the weeds down. "Organic" bug control often involves chemicals far more dangerous than chemical means. Both of them kill bugs, although "natural" is more romantic.

We used to plant a lot of sweet corn and 8 acres of squash/ pumpkins and weed control for us was a full-time job. We tried to never let even one weed plant go to seed. If it does, things start compounded immediately. As it is the wind will bring in grass and other seeds to make life difficult.
We used to use "Post" as a grass killer over squash and pumpkins and it did a great job. We used a rototiller to cross-check cultivate for weeds and it worked fine. For corn we used to spray Roundup before planting to control emerged weeds, planted no-till after that and then would spray 2,4-D and cultivate in the row for weed control. It worked very well.

Since you have several tractors, I would set up one with a planter, one with a small sprayer (2,4-D for the corn) and one with a cultivator. That setup will really help with success potential. If you are ideologically opposed to any chemicals for weed or pest control better idea is to save the money and buy at the supermarket. Use the intended money for some other purpose or maybe another tractor. Just my personal opinion from already having done what you are thinking of doing. Keep us posted--pictures always welcome-- and enjoy the effort.

 

[Green Power]

Thanks for the reply sixdogs.

 

[Green Power]

Pumpkins and squash are in the same plant family. Horticulturalists recommend crop rotations in which members of the same plant family are not planted year after year in the same area. Rotation helps reduce the potential for insect and disease problems. You could consider other vegetables such as beans, lettuce, carrots, etc.

Steve

Would it be ok to plant one on one side of the sweet corn and one on the other side?