I'm about a month and a half into growing my patch and I would be lying if I said there haven't been any bumps along the way. I will discuss each one of those here.
1.) Sowing the seeds too late
Yup that's right. I had a problem with my garden before I even got my seeds into the ground! In my defense, someone promised me they'd bring over a rototiller and till the soil for me so I wouldn't have to do it by hand. I patiently waited weeks for them to bring it over. I reminded them a few times and every time I did, they assured me they were gonna bring it over stare In the end I had to till the soil manually with a shovel and the help of my sister. I was irritated I had to plant everything later than I wanted but I'm hoping it won't be too much of an issue. I live in California where the growing window for pumpkins is longer than other regions so even though I may not have pumpkins in time for Halloween, there's still a chance I'll have some in time for Thanksgiving.
2.) Gophers
A few weeks after I got everything into the ground, my plants were looking pretty good. However, my feelings of pride shifted to panic when I noticed a gopher mound right near the edge of my garden! I was shocked. I didn't think I would have to deal with gophers this growing season because there were no holes or mounds when I sowed the seeds. I guess that was just my inexperience showing. Anyway, I immediately hopped online and searched for a quick, easy solution to my problem that would actually work.
The first method I tried was flooding the gopher out. All you do to flood a gopher out is stick a hose as far down the hole as you can and turn the water of full blast until you force the gopher out of his tunnel. After I had done this and sat around for over 10 minutes, there was no gopher in sight. I tried it again the following day with the same result. I'm guessing this method only works on smaller gopher tunnels and my gopher just happened to have an extensive network of tunnels. I remember my parents using this method on our lawn plenty of times growing up and they had success with it. It's really just hit or miss.
The next method I tried was shooting it with a pellet gun. I know not everyone will agree with this method of extermination and that's fine. I've seen first hand the havoc pests such as gophers can unleash on gardens, crops, and more which is why I don't have an aversion to this method. However, if you are one of the people against it, you'll be happy to hear that I tried for 2 days to get the little sucker and had no luck.
I would not recommend this method if you don't have a lot of time to sit and wait as you cannot predict when the gopher will show up. Not to mention it's rather boring unless you have someone to gopher watch with you.
Now I get to discuss the last and final method that did work. Hooray! emotion_awesome While searching on youtube for a solution to my gopher problem I came across a video of a man dealing with moles in his garden. He bought some fruity chewing gum and placed a stick down each mole hole. He explained that the moles would be lured in by the sweet scent of the gum, eat it, and die due to their inability to digest it. It's as simple as that. He claimed this method was great for gophers as well and I just had to try it.
The day after I placed the gum in the hole, the gopher never came back! I know he's dead for sure because I covered up the hole with dirt and it has remained that way to this day. I was so surprised that such a simple and inexpensive method to get rid of gophers worked so well. I have since tried this on another gopher hole and it worked as well.
I would highly recommend you try this method for yourself if you are dealing with gophers in your garden or on your property in general.
The first method I tried was flooding the gopher out. All you do to flood a gopher out is stick a hose as far down the hole as you can and turn the water of full blast until you force the gopher out of his tunnel. After I had done this and sat around for over 10 minutes, there was no gopher in sight. I tried it again the following day with the same result. I'm guessing this method only works on smaller gopher tunnels and my gopher just happened to have an extensive network of tunnels. I remember my parents using this method on our lawn plenty of times growing up and they had success with it. It's really just hit or miss.
The next method I tried was shooting it with a pellet gun. I know not everyone will agree with this method of extermination and that's fine. I've seen first hand the havoc pests such as gophers can unleash on gardens, crops, and more which is why I don't have an aversion to this method. However, if you are one of the people against it, you'll be happy to hear that I tried for 2 days to get the little sucker and had no luck.
I would not recommend this method if you don't have a lot of time to sit and wait as you cannot predict when the gopher will show up. Not to mention it's rather boring unless you have someone to gopher watch with you.
Now I get to discuss the last and final method that did work. Hooray! emotion_awesome While searching on youtube for a solution to my gopher problem I came across a video of a man dealing with moles in his garden. He bought some fruity chewing gum and placed a stick down each mole hole. He explained that the moles would be lured in by the sweet scent of the gum, eat it, and die due to their inability to digest it. It's as simple as that. He claimed this method was great for gophers as well and I just had to try it.
The day after I placed the gum in the hole, the gopher never came back! I know he's dead for sure because I covered up the hole with dirt and it has remained that way to this day. I was so surprised that such a simple and inexpensive method to get rid of gophers worked so well. I have since tried this on another gopher hole and it worked as well.
I would highly recommend you try this method for yourself if you are dealing with gophers in your garden or on your property in general.
3.) Aphids
When the leaves on my plants started getting on the big side, I started to notice these clusters of yellowish bugs on the undersides of the leaves. They didn't seem to be causing any major issues for the plants so I just let them be. About a week later, I was sitting near the garden and saw a dark patch on a leaf. I walked over to investigate thinking the leaf was turning brown for whatever reason. When I looked up close I was surprised to see a huge cluster of those tiny bugs! I knew immediately that it didn't look right and that these bugs were quickly taking over my patch. With a quick google search, I found out that what I was dealing with were aphids.
I really didn't want to spray any pesticides or harsh chemicals on my plants so I searched for alternate solutions. I came across many videos where people made their own bug sprays to combat the pests in their gardens. I decided to try two recipes. The first being a mixture of water and a few drops of dish soap and the other being the same thing except with rubbing alcohol added in as well. I thoroughly sprayed the undersides of all the infested leaves. I did this after I had watered my plants so the solution wouldn't be washed off. Then all there was left to do was wait.
When I went to water my plants the next morning, I checked to see how the spay had worked. I was relieved to see that around 80% of the bugs were dead. I could tell because the bugs had turned black and had no movement. I sprayed the remaining stragglers to completely wipe them out. It's recommended to spray once a week to keep new aphid populations under control.
I would recommend this method to control an aphid infestation but I'd test the solution on a couple leaves of your plant to see how it reacts to the spray first. Some plants may be more sensitive to the solution than others. In my experience, the spray with the alcohol seemed to work a bit better so I'd recommend it more than the water/soap mixture 3nodding
I really didn't want to spray any pesticides or harsh chemicals on my plants so I searched for alternate solutions. I came across many videos where people made their own bug sprays to combat the pests in their gardens. I decided to try two recipes. The first being a mixture of water and a few drops of dish soap and the other being the same thing except with rubbing alcohol added in as well. I thoroughly sprayed the undersides of all the infested leaves. I did this after I had watered my plants so the solution wouldn't be washed off. Then all there was left to do was wait.
When I went to water my plants the next morning, I checked to see how the spay had worked. I was relieved to see that around 80% of the bugs were dead. I could tell because the bugs had turned black and had no movement. I sprayed the remaining stragglers to completely wipe them out. It's recommended to spray once a week to keep new aphid populations under control.
I would recommend this method to control an aphid infestation but I'd test the solution on a couple leaves of your plant to see how it reacts to the spray first. Some plants may be more sensitive to the solution than others. In my experience, the spray with the alcohol seemed to work a bit better so I'd recommend it more than the water/soap mixture 3nodding
4.) Extreme Heat
The last thing I'd like to touch upon briefly is the problem I've been having with the heat. As I mentioned before, I live in Northern Cali where it can be very hot. This is great for swimming and running through sprinklers but not great for growing pumpkins. Pumpkins grow best in temperatures between 65° and 75°F so the California heat is not ideal.
I've had some of my leaves get brown and white brittle patches from the blistering sun and had one plant wilt pretty badly. It's the only plant that wilts and I don't know why. Even when I give it more water than all the rest it still wilts. My guess is that it's just more heat sensitive than the other varieties.
There isn't much I can do about the heat problem except make sure my plants are thoroughly watered daily and that's what I've been doing.
I've had some of my leaves get brown and white brittle patches from the blistering sun and had one plant wilt pretty badly. It's the only plant that wilts and I don't know why. Even when I give it more water than all the rest it still wilts. My guess is that it's just more heat sensitive than the other varieties.
There isn't much I can do about the heat problem except make sure my plants are thoroughly watered daily and that's what I've been doing.
