Things are greening up nicely following a few warm rains, and some of our earliest fruits are beginning to set. A little busy this week but I’ll be sure to add some shots in a comment a little later.
As an aside, I really appreciate you all sharing what you’re up to and enjoy getting to chat with you. I’d like to encourage you to check back in when you’ve seen some more comments since your last and see if you can provide additional advice or encouragement to others!
I think they’re all looking good! You should be proud of them and yourself
What did you end up changing to protect the pumpkins, if anything?
Thank you! That means a lot :) I took your advice from a few threads back and made sure they were getting more sunlight. In terms of protection, not much, just trying to keep their little starter trays damp in this heat. They dry out so quickly!
We hit 90F yesterday and I watered some of our starter trays like six times, I feel your pain. How are the pumpkins’ roots looking? If they’re starting to bust out at the bottoms (or sides of you have that kind) it might be time to think about giving them some more space, and the additional soil will increase the amount of water they can have available throughout the day
No visible roots as of yet, but I’ll keep an eye out and move them over once they start to poke. Yeah I’m definitely watering more as these days get hotter. Already feels like 97 outside 😭
Hmmm… Are those little cardboard / pressed cellulose cells that they’re in? Sometimes you’ve got to make the holes in those yourself. If there are holes in it I’m a little surprised that you’re not seeing roots yet. Here are some of our younger ones after a week in slightly smaller cells for comparison:
You can see some of the root hairs extending out of the cells, and these will likely be crowding themselves within the week without transplanting. It might be worth gently popping one up out of the cell for an inspection to be sure, if you haven’t done that. Push it up from the bottom rather than pulling the stem. You should be able to tell pretty quickly but if the substrate starts to come apart as it comes up, stop and assess in another couple days.
Hey Lally, sorry for the long delay in replying, was busy relaxing / visiting my dad this weekend. No roots yet as of cutting the bottoms off of those cells a few days ago, but I’ll continue to keep an eye out and keep you posted. Thanks for the advice, I greatly appreciate it.
No worries, friend - I hope your visit with your father was great!