New Location
Spring is here, lambs are appearing, flowers are sprouting and the days seem to get longer.
I’ve moved house and have left the old Tiny Patch behind and now have a new area to grow in.
I’m calling it Tiny patch 2.0. It’s still a backyard type growing situation in a smallish area. Not ideal for growing the biggest giant pumpkin. But enough space to grow a decent backyard giant.
In this blog post, I’m going to give you a tour of the space available. Talk about the positive aspects it has in relation to areas you need to think about when growing a giant pumpkin. As well as negative things. Check out the video near the end as well.
Can I Grow a Giant Pumpkin Here?
The first question you have to ask yourself is, can you grow a giant pumpkin in this location?
The answer is always YES. People come up with a lot of excuses around growing giant pumpkins, but if you want to grow one, you can.
It might not be the biggest, it might not be the prettiest, but you should be able to grow a giant pumpkin. I’ve done it in a small area. In fact, the original Tiny Patch only comprised around 2 square meters of dirt to grow in, and I squeezed out a 92kg (202lb) pumpkin.
Tiny Patch 2.0 has a lot more space available. How much of it I can actually dig up, though, is a different matter. We rent this place, so going full retard and digging up most of the lawn is out of the question. This pumpkin will have a tiny area to grow in, but more lawn for vines to stretch out on.
I need to make sure I don’t block the washing line, and my chosen spot will require good vine management, which I will cover in a future post.
More Sunlight is Better
Pumpkin plants love the sun. It helps with photosynthesis, which helps with growth of the plant and the pumpkin. It helps dry out the plant. A damp plant increases the amount of powdery mildew you will have to deal with.
Original Tiny Patch was terrible for the sun. It was growing down the side of the house. While it got the morning sun, that was about it.
Tiny Patch 2.0 however, will get the sun almost the whole day. Originally, the backyard had a vast amount of trees around the outside. So much when we looked at the place before moving in, we didn’t realise there was much of a backyard at all. It was a jungle.
It will be interesting to see just how well this plant grows to previous plants.
Plants Need a lot of Water
Both Tiny Patches have easy access to water. Being in town/suburbs means there is always a tap handy. Tiny Patch 2.0 has the water supply further away than the old place, but we’re just talking a length of hose to get there.
Giant pumpkins need a lot of water. This can be of real concern to people that are on tank supply.
This town water will be chlorinated. Having it sit first before using would be ideal, getting rid of the chlorine. I toyed to get a temporary tank with a pump, but feel that this is both overkill and an added expense I don’t want to be paying right now. But could be something I look into in the future.
I’ll also have a think about misters or water lines I can run to make watering easier and more efficient. More on that in the future.
How Good is the Soil?
It currently has some random plants growing in it. I’ve pulled some of them out, and will remove more soon.
I will not be getting a soil test done, but will check the soil’s PH and try to get that into the correct range. Allowing the plant to access nutrients better. I’ve also got a couple of products I want to add to the soil. Hopefully, increasing the nutrients before the seedlings go in. I’ll cover more on that soon.
When growing in a small area, with more restrictions than in a dedicated full sized giant pumpkin patch, you sometimes have to roll with what you have. It’s all about finding the balance of what you have, what you can do, and what is achievable.
How to Get the Giant Pumpkin Out
This is the only real negative area I can think of in the Tiny Patch 2.0
If all goes well and I grow a pumpkin that is decent, it’s going to be a pain in the ass to get out of the backyard.
Firstly, you have to get it down from where it is growing. This involves getting it down to the level of the doors into the house. Once you’ve done that, you need to get it through not one but two gates. One of which doesn’t open very far at all.
The second gate leads to a set of steps, which then leads to another set of steps. If the pumpkin isn’t too big, this is doable with enough people and a pumpkin lifting tarp.
If the pumpkin grows amazing, and it gets big enough. I’m probably going to have to get friendly with the neighbours and get a Hi-Ab truck to lift it over the fence from their property. I’ll cross that bridge when and if I come to it.
Tiny Patch 2.0 Roundup
I’m looking forward to growing in a new area and seeing how it goes. Tiny Patch 2.0 has a lot of good going for it when compared to the OG Tiny Patch.
I’ll have to see how it goes during the season and what lessons I can learn from it.
Check out this video I put together talking about Tiny Patch 2.0
Where Are You Growing This Season?
What about you? Are you growing in a new area this year? First time grower? What areas are your biggest concern? I’d love to hear from you. Let me know by leaving a comment below.
