How many years in a row can you plant pumpkin? Experts reveal scary statistics
“Pumpkin is not a perennial!” screams the headlines of the Journal of Horticultural Science.
But many summer residents ignore this rule, turning their beds into a breeding ground for diseases.
Professor Harry Thompson from the University of Florida warns that when pumpkins are grown in one place for more than two years, spores of fusarium and anthracnose accumulate in the soil.
Texas farmer Jack Roberts admitted on the Urban Farm podcast:
“In the third year, my pumpkins began to resemble rotten balls - 80% of the harvest was lost!”
But what if the plot is small? Scientists advise "reloading" the soil with green manure.
An experiment described in Organic Gardening Magazine showed that sowing rye and vetch after pumpkin reduced the risk of infection by 50%.
And if you add trichoderma (antagonist fungus) to the soil, as blogger-agronomist Anna Gross advises, the bed will recover within a season.
Remember: pumpkin loves space and fresh soil. Don't turn it into a hostage of your garden!
