The Soil Report

Western Laboratories has been working with Atlantic Giant Pumpkin growers for some time now.  I like that I get a special soil report from them tailored specifically to growing giant pumpkins.  Their website also has a tutorial for understanding soil reports, and information for how to grow Atlantic Giant Pumpkins.  (The site requires a user name ("soil") and though it asks for a password, none is required.)

It is important to get a soil report done so that you know growing conditions you will be up against.  The more you know, the more you can do to maximize your chances of growing a huge giant pumpkin.   Western Laboratories has a table (which I have included below) of the recommended nutrient levels for Atlantic Giant pumpkins.  They will show you what you need to do to get your soil into the proper target ranges.

After getting the results of my soil report from Western Laboratories in Parma, ID, I contacted their Soil Scientist, John Taberna.  He was very helpful.  He explained what the report meant and made recommendations for how to amend my soil.

If you want to order a soil test from Western Laboratories for growing Atlantic Giant Pumpkins, you will want to request Test 75.  They also have a monitoring program for your pumpkins throughout the growing season.  It is discounted by 30%, so it is a good deal.  This includes a pre-season soil test, 1 NMin test, 1 pre-season nematode test, 6 tissue tests, 6 soil supply tests, and 1 pumpkin core test after the weigh-off.

Midwest Laboratories is another good source for getting tissue and soil samples done.