Mulching Pumpkins

have had alot of very good size pumpkins in the past and was shown a way to keep the roots moist by an old fellow on my old plot get some fresh hay and soak it it in a strong solution of tomatofeed spread it around the stem withount touching ..seems to work

put a load of rotted horse manure around it but not on stems. Water around base, I water into a flowerpot.

Was the manure well rotted? If so, should be OK.

It might harbour slugs though