Monday, August 29, 2011
Got Shirt?
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Pictures from the Pumpkin Patch
Friday, August 26, 2011
I Hope Sulfur Powder Isn't Overly Toxic
The Pumpkin Plants are Aging
The last couple of days I've given the plants NutriCal, calcium and Fish & Seaweed. Very slow growth on the 868 pumpkin. The 1204 is still growing quickly for this time of year.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
What Every Wife of a Giant Pumpkin Grower Should Wear to the Weigh-offs
Saturday, August 20, 2011
A New Hope
The picture to the right makes this pumpkin look more orange than it really is in normal light. The morning orange sky I think made the pumpkin less pale orange than how it really looks. As you can see there are no dill rings so far for this pumpkin and very light ribbing.
Friday, August 19, 2011
RIP Ricky; The 1204 Pumpkin is Dead
I am very sorry to announce that Ricky the pumpkin formed a crack into the cavity this morning and as a result will not be going to any weigh-offs this year. An internal crack called a Dill Ring formed inside the pumpkin and intersected a deep rib and split the pumpkin open this morning. Nothing could be done about it and it happens to a lot of growers. Ricky, also known as the big pumpkin, was on pace to easily break my personal best weight of 868 pounds. If it stayed on track it probably would have hit about 1,100 pounds. I'll take measurements on it this evening to get an unofficial weight.
This pumpkin was named "Ricky" after Ricky Gervais whom I took a wise crack at while on NBC's The Marriage Ref this summer. The cross of the pumpkin is 1204 Scherber x 1810 Stevens (in other words I crossed my pumpkin with a seed from last year's World Record pumpkin). Seeds will be available in a month at http://seeds.denverpumpkins.com.
As the saying goes, "If you ain't blowin them you ain't growing em." But the saying also goes, "If you are blowin them then you ain't showing em."
The other pumpkin, Jerry, is still growing and the cracks on it are of a different kind and of less concern so we will put our efforts into that pumpkin now. Pictured below is the little split that caused all of the trouble.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Splits & Pumpkin Rot
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
The Pumpkins Are Getting Hard to Measure These Days
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Last of the Actinotate to Fight Off Powdery Mildew
This morning I gave my plants some BioSol 7-2-3 grandular fertilizer. Growth on both plants and particularly the 868 plant have tapered off. That is common at this point of the season but the 868 is only putting on 15 pounds a day right now which is about 5 pounds less per day than where I would hope for it to be at right now.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Rocky Mountain Giant Vegetable Growers Patch Tour
Friday, August 12, 2011
RMGVG Patch Tour Tomorrow
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Slower Pumpkin Growth This Week
Saturday, August 6, 2011
It's Nice to Have Strong Friends
Last year, after trying to move the pumpkins myself, Jeff literally moved one of them with just a shoulder and one of his arms. It was very impressive. This year he had to use both arms on the 1204 and 868 plant. He didn't know it but he made my day when he said that both pumpkins were much more dense than last year's. My two pumpkins last year went very light to the charts so I have a little hope that maybe I can have the pumpkins hit the chart this year. I have zero expectations for going over the charts.
I went into the Biz bag of tricks today and put down a quarter cup of organic Richlawn fertilizer with humic acid mixed in with it to each plant. Although I give the plants a foliar fertilizer on a weekly basis I haven't gave the plants much NPK on the soil and I was concerned that the roots might start to bonk without a little something to get them through the next 50 days.
I should mention that my kid's pumpkin has been growing nicely over the last week. There was a couple of times early in the season that I didn't think the plant would make it. About a month ago it finally snapped out of it and started growing good. Hard to tell yet but they might get a white pumpkin.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Some Nice Growth Today
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Giant Pumpkin Plant Traits & Genetics
Slower growth on my 1204 pumpkin today. Not sure why. Maybe a bad measurement either yesteday or today. The 868 grow the same as the day before and actualy, based on the measurements outgrew the 1204 by 5 pounds today. It will be interesting to see what tomorrows measurements look like.
Had to cut off some side vines around the pumpkins today. The pumpkins were getting close to the vines and I don't like the leaves touching the pumpkins skin because it can scuff it all up.
Gave both plants some compost tea this evening.
Monday, August 1, 2011
High Tech in the Pumpkin Patch
Gave the pumpkin plants some Actinovate this evening. August is when powdery mildew tends to show up and Actinovate helps fight powdery mildew among other things. The important thing is to stop it before it starts because you can't get rid of powdery mildew once it shows up. You can only hope to contain it.