The Pumpkin Season has Begun (Kind of)!

This time of year for years I've done the same thing.  As the weather starting warming up and you start seeing some of the crocus and daffodils peaking through the ground, my pumpkin growing fever starts to rise.  To curb the cravings I like to start something off that can be productive.  I've talked on this blog a couple of times about getting myco going in pots before you start your actual seeds.  I won't be start my plants for a couple of weeks, but it takes a while for myco to become mature enough that it is actually providing some benefits to the plant, so it is good to start it now. 

At the Niagara seminar Neil Anderson of RTI, whose company makes more myco than probably any other company out there, stated (somewhat quietly), that it may take a couple of months for the myco to get to the point that it is bringing back nutrients and water back to the plant.  I stuck around after his seminar and asked some additional questions about that.  He suggested during the seminar that "pre-starting" some myco before you started the seeds and then transferring that seed starting mix to the pots may be a good idea.

Typically I would have started some seeds a week ago, but I only got these started two days ago, because life has been very busy lately.  Using the paper towel method I started two 747 Johnson seeds.   Those sprouted and I then put them both into one pot with two different brands of myco, Azos and some other beneficial bacteria.  I also put a pinch of a WOW Super Start Pack in the seed starting mix.  The day or day before I start my actual seeds I plan to grow this season, I'm pull the plants from this pot and mix the soil in the seed starting mix of my other pots, so each pot will get some of this more mature myco.

I'll still put some additional myco and microbes in the pots of the plants I'll actually be growing this season.  

The other benefit of doing this is that it forces me to get my stuff pulled together in advance of when I start my actual plants and gives me a little practice.  For example, in the pot I put the seeds in today, I should have put a little humic acid into.  Hopefully this will help me remember when it becomes more important.

In about 3 days I suspect I'll start seeing the plants popping through the soil.  I start two plants in the soil to get more roots going throughout the pot quickly.  I figure more roots means more myco getting fed.  

Plants are Finally in their Hoop Houses

I got the plants into their hoop houses yesterday evening.  I would have to say they are the biggest plants, but worst looking plants I've ever planted in hoop houses.   The plants have been in their pots too long and it has set them back some.   If everything was ideal, I would put the plants into their hoop houses when the first true leaf appeared.   I'm way past that and have plants are vined out.  That means a fair amount of top growth but not the root system to support the plant.  I'm guessing the plants for the next week will really struggle before wiring up and getting into gear.

The other issue I've had is time.  April is a tough month with everything going on and rather than taking care of plants, I've been setting up hoop houses, doing prep in the patch setting up irrigation lines.   I don't expect any personal best pumpkins this year, but hopefully the pieces being put in place now will pay off next year.  It is hard when you are trying to play catch up this early in the season.

In each planting hole I put NPK Microbes, myco, Azos and Actinovate beneficial bacteria and fungi.  I then watered the plants with some liquid seaweed, B-vitamins, mono-ammonium phosphate, fulvic acid, silica, alfalfa and humic acid in the water.

Last night got colder than foretasted.  33 degrees at one point.  Plants seemed relatively fine in the morning however.

18% Heavy on the Scale! Great End to a Tough Pumpkin Season.

Yesterday I took my pumpkin to the Old Colorado City Giant Pumpkin Weigh-off.  I've never been to this event before and had heard good things and since my pumpkin was growing slow I figured I would give it as much time as possible to grow, as this is the last weigh-off of the season in Colorado.

To my pumpkin's credit it grew long.  Was still growing when I picked it and considering I thought I lost the pumpkin 75 days before when I had irrigation problems and it never did over 11 pounds a day after that and it had the biggest Dill Ring I've ever seen, I am amazed by that.

My pumpkin was estimating in the low 600s by the measurements, but ended up at 747 pounds.  Although that is about half of what I was hoping for this year, it as a lot heavier than I expected.  A pumpkin that goes 5-7% heavier than what the charts indicate in my book is very heavy pumpkin, but for this pumpkin to go 18% heavy is crazy.  My pumpkins typically, like most Colorado growers, go a little light.  A very nice suprise on the scales.

It makes me wonder now what this plant could have done if I didn't have all of the problems that I did.  When you look at the picuture above it isn't difficult to image how the lines of the pumpkin would be different.  This pumpkin grew on a side vine because I lost the main and then it got really jacked up by the water issues.  Would love to have another shot with this seed again.  I'm considering very strongly growing the seeds from this pumpkin next year.  I liked the 282 pollinator and this plant was the best looking plant I've ever had the first part of the season.  May give it another shot.

Now it is time to start prepping for next year.

How to Get 13% More Growth on Your Pumpkin in September

We are coming to the end of the season.  Not long now until the weigh-offs.  For some, they are looking at personal best pumpkins and possible state record giant pumpkins.  Even if you don't have a pumpkin this year quite as big as you would have liked it to be, there is still time to add a lot of weight to your pumpkin in September to finish it off.  What if you could add an additional 13% or more to your pumpkin by just doing three things?!  Wouldn't you do it?  It could make the difference in moving up one or two places in the standings.  And the solution is simple if you know the right fertilizers and nutrients for late season growth.

The first thing to do is to start foliar and soil applications of potassium sulfate.  Why specifically potassium sulfate?  The chart below from one study on cantaloupe tells the story:

The most interesting part of this chart is potassium in the fruit.  Potassium is found in large quantities in pumpkins, so the more you can get to the fruit the better.  In the same study yields were also found to be higher in cantaloupe receiving potassium sulfate.  In comparison to the control group, yields were 13% higher in the group receiving soil and foliar potassium sulfate over the control group.

Late in the season the potassium in the soil may start to become less than optimal or even deficient for what the roots can reach. One pumpkin study found:

"If potassium is deficient or not supplied in adequate amounts, growth is stunted and yields are reduced . Potassium is associated with movement of water, nutrients and carbohydrates in plants. The relation between potassium and fruity vegetables such as pumpkin is well established long time ago. There is increasing evidence from the literature that optimizing the potassium nutritional status of plants can reduce the detrimental build up of reactive oxygen species (ROS) which result from various environmental stress factors. In addition, it is widely acceptable that in general, high potassium status in crops decreases the incidence of diseases and pests."

In my own soil reports from the spring to the spring of the next year, with no potassium being added to the soil, I've seen my potassium levels drop 500ppm.  Even if you have adequate levels of potassium in your soil it may not all be available to the plant, so supplemental potassium could help keep the plant from bonking late in the season.  Watch this video to learn more.

Second, foliar and soil applications of nitrogen at this point of the season might also be a good idea for the same reasons.  Although nitrogen tends to be more available to the plants that other nutrients, nitrogen levels can drop due to leaching from the heavy watering most growers do during the season as well as the plant using it up.  One grower, who is very knowledgeable and has grown some monsters once told me that some late season splits are sometimes due to inadequate nitrogen.  So giving the plant a little extra nitrogen now could pay off big time on the scale.

Lastly, giving your soil some RAW Cane Molasses now could also give you a lot on the scale later.  At this point of the season, when the demands on the plant are great and it is getting tired the plant can be more stingy giving sugars back to the soil microbes that are giving the plant nutrients.  Because of this the soil biology can start to slow down.  Applying some RAW Cane Molasses to soil can give those microbes an added boost so they will continue to give nutrients to the plant that will power the pumpkin's growth.

Pollination Time! Busy in the Pumpkin Patch

1985 Miller Flower

This morning we had two females open in the pumpkin patch.  I gave both of the females about a 30% chance of opening this morning, but they both popped open today.  The way you know if a flower is going to open the next day is you see the flower elongate and the petals start oranging up the day before.  Sometimes however, they don't orange up a lot the evening before so you have to be prepared just in case they do open.  That was the case with both of these flowers.

There was a hint of orange yesterday evening, so I went ahead and covered each flower so bees couldn't get at them and then I cut off some male flowers that I put in water and took into the house.  This morning at 6:30 (I'm dedicated even on a holiday) I went out into the patch and both flowers were opening.  I took the petals off the male flowers and then rubbed 3 flowers stamen on the inside of the flower.  If you look closely at the 1985 Miller flower below you'll see it covered with pollen.  After pollination I recovered each flower. 

1985 Miller

I have a yard chair that I put over each female flower about a week before pollination.  That is to help keep it cool.  I'll keep that chair in place until the pumpkin won't fit under it anymore.  I'll also cover the pumpkins, once they have laid down on the ground with a piece of polyester, white cloth.  That will help keep the pumpkin from getting sun burn and also keep a curious bird from pecking at the pumpkin which I've had twice before.

The 1985 Miller pumpkin's name is going to be Ada.  The 282's pumpkin will be named Berkley.  Each named after two of my nieces.  The 1985 Miller was crossed with the 282 Scherber and the 282 Scherber was crossed with the 1985 Miller.  Called a reverse cross.

The 1689 Daletas is a seed that my son is growing.  We crossed the 1689 with the 1985 Miller, which is my best looking plant so far. 

282 Scherber

1689 Daletas

New Photo of the 282 Scherber Pumpkin Plant

Below is the picture of my 282 plant.  Under that chair in the distance is the female I'll be pollinating either tomorrow or the next day.  This pumpkin is 20 feet out on the main vine.  Easily the farthest pollination from the stump I will have ever had.  By the end of this week almost all of the side vines on the left hand side of the plant will be terminated.  Still a fair amount of growing room on the right hand side of the plant however.  It has been a very good plant so far and it seems happy.  Hoping this pollination takes because it is only the 2nd female to show up on the main vine so far and I can't afford to wait any longer.  Temps are hot today in Denver but should be cooling a little for the next few days.

Is there Anything Else Like an Atlantic Giant Pumpkin Plant?

I believe this is my seventh year of growing Atlantic Giant Pumpkins.  I'm still amazed by them.  I've seen giant red woods that were two thousand years old and hundreds of feet tall, but to me, although close, they aren't the same as an Atlantic Giant pumpkin plant.  These two plants, pictured at the right, are exactly one week old at the moment.  At this same hour, a week ago, I started soaking my seeds. Look how big they are in that short period of time.

The plant at the back of this picture is nearly six inches wide.  In another 7 days you won't recognize these plants and I'll have to start raising up the grow lights because they will start growing into them.  In June the vines will be growing a foot a day.  The end of July, with a little luck and skill, the pumpkins will be putting on around 40 pounds a day of they are players.  And 90 days after pollination, with a little luck and skill, the pumpkin will be over 1,500 pounds. 

I'm not aware of any other plant that can do that kind of growth in that short period of time.  I'd love to get back to the redwood forest and stare in awe at what nature can do in 2,000 years.  But to me, looking at my pumpkin in the morning and then looking at my pumpkin in the evening and being able to easily see the change in size as it puts on 35-43 pounds in a day is easily as awe inspiring if not more so.

Secret Giant Pumpkin Fertilizing Program

The following is my "secret"giant pumpkin fertilizing program.  This fertilizer program will be modified during the season, depending on what the plant is telling me.  In addition to what is listed below, I'll also be putting down a little Azos, myko, kelp and Rootshield to each leaf node.  What is listed below doesn't include what I amended the soil with in the Fall and Spring.  The Fish & Seaweed is Neptune's, foliar multimineral is Albions' Metosolate multimineral and most of the other products are NPK Industries' RAW fertilizers. 

If you would like to see a great video that not only explains how and when to use fertilizers, but why, watch this video:

The Giant Pumpkin Fertilizer Program

Please note that the quantities of different fertilizers being applied here are very small. You want to spoon feed the plant to push it along and don't want to pour on the fertilizers which can sometimes do more harm than good.  Fertilizers should be applied in the early morning or the evening.  Most of these fertilizers, bio-stimulants and nutrients are available at a discount at http://seeds.giantpumpkinman.com/fertilizers.

May planting outdoors in hoop houses:
Week 1	B-vitamin, liquid seaweed/kelp, compost tea. With mykos, myco grow, Rootshield and Azos in the planting hole.
Week 2	phosphorus, compost tea, fulvic acid, yucca, silica
Week 3	compost tea, foliar seaweed, foliar humic acid
Week 4	compost tea, fish & seaweed, Azos, Biotamax, Actinovate with iron, Rootshild, omina, silica
June vine running:
Week 5	blood meal (for nitrate nitrogen), compost tea, yucca
Week 6	TKO, foliar multi-mineral, foliar fish & seaweed, fulvic acid, Omina, cal/mag
Week 7	foliar humic acid, compost tea
Week 8	foliar multi-mineral, foliar seaweed, foliar humic acid, yucca
July fruit (assumed that pumpkin pollination will be around the last week of June):
Week 9	foliar potassium, Omina
Week 10	foliar fish & seaweed, foliar multimineral, B-vitamins
Week 11	potassium, foliar fish & seaweed, biotamax, actinovate
Week 12	cane molasses, foliar multi-mineral, fish & seaweed on the soil, foliar humic acid
August
Week 13	Omina, foliar fish & seaweed, foliar multi-mineral, compost tea, silica, foliar actinovate, B-vitamins
Week 14	potassium, Actinovate, Biotamax, azos, yucca, foliar fish & seaweed, foliar humic acid
Week 15	foliar multi-mineral, foliar fish & seaweed, foliar humic acid, silica
Week 16	TKO, cane molasses, fish & seaweed on the soil, foliar seaweed, fulvic acid
September
Week 17	foliar multi-mineral, foliar fish & seaweed, foliar humic acid, B-vitamins
Week 18	TKO, foliar fish & seaweed, foliar humic acid, cane molasses, silica
Week 19	potassium, foliar seaweed, foliar humic acid
Week 20	foliar potassium, foliar seaweed, foliar humic acid

The Kingly Line of Giant Pumpkin Genetics

For years I've noticed something and pretty much have only grown seeds from what I would cal the "Kingly Line" of giant pumpkin seeds.  In 2005 Joe Pukos made a cross of seeds from the two biggest pumpkins the year before.  What he ended up with wasn't overly impressive but he had some interesting genetics in that cross.  Two years later Joe Jutras grew the world record 1689 pumpkin.  With that world record plant he pollinated a 1068 Wallace and that pumpkin was on pace to grow as big as the world record pumpkin until he lost that pumpkin at 1385 pounds in the middle, late part of the season.  From the 1385 Jutras was grown the famous 1725 Harp world record pumpkin.  The seed of that pumpkin is now a legend.

In Kristy Harps world record year I emailed with she and her husband Nick.  Two very nice people and I got to meet them that following winter in Niagara and got to hear Kristy talk about her world record pumpkin.  From Kristy's words it was apparent that the seed that grew the 1725 was something special.  With all due respect to Kristy, you could tell it was more the seed than the grower that produced that massive pumpkin.  She herself said at the seminar, "I'm not a heavy hitter." Which seemed kind of funny at the time because she was in a room with the best growers in the world declaring that she wasn't anything special but at the same time she had grown something bigger than anyone had ever come close to before.  She knew she had grown something special.

That next year I grew the 1236 Harp which was pollinated by the world record plant.  However, the 1236 didn't grow but one descent sized pumpkin that year and I ended up with an 800+ pound pumpkin.  That seed didn't get the Kingly Line.  What Kristy had done in her world record season was self pollinate or in other world pollinate the female flower with a male flower from the same plant and that turned out to be genius.  She was criticize by some for doing it at the time.  In the sport selfed pumpkins where definitely looked down upon at the time.  Nobody would be criticizing her after the next few seasons however.

The next couple of seasons produced world record pumpkins, but they weren't from the Kingly Line.  Which brings up a good point.  There are probably hundreds of seeds each year that don't get planted or don't reach their potential that have world record genetics in them.  The simple fact is that there are too many seeds produced to ever get planted and not enough plots.

Three seasons after Kristy's world record year Ron Wallace grew a 1789 pound pumpkin that he lost in August that was grown from the 1725 seed.   The next season he planted another 1725 seed that produced one of the most memorable world records ever.  The first one ton pumpkin at 2,009 pounds.

I got to see that world record plant in action and it was something special.  A local grower got a cutting of that plant which was kept alive all winter in a greenhouse.  The plant had bad powdery mildew and it just verily survived the shipping but once it kicked into gear you could tell it had something special in it.

The next season a new world record was grown from the 2009 seed.  This last season a lot of 2009 seeds were grown along with 2009 crosses from the year before.  16 of the 20 biggest pumpkins grown in 2014 are from the Kingly Line 1725 Harp seed that Ron Wallace grew that produced the 2009.  That includes the three world record breaking pumpkins that Beni Meier grew this last season, the biggest being from the 2009 seed itself at an amazing 2,102 pounds.  Which by the way wasn't the biggest pumpkin ever grown by Beni.  The year before he had grown a  2,323 pound pumpkin that he lost weeks before the weigh-off that was reported to still be packing on pounds when he lost it and it was grown from the 2,009 seed.  The Kingly Line still lives on.

It should be noted here that people grow genetics that have been proven, so statistically speaking if a seed is grown more often it in all likelihood is going to produce bigger pumpkins just because more and better growers will be planting it.  That isn't the case with the 2009 seed.  Some people talk about grower techniques improving, but there hasn't been an improvement in techniques that I'm aware of that would make weights jump up hundreds of pounds for dozens of growers in just a couple of seasons.  Statistically I don't remember a seed since the 1068 Wallace that has produced more big pumpkins consistently than the 2009.  A 1700+ pound pumpkin just a few years ago astonished growers.  This last season a 1600-1799 pound pumpkin is almost a footnote.  There were 24 pumpkins just this last season that went to the scale that were over 1800 pounds.  For a good part of the country weather was not that good for growing so what was produced is even more astonishing.

I got a 2009 Wallace seed from Ron and I didn't even ask for it.  It was very kind of him to send.  That next season I tried to start it and it was the only seed to not germinate which was disappointing.

This next season I plan to grow a 282 Scherber if Joe can get me a few.  The 282 seed is a selfed pollination from the world record clone plant that I had mentioned previously.  Joe grew a fantastic pumpkin from that seed this last year.  The pumpkin was in state record territory when he lost it about 3 weeks before the weigh-off.  It was very thick inside he said when he cut it open and estimated it could have ended up at 1,600 pounds but the pumpkin never made it to the scale.

I hope to create my own Kingly Line off that 282 seed this next season.  The season after that I'll be growing some Barron seeds.  If I had room for those they would go in patch this year.  Very interesting cross of the 1730 Werner x 2009 Wallace.

Some interesting pumpkin seeds with that Kingly Line crossed into it can be found here as well as DVDs from world record Ron Wallace talking about his world record season.  A must watch video.

One More Weigh-off to Go

Yesterday I took my 335 Scherber pumpkin to the weigh-off at Nick's.  It ended up at a respectable 511 pounds which in my book isn't bad considering that plant was diseased and the pumpkin was picked in mid-August and then was just sitting in the patch for 1 1/2 months with a tarp over it.  None the less it was a disappointing season.

I'm going to be taking the 335 Scherber to one more weigh-off along with the kids pumpkins next weekend.  Also will be hauling with them a nearly 1,300 pound pumpkin grown by Joe Scherber which he was kind enough to give to my wife.  All of the pumpkins are in front of the house right now.  If you've never seen a 1,300 pound piece of fruit, swing on by.