Soil Tests are Back; Cation Exchanges

My pumpkin patch soil has been a bit jacked up for a while now in terms of potassium and phosphorus. The numbers have been too high for about 3 years now so I haven't added any potassium or phosphorus to the soil other than what comes with the compost. My latest soil test came back today and potassium and phosphorus are still high but they are coming back down to where I would like to see them. The thing that pleased me the most is cation saturation is pretty much in balance for the first time. Calcium is at 64.4% and magnesium is at 19.8%. Ideally you want those two numbers added up to equal 80% and we are close enough to that. My potassium is high so that will inhibit a little but I think we are okay.

The cation saturation is difficult stuff to understand but basically it can tell you how well the plants can get nutrients from the soil. This article is a nice simplified explanation of how it works. If you are looking for more information you better get your PHD on because there are lots of articles that are over my head.

Planted a Cover Crop in the Pumpkin Patch Today

I saw that the forecast called for 60s and 70s here in Denver for the next five days so I put in a cover crop today. The seed mixture included winter rye, winter oats and vetch. I planned on putting those seeds down during the fall but a busy schedule and a very cool late fall didn't allow me to do that. I suspect with these warm temperatures that the seeds should germinate just fine and make for some nice green manure the end of April. They should also help get the myco going in the soil a little earlier.

It's That Time of Year Again; Soil Samples

Time to start thinking about pumpkins. We'll actually thinking about pumpkins for most giant pumpkin growers is a year around thing, but now it is almost time to get back to work again. I took advantage of some very nice Denver weather to get into the pumpkin patch and take some soil samples. To know what to add to your patch during your spring patch prep you need to know what to add to your soil. Each spring and often times in the fall I'll send in soil sample to A & L Western Agricultural Laboratories to get my soil tested.

To test your soil get a clean spoon that is free of rust and dig down to about 8 inches in about 12 different places and put the soil in a zip lock bag until you have about 1 1/2 cups. Don't touch the soil at all with your fingers. A drop of sweat or a flake of rust can throw off the soil testing because of salt that can come from your hand or rust from a shovel. Usually within a week or so you'll get your soil test results and for a few bucks more the results will come with instructions on what to add to the soil.

I usually send my test results to a few local growers and a couple of heavy hitter pumpkin growers asking what I should add to my soil in the spring. The answers I usually get back are somewhat varied (there is a lot of science that goes into soil and plant studies but the science isn't very clear and growers experiences and opinions vary). Based on the feedback I get I'll add additional amendments in April and till that into the ground.

I was pleased to run into a few worms in the patch while digging around. I didn't expect to see any thing time of year. I see lots of organic material in the soil and it has a nice, dark earthy smell to it. If I can get some time away from my website business I hope to grow big this year. I've got to get over 1,000 pounds.

Grateful

I got an envelope from a grower today. Opening it was like Christmas. Not only did I receive the seed that I wanted but an additional one that I have to admit I was also coveting but wasn't expecting. One of those two seeds will be going in the ground this year. I am grateful for kind giant pumpkin growers everywhere that have taught me a lot. Also grateful for a great club like the RMGVG with members and a President that work so hard to make some great weigh-offs.

Worm Casting for Giant Pumpkins

Just before Christmas I ordered some worms for my worm bins. I lost all of my worms last year after a deep freeze in January (the new worms are being kept in the basement). There is nothing better for growing then worm castings and making compost tea. My bins are very basic. A large plastic tote with a fair amount of organic material. It doesn't take much to make the worms happy. I'll throw in table scraps (mostly just vegetables, coffee grounds and occasionally a little flour and the worms seem perfectly happy. I also spray down the bin once or twice a week to keep it lightly moist. In the spring I put the worm castings in my soil mixture that I start my seeds in and I'll also put some castings in the hole that I plant the plants in the pumpkin patch. Worm castings are more rich in nutrients then most composts and rich in soil microbial biomass.

Organic Gardening

My friend Ray has started an organic gardening website that you should check out. Visit www.plantyourown.com to participate in organic gardening forums and read some great articles. He even has a great giant tomato contest that you can participate in this year.

Giant Pumpkin Irrigation

For the last four seasons I've used over the top irrigation for my pumpkin plants. Different combinations of sprinkler heads would spray over the pumpkin patch from different angles to water the plant. The problem with over the top irrigation is that giant pumpkin leaves act like umbrellas and in the 2nd half of the growing season you start seeing a lot of dry spots under the leaves. Even to the point that the ground would crack from dryness.

This next season my plan is to us an under the canopy irrigation system using Dan Micro sprinkler heads. I'll be using a system very similar to giant pumpkin grower Thad Starr's. I"ve seen his setup while visiting him a couple of years ago in Oregon. It makes the watering nice in even with great coverage.

Gary "The Wiz" Grande also uses a similar watering system and says it is the best he has tried.

The Giant Pumpkin Off Season

My wife would tell you that there isn't an off season when it comes to giant pumpkin growing and that is somewhat true. When you aren't growing then you are thinking about growing. The best thing you can do when snow is on the ground is get ready for the upcoming season by doing a lot of research.

There is always something new to learn when it comes to giant pumpkin growing. Everything that it takes to grow a big pumpkin is wonderfully complex. The best thing to do from November to March is to research different growing techniques, amendments, genetics and ask questions of world class growers on sites like bigpumpkins.com and coloradopumpkins.com. There is a lot of misinformation out there and only by a lot of reading can you sort through it all.

One thing, when I can find some time, I'll be researching this off season is hormonal responses within pumpkin plants. As the season progresses you notice after years of growing that the plants want to do certain things at certain times. There are ways you can enhance or slow down this responses by the amendments that you give to the plants and how/when you water them. By making little adjustments you can add a lot of pounds to a pumpkin if you do things just right.

Another thing I'm thinking about this off-season is changing my watering system in the patch. I want to go to an under the canopy watering system so I can get more even watering later in the season. My plan is to add Dan Micro sprinkler heads under the leaves so I don't get so many dry spots under the canopy and keep one misting sprinkler to spray above the leaves during the heat of the day to keep the plants cool.

I just got a shipment or Red Wriggler worms this last week to get my worm bins going again. Nothing better than earthworm casting to grow big and strong pumpkin plants. It is also the best thing in my opinion for compost tea. I killed my worms last winter during a cold snap so I've moved the worms from the garage to the basement to help keep them happy.

Have a merry Christmas and grow em big in 2012!

The Great Pumpkin & The Marriage Ref Delivers

Last week my wife and I went on a trip to the Dominican Republic compliments of NBC's The Marriage Ref. All of the guests on the show were given an all inclusive trip and the timing for our trip couldn't have been better. 86 degrees, white sand beach and perfect water.

If you have been following this pumpkin blog you know that my wife and I were on the Marriage Ref discussing giant pumpkin growing and the dispute was over whether or not I spend to much time in the pumpkin patch. Celebrities Jerry Seinfeld, Ricky Gervais and Julianne Moore all sided with me on the show and I went on to the final round where I took second place (might as well as been last) in a chance to win $25,000.

If you are looking for a quite vacation spot, Punta Cana in the Dominican would be a great choice. Both Amber and I aren't resort people but the Bavaro Palace Resort that we stayed at was very modern with lots to do. A very enjoyable time for the both of us. So thanks to Tom Popovich, Jerry Seinfeld, NBC and all of the crew for a great time!

Pumpkin Patch Prep is Done

I did my fall patch prep yesterday. I added old leaves, humic acid, sulfur, blood meal, gypsum and alfalfa pellets and then tilled it all in. What you do in the fall and in the spring to the soil probably means more in regards to how big your pumpkin is going to grow then anything you do after planting the seed. Making sure your soil is balanced and with the right amount of nutrients in place is what is going to power that pumpkin in July and August.

After a cold spell moves through mid-week I'm going to put in a cover crop on Thursday. I'll be adding a mixture of 50% winter rye, 40% winter oats and 10% hardy vetch. The rye and oats produce tremendous organic matter and the vetch is a legume that fixes nitrogen from the air into the soil for free! Winter oats help suppress harmful nematodes in the soil.

In the Spring I'll get a soil test done and then probably add some compost and other amendments to the soil, depending on what my soil test says, a few weeks before I plant the pumpkin plant.

Heavy to the Charts and it Has Clone Genetics in the Pumpkin

My son and I took a small pumpkin from the 868 pumpkin plant that popped up sometime after my main pumpkin ("Jerry") went down to rot to the weigh-off at Nick's Nursery yesterday. The pumpkin was probably about 30 days old and pretty good sized for it's age. I always wondered if Jerry was going to go heavy to the charts and I figured this was the best way to find out since it never made it to the scale. Jerry thumped like he was heavy so I took this little pumpkin to give me a ball park idea of what this 868 plant could produce.

To my surprise the little pumpkin went 15% heavy (aka abnormally heavy) to the charts! Now I really wish that Jerry would have had a chance to go to the scales to see what that pumpkin could have done. From the start it was the fastest growing pumpkin I ever had but for some reason it slowed down at the beginning of August and by the third week it rotted out. I wonder now if there wasn't something more than the one spot of rot that I found because that pumpkin completely rotted out very quickly.

About a month ago I pollinated the 868 plant with a clone plant that came from the same plant that produced a 1,725 pound pumpkin. On paper that is a very interesting cross. The genealogy of this pumpkin that I cut off the vine yesterday is that it has three generations of 1161 Rodonis in it. The first Rodonis weighed 1,579 pounds. The second Rodonis weighed 868 pounds. The third Rodonis weighed 1,725 pounds. Genetics wise it is 87% 1161 Rodonis which in my book isn't a bad thing. Since the last pumpkin went 15% heavy who knows what this pumpkin's seeds might produce.

Pumpkin Weigh-off Video

The following is a little video from yesterday's giant pumpkin weigh-off in Denver Colorado.

A New Personal Best Pumpkin at 924.5 Pounds

Last night we cut the pumpkin from the vine and much to my surprise and relief the bottom of the pumpkin hadn't rotted out. This morning I hauled my pumpkin and the kids pumpkin to the weigh-off at Jared's Nursery. Hauling a giant pumpkin is a real hoot. People wave, honk their horns and take pictures the entire way to the weigh-off. 364 days a year you can get teased some for being a giant pumpkin grower. Let's face it, the cool crowd on South Beach don't spend a lot of time growing giant pumpkins. But on the 365th day Heidi Klum could be standing next to a nice, orange giant pumpkin and people might not even notice her.

Pumpkin weights this year were way down in Colorado because many growers lost pumpkins due to rot and splits this year but there was still a good number of pumpkins at the weigh-off. My children took first place with a 146.5 pound pumpkin in the children's division. They did a very good job of taking care of their pumpkin this year. Later my pumpkin was weighed and came in at 924.5 pounds. A new personal best! Not as big as I thought it would be this year (after the pumpkin split the pounds went from 20 down to about 7 per day) but it is still the biggest and best looking pumpkin I've ever grown (let Jerry Seinfeld know that giants don't have to be ugly). Overall my pumpkin would have been in 2nd place for weight and won the Howard Dill award for the prettiest pumpkin but it was disqualified because of the splits. It looks like my pumpkin may end up being the heaviest Colorado grown pumpkin this year (Joe Scherber lost his 1,475 pound pumpkin last week due to rot) that goes to the scale.

Top honors for the day went to Ron Hoffman of Wyoming with a nice 1,012 pound pumpkin. I was very happy for Ron. He is a great grower and deserves the win. A well deserved second prize went to Gary Grande who beat out his brother by nine pounds.

Got the seeds out of my pumpkin tonight. Not a ton of them because of some rot that had started inside but I was happy to see some at all. These seeds are now officially the 924.5 Johnson (1204 Scherber x 1810 Stevens).

Another Big One that Got Away

I feel for Joe Scherber today. Yesterday he lost a pumpkin that would have been a new Colorado state record to a spot of rot. He was exactly one week from cutting the pumpkin off the vine when he found the spot. He and I measured the pumpkin and it estimated at about 1,447 pounds. Joe is 6'4" and that will give you some perspective to the size of this pumpkin. The pumpkin was thick on the inside and flawless. The pumpkin was grown from the 1725 Harp seed (a seed from a former world-record pumpkin) and he crossed it with a cloned plant that grew a pumpkin that was also 1,725 pounds (1725 Sweet) and was a world-record for one week last year until the 1,810 pounder went to the scale. So the seeds from Joe's pumpkin should have some great genetics. Thanks for the seeds Joe. I know what I will be planting next year.

Come to the Biggest Pumpkin Weigh-off in Colorado

The much anticipated 6th Annual Rocky Mountain Giant Vegetable Growers Pumpkin Weigh-off will be held on Saturday, September 24th. Last year, more than 3,000 people attended this event that featured 1,500+ pound pumpkins measuring more than 14 feet in circumference.

“We saw some amazing pumpkins last year and look to see some giants again this year.” said Gary 'The Wiz' Grande, President and CEO of the Rocky Mountain Giant Vegetable Growers (RMGVG). “It is always fun to see the children’s faces the first time they see the pumpkins. They are something straight out of a fairy tale and we might see a new state record this year." The current Colorado record was set by Barry Todd of Littleton last year at a whopping 1,308 pounds.

“The weigh-off is a celebration of our growers’ hard work and is a fun way to kick-off the fall season,” said Jamie Johnson, Vice President of the RMGVG who was featured on NBC’s The Marriage Ref this summer with his pumpkin. “It is a great event with food, straw mazes for the kids, music, face painting, haunted house, audience voting and of course, some really amazing giant pumpkins.”

The record for the world’s largest pumpkin was 460 pounds until 1981, when Howard Dill, a grower in Nova Scotia, came up with one that was close to 500 pounds. He patented the seed, and growers around the world jumped to buy Dill’s Atlantic Giant. As they crossed and re-crossed varieties, the pumpkins grew ever larger; by 1994, the symbol of Halloween had passed the 1,000-pound mark. The world record pumpkin was grown last year by Chris Stevens of Wisconsin and weighed an amazing 1,810 pounds.

The event will take place at Jared’s Nursery in Littleton, 10500 W. Bowles Avenue, starting at 10 a.m. with the junior division, followed by the giant pumpkins at 11 a.m. Admission is free to the public.

For more information about the RMGVG weigh-off or to get more information on how to grow giant pumpkins or vegetables post a comment below

To watch a short video of last year’s RMGVG pumpkin weigh-off event visit http://www.pumpkinlink.com/pumpkin-video.html

The Home Stretch

We are coming to the end of the season now. 1 1/2 weeks until we cut the pumpkin off the vine. Gave the plant some seaweed today along with a little SO-PO-MG (sulfur, potassium and magnesium) 0-0-22 to squeeze a few last pounds out of the plant. The plant looks pretty hammered these days. A few new vines are keeping the pumpkin going but probably half of the leaves are on the verge of death. Hot summer days and powdery mildew that popped up over the last three weeks have taken their toll. Last I checked the pumpkin was still putting on 4 pounds a day. I suspect the pumpkin will be estimating around 970 pounds by the weigh-off next week.

If you would be interested in giving this a try next season visit my Pumpkin Growing Store.

Monster Big Pumpkins

A great grower who I've been privileged to spend some time with talking pumpkins over a plate of buffalo wings is Ron Wallace. Super nice guy and former giant pumpkin world-record holder (1,502 pounds). I just found out that Ron had the big one get away from him. In the later part of August he had a pumpkin estimating at about 1,780 pounds go down on him because of a pin hole split after 4 inches of rain. It still had more than 40 days of growing left and based on his best estimates it would have ended up around 2,100 to 2,200 pounds! just amazing.

As for my little pumpkin, it is still growing as of the last measurement. Two weeks from today I plan on cutting it off from the vine. At this point the pumpkin still seems solid so I think there is a descent chance of it making it. Today I'll be giving the plant some seaweed and calcium.

The 656 Johnson AKA Jerry

I took the final measurements on "Jerry" today because I will be cutting it open to get the seeds out. The 868 measures 142 inches in circumference and has an estimated weight of 656 pounds. So now the pumpkin (pictured below) will be known as the 656 Johnson (868 Johnson x 1725 Harp).

One Last Round of Calcium

There are studies that show that calcium can preserve the shelf life of some fruits and vegetables. I gave my 1204 plant one last round of calcium in the hope it might give me one more day on the vine. The pumpkin these days is looking ripe on the outside. Probably won't last more than a week or two now. I haven't measured it since Monday and it was still growing then but I don't expect it to still be growing now. A local garden center, Timberline Gardens, has offered to weigh the pumpkin and put it on display. I'm hoping it will last long enough to do that.

Got Shirt?

Get this great shirt for your significant other who has been a "widow" during the pumpkin growing season. Perfect for wearing to the upcoming weigh-offs. Very limited quantities so order now.