Friday, October 31, 2014

9News Features Joe and My Pumpkins this Morning

I'm hoping they will post the video a bit later, but the following is the link to the 9News story with the pumpkins. http://www.9news.com/story/news/weird/2014/10/31/giant-pumpkin-size/18198669/.

Thanks again to Michelle for doing a great job again on caring the pumpkin.  Also thanks to Skype for partnering with Michelle to get it carved.

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

The Pumpkin Man on 9News this Friday

Halloween day there will be in an interview on 9News with Joe's and mine pumpkins included.  This interview just kind of popped up out of thin air and became a lot bigger than I thought it would be.  It was a fun shoot.  See what popped up out of Joe's pumpkin when we cut it open to get seeds.  Segment will air between 8:00-9:00am on Friday.

Sunday, October 26, 2014

Next Season's Patch Configuration

I'm going to reconfigure my pumpkin patch next year.  For the last five years I've had my two pumpkin run side by side each running east and west.  That worked well for the southern plant but the north plant has very limited space and if my first pollination didn't take I would have to curve the main vine north to set the next pumpkin and space was very limited for that. 

I'm now going to keep the southern plant like it has been but the north plant I'm now going to have it run north.  I'll expand the patch a little that direction which will give me almost 45 more square feet of growing area for that plant and I can even let the main vine go farther if it wants to run so it can grow all season.

In the picture above where you see the plastic is where my two planting areas will be.  My cover crop, in this warm fall, hasn't taken off like I would have expected it to.  The nights have been in the forties but the day time highs have been in the high 70s for the last two weeks since I planted so I would expect more green by now.  I wasn't going to send in a soil sample, but I needed to send in one for my garden so I decided I should send in one for the patch as well just to make sure something isn't out of whack.

Saturday, October 11, 2014

A Nice End to the Season

To say this season was miserable would be an understatement.  After losing both plants I decided to try to save a pumpkin and I'm glad now I did.  After a month and a half off the vine my little Lucille made it to the scale twice. 

Today I went back to my roots and took my pumpkin to the Festval of Scarecrows, the place of my first ever weigh-off.  Along with it I had my kids pumpkins along with the biggest pumpkin grown in Colorado by Joe.  Pulling up at the weigh-off you would have thought we were rock stars.  Most people have never seen a 500+ pound pumpkin more or less a 1,300 pound pumpkin.  The smiles on their faces makes a season of hard work worth it.

In the weigh-off we took all of the top honors with the kids taking 1st and 2nd (even beating all of the adults by a lot) and I took first in the adult division.  I got a lot of seed requests at the weigh-off.  It was a fun day.

Took this picture before the weigh-off.  I love fall.

Thursday, October 9, 2014

I'm in the Denver Post Today

I was contacted a couple of weeks ago by the Denver Post.  They said they wanted to write an article about me and my pumpkin growing.  Let's face it.  If they could interview the pumpkin they would have preferred to do that but I was their next best option.

Almost a little embarrassed by it.  Seems like there were a number of other growers that were more deserving of an article.  My little wussy showing with a pumpkin that was very small in August by my standards and hasn't grown since wasn't my best showing.   I just hope that maybe a few people will be intrigued by the article and maybe take some more interest in the sport.  However, after reading how I've had more pumpkins lost then have gone to the scale will probably just scare a few people away.  Lol

You can read the full article at:  http://www.denverpost.com/arvada/ci_26681943/arvada-man-keeps-trying-record-pumpkin

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Finally Got a Chance to Till the Soil

I tilled into the pumpkin patch 1 1/2 yards of compost, 6 bails of sphagnum peat moss, 100 pounds of alfalfa pellets, 30 pounds of gypsum and 20 pounds of granular humic acid.  I then racked in a cover crop of winter rye that I will let grow all winter and then will till into the ground in the spring.  In the spring I'll send in a soil sample and probably add another yard or so of compost along with what other items I need to make sure everything is adjust properly.

I'm guessing next season will be first season in this patch that I'll finally have my potassium and potash low enough that things will be balanced.  That is if I don't screw it up again.

Sunday, October 5, 2014

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.