Jeff's Great Pumpkin Challenge

After the cool and wet stretch we had, it's now been windy and hot again!  It's never ending. The 1522 is still growing very slowly with a nice orange color.  This morning it measured at 310 pounds. The 1733 is now "bleeding" at the pumpkin stem and will soon cease growing because of that.  The vine is stretching and is causing it to stress at the stem and so it's splitting and oozing.  If I was ambitious and had help, I could wrap it in straps and pull the pumpkin towards the vine to ease the stress.  But I've got other things to do.   This morning that pumpkin measured around 477 pounds. Once the first freeze takes care of the garden growing, I will attempt to get these guys out of the garden.  I would like to find someone with a scale to weight at least the biggest one.  Because of it's shape, the actual weight may be significantly different than the measured and thus it's estimated weight.  It could be 5 to 10 percent either way (low or h

What a crappy and disappointing giant pumpkin growing season!  Since 1992 there has never been so many VERY windy days!  We are now up to 30 days of 50 MPH winds or higher.  The previous record for the ENTIRE year was 26 days!  There have been 80 (not a typo) days of 40 MPH winds or higher!  That's almost once every 3 days! This past week it started out unseasonably cool and finished with a blow torch - near 100 and very windy!  The entire season there have been weather challenges so the result for giant growth has been dismal, compared to what is needed.  As I've said before, SW Kansas is just not a friendly place to grow Atlantic Giant Pumpkins! The biggest one I have at this point remains the pumpkin from the 1733 plant.  This morning it measured at 322 pounds or a paltry gain of only 70 pounds in a week.  Going from the cool to the blazing hot has probably set it in maturing mode.  Here is that pumpkin.... The pumpkin on the 1522 plant appears to maturing as it has

Below normal temperatures this past week really took a toll on the giants weight gain!  The two are still packing on weight, but no where near potential. The 1733 did have one day before it got chilly where it put on 20 pounds in one day.  Great except that potential is MUCH more! In two weeks this pumpkin has put on 188 pounds (measured not weighed) of which 97 pounds occurred this past chilly August week. Here is that 252 pound pumpkin this morning... A comparison over the past 2 weeks..... That deformation at the blossom end is filling in a little but will take away from the final size/weight. The 1522 pumpkins continues it's "slow" and steady growth and this morning was measured at 212 pounds, or a gain of 60 pounds this past week. With the trouble there has been with the pumpkins on the 1861 plant (4 have pollinated and grew a little before aborting) I wasn't sure I would have ANY pumpkins on that plant.  It's a shame too as there are strong

A week ago I posted (read that by clicking here ) about some issues this growing season and that the pumpkin on the 1861 plant appeared to have aborted.  Indeed that happened at around 38 pounds.  I did notice this morning a pumpkin on that plant pollinated yesterday (open pollination and probably from the same plant) but I haven't looked through the jungle of vines to see if any more were out there.  That's about six weeks too late.  We'll see what happens. The 1522 plant is showing some disease in the leaves closer to the base but I've sprayed a few times and hopefully have the progression slowed.  The pumpkin itself has had steady growth this past week but not really that great.  It was measured at 152 pounds this morning and was at 85 pounds a week ago, so it is averaging a little less than 10 pounds a day.  Nice but not impressive.  I do like the color though as it is showing a lot of orange at this stage.  Normally giants don't have a lot of orange - more ye

What a weird growing season for the giants.  In the previous post I did a week ago (you can read that one by clicking here ) the issues all season were revealed.  I have another pumpkin that looks like it's also done and will decay!  The pumpkin on the 1861 which was at 15 pounds a week ago, measured at 37.4 pounds this morning.  That is a paltry gain.  But it's gained only 4 pounds in the past 2 days so it looks like it is ready to die off the vine, just like several others have!  That leaves nothing on the 1861 since I've been removing all the females!  UGH!   To get another pollinated will take about a week, or maybe if I dig through the jungle of vines and leaves I can find on that is close so I can at least have something on that plant! On to the 1522.  It's been making steady but not heavy growth.  A week ago it was 40 pounds - this morning it measured at 85 pounds. The past 2 days it's gained an average of 8 pounds a day which is WAY less than expected or d

What a disappointing growing season!  I had looked forward to making a run at a REALLY giant pumpkin this year - way bigger than the 542 pounder that I took to the state fair last fall.  I put forth a lot of effort in getting the soil right during the off-season (specific soil test from a company in Idaho specializing in giants), getting seeds with a lot of potential, and getting liquid amendments (micro-nutrients) to have a good chance of a REALLY big one. However, there seemed to be way more problems this growing season.  First, I started  the seeds much later than I wanted and attended to.  Second, the growing weather early on was brutal with high winds and high heat. Note:  Next year I will have to build a substantial tent to shade young plants from the southwest Kansas sun, heat and wind.  Third, we were on vacation to Colorado when the first pumpkin pollinated.  I really need to know what the pollinator is for following years potential seeds.  Plus, the pumpkins need to be poll

Unbelievably there has been more high wind.  Last Friday a thunderstorm rolled in packing 65 MPH winds!  This tore up quite a few leaves, especially on the 1733 which had been the healthiest plant.  It also moved a few vines breaking roots.  This no doubt has slowed down growth on the original pumpkin.  Another 50 MPH wind occurred Sunday.  At the airport a record has already been set with the number of days with 50 MPH winds or higher - and it's only JULY!  In the post I did six days ago on the 12th (read it by clicking here ) I discussed the pumpkin on the 1733 plant that was open pollinated on the 2nd while we were in Colorado.  It's growth was steady but "slow" compared to last years biggest pumpkins.  On the 12th it was about 7 pounds...this evening about 37 pounds.  I made the hard decision to cull it due to it's slower growth (comparatively), because I didn't know what the pollinator was, and there is another pumpkin but on a secondary vine. This now

In the post I did on the 4th (read that one by clicking here ) I discussed the wind but also posted about the pumpkin that pollinated while we were in Colorado.  As of this morning that pumpkin on the 1733 plant was "only" up to approximately 7 1/4 pounds.  This would be day 10 after pollination.  Compared to my 542 pounder from last season and the 510 pounder, it's way behind the curve.  The 542 from last year was at 10.2 at DAP10 and the 510 was at 14.4 pounds!  Anyway, I wasn't necessarily planning on keeping this one as I wasn't 100 percent certain what the pollinator was plus it's only 10 feet from the base of the plant.  I'm not culling it just yet.  Here is that 7.25 pound pumpkin this morning.... I pollinated another female on this 1733 plant on Tuesday the 10th but on a tertiary vine (third off the main).  The pollinator was from the 1861 plant.  Both the 1733 and the 1861 have great genetics!  Both were decedents of 2,145 (McMullen) and 2,230

A week ago (read that post by clicking here ) I discussed the ridiculous wind that has occurred this spring and early summer.  Since that post we've had another two high wind events of 60 MPH plus!  But, I didn't see much damage, thankfully.  Also in that last post I discussed how far behind the growing is/was compared to last year.  My original goal was to get the first pollination completed on the 1st of July.  If I got a fruit set by July 15, I would have felt fortunate.  Last year the state fair second place pumpkin was pollinated on July 8. We left on a trip to Colorado on  June 29th and returned yesterday, the 3rd.  I knew there was a female on the main vine of the 1733 plant but thought I had a least a week before it opened. The main vine it was on had/has issues as the tip shriveled up from the hot wind!  Regardless, it looks like the pumpkin pollinated while we were gone, probably on the 2nd!  Two issues  though. 1) I don't know what male was the pollinator, al

This spring and now early summer have been brutal on growing giant pumpkins!  Top that off and I've been sickly for over 2 weeks which started with a brown spider bite (which is going to leave a nasty scar on my shin) concluding with being ill with constant neck pain and constant headache and fever (systematic secondary infection) for about 10 days.   I finally got back in the garden this evening - and it's not pretty out there! Since May 1, there have been 25 days that had wind 40 MPH or higher!  That is crazy!  Some of those days had heavy rain while others had scorching heat!  There have been 10 days of more than 50 MPH wind and 5 days of 65 MPH gusts!  The weather and general lack of care from me have left the pumpkins in not-so-good of shape.  I also had an infestation of squash bugs on one plant! The 1733 is doing the best, as far as color and such although I already lost the tip of one of  the secondary vines.  Here is that plant (note all the mud on the leaves - I&#

This weather so far this spring has been brutal on EVERYTHING!  We had one of the driest fall/winter/spring periods on record! We started with one of the top coldest Aprils on record. Then we had a record warmest May at Dodge City (and it obliterated the previous record).  Hot and windy days, high humidity at times, thunderstorms with a lot of wind!  The previous post I did on the 29th (you can read it by clicking here ) I was scrambling to build some protection from the elements (hail at that time and now a hot wind).  It did help, thankfully! This past Wednesday night we had a high wind event from a collapsing thunderstorm during the night with 70-75 MPH winds here at the Hacienda but even higher winds southwest of here!  I had to leave in the dark yesterday morning so wasn't sure what I would find when I came home.  The only damage we had was a downed poplar tree and a pool full of debris (took about 1 1/2 hours to clean that up).  But the pumpkins?  They came through with no

As expected, the weather was HOT and windy (almost a blow torch for May) with temperatures 95 to 98 this past few days.  The wind was blowing 25-40 MPH.  This took a toll on the pumpkins.  The two on the east side are not as protected and they took the brunt of the weather, while the other on the west side didn't do too bad.  Here are the two east side plants.... The 1522 plant.... The 1861 plant.... Late this evening I'm quickly building some tent type protection, from possible hail, high wind and heavy rain but also for any more hot and windy days for this next week.  Once the plants start vigorous vine growth and with more vigorous root growth, the affects of the hot wind should be less.

The other two pumpkins were planted this evening.  I planted the 1861 pumpkin and also chose the healthiest between two of the 1522's and two of the 1442's and that ended up being one of the 1522 plants.  I also built a small wind break for the tender plants as the wind will blow pretty good the next couple of days.  Not helping matters will be afternoon temperatures in the 90s - again SW Kansas has harsh growing weather for Atlantic Giant Pumpkins. Here are the 1522 (closest to the camera) and the 1861 plants. The 1733 plant is on the west side of the garden.   So I started the process this year about 10 days later than last year.  I'm hoping everything catches up though given the added nutrients to the soil and with the different techniques I'm going to try this growing season.  I need, or would like to get, all the pumpkins pollinated no-later-than July 1. The earlier posts are  here and  here .

It's been three weeks since I started the pumpkins (click  here for that post).   They ALL germinated within about 5-6 days.  I already have transplanted them into larger containers and they are steadily growing and starting to take off. This evening I picked out the healthiest of the 1,733 (I have two plants) and got it in the garden.  I took some precautions with rabbit netting around the plant, some Sevin dust around the base, and anchored the biggest leaf to the ground to prevent wind damage right off the bat.  I used some of the Agrinos  product and some of the product from Wallace WOW to help the plant get going fast.  I'm betting it will be vining by the end of this weekend, if not sooner.  One issue will be the expected 90-95 degree temperatures later in the week.  Stupid weather!  So, that would be winter in April and summer in May. UGH. Tomorrow I will get the 1,861 in the ground but then will have to chose just one plant out of two 1,442's and two 1,522&#

The pumpkin growing has started! The goal this year? It's lofty!  Last season the biggest pumpkin was 542.5 pounds which earned 2nd place at the Kansas State Fair in Hutchinson, KS. The goal last year was for a 500 pounder so I met that goal.  This growing season I'm shooting to have my name etched in the Kansas record book. So, that will have to be at least 1,035 pounds (unless some one has one bigger this year, of course) .  Unfortunately I'm already about 10 days behind schedule. We'll see... The seven seeds that I started will definitely have the potential.  Below is the start as of May 1... The seeds I started all have the potential to go big!  I did a little research during the winter and came across a couple of sources.  The first was from Ron Wallace - who has had a world record pumpkin at one time.  I ordered two seeds from him that came from a 1,733 pound pumpkin grown in 2017.  They were the most expensive that I purchased.  The 1,733 parents wer