There's Always Next Year! - Updated 08/31/18
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 developed a pretty nice orange color. Typically an Atlantic Giant doesn't have the deep orange hue that is seen in the more common field pumpkin (jack-o-lantern). The 1522 pumpkin measured at 252 pounds this morning or a gain of a measly 40 pounds in a week.
As I discussed in the previous post (read it by clicking here) the 1861 plant did set some very late setting pumpkins (7-8 weeks late) and one of those is showing some modest growth. The biggest on that plant measured at 46 pounds this morning, up from 15 pounds a week ago.
After a scorching day today, the weather will be cooling down with a pretty good shot at above normal rainfall for this next week. We'll see if this makes a difference. Day length is rapidly decreasing so this may be about it - I doubt the biggest will even reach 500 pounds before frost.
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 developed a pretty nice orange color. Typically an Atlantic Giant doesn't have the deep orange hue that is seen in the more common field pumpkin (jack-o-lantern). The 1522 pumpkin measured at 252 pounds this morning or a gain of a measly 40 pounds in a week.
As I discussed in the previous post (read it by clicking here) the 1861 plant did set some very late setting pumpkins (7-8 weeks late) and one of those is showing some modest growth. The biggest on that plant measured at 46 pounds this morning, up from 15 pounds a week ago.
After a scorching day today, the weather will be cooling down with a pretty good shot at above normal rainfall for this next week. We'll see if this makes a difference. Day length is rapidly decreasing so this may be about it - I doubt the biggest will even reach 500 pounds before frost.
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