After moving to Kingman (Kansas) in October, I wasn't sure if I would continue the giant pumpkin growing. Alas, I succumbed to the addiction and broke out some ground here at the new place. I got a soil sample and added the suggested nutrients specific to the Atlantic Giant. On April 11th, I started 8 seeds under grow lights, which were:
1) A seed that granddaughter Emree brought me from Oklahoma (Bryan Baker from Woodward). He wasn't sure which seed it might be but the most likely pumpkin it came from was a cross between the 2015 Ford crossed with the1020 Ailts
2) Two seeds of my own 1187 pounder I grew in 2021. However, the seeds were crappy as I didn't get them out of the pumpkin due to work commitments (conference) and the pumpkin was starting to rot.
3) Three seeds from my own 822 pumpkin that I took to the Kansas State Fair in 2021 and took 2nd with.
4) Two seeds from my own 505 pumpkin I grew in 2020.
Only 1 of the 1187 seeds germinated (surprisingly one did germinate - but it appeared to be a bit deformed). On May 3, I planted the Emree plant and the surviving 1187 plant. I covered with a makeshift greenhouse (not a full size one mind you). I replaced the 1187 plant on May 10 with an 822 plant as the 1187 was not growing that great. I also planted an 822 in another part of the property as a pollinator plant. I had to fence in the approximately 800 square foot space for the two plants as deer had found the foliage.
On June 10, the first female flower on the Emree plant was pollinated, way earlier than I've ever done. The pollen was gathered from THE ONLY male flower open at the time and that was on the extra 822 plant that I had a as backup. Then, a second female was pollinated on June 12, about 2 feet down the vine. That flower was also pollinated using several 822 male flowers.
Fast forward to June 25. The two plants were FAR ahead of anything I ever grew in Dodge City for the date and the two pumpkins were growing fast! However, I made a gut wrenching decision to remove the first pumpkin that was pollinated on the 10th. Why? Because the 2nd pumpkin on the same plant pollinated on June 12 was growing quicker at the same "days after pollination". I had hoped that I hadn't made a mistake. The pumpkin I removed was only 15 days old (from pollination) but was already 45 pounds! The other one was 13 days old and was about 28 pounds but gaining size rapidly. At the current age (DAP 13), the 28 pounder was ahead of where the 1,187-pound pumpkin I grew in 2021 was at.
The 45 pounder I removed off of the Emree plant.
On July 4th the two plants were far beyond what I've ever had for July 4. But, what was really amazing was the pumpkin on the "Emree" plant. It was the 22nd day after pollination and the pumpkin taped (measured to convert to a weight) at 227 pounds! What? In the previous 2 days it put on an estimated 57 lbs which was WAY ahead of the 1,187 pound pumpkin I grew in 2021 at DAP 22- Days After Pollination!
I had just sent in a tissue sample (leaf petiole) to get it tested which would tell me what nutrients may or may not have been lacking (intake) for optimal growth. I couldn't imagine being too far off though at that point. Typically, Atlantic Giant Pumpkins will have the greatest weight gains from DAP 25 to DAP 40. Growers of 2,000 lb pumpkins have documented 50 to 60 pound daily gains! What "would have been" the world record pumpkin grown last year weighed 2,908 pounds. It gained 70 pounds a day at one point. BTW, that pumpkin was damaged and couldn't be certified as a record.
On July 13, the "Emree" pumpkin was 31 days old and taped out at 449 pounds! I thought earlier in the week it was maturing as the growth had slowed way down. But it was cloudy and "cool" (and really wet). The previous 3 days the weight gain had accelerated and by then the growth was around 30 pounds/day. The pumpkin at that age did have a lot of orange but hopefully the color was in the genetics since becoming orange can be a sign of maturing. For comparison, the 1,187 lb pumpkin I grew in 2021 at 31 days old was 365 lbs and putting on 20 lbs a day (and was a little later in the growing season). I did notice some squash bugs that morning, so I planned on hitting the plants hard with some "Sevin" later in the afternoon. Even a little bit of insect damage can be detrimental to the growing.
On July 22, it was DAP40 (40 days after pollination) and the 40 day old Emree pumpkin continued it's steady growth. The daily weight gain the previous 9 days (avg 26 lbs/day) was not nearly as much as I would have expected given the early rapid growth. That morning the pumpkin taped out for an estimated weight of 687 pounds.!
In the irrigation injector I did add a new product (a micro-carbon rich soil amendment) from PrairieFood out of Pratt and some copper, sulphur, and phosphorus per recommendation from a tissue sample that was done on the plant. I hadn't noticed any change, at least yet. An issue had crept up that I was not anticipating. The vine feeding the stem of the pumpkin was starting to crease due to the growing size of the pumpkin (see the image). I was torn on trying a risky move - that is get straps and a winch and move the pumpkin forward a couple of inches. I held off on the move but I couldn't wait too long as it gets heavier and heavier. I did, however, have to move the shade tent (as evident in the picture) as the pumpkin was encroaching on the t-posts. Sidenote - the vine instead of completely kinking, shifted back away from the pumpkin which solved the issue.
Unfortunately by August 4th, Mother Nature had taken over the giant pumpkin growing. The previous 8 days had been over 100 degrees (104-106 the past 4). Add to that and Kingman had major power issues the previous 3 days so I hadn't been able to water as much as I should have. Plus, the Emree pumpkin plant started seeing major sun damage, some insect damage, and perhaps blight or another disease. Regardless of the excuses, the giant pumpkin growth had slowed WAY down! At that point, the Emree pumpkin may not make it to 1000 pounds (a goal). The morning of the 4th it taped at an estimated 885 pounds. Keeping in mind that estimating by the length, width, and circumference yields a weight, it could actually be "heavy" - meaning it weighed more than estimated. It sounded solid so hopefully it doesn't weigh light at the scale. The picture below is of the 2nd pumpkin I have growing. It taped that same morning at an estimated weight of 674 pounds. That was growing on a plant originating from my 822 pumpkin that I took to the Kansas State Fair in 2021.
Fast forward to August 16. The previous few weeks had been brutal on the giant pumpkin growing. First it was the long stretch of 100+ temps. Then it was a rapid infestation of aphids. Then weedy grasses exploded that I couldn't get to easily to remove.
Temperatures finally settled down (along with some good rain) and I was able to knock out most of the insects. But the damage was done (to the plants). As a result, the daily weight gain for both pumpkins significantly decreased. Regardless, there was some growth. The Emree pumpkin was up to an estimated 1002 pounds and the second pumpkin was up to an estimated 783 pounds. The Kansas state fair entry date was only 21 days away. Hopefully the Emree pumpkin would hold on (without cracking, splitting, etc.). Of course, more heat was expected again - and potentially a longer duration. Edit: I almost forgot! There was also penny sized hail with one of the thunderstorms that put holes in the pumpkin leaves compounding the stress on the plants!
As of August 30 the pumpkin plants were really being impacted by the heat and more importantly insects (aphids). I had thrown many chemicals at them but didn't seem to be able to impact them much. I noticed some "seeping" at the stem on the Emree pumpkin. I hit it with alcohol, peroxide and some sulfur, along with a fan blowing on it (that had been going for months) to help dry it out. There were also some stress cracks but scared over quickly. Weeding grasses were really exploding but I just couldn't get to them without potentially stepping on vines. I didn't tape (measure the size) of the pumpkins but guessed the Emree pumpkin was around 1,115 pounds and the 822 pumpkin was around 880 pounds.
The Emree pumpkin
The Kansas State Fair entry deadline was only 7 days away as of the 30th! Would the Emree pumpkin hold on for another week without cracking or developing any type of soft spot? Fingers crossed!
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