Fred Hoffman and me just before going on the air.

Growers Brave the Rain at Sierra Nursery!

Good evening, Pumpkinistas!

The Sacramento portion of the world tour began this morning with an appearance with Fred "Farmer Fred" Hoffman at 8:45 a.m.. It was great meeting Fred, and I even got a great tip to use tomato cages to grow peppers. More on the pepper project in a later entry...

Rex Lamb of Kellogg Garden Products and I then drove through the driving rain to be pleasantly surprised by an enthusiastic group at Sierra Nursery, in Roseville, CA. That's Rex standing in the back of the picture wearing the black jacket, with the cap and beard. The rain continued through the workshop, but the hard-core growers were not to be denied. It warmed my heart to see a number of attendees rushing out of the parking lot to get home to start soaking their seeds. Thank you very much for coming out in the inclement weather to hear about growing giant pumpkins!