Gary Tovey in Dana Point, CA: On The Cusp of Greatness

Good evening, Pumpkinistas!

I have just received the following update from Gary Tovey of Dana Point, CA:

"Hi Stuart,

Thanks for your very fun and informative workshop at Batavia Gardens!

The seeds you gave me germinated nicely and I have four really nice looking seedlings ready to go in the ground. Two extra large holes are awaiting planting tomorrow. Now I just have to decide which two seedlings to go with and which two go in the compost pile.I'll keep you posted as things progress.

Thanks again,

Gary"

Here's my reply:

Hi Gary!

Thank you VERY much for your update! Nice job on germinating your seeds. I think you might be surprised, given your recent experience, that one of the biggest challenges of commercial pumpkin growers is seed germination. I have a suggestion. Plant two seedlings per mound, and cull down to one plant in 10-20 days. The remaining seedling for each of your mounds will be much healthier because of the early competition with the other, 'sacrificial' seedling.

This way, you can use all of your seedlings for good purposes, and let nature decide which ones will remain. It's a little Darwinian, but it makes good sense.

Have a great evening, and thank you very much again for your update! Two mounds is ambitious!

Take care,
Stuart