Mound One, 7 Days Old

Mound Two, 7 Days Old

7 Days Old: The Seedlings at The Great Park of Orange County

Good morning, Pumpkinistas!

Here are pictures from yesterday of the giant pumpkin seedlings that are planted at the Great Park as part of my activities as an active University of California Cooperative Extension Certified Master Gardener.

They are now about one week old, and, you can see from my previous pictures, are healthy and growing very rapidly.

You'll note that the seedlings in Mound One have longer stems than the seedlings in Mound Two. I think this is purely a function of height of the box that I used to protect the seedlings with in Mound One. The seedlings in Mound Two are sturdier and more compact. I used a shorter box to protect them. So, I cut the Mound One box height down, roughly 4"-5". Hopefully, with greater access to sunlight, the seedlings in Mound One will develop sturdier stems and become less leggy. Fortunately, this early in the season, it's a minor adjustment. But, it does demonstrate why you should check on your seedlings and (eventually vines) regularly.

The great staff at the Great Park will be putting up a chicken wire fence around the mounds to protect the seedlings from rabbits and other critters soon. I'll also be installing a watering system soon.