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A Great Workshop at The Huntington!

Good evening, Growers!

Over 30 experienced, new and potential giant pumpkin growers attended today's workshop at The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino! Fortunately, nearly every workshop attendee went home with a giant pumpkin seedling so I think that there will be a few more entries in October! I want to extend a very big thank you to Hannah Palmer and her staff and Mae Powell for her ongoing enthusiasm and support.

In addition to hosting a giant pumpkin workshop again, The Huntington will be the site of at least one and possibly two vines this season! So look for it/them during your next visit.

The grounds are spectacular this time of year, so I encourage all of you to visit The Huntington when you're in or around Pasadena.

Next week-end is a busy one. Next Saturday, May 19th, at 10:00 a.m., I'll be speaking at Orange County Farm Supply. Next Sunday, May 20th, at 11:00 a.m., I'll be speaking for the first time, at Green Thumb International in Lake Forest. The seedlings for these workshops are presently dominating the living room and top of the refrigerator.

Hope to see you then!

Stuart

Bountiful Seedling Crop for The Huntington!

Good evening, Growers!

I've been busy in the giant pumpkin laboratory the last week! Here are some of the seedlings that have been germinated for tomorrow's workshop at The Huntington Library and Gardens in San Marino, starting at 11:00 a.m., www.huntington.org . I plan to give-away at least 30 "pedigreed" giant pumpkin seedlings at the conclusion of tomorrow's event.

Have a pleasant evening!

Stuart

Plant Depot: Set to Grow!

Good afternoon, Growers!

Yesterday's workshop was highlighted by some of the best questions ever posed by a workshop attendee and the commitment of Suzanne at Plant Depot to grow a giant pumpkin seedling and hopefully a giant pumpkin over the next 3-4 months!

Next Saturday's workshop will be held at The Huntington Library, 11:00 a.m. www.huntington.org, and there will be many seedlings to give away for door prizes. For reservations, please call: (626) 405-2104.

Have a great week!

Stuart

Plant Depot's Workshop Seedlings Are Looking Very Good!

Good evening, Pumpkinistas!

Here are some shots of the seedlings that will be given away (and one or two planted) at Pant Depot this Saturday morning!

The conditions for germinating seeds have been perfect. The average germination time has been 3 days, and the germination rate has been 90%+.

Have a great evening!

Stuart

Cedros Gardens: An Outstanding Workshop!

Good evening, Growers!

Record attendance was set at Cedros Gardens' www.cedrosgardens.com workshop Saturday morning! A big thank you to Mia Mc Carville and her staff for all of their support and hard work. Thank you to Diane Mc Fadden and her group for their ongoing persistence and attendance! Karl Schaeffer is leading the giant pumpkin growing contingent at Qualcomm, and has already distributed seeds there.

We had about 25 attendees by the time the workshop began at 10:00 a.m.. There were a number of great questions and I am encouraged that this will translate into some big pumpkins this fall. Fifteen pedigreed seedlings were given away as prizes which should also help!

In fact, I gave Mia a spare seedling to plant on the rear hill area of Cedros Gardens.

Good luck to all of the attendees and seedling winners!

Next workshop and seedling planting will be this Saturday at Plant Depot in San Juan Capistrano!

See you then!

Stuart

The First Seedlings of 2007

Good afternoon, Pumpkinistas!

I thought you might be wondering what the just germinating seeds of two days ago look like.

I placed them outside on the patio right after they germinated to keep them compact and reduce leggy stems.

Have a great afternoon,

Stuart

Germination Happens!

Good afternoon, Growers!

Good news! There will be seedlings for the drawing this Saturday at Cedros Gardens!

At this time, it looks like a minimum of three, but I am hoping for many more seeds to sprout. These seeds were planted April 19th, so 5 days so far.

Have a great afternoon!

Stuart

Germinating Seeds

Good afternoon, Growers!

Here's what giant pumpkin seed germinating looks like in the lab. These seeds were soaked overnight and then planted April 20th.

The cold weather is making it difficult for the seedling mats to keep above 7o F..

Have a great afternoon,

Stuart

Garden Gossip Radio Interview, Sunday April 22nd, 6:00 p.m.!

Good afternoon, Growers and Radio Listeners!

I am very pleased to let you know that tomorrow at 6:00 p. m., California time, you'll be able to listen to a great radio interview with the Lisa Cullen and Bob Burton of the "Garden Gossip" program from Santa Barbara's New-Press radio AM 1290. Just go to http://www.newspress.com/ and look for the link at the top left side on their website. This is a replay of the live interview that was broadcast about growing giant pumpkins on Friday, April 20th at 11:15 a.m.. It was great fun and I'll be speaking again on "Garden Gossip", June 1st, on the eve of the workshop that I'll be giving at Island View Nursery on Saturday, June 2nd, at 11:00 a.m.. Thank you very much to Lisa and Bob for such a great program!

The seeds for Cedros Gardens workshop on April 28th's seedlings are being germinated! These are the first seedlings of the 2007 growing season to be started, so I am particularly happy to begin the cycle. There are a number of stand-out seeds in this group...

Yesterday and today's rains are making digging as easy as it is likely to get this year.

So, why not get your hole and mound dug and done?

Have a great week-end!

Stuart

Island View Nursery, Carpinteria Added to The 2007 World Tour!

Good afternoon, Growers!

I am very happy to inform you that Island View Nursery, www.islandviewnursery.com, 3376 Foothill Road, Carpinteria, CA 93013 (805) 684-0324, will be hosting an "Extreme Gardening: How to Grow a 500 Pound Giant Pumpkin Workshop", Saturday, June 2, 2007 at 11:00 a.m.! This is the first workshop to be given in Santa Barbara County.

We may conduct a live giant pumpkin seedling transplanting as part of this workshop!

Here's an updated schedule of the remaining 2007 giant pumpkin growing workshops:

Saturday, April 28, 10:00 a.m., Cedros Gardens, 330 South Cedros Avenue, Solana Beach, 92075 (858) 792-8640 http://www.cedrosgardens.com/

Saturday, May 5, 10:00 a.m., Plant Depot, 33413 San Juan Creek Road, San Juan Capistrano, 92675 (949) 240-2107 http://www.plantdepot.com/

Saturday, May 12, 11:00 a.m., The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens, 1151 Oxford, San Marino, 91108 (626) 405-2104 http://www.huntington.org/ (Workshop price: $15 adult, $10 child grower.)

Saturday, May 19, 10:00 a.m., Orange County Farm Supply, 1826 West Chapman Avenue, Orange, 92868 (714) 978-6500 http://www.ocfarmsupply.com/

Sunday, May 20, 11:00 a.m., Green Thumb, 23782 Bridger Road, Lake Forest, 92630 (949) 837-3040 www.greenthumb.com

Saturday, June 2, 11:00 a.m., Island View Nursery, 3376 Foothill Road, Carpinteria, CA 93013 (805) 684-0324 www.islandviewnursery.com

Have a great afternoon!

Stuart

The Batavia Garden Workshop & The Mound in Repose

Good afternoon, Pumpkinistas!

Thank you to Ron, Keiko, and Kathy at Batavia Garden and all of the great growers that braved the cold weather this morning to attend the workshop! It was great to see some familiar faces, and some first-time growers too! Good luck!

Next up is Cedros Gardens on Saturday, April 28th at 10:00 a.m.!

I thought you might like to see what my mound looks like this season. It's roughly 5 feet in diameter, 2 feet tall. The green plant that surronds the mound is the red medium clover I planted in February as a 'green manure'. I'll dig it next month, after the seedling is planted.

Have a great afternoon!

Stuart

The Secret Weapon: The Mound is Ready!

Good afternoon, Growers!

I am very happy to report that I made good use of today's cool weather to dig the hole and prepare my mound for the 2007 season! It was a lot easier this year to get deep because of my secret weapon, a special 7' tall trenching shovel I picked up at a gardening show. The weight of the shovel did most of the digging! E-mail me if you'd like more details about it.

The typical clay soil of Huntington Beach in early April is still moist enough to carve out a reasonable hole. I got down to 4' 9" deep, 2' diameter, digging up some clover in the process. Then, I mixed some Bumper Crop, Black Forest soil amendments, and manure with the dirt from the hole, and put it back into the hole. The finished mound is about 2 1/2' tall, and 5' in diameter.

I hope that we get some rain to settle the mound some before mid-May!

Anybody else digging their holes or making any planting preparations?

Have a great week-end!

Stuart

A Fun Day at Laguna Hills Nursery!

Good afternoon, Growers!

Today's workshop at Laguna Hills Nursery lasted 30 minutes longer than scheduled because of some great questions! Thank you to everyone who attended the workshop and Gary Matsuoka and his great staff!

Please look carefully at the pictures of the attendees. There are some really happy people in them, particularly the bottom picture.

Plus, note the Pumpkinmania T-shirt of the gentleman seated nearest to the camera in the middle picture! The middle picture was taken by Ron Sallinger, winner of best colored pumpkin 2006, and a long-time Pumpkinmania! supporter and contestant.

Have a great afternoon!

Stuart

Pacific Giant Vegetable Growers...

Good evening, Growers!

I thought I'd share a great resource with you: The Pacific Giant Vegetable Growers. They're a great group of people and very experienced: www.pgvg.org

The images above are from one of their giant pumpkin regattas.

I'll be in touch,

Stuart

Mound Preparation: A Different Perspective

Hello, Pumpkinistas!

It's getting very close to that time. In fact, it makes sense to start digging the hole while the ground is still reasonably soft.

So, I thought I would post a cross-section sketch of what an ideal mound looks like.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to rotate the image.

The depth of the hole is 4', four feet, minimum diameter is 2', two feet, the wider the better. The height of the mound is 2 1/2', two and a half feet, and diameter is 6', six feet. It will need a minimum of 9-12 cubic feet of soil amendments/organic matter. The spiral represents a soaker hose.

Aloha,

Stuart

Blue Hills Nursery Workshop Goes Well!

Good evening, Growers!

The first "Extreme Gardening: How to Grow a 500-Pound Pumpkin" workshop of the season hosted by Blue Hills Nursery in Whittier went well. Thank you very much for attending! There were many excellent questions asked by the attendees which always makes the experience that more productive. Ty, Toby, and Giselle from Kellogg Garden Products and Dr. Earth were on hand to lend support.

I also appreciate everyone who stayed late and let me know about their experiences last season! Apparently there is a group of engineers interested in putting a video camera/PumpkinCam on one of their vines, so the progress can be monitored in real-time! They suggested a link to this website: I say absolutely.

Next up, this Saturday morning, 10:00 a.m. at Laguna Hills Nursery, 25290 Jeronimo Road, Lake Forest, (949) 830-5653. A plus: Karla, my 406-pounder from last October is still on display.

Have a great week!
Stuart

A Big Thank You to John Gerdes!

Good evening, Pumpkinistas!

I wanted to thank John Gerdes for his most generous donation of various, "pedigreed" 'Atlantic Giant', giant pumpkin seeds! Thanks to John, some lucky workshop attendees will be going home with some truly outstanding seedlings this season. John almost donated his Wallace 1,502 seed. (Yes, that's the world-record pumpkin from last year.) Then, I awoke.

Thank you very much, John!

Sincerely,

Stuart

Green Thumb, International Added to The World Tour!

Good evening, Growers!

I am happy to announce that Green Thumb, International, www.greenthumb.com will be participating as host for a giant pumpkin growing workshop, Sunday, May 20, 2007 at 11:00 a.m., at 23782 Bridger Road, Lake Forest, 92630. (I have updated the workshop schedule of March 6, 2007.)

This is the first time Green Thumb is hosting a workshop, so I am going to make sure that there are plenty of "thoroughbred" giant pumpkin seedlings for prizes.

The medium red clover I planted last month is doing well. The growth is a little spotty, but I am pleased with the results so far.

Have a great evening!

Stuart

GreenCure Organic Fungicide New Pumpkinmania Sponsor!

Pumpkinistas!

I am very pleased to announce that GreenCure Organic Fungicide is a new sponsor of Pumpkinmania. This product came to my attention when I saw it on a website last year. As you know, powdery mildew is one of the biggest challenges growing gaint pumpkins in Southern California, particularly along the coast.

It's been used 9 years by commercial growers. Plus it's the creation of Dr. Ken Horst, a plant pathologist at my alma mater, Cornell University. That's credibility.

GreenCure will be available in 8 ounce jars from Orange County Farm Supply (in 7-10 days), 1826 West Chapman Avenue, Orange, CA 92868, (714) 978-6500, www.ocfarmsupply.com. Call first (ask for Chris) to make sure it's arrived.

This could be the cultivation break-through we've been seeking!

Aloha,

Stuart

Plant Depot Added to The World Tour!

Good evening, Growers!

I am very happy to inform you that Plant Depot will be hosting a giant pumpkin growing workshop this season!

So, here's the 2007 "Extreme Gardening: How to Grow a 500-Pound Pumpkin Workshop" World Tour:

• Sunday, March 25, 12:00 p.m., Blue Hills Nursery, 16440 East Whittier Boulevard, Whittier, 90603 (562) 947-2106 http://www.bluehills.com/

• Saturday, March 31, 10:00 a.m., Laguna Hills Nursery, 25290 Jeronimo Road, Lake Forest, 92630 (949) 830-5653 http://www.lagunahillsnursery.com/

• Sunday, April 15, 10:00 a.m., Batavia Garden, 1730 North Batavia Street, Orange, 92865 (714) 637-2360

• Saturday, April 28, 10:00 a.m., Cedros Gardens, 330 South Cedros Avenue, Solana Beach, 92075 (858) 792-8640 http://www.cedrosgardens.com/

• Saturday, May 5, 10:00 a.m., Plant Depot, 33413 San Juan Creek Road, San Juan Capistrano, 92675 (949) 240-2107 http://www.plantdepot.com/

• Saturday, May 12, 11:00 a.m., The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens, 1151 Oxford, San Marino, 91108 (626) 405-2104 http://www.huntington.org/ (Workshop is included in the price of admission.)

• Saturday, May 19, 10:00 a.m., Orange County Farm Supply, 1826 West Chapman Avenue, Orange, 92868 (714) 978-6500 http://www.ocfarmsupply.com/

• Sunday, May 20, 11:00 a.m., Green Thumb, 23782 Bridger Road, Lake Forest, 92630 (949) 837-3040 www.greenthumb.com

Workshops are free to the gardening public and range from 60 to 90 minutes, depending on questions and answers. All attendees will receive a packet of 'Atlantic Giant' giant pumpkin seeds, detailed written instructions, and a Giant Pumpkin Grower's Journal. Depending on germination rates and the growing season, giant pumpkin seedlings are given away to workshop attendees as prizes. To reserve a seat, please contact the venue where you'd like to attend directly. There are seating limitations, so please contact the workshop location you would like to attend soon! Thank you very much!

The medium red clover (trifolium pratense) I planted February 17th, germinated, and has been growing nicely in spite of the kooky early spring weather we've been having.

Hope to see you at a workshop!

Stuart

The Huntington Library, Art Galleries and Botanical Gardens...

Good evening, Growers!

I have very good news. The Huntington Library, Art Galleries and Botanical Gardens, in San Marino, will be hosting a giant pumpkin growing workshop Saturday morning from 11:00 a.m.-12:00 noon, May 12th, 2007. So, please mark your calendars. Good evening!

Stuart

Cedros Gardens in again this season!

Good afternoon, Growers!

Great news! I am just off the phone with Mia McCarville of Cedros Gardens, and we've chosen Saturday, April 28, 2007, 10:00 a.m. for this year's giant pumpkin growing workshop. Cedros Gardens is located at 330 South Cedros Avenue, Solana Beach, CA 92075. For more information about Cedros please visit their website at: www.cedrosgardens.com

Please save the date if you're in South Orange County or North San Diego County. The good news is that I should have plenty 'thoroughbred' giant pumpkin seedlings to give away at this workshop, so plan on doing some excavating in case you win one!

Have a great week-end,

Stuart

More Workshops for this Spring!

Good afternoon, Growers!

I have a couple of more workshops to add to the schedule this afternoon!

I) Laguna Hills Nursery, Saturday, March 31, 2007, 10:00 a.m., 25290 Jeronimo Road, Lake Forest, CA 92630, (949) 830-5653, www.lagunahillsnursery.com

II) Batavia Garden, Sunday, April 15, 2007, 10:00 a.m., 1730 North Batavia Street, Orange, CA 92865, (714) 637-2360

Note: I have a very promising innovation that I hope will help the Southern California giant pumpkin growing hopeful achieve better results this season.

Have a great afternoon!

Stuart

New Workshop Location: Blue Hills Nursery, Whittier!

Good afternoon, Growers!

Great news for Los Angeles and North Orange County growers, I am very happy to announce this season's latest workshop location: Blue Hills Nursery, 16440 East Whittier Boulevard, Whittier, CA 90603, (562) 947-2106, ask for Jennifer Van Diest. It's scheduled for Sunday , March 25, at 12:00 p.m. noon. Blue Hills Nursery has been in business since 1950, and is a landmark and destination nursery.

So, please mark your calendars, and I'll see you there!

Sincerely,

Stuart