Day 1, Mound 1

The Ingredients, (not pictured: 39, 3 cubic foot bags of Gardner & Bloome Soil Building Compost)

Day 2, Mound 2

Rocky and Joanne Doke, the Gardeners of Mercy, Lifesavers, and Incalculable Help

The Impossible: Two Days, Two Mounds, and 120 Cubic Feet of Soil Amendments!

Good evening, Pumpkinistas!

I am extremely happy to report that the giant pumpkin vines that I'll be growing at the Great Park, as part of my activities as part of the UCCE Master Gardener program, now have a place to grow.

In truly incredible and magical fashion, two square holes, that measured 4' wide, and 5' deep, Saturday, are now completely filled in, replete with mounds about 20" tall.

The odyssey began Saturday afternoon with my arrival at the Great Park, where my elation at finding the two holes dug perfectly was tempered by my discovery that the soil from the holes, (that was to be mixed copious amounts of soil amendments generously donated by Kellogg Garden Products, pelleted sulfur, agricultural lime, and Gardner & Bloome organic fertilizer) was located approximately two football fields away from the holes! (I realized immediately that I need to clarify my instructions in the future.)

So, I began moving the soil back to the holes, mixing it with some of the 40, 3 cubic foot bags of Gardner & Bloome Soil Building Compost, sulfur, lime, and organic fertilizer, and filling up the first hole. It was a truly artisan process to mix up just the right amount of each ingredient and it took more than a few tries to get the process right. Luckily, the weather was cooperating with cool winds and temperatures. As the sun began to set, Mound One was complete! I replaced the orange plastic safety cones, ecstatic that I could still walk, and began mental preparations for Mound Two.

Day Two dawned with me able to get out slowly out of bed. Dressing was a bit of a challenge, since my clothing seemed to have put on an incredible amount of weight overnight. After the morning's workshop at Batavia Garden, including a brief aside about the challenges and final triumph of Mound One, I set out to conquer Mound Two.

I was just putting on the final touches on Mound One, when a white Suburban, driven by Rocky and Joanne Doke, part of the morning's workshop attendees and gardeners of mercy pulled up! I could hardly suppress my tears of joy and thought I might be hallucinating when they began unloading a wheelbarrow and shovels! I think there was some involuntary tearing anyway...

We quickly began the process of filling in the second hole, pausing now and then to chat, document our collective mound-building effprts, and keep hydrated. Before we knew it, we were taking victory pictures, and cleaning up! My gratitude for the Dokes' generous help and sacrifice is indescribable.

Miracles and magical things do happen. (Without them, I would still be working on Mound Two!)

Photo courtesy of Alex and Carmen Morales

In Orange, Orange County, California!

Good evening, Pumpkinistas!

It's always great to be back in Orange County, CA, where I was born, grew up, and still live. This week-end I had the pleasure of presenting at two nurseries that have been part of Pumpkinmania! and the giant pumpkin growing workshops since their beginning, yesterday morning at Orange County Farm Supply, at the invitation of Chris Roy and Ron Goss, and this morning at Batavia Garden, at the invitation of Ron Hamada, very ably assisted by Keiko Kakiuchi, and the Hamada brothers. As always, I had a great time, and it's always a plus to speak to a receptive and friendly home crowd! Long time growers, Alex and Carmen Morales, and Rey and Addie Ceja were in attendance. It was great to see so many familiar and supportive faces.

Thank you all very much for making this week-end so very special.

Some of 500 giant pumpkin seedlings that were given away on Saturday, May 16, 2010!

Dr. Joe Sabol (right), giant pumpkin germinating wizard, gives selection tips to an early workshop arrival.

It was Chick Day at Farm Supply Company!

Some of the great door prizes that were given away by Farm Supply Company!

Some rough-looking, hard-riding, polka-dot wearing, desperadoes managed to attend the workshop!

Workshop attendees carefully select their giant pumpkin seedlings for the 2010 season!

Last thoughts before leaving San Luis Obispo!

I was accosted by a clerk at Santa Barbara Home Improvement Center for...taking pictures!

Interesting take on retailing, limit publicity!

Consequently, I've limited the number of images of their store.

The class clowns are in the front row!

In the 805: San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Carpinteria!

Good afternoon!

Back from a whirlwind week-end in the 805 area code! Lauren, Michelle and I started our epic, first-time, overnight road trip Friday, May 14th departing from South Orange County at 4:30 p.m.. Traffic on the 405 north to the 101 north was pretty challenging. It took us roughly 5 hours to reach Ventura. Fortunately, after a diaper change and dinner, the remainder of the drive was quick. We arrived in Morro Bay about 11:30 p.m..

We had breakfast at Kitty's Diner Saturday morning, and then we drove back to Farm Supply Company, in San Luis Obispo, for the first workshop of the week-end. The Farm Supply Company workshop was highlighted by bumping into Dr. Joe Sabol, giant pumpkin seed germinator supreme, who was dropping off the last giant pumpkin seedlings before officiating a wedding. In addition, I got to meet some of Dr. Sabol's team, which included two additional PhDs! How's that for educational/intellectual firepower! Cara Crye and Jandy Johnson did an excellent job with this year's workshop. Look how happy their workshop attendees were! The Farm Supply Company workshop attendees happily selected their seedlings after the door prize drawing. We enjoyed looking around The Farm Supply Company's chick display and taking pictures of Michelle sitting in a saddle and then we headed south to Carpinteria.

Sunday morning, we headed into Santa Barbara for breakfast at Esau's Cafe' and then drove to Santa Barbara Home Improvement Center. After the workshop at SBHIC, we drove back to Carpinteria, and had just enough time to catch a quick lunch at The Santa Barbara Polo and Racquet Club, http://www.sbpolo.com/. Luckily, we saw some players warming up, and Michelle saw real horses up close for the first time.

It's always great to visit Island View Nursery for any reason, and yesterday was no exception. Katie Sorensen's staff did a wonderful job with the workshop set-up as usual, and the nursery looked great. It did get a bit chilly in the afternoon, which limited attendance some. Still, the attendees that braved the cool weather received some giant pumpkin seedlings and a great tip for dealing with gophers: The Blackhole Rodent trap! One of the veteran workshop attendees (and grower) said that he had trapped 258 gophers to date, and no longer has a problem with them! (Naturally, this rodent trap has been listed on the Giant Pumpkin Growing Resources at the bottom of this website.) The afternoon was topped off by a surprise visit from Chris and Lisa Cullen of the "Garden Gossip" radio show and the owners of Montecito Landscape, http://www.montecitolandscape.com/, celebrating 40 years in business this year!

This week-end I'll be in Orange, CA, so close to home for a change! Hope to see you at either Orange County Farm Supply, 1826 W. Chapman Avenue, (714) 978-6500, http://www.ocfarmsupply.com/, at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, or 10:00 a.m. on Sunday at Batavia Garden, 1730 North Batavia Street, (714) 637-2360. For more details, please visit the March 18, 2010 posting on this website or visit the on-line calendar at http://www.ocregister.com/ and search for events happening May 22nd and May 23rd !

See you soon!

Managing Alternative Pollinators

A Handbook for Beekeepers, Growers, and Conservationists

Good morning!

I received an e-mail announcing the availability of this publication yesterday. I took a quick look and I think that there's valuable and interesting information for giant pumpkin growers that have had pollination issues. It's available FREE as a download and there's print format available as well for $23.50 + $5.95 shipping and handling.

From the e-mail description:

"During the past 50 years, America has witnessed an almost 50 percent decline in the number of managed honey bee colonies. With two-thirds of the world's crops requiring pollination, beekeepers and growers are seeking pollination alternatives and ways to bring honey bees back from the brink.


Managing Alternative Pollinators: A Handbook for Beekeepers, Growers and Conservationists is a first-of-its-kind, step-by-step, full-color guide for rearing and managing bumble bees, mason bees, leafcutter bees and other bee species that provide pollination alternatives to the rapidly declining honey bee.


Written by Eric Mader of the Xerces Society Pollinator Conservation Program; Professor of Entomology Marla Spivak; and Elaine Evans, author of Befriending Bumble Bees, the book includes expert information on the business and biology of pollination, and how-to guidance on raising the alternative bee species.


The book is ideal for:


Beekeepers: Detailed information on each alternative pollinator's biology, disease, pest and chemical susceptibility, and step-by-step instructions on how to rear and manage.

Growers: Guidance for understanding the business of pollination, matching pollinators to crops, and deciding how best to pollinate for successful agriculture and pollinator protection.


Concerned Citizens: Easy-to-understand accounts of the honey bee's plight, the business of pollination, and what we all can do to protect pollinators and our food systems.


Download SARE's Managing Alternative Pollinators for free at www.sare.org/publications/pollinators.htm . To order print copies ($23.50 plus $5.95 s/h) visit www.sare.org/WebStore, call 301/374-9696 or write to SARE Outreach, PO Box 753, Waldorf, Maryland 20604-0753. (Please specify title requested when ordering by mail.) Allow 3-4 weeks for delivery. Call 301/374-9696 for more information on bulk, rush or international shipments."