The 2008 Mound and Patch Preparations are Finished!

Good evening, Growers!

I am very pleased to announce that my patch and mound preparation were completed this early evening AND I am alive to tell you about it!

As I emphasize in the workshops, the biggest pumpkins come from the best prepared soils and mounds. This season, I made a special effort to document the steps that I took to prepare my growing area. As you can see, I used roughly 16 cubic feet of various soil amendments, gypsum, steer manure, and 2 Advils for this year's effort. I also tried to keep hydrated. Even with the late winter rains that have kept the normally very heavy clay soil of Huntington Beach relatively soft, it was a strenuous couple of hours as always.

That's the reason I'm so happy in the final picture. The heavy lifting is done for the season and I know that it will be another year before I do this again!

I look forward to hearing from you and how your mound and patch preparations are progressing!

Stuart