Let's Luau!

Images of The 2008 Patch Tour & Full Moon Party & Luau

Good morning, Growers!

Forty or so dedicated and moonstruck giant pumpkin growers, friends, relatives and neighbors from Canada to San Juan Capistrano participated in The 2008 Patch Tour & Full Moon Party & Luau yesterday.

From top to bottom, Jen Van Diest's patch was an impressive display of some very large, still growing pale pumpkins. Then it was time to head north!

To the strains of The Sons of Makaha and Martin Denny, tour particpants gathered at Michelle Lofthouse's Autumn Leaf Farm in Monrovia to enjoy delicious potluck contributions that ranged from Hawaiian tacos, to sushi, to barbecued teriyaki, the maiden dish on Michelle's never-used barbecue. Natalie aka 'Noodles', Michelle's Clydesdale, provided much of the evening's entertainment, greeting all party-goers with a friendly sniff and many photo oppurtunities. After the sun went down, and the tiki torches were and lanterns lit, the giant pumpkin faithful were treated to a spectacular full moon viewing.

Michelle's pumpkins were awe-inspiring to all, and now all attendees know what it means to bury your vines.

A huge mahalo nui loa to all that made last night's event a huge and fun success!

Aloha!

Stuart

Inside the Gourd Tunnel

Grown to celebrate The 2008 Patch Tour & Full Moon Party & Luau!

A Mere Sampling of the Crop

Overhead watering system

Outside the 30 Foot Gourd Tunnel

Highlights of The Fullerton Arboretum's Pumpkin Patch!

Good evening, Growers!

I had an opportunity to visit the Fullerton Arboretum's pumpkin patch this afternoon. It's a real treat. The management and staff at the Fullerton Arboretum www.fullertonarboretum.org obviously dedicated themselves to the creation of a very unique experience for tour participants. There's even a patch of Full Moon pumpkins grown to celebrate the 2008 Patch Tour & Full Moon Party & Luau! Eat your heart out Beijing!

Head left after you enter the arboretum and follow the signs. Be sure to explore the enchanting 30 Foot Gourd Tunnel near the Children's Garden.

Have fun!

Hope at 330 pounds

Good afternoon, Growers!

Well, I followed my own instructions. Yes, I put up a small shelter over Hope. This year, fruit set in a relatively shady area of the patch, so until now, shade hasn't been necessary. The only time the sun is shining directly on the pumpkin is noon.

A few growers have remarked that it looks like my leaves are still green and untainted with powdery mildew. Nothing could be further from the truth. (The key is normally taking pictures in the late afternoon or early evening.) The dreaded fungus is aggressively attacking all leaf surfaces.

David Ross, Garden Doctor!

Good evening, Growers!

The Masters & Institutional Division of Pumpkinmania has been a lonely place the last few competitions. This season has changed everything. This is David Ross' giant pumpkin in San Diego. David, as you will recall, is the manager of Walter Andersen Nursery, in Poway, CA.

Well done!

Michelle's Grower's Diary

Good evening, Growers!

You can keep up with the progress of Michelle Lofthouse through her Grower Diary at http://www.bigpumpkins.com/ under the grower name 'Autumnleaf'. I've posted a couple of her pictures above. I strongly suggest you review Michelle's comments.

Jen at Blue Hills Nursery: Monster in the Making...

Good evening, Pumpkinistas!

This photo update just in from Jen at Blue Hills Nursery and more at: http://www.bluehills.com/news/8/32/

Happy viewing!

Hope at 300!

Good afternoon, Pumpkinistas!

Hope's dimensions this afternoon are: 68" from stem to blossom, 75" from side to side, and 98" in circumference, for a total of 241", 303 pounds. (I had to use the special, extra-long giant pumpkin measuring tape.)

Powdery mildew has raised its ugly head again. I've been spraying with GreenCure, and it's helped slow the spread. The recent humidity is also a factor.

Caprice in Sacramento and her Big Guy

Good evening, Pumpkinistas!

Caprice near Sacramento is having a great season! Here are a couple of images (gallery at: http://adobe.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=uu1gjed.8p25gzh&Uy=-ky1ywj&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0&UV=577184201005_58300829613&localeid=en_US) and her update and comments:

"Hi Stuart,

I attended your seminar on Superbowl Sunday at Sierra Nursery in Rocklin, California. I have been obsessed with Giant Pumpkins ever since! My children and I have been having a lot of fun with this new adventure and I have you to thank for it. I am sending you a few photos of my BIG GUY. I just looked at your blogspot and just in time because I have been trying to figure out how to calculate the weight and have been hitting a brick wall. I will keep in touch with you on my progress and if you have any suggestions I would appreciate it.

Caprice"

Hi, Caprice!

Thank you very much for your update and pictures! I really have no suggestions except keep having fun, and keep doing whatever you've been doing. (I have a feeling, by studying your pictures pretty carefully, that you followed the workshop hand-out pretty closely.)

Bravo!

Stuart

August 4, 2008

August 4, 2008

August 4, 2008

July 14, 2008

Doris Doesn't Disappoint!

Good evening, Growers!

An update and pictures of his mother's giant pumpkin from Karl Schaeffer in Carlsbad:

"Hi Stuart,

Back in April, you posted “Karl Schaeffer, pictured in the cap in the first row, will be recruiting his mother this season.” Well, how do I say this… you kind put some pressure on mom. Fortunately she is not disappointing us. Here are some pics….

Grower: Doris Schaeffer
Location: Carlsbad, CA

Enjoy,
Karl"

Hi Karl!,

I am always glad to help persuade a potential giant pumpkin grower to try it! I am impressed. Great looking pumpkin!

MJ in Norwalk's Vine Update

Good evening, Growers,

Here's the latest from MJ in Norwalk:

"Dear Stuart,

These are the vines at my school in Norwalk. The biggest one came from the seedling I won from you. It grew 3 feet within 5 days last week. The others were started with seeds directly in the ground. They were planted around June 20th....a late start. There are flowers but I don't know if any were pollinated.....they did have bees and bugs inside----so hopefully! It is soooo fun watching them!"

Indeed it is! Thank you for sending your images and update!

Hope at 250...

Good afternoon, Pumpkinistas,

Another 72 hours have passed. Hope continues to grow, albeit at a slower rate than in July. Here are some images from this afternoon for your amusement.

Today's warmer weather certainly helped!

Stuart

Secret pumpkin people meet during the full moon - Homebody - OCRegister.com

Cindy Mc Natt of The Orange County Register's a giant pumpkin fan going back to the early days! Thank you very much, Cindy!

An Update and Greetings from Janni in Germany!

Good morning, Growers!

The interest and fun growing giant pumpkins is global! I a few seeds to Janni earlier in the season, and here are great results:

"Hi Stuart,

Here sometimes fast a picture of 1010 Daletas. I thank to you so much for the Seed. The best greetings to all Pumpkinistas. Over and over again a nice site.

A lot of luck to all.

Janni from Germany"

Vielen danke fur die Fotos! Ganz toll, Janni!

Meanwhile, back at the rancho, Russ and Christy

Good afternoon, Pumpkinistas!

This update and pictures were received from Russ and Christy, part of Team 6 at the patch complex of Rancho Mission Viejo, San Juan Capistrano:

"Hi Stuart,

Well July was an exciting month for team 6 "Calabaza Vaqueros". We had to show you all of the crazy products that are "growing" in our shed. The white pumpkin is on plant #1 (1157 K. Companion) it was pollinated 6-27 the circumference is 84" for a weight gain of 171 pounds in July. The orange pumpkin is plant #3 pollinated 6-16 the circumference is 110" (over 9' around) for a weight of 337 pounds. This pumpkin gained 296 pounds in July. This pumpkin is slowing down to about 6 pounds per day. Powdery Mildew appeared this week on the plants. We are trying Green Cure applied with a garden sprayer to combat this plant killer. All growers should be ready to spray at first sight of Powdery Mildew.

Congratulations on the nice pumpkin, Stuart!

Calabaza Vaqueros,

Russ"

Thank you very much for your update! (What's in the JD bottle?) Well done on a great season!

Stuart