Team Linus: On The Move!

Good morning, Pumpkinistas!

I received this great photo chronicle from Andrew Godfrey of Kellogg Garden Products' Ontario giant pumpkin cultivation effort, Team Linus.

I was informed that the pumpkin pictured above of July 13th, is about the size of a basketball and that the next step will be the crucial and often precarious pallett placement operation.

More pictures will follow!

Lockeford North Stars: It takes a village and a fire hose!

Good afternoon, Pumpkinistas!

Have you noticed that the quality, quantity of the images and content is greatly improved this season? I have. Here's a prime example. I just received these outstanding photos and update from Kellogg Garden Products' Lockeford, CA giant pumpkin growing team and vine from Todd Slinde. Here's what's happening:

"Hi!

The entire Northern California (North Stars) team was at our Lockeford facility this week. High on the agenda was to check out the giant pumpkin progress. Attached are a couple of pictures.The pumpkin is doing great! Thank you for all your advice and expertise! You'll notice it is watered by a fire hose.

Take care,

Todd Slinde PhD"

The fire hose is pure genius!

Mike McLain: Round Two!

Good morning, Pumpkinistas!

These images of July 12, 2009, and update are from Mike McLain, one of the managers at Kellogg Garden Products in Northern Nevada. After an early canine-related setback, he has the following to report:

"Dear Stuart,

I have included photos of my second go-round at planting pumpkins. The first one was discovered by my dogs and they love fish bone meal (which this 4'x4'x4' hole probably had 22# and they found it!! This time I got a temporary fence around it and it is doing wonderful.

Thanks for all your information on starting and growing giant pumpkins.

Mike McLain"

Persistence is the key to success! Very strong looking plants, sturdy stems, and very green leaves. I think that this just might be the beginning of a new Nevada state record!

Pumpkin Pollination Resources

Good morning, Pumpkinstas!

The most recent issue of California Agriculture (July-September 2009) magazine, http://californiaagriculture.ucanr.org/ has a fascinating article titled "Native bees are a rich natural resource in urban California gardens". This article is invaluable for giant pumpkin growers who are curious about bee pollination, and how to attract native bees.

The article also includes some additonal resources that I think you will find very helpful:

North American Pollinator Protection Campaign: http://www.pollinator.org/

Urban Bee Gardens: http://nature.berkeley.edu/urbanbeegardens

The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation:

http://www.xerces.org/

Happy researching!

Rex Lamb's Vines!

Good morning, Pumpkinistas!

The Orange Revolution continues apace! I received these pictures of Rex Lamb's vines this morning. Rex is a territory manager for Kellogg Garden Products in the Sacramento-Modesto, CA area, and a first-year grower. As you can see, his plant has escaped any powdery mildew and insect damage so far this season.

Martha Treadway Visits the Orange County Fair and the Santa Ana Zoo!

Good morning, Pumpkinistas!

It's fair time! Martha Treadway has been a very busy educator and pumpkin grower! Martha sent in these pictures from the Orange County Fair, happening now, and the Santa Ana Zoo:

"Hi Stuart,

One of these pictures shows the entries for the Giant Pumpkin contest at the OC Fair. It was for 'Big Mac' pumpkins. I guess these must have been from last year's crop and kept 'safe'. The Fair is also giving away free seeds!

The other picture is a vine that is growing at the Santa Ana Zoo! I wish I could say that I planted it, but it was the Master Gardeners. However, I will take credit for talking to the Zoo Manager, Kent Yamaguchi, since last fall and encouraging this venture. Anyone visiting the Santa Zoo will be able to see it in the Crean Family Farm near the train station. Pumpkinmania is spreading!"

A big thank you to Martha for helping the cause!

Eric Vossbrink: 50 pounds!

Good morning, Pumpkinistas!

My apologies to Eric Vossbrink in San Diego! Eric had e-mailed me July 2nd with his update, and I missed it!

"Stuart-

The pumpkin is starting to ripen this week. It’s creamy orange and has excellent shape. My estimate is that it about 50-60# right now and may peak at 100# maybe a little smaller. The rest of the garden is thriving however and insects are keeping the place a buzz with activity.

Seen here: http://erichasissues.wordpress.com/2009/07/02/shots-from-the-garden-and-a-pumpkin-update/"

Thanks for your patience, Eric!

Gary Tovey: Balancing Act

Good morning, Pumpkinistas!

The Orange Revolution continues! These pictures of a very clever and innovative way of planting and watering giant pumpkin vines were sent in by Gary Tovey. Note the path/configuration of Gary's soaker hoses. Judging by how green and healthy his plants are, it seems to be working very well.

"Hi Stuart,

Here's a few shots from our pumpkin patch. We have a pumpkin mound at each end with 2 plants in each. They seem to be doing well so far. We'll be thinning down to one plant in each mound shortly. We got a really late start, hopefully there's enough sunny days left in the season to grow something big.We've got some corn and tomatoes going too, we'll have to wait and see how everyone gets along.

Gary"

Bravo!

Back to Glazier Elementary School!

Good morning, Pumpkinistas!

Martha Treadway, the instructor at Glazier Elementary School that arranged for a giant pumpkin workshop and transplanting on May 7th, sent in these pictures of their vines on July 10th, and an update:

"Hi Stuart,

Thought we should update you on how our vines are doing at Glazier School. The biggest vine has 5 pumpkins on it so far.....we probably won't cut any off because we like getting LOTS of pumpkins. The 2 longest vines are those you planted during the workshop. The smallest vine is one I started in April---a whole month before the May workshop. We think it had a 'late start' because it didn't get into the ground until the end of May. There were 2 in that peat pot, but only one is taking off.

Our only problem so far, is the grasshopper munching on leaves....and possibly a gopher or mole tunneling around the garden. However, we have 3 'resident' Cooper hawks in nearby trees so they may take care of the critter.

Congratulations on your LEED. My brother, who is an architect in Florida and a 'pumpkinmania', also took that test (and passed). I am told that the test is very intense and geared so that only 30% pass on the first try! (He was studying since January!)

So, again, congratulations!

Martha"

Jim Fredricks: Back from the hospital, back in the fray!

Good morning, Pumpkinistas!

If you look in the dictionary under giant pumpkin dedication, the name Jim Fredricks should appear.

"Stuart,

Here are a few pictures. I had a hard couple weeks, ended up in the hospital for 4 days with a bacterial infection in my gut. Patch took some neglect, but survived. I'm doing better but still gaining my strength. Looks like my hopes of a monster will go unfulfilled this year unfortunately. Pumpkin just wants to grow slow and steady. We'll still grow it as big as we can get, but there is always next year's hope for a monster. The pumpkin is day 26, gaining around 18 to 20 lbs a day.

I would need to be over 30 lbs a day for that special fruit!

Hope all is well!

Jim"

Hope you are 100% again very soon, Jim!

Dispatch from Todd Slinde, PhD!

Good morning, Pumpkinistas!

I have a special treat this morning. Todd Slinde, one of the senior managers at Kellogg Garden Products, and frequent workshop attendee, finally succumbed to growing a giant pumpkin this year. After suffering an early, puppy-related setback, Todd regrouped, and sent in these pictures of his vine and very impressive sunflowers.

From Todd:

Summer greetings!

Here are some long overdue promised pictures for you of my Giant Pumpkin Plant.

A beautifully organically amended and fertilized hole (Kellogg, Gardner & Bloome and Dr. Earth of course!), with the help of my growing partner Adam, is producing good results so far. If you’ll remember my first attempt on the full moon of May 9, the seedlings were dug up by my son’s new Boxer/German Shepherd Mix puppy named Bailey. More seeds were planted and transplanted on June 3rd. These are the pictures of that plant.

I planted a mix of various sunflowers around the plant for three reasons:

I love sunflowers and it adds to that summer / fall feel.

To distract the puppy. It worked the puppy did dig up two sunflower plants but never touched the new pumpkin plant.

The bees love sunflowers and I am hoping that having them near by will attract enough for good pollination of the pumpkin.

There is plenty of sun, water, good soil and bees!

I’ll send you more as the season progresses.

Take care and we’ll talk soon friend!

Todd Slinde PhD (Pumpkin Hole Digger)
http://www.kellogggarden.com/

Bill Liston: Going to Great Lengths for His Pumpkins!

Good morning, Pumpkinistas!

I received these great photos of his vine and pumpkins (July 9, 200) and message from Bill Liston about his recent trip to Alaska in search of the freshest and most effective organic fertilizer:

"Hi Stuart,

Here's a few photos of the pumpkin plant. (one of the full plant, and one of the 2 pumpkins) You can see the vine running under one of our Fuji apple trees. I'm trying to get it to grow down the back of the yard - so far so good. Also, a photo of some King salmon in Alaska. L-R in the photo: me, (Bill) my 16 year old son Kevin, and my friend Glen. All of the fish were 20-25 pounds, and we caught a few Coho salmon too.

Bill Liston"

I can completely understand about wanting to find the only the best materials to grow better and larger pumpkins.

The Ackers in San Martin, CA!

Good morning, Pumpkinstas!

It's a rare workshop attendee who actually does locate a backhoe, digs a 5-foot deep hole, and then follows directions. Jim Acker is one of them.

Here's Jim's progress report and a link to his own blog that chronicles his season so far. It's fascinating reading.

"Stuart,

Attached is a photo of our main vine, currently known as P1. This is just ONE PLANT and it's currently about 25 feet wide or so. We have about 8 healthy vines coming off the main root. Just last week we found several new pumpkins on the vine. Do you think we are still on-schedule to get a large pumpkin by contest time?

Feel free to share our picture on your blog if you want to. We have also blogged our entire project. Check us out at http://blog.acker1.com/ .

I will post a new entry tomorrow showing our backup vine, P2. It has a really weird mutated vine that is huge. You might enjoy seeing it.

Happy growing!

Jim Acker
San Martin, CA"

A Request from Ray Villafane!

Good morning, Pumpkinistas!

Every once in a while, I receive a very interesting communication from someone in a pumpkin-related area. Yesterday afternoon, I received this e-mail from Ray Villafane, an internationally-known sculptor who happens to need a few 40-150 pound pumpkins at the end of August to carve in Anaheim. Since pumpkin growers are some of the most open and helpful people around, I let Ray know that I'd help him as much as I could. So, if you're interested in helping Ray, please let me know by contacting me at: sbs33@cornell.edu and I'll put you in touch with him.

"Hello, Stuart,

My name is Ray Villafane. I am a professional sculptor working for Warner Bros./DC Comics (Batman and Superman people). Anyway, each year I carve pumpkins and they are a hit with many people. I won the Food Network Challenge show for pumpkin carving and have had my pumpkins featured on Yahoo's main page, national TV shows and more. You can see some samples of my work at

http://www.villafanestudios.com/pumpkins.htm

http://www.myspace.com/villafanestudios

I was recently invited to Anaheim CA to participate in a huge video gaming convention hosted by Blizzard Entertainment. They would like me to carve some pumpkins at the show. The show is during the last weekend in August and I would need to locate possible pumpkins in the area. The size pumpkins that I find ideal are between 40-150 lbs . Despite being so early in the season do you think you might be able to supply me with a few pumpkins when the time comes? I am in Michigan and need to arrange things before hand. I am simply trying to hunt down possible heavy quality pumpkins.

Thank you,

Ray Villafane"

Dispatch from Dark Horto!

Good morning, Pumpkinistas!

One of the concerns of many would-be giant pumpkin growers is the space that a vine may require and the potential hole-digging and mound preparation. Dark Horto, previously known as Rob Smith, San Diego, CA sent in this image of his vine and growing area as of July 7th. Dark Horto has addressed both of these potential issues by growing his vine in a trash can.

Here are Dark Horto's own words:

"My humble vine seems a bit of a late-season afterthought. Boo-hoo...but I hope that the growing season lasts long enough that it can mature. I can already envision a vine of some 100 ft. in length, winding around the planter beds, if it can sustain itself on the diet of water and fish hydrolysate I'm force-feeding it. Thought you might enjoy a progress report.

Dark Horto"

Not to worry, DH!

As you can see, Dark Horto's vine and leaves are quite healthy: big, very green, with no insect damage or leaf droop. Since his seedling has been in the ground for roughly a month, he's right on track for a very nice pumpkin by Halloween.

Jack LaRue in Yelm, WA: Here's how!

Good morning, Pumpkinistas!

Do you recall that the legendary grower, Jack LaRue was the celebrity guest speaker at the giant pumpkin workshop at Gordon's Garden Center, in Yelm, WA May 24th? I received these very interesting photos and Jack's comments late last night:

"Hi, Stuart,

Here are a few pictures of our pumpkin plants and ducks. The cups you see in one picture are covering the male flowers before we pollinate. The cups are put on the night before the males open.

Jack"

If you're wondering what role the ducks play in the giant pumpkin growing season, you're not alone. I've asked Jack if they are there to guard the vines, provide fertilizer, or perhaps both. I'll keep you informed!

Here's Jack's response:

"I use the ducks in the off season to de-bug and clear vegetation. So I guess you might call them employees, you may have noticed that child (duckling) labor is permitted in our patch The fertlizer is a bonus."

Elizabeth Castillo: Then There Was One!

Good morning, Pumpkinistas!

I received these photos of Liz Castillo's pumpkins last Wednesday, and they were actually taken July 2nd. I have since learned that the less round of the two pumpkins was grilled and eaten as part of the Castillo's 4th of July barbecue. I will receive an updated picture in a few days since the survivor has already grown a lot larger.

Who says that giant pumpkins aren't edible?

For more of Liz' gardening adventures, please visit:

http://www.max-eli-bugworld.blogspot.com/

Have a great week!

The Mc Guirks in Ventura Have Planted!

Good morning, Pumpkinistas!

I received this update from Lisa earlier this week, but have been remiss in not posting it sooner:

"Thank you Stuart for all the info. I attended the Ventura talk you gave. It did go on long, but I found some live ladybugs to bring as a present to the little girl’s bd party I was late to go shopping for and bring my little one to attend.

Fate decided I would not be putting this plant in the ground the next wknd after the talk, as planned. First, the people hired to get rid of my 2 yr old's "mountain", and dig out the old Jacuzzi hole underneath, didn’t leave it unfilled (pic 1). So hub had to dig out a hole in a different spot (pic 2). It took awhile for him to get to it as he was not looking forward to digging in our soil which is almost pure clay. Not knowing exactly when the hole would get done, I put off planting seedlings until I saw the whites of his eyes above an empty hole.

Okay, so the hole got dug, like 7 bags of Amend, manure, etc. got mixed into it, but I was reluctant to put the seedlings I planted in the ground due to the weather we have had – fog, chilly wind and temps never getting above around 70 (even with the recent heat wave). And the plant just really liked sitting in its corn seedling container in a plastic bag at night and out in the sun when it came out.

About 2 wks ago, I finally did transplant and had the first unround leaf already popping thru before transplanting, but forgot to plant the plant so the vine would grow opposite it, so the vine will probably head toward the fence. Other than that, the plant couldn’t be happier. Except for white flies. Hub just sprayed with Safer soap, so I hope Mr Pumpkin will be okay. Three new leaves past the transplant with the first one getting really big. Here are the preliminary pics. Will update. Lisa"

Thanks Lisa! The key is that you've planted your seedling and it sounds like it's doing well!

Passed the LEED AP Test!

Good morning, Pumpkinistas!

The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System is a voluntary, consensus-based national rating system for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings (www.usgbc.org). LEED addresses all building types and emphasizes state-of-the-art strategies in five areas: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials and resources selection, and indoor environmental quality.

Part of the implementation of the certification for green buildings may be the involvement of a LEED AP (Accredited Professional). The test for becoming a LEED AP under the 2.2 version expired yesterday, June 30th. Naturally, I avoided the absolute last-minute rush by taking the exam in Diamond Bar last Sunday, June 28th. Instead, I was part of the last-minute rush. It was a 2-hour, 80 question test, with a possible score of 200, and a required passing score of 170. I squeeged by with a 180.

So, I'll be incorporating some of the water savings concepts into future workshop content. Plus, I can add the LEED AP title after Giant Pumpkin Kahuna on the next order of business cards.