Germination!

Good evening, Pumpkinistas!

The first giant pumpkin seeds of the season have sprouted!

You can see from the pictures that the seeds were soaked starting Saturday evening, 8:45 p.m., April 12th, planted 12 hours later, at 8:45 a.m, Sunday, April 13th. These pictures were taken at 4:40 p.m., Thursday, April 17th. That's roughly 4 days and 7 hours for germination. I used heated seedling mats from HydroFarm to help provide consistent bottom heat.

Finally, I'll be a guest on the "Garden Gossip" radio program tomorrow morning at around 11:15 a.m., as a guest of Lisa Cullen, radio station, KZSB-AM 1290 kHz Santa Barbara, California "Santa Barbara News Press".

Have a great evening!

Stuart

A Visit from Lauren's Parents!

Good evening, Growers!

Yes, the rumors are true. Lauren's parents arrived from Chengdu, China last Sunday, April 6th. Since then, we've visited The Sherman Library & Garden, The Getty Center, (that's where the above video images were taken from an installation called "Please Be Seated") and even had a chance to visit Ruby's at the end of the Huntington Beach pier.

I've enlisted Lauren's dad to assist me with this year's seedlings, and he's been very diligent monitoring the soil temperature on an hourly basis.

So, you'll have Mr. Ge to thank if you're one of the lucky seedling winners this season!

Have a pleasant evening!

Stuart

The Seedling Season Begins!

Good evening, Growers!

Due to overwhelming demand, I am proud to show you the first seedlings of the 2008 season! I'll be germinating these over the next few days in order to have them ready for this Saturday's workshop, April 19th, 10:00 a.m., at Cedros Gardens, Solana Beach. There are even a couple of them from 800+-pound mothers...

Hope to see you then!

Stuart

A Great Saturday Morning at Blue Hills Nursery!

Good morning, Growers!

The persistent and faithful were out in force at yesterday morning's workshop! It was great to see the Boeing contingent and to chat with Mr. & Mrs. Alex Morales! Good news! Jen Van Diest, the marketing manager of Blue Hills, pictured in the blue shirt, in the back row in the first workshop attendees photo above, will be growing a giant pumpkin vine on-site this season! So, you'll have yet another reason to visit Blue Hills over the next 4-5 months! I'll be delivering Jen her seedling(s) mid-May.

Have a relaxing Sunday!

Stuart

Interest from around the World!

Good evening, Growers!

One of the web statistics that I find fascinating is where people have recently visited from. So, here are some of the countries that visitors have visited the Pumpkinmania blog from:

Algeria

Australia

Canada

England

France

Germany

Hungary

Indonesia

Jamaica

Japan

Peru

Spain

Sweden

Turkey

Venezuela

So, it appears that giant vegetable cultivation is becoming a global trend.

Have a great evening!

Stuart

Laguna Hills Nursery's Workshop: Great attendance and attention!

Good afternoon, Growers,

The first workshop in Southern California for 2008 was given this morning at Laguna Hills Nursery http://www.lagunahillsnursery.com/ (at their new temporary location) at 71 Auto Center Drive, Foothill Ranch, 92610. It was great to see the Mc Faddens, Diane and Jack, and the Lycettes, Bill, Val and their daughter Carol, all the way from Seattle, and Farmer John sporting the bright orange, limited-edition, 2007 Pumpkinmania T-shirt in the pictures above. (It's a great-looking and eye-catching T-shirt, no?)

The enthusiastic, overflow workshop attendees asked some excellent questions and shared some of their own growing experiences. Gary Matsuoka, the owner of Laguna Hills Nursery, even granted a 10% discount on soil amendments, fertilizer, seed germinating mix, and any other supplies the workshop attendees thought they might need.

Next week is the next workshop, Saturday, April 12, 10:00 a.m., Blue Hills Nursery, http://www.bluehills.com/, 16440 Whittier Boulevard, Whittier, 90603!

A Great Opportunity...

Good evening, Pumpkinistas!

I've been a member of the Pacific Giant Vegetable Growers www.pgvg.org for a few years. It's a great organization that supports giant vegetable cultivation with a particular focus on giant pumpkins.

So, I was very pleased to receive this year's giant pumpkin seed distribution in my mailbox a couple of days ago. They're pictured above, a broad assortment of seeds from the low 300s to 1,000+ pounders. Enclosed with the seeds was a letter letting current members know that some additional seeds packets were reserved for new members. Membership is $35.00/year, and includes a newsletter, and the opportunity to participate in their annual competition. It's an excellent value and a very worthy organization: www.pgvg.org

I am sure you'll find some contenders for your patch!

Good luck!

Stuart

The 2008 Giant Pumpkin Full Moon Planting Dates

Good afternoon, Pumpkinistas!

I've been receiving some inquiries about when to plant their seedlings/seeds this season. Here are the full moon planting dates and times from April to August. Ideally, May 20th is the optimum date this season in my opinion. But, I also think that June 18th is still a reasonable planting date in warmer areas.

Apr 20 10:27 Sunday

May 20 02:13 Tuesday

Jun 18 17:32 Wednesday


Jul 18 08:00 Friday

Aug 16 21:18 Saturday Full Moon Party and Patch Tour! Save the date!

Photo by Carolyn Villa-Scott

Banners greeted the soon-to-become Pumpkinistas!

People arrived early to meet and ask San Francisco garden radio host Bob Tanem questions. That's Bob's hand on the left, and a close-up

of his wife, Bev's head, in the middle.

Before the workshop

After the workshop

A Great Day at Yamagami's Nursery!

Good evening, Growers!

I thought I'd send a long some of the images of yesterday's workshops at Yamagami's Nursery http://www.yamagamisnursery.com/ in Cupertino. It was a lot of fun, and I hopefully planted the seeds for a new crop of giant pumpkin growers. The management and staff at Yamagami's did a great job! I may even be back to be a judge at their weigh-off October 11th!

Fun was had by all!

Have a great evening!

Stuart

Charlie Keutmann, owner of The Garden Company in Santa Cruz

announces the winners of the drawing!

Saturday, March 29, 2008 in Santa Cruz and San Jose

The truly devoted braved the wet and cool weather to attend workshops last Saturday in Santa Cruz at The Garden Company and Almaden Valley Nursery in San Jose. Those that attended were rewarded with excellent odds at the door-prize drawings and plenty of opportunity to have their questions answered.