Summer Solstice on Sunday!

Good morning, Growers!

Yes, summer officially begins on Sunday, June 21st, 2009 at 4:45 A.M. PDT. It's the longest day and the shortest night of the year.

Ancient pagans celebrated summer with bonfires, when couples would leap through the flames, believing their crops would grow as high as the couples were able to jump.

Consequently, Lauren and I will be practicing leaping and long jumping Saturday evening, so we'll be ready to go Sunday morning. Fortunately, since we're going for weight, as opposed to height, we should be okay. I am planning on a small bonfire.

The weather's supposed to heat up this week-end in Southern California, so you may want to give your vine a little bit more water than usual.

Elizabeth Castillo: Visual Dispatch

Good morning, Pumpkinistas!

I received these images, taken June 17-18, from Elizabeth Castillo. It's amazing how much her vine has grown from last week!

Is it just my vine, or is everyone experiencing early season wilting?

Good morning, Pumpkinistas!

I thought I'd post photos of my vine as of yesterday, June 18th. The recent scorching 73 degree Huntington Beach weather seems to be taking its toll in the form of vine wilting for me. It's strange. I think that the vine may have been getting used to the 64-67 degree weather and the slight temperature rise stressed it.

Thankfully, it's still early in the season.

Alfonso and Katharine Lepe: Max' In The Ground!

Good morning, Pumpkinistas!

I received this dispatch from Alfonso and Katherine Lepe, workshop attendees and seedling winners:

"Hello Stuart,

My wife and I attended your event as you know and it was very informative. Thank you for that. My wife won the seedling that you were showing everyone and it is planted. We have some pictures we'll be sending you and it's looking good. We did pretty much everything you recommended as far as preparation of the soil and pointed it in the right direction and it's growing everyday. We just started the garden area and we re-landscaped our entire backyard as well. It was a lot of hard work but we are motivated to grow a giant pumpkin. The vine's name is Max and I can't remember what my wife Katharine is going to name the pumpkin itself but it's something like Cucu. Anyway we'll keep you informed on the progress we're making.

Thanks again,

Alfonso"

(I'll be updating this posting when I receive some photos from Alfonso.)

Gary Tovey in Dana Point, CA: On The Cusp of Greatness

Good evening, Pumpkinistas!

I have just received the following update from Gary Tovey of Dana Point, CA:

"Hi Stuart,

Thanks for your very fun and informative workshop at Batavia Gardens!

The seeds you gave me germinated nicely and I have four really nice looking seedlings ready to go in the ground. Two extra large holes are awaiting planting tomorrow. Now I just have to decide which two seedlings to go with and which two go in the compost pile.I'll keep you posted as things progress.

Thanks again,

Gary"

Here's my reply:

Hi Gary!

Thank you VERY much for your update! Nice job on germinating your seeds. I think you might be surprised, given your recent experience, that one of the biggest challenges of commercial pumpkin growers is seed germination. I have a suggestion. Plant two seedlings per mound, and cull down to one plant in 10-20 days. The remaining seedling for each of your mounds will be much healthier because of the early competition with the other, 'sacrificial' seedling.

This way, you can use all of your seedlings for good purposes, and let nature decide which ones will remain. It's a little Darwinian, but it makes good sense.

Have a great evening, and thank you very much again for your update! Two mounds is ambitious!

Take care,
Stuart

Eric Vossbrink: In the Mix!

Good morning, Pumpkinistas!

After a multi-year hiatus, Eric Vossbrink in San Diego, is growing giant pumpkins again!

Here's the latest from Eric:

"Stuart,

You and I spoke face to face and by email maybe 5 years ago when you were making the rounds in San Diego. I read that you were making the rounds again this year.

This is the first opportunity to grow big pumpkins in a few years due to kids and the yard that they require. I’ve got one pumpkin set about 10 feet down the vine, and it’s about basketball-size right now. The pumpkin is in a school garden so it requires no space in my backyard, and I have 320 helpers…if you can call it help.

Seen here: http://erichasissues.wordpress.com/2009/06/16/shots-of-the-garden/

Good luck spreading the word,

Eric Vossbrink"

I knew Eric wouldn't be able to keep away! Thank you very much for your update!

(This is great, Jim Fredricks and Eric Vossbrink are both back this season.)

Dispatch from The Taylors!

Good morning, Pumpkinistas!

I received these images and update from Wendy and Stacey Taylor, and they are impressive!

"Hello Stuart,

I hope all is well with you. We have a month of growing progress and I thought I’d share our status.

We planted two plants on 5/15 with another plant in our corner patch on 5/28. The most current pictures were taken 6/13. We have blossoms ready to bloom soon. These plants are much healthier and larger than last year when growing Thorette. They are absolutely amazing to see the growth that occurs on a daily basis.

Best to you,

Wendy and Stacey"

Nice looking leaf and vine! The fish-eye lens/effect is great!

Dispatch from Fortress Huntington Beach: Scott Green and Linda Hales!

"Hi Stuart,

Here are a couple pictures from my friend Scott Green. He is growing one of your pumpkin seedlings at his home in Huntington Beach. The vines look pretty good, and I am expecting great things from him. Alas, I wish I could say the same about my pumpkin. Two days after I planted, it was unearthed by one of the creatures of the night. Yesterday I planted another one, guarded by a fence and the pumpkin gods' hex.

I will keep you posted on our progress.

Linda"

Thank you very much Linda, for reporting, and Scott, for growing! You're absolutely right, the vine looks very good. The hardscape is particularly impressive. I hope it helps protect the plant from enemies. A moat, guard tower, and drawbridge are probably slated for the next construction phase.

Every spring, for the last 6-7 years, I've germinated many giant pumpkin seedlings. It's always fascinating, and the seedling germination season provides a certain rhythm to life. These seedlings are used in many ways, but mostly as door prizes for workshops and to give away to interested gardeners and clients. I seldom hear from the individuals that receive them. So, it's very gratifying to know that some of them have found new gardens and are thriving! This season, more than ever before, I am hearing about where they've ended up and how they are doing, or not, in the case of Linda's first seedling. (There's still time to get another seedling going!)

Thank you very much again, Linda, and the best of luck to you, Scott! The anticipation grows!

Jim Fredricks: Back in the Game!

Good morning, Pumpkinistas!

After a 2-year hiatus, Jim Fredricks is back in the game, and sends us this dispatch:

"Hi Stuart,

Just wanted to say hi. I took a couple years off growing and am now back in the game with a new patch. My old patch was at a friend's house and it got sold! Ouch! It was a great place to grow and produced big fruit. This is my new area, next to my house. I have questions on soil fertility and some more shade than I want in the morning and evening, but gonna give it my best to go big. My plant does not like the hot sun, so I put up shade cloth of 40% over the patch, along with misting if it needs it on hot days. I just pollinated at 12 feet out and have two more fruit that will flower in a week on the main.

Hope your season is going well!

Sincerely,

Jim Fredricks, San Diego, CA"

Thank you very much, Jim! So far, so good!

J and J: Just Having Fun!

Good morning, Pumpkinistas!

Judging by these pictures, Jo Ann and Jessica, two first-time growers, certainly had a great time with their transplanting efforts! The face mask was a very nice touch!

Keep up the spirit of fun and good luck!

The Welburn Farm Gourd Festival, June 27-28, 2009!

Good morning, Pumpkinistas!

The anual gourd festival in Fallbrook is coming! If you've never had a chance to attend this fascinating and very interesting event that includes gourd crafting and instruction, a gourd competition, gourd crafts, music, food, hula dancing and other performances all under the oaks at the Welburn Gourd Farm in Fallbrook, CA, you've been missing out. It's a wonderful way to spend a day or afternoon. My only suggestions is try to arrive early. You may need the extra time to see everything. Here's the link for more information, directions, admission, and hours: http://www.gourdfestival.com/

This year, there will be a display of gourds made out of glass. (They are pictured above!) The only other place that I know that has botanical materials made of glass is the Harvard Natural History History Museum's Ware Collection of Blaschka Glass Models of Plants, http://www.hmnh.harvard.edu/the-collection-of-glass-flowers/visiting-the-galleries-2.html

It looks like it will be a lot of fun again this year.

Elizabeth Castillo: Pumpkins Happen!

Good morning, Pumpkinstas!

I received these pictures, dispatch and link from Elizabeth Castillio:

"Hi Stuart,

I'm sharing pictures of my pumpkin vine with a tiny pumpkin on it. You can check out my blog below and see how far my vine has come! While I've planted pumpkins in the past, this year the vine looks it's best and it's growing strong.

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

Thank you very much, Elizabeth! I think that this might just be the first fruiting of the season!

Here are some additional details from Elizabeth, updated June 16, 2009:

"I planted them directly into the ground on May 5. At first I watered twice a day because I wasn't to sure if water was getting through the weed guard. I had cut a small "X" for each of my seedlings to poke through. Then about 2 weeks later, I saw the weed guard raising from the ground. It was seedlings growing but not fitting through the X. So I cut the X bigger and carefully lifted the plant through and took a picture.

With the light rains we got a few weeks ago, I didn't go out there and water, but then I realized it began to droop. The overhead watering was too hard on the sad leaves, so my husband purchased me a soaker hose which I now turn on, on a low volume and let it soak for about an hour or so every other day or two. The weed barrier really warms up the soil under the pumpkin vine, and once yet the water seeps down quite nicely. I placed a fence around it to keep my toddlers and chickens out! Although I quickly learned that chickens and fly up to five feet when they really want to get food. So my husband built them a coop far away from my vegetable garden.

It's funny, I planted a mixed variety of pumpkin seeds just days apart from my giant pumpkin seeds and the vines are no where near the same size. In fact my other seeds, still look like seedlings! I wish I would have taken a picture of both plants next to each other.

I'm so glad you posted my pictures up. I love sharing my info with others, although for the first three years I did more killing than growing (in all stages). My first year I planted my seeds and forgot where, so I was watering the whole yard, only to later find out my garden had pulled it out thinking it was a wild pumpkin weed! But little by little we're getting better.

PS: I found a place that has free steer manure:
13101 Rosecrans AveSanta Fe Springs, CA 90670
(562) 921-5712 ‎

For a $15 tip, they'll fill up a truck load with a giant scooper! Plus, it's so cool to go there and check out hundreds of cows here in LA County. Besides here, I only see them at the county fairs. Make sure to take your own shovel and bags/buckets. And if your out of milk or cheese, they have a dairy store.

We purchased the painted lady (native) caterpillars at the Kidspace Museum and I have a small butterfly garden in hope that they will return and lay eggs one day.

http://pedrozafamily.blogspot.com/

myspace.com/lizandeddie"

Thank you very much for your additional information, Elizabeth!

The Seedling

The Legend

Howard Moore: The Man, The Legend

Good afternoon, Pumpkinistas!

It gives me great pleasure to introduce you to Mr. Howard Moore, of the previous post regarding which way the primary vine will grow. Mr. Moore has embraced the giant pumpkin grower's spirit, philosophy, and credo of "If it's worth doing, then it's worth overdoing."

That is one serious hole (50" deep x 36" wide!). Plus, a very nice germination/seedling!

I look forward to future updates.

Thank you to Howard Moore!

Good evening, Pumpkinistas!

I received this great close up photo of Howard Moore's seedling and a question asking which way the main/primary vine will grow today. First, thank you very much Howard for sending in a picture with a question! I appreciate the documentation. (It's so much better than a written verbal description/question.)

Based on this photo, the primary vine will grow, (in the opposite direction of the first true leaf) to the right. This will be the case about 80% of the time.

Thank you very much again, Howard!

Yamagami's Nursery, Cupertino, CA Going Strong!

Good morning, Pumpkinistas!

Well, these picture speaks volumes, don't they? Yamagami's Nursery in Cupertino, CA has raised the bar for on-site nursery giant pumpkin cultivation. They have two remaining vines, and will cull down to one vine soon. For an on-going account of Yamagami's season, visit their Facebook page at:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cupertino-CA/Yamagamis-Nursery-Garden-Center/63172657808

Have a great morning!

Rob Smith in Poway, CA

Good afternoon, Pumpkinistas!

Rob Smith, president of Timberline Guitars, http://www.timberlineguitars.com/ and first-year grower, sent me this picture of the seedling he won at Walter Andersen Nursery, Poway, last Saturday, together with DeNeice Kenehan, a well-known and in high demand San Diego-based, singer, performer and Rob's long-time companion, in-situ. Because of some space issues, Rob's utilizing an in-ground, in trash can, growing method! Excellent job, Rob!

Good luck to Rob and DeNeice!

Ashley's Pumpkin Vine named Danielle

Good morning Pumpkinistas!

I found this image of Ashley's pumpkin vine, Danielle, in San Luis Obispo from earlier this week. It was sent from Ty Hall of Kellogg Garden Products. It is a very beautiful and healthy vine, no insect damage, and good color!

Good luck, Ashley!

Ontario's Response: Linus!

Good afternoon, Pumpkinistas!

Good news! The Kellogg Garden Products' Ontario facility's giant pumpkin seedling exists and is thriving. I received a rather cryptic e-mail message from Ty Hall earlier this afternoon stating that the Ontario seedling was in the ground and already had secondary vines. I replied if there was any documentation to confirm ("Trust, but verify.", Ronald Reagan) the existence and progress of their vine. Nearly instantaneously, these images were sent back to me.

So, the competition has finally begun!

I greatly appreciate the efforts and hard work by Lockeford and Ontario!

Best of luck to both teams!

The Lockeford Great North Star Pumpkin Seedling is Transplanted!

Good morning, Pumpkinistas!

I received these great images from Todd Slinde of Kellogg Garden Products this morning. The Lockeford location's seedling (1,072 Sandvik seed) is in the ground, protected from the elements and very large animals with a cardboard box. In addition, the Lockeford team has created a very poetic name for their collective efforts: The Great North Star! I like it, their facility is in Northern California after all. I'll ask if they oriented the seedling to take advantage of any special celestial energy.

I am wondering: How do they plan to water the seedling? I am guessing it will be by the tallest person available using a very long water wand.

The Ontario facility is strangely and unusually silent.

There was a strange, positive correlation between giant pumpkin

seedling winners and workshop attendees that asked questions...

New Attendance Record Set at Batavia Garden, Orange, CA!

Good evening, Pumpkinistas!

This morning's workshop at long-timer Pumpkinmania sponsor and workshop host, Batavia Garden set a new attendance record! It was great to see so many new growers, veteran grower Ray Ceja, and Martha Treadway, The 2008 Pumpkinmania! Giant Pumpkin Weigh-off and Contest Winner of the Funniest Shape entry who also used the opportunity to redeem her gift certificate from Batavia Garden! As always, Ron Hamada, Keiko Kakiuchi, and Perry Hamada did a wonderful job with registration, set-up and pre-workshop preparation! Of the fifty or so workshop attendees, sixteen were lucky seedling winners, and six more won various garden products from the door prize contest! In fact, there was a strange positive correlation between seedling winners and the attendees that asked questions...

The final workshop of the 2009 season will be Saturday, June 20th, 10:00 a.m., at the Farm Supply Company in San Luis Obispo, CA.