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Grittyville, WA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mefKalV9-K4

By my rough calculations this is about equal to a very good pumpkin patch. I'm assuming pumpkins carry about 6x more weight because of water than corn grain @ spec moisture... in terms of pumpkin production (a lot of moisture added) I figure this would be 5 lbs of pumpkin per sq ft...

2/8/2025 3:00:22 AM

Grittyville, WA

Another quest for high corn yields:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljRJGRZjJb0

There are other videos that go more heartily into the specifics... if you can find them. Some of the older "yield record" videos out there may contain more substantial information.

Most of these videos only drop one or two hints but if you watch enough of them it adds up. The possible overlaps with pumpkins is interesting.

If you find a good non-pumpkin "yield" video while browsing these types of videos then please share.

2/8/2025 3:25:13 AM

Bethlehem CT

David Hula said; "I am an open book, I will tell you everything I know, You just have to ask the right questions". David then goes on to say "If someone just comes to me and says what are you doing? I can't really answer that."
I think to some extent the same thing is true of giant pumpkin growers too. The majority of competitive giant vegetable growers will share what they know, you just have to ask the right questions and perhaps even more importantly ask the question in the right way in the right forum. Some growers prefer private emails or texts, some would rather talk on the phone and a few will still share on internet forums like big pumpkins.com etc.
I never fully understood it when growers would say to me, you have to pick a mentor. I get it now.... and may I also add. you must choose your mentor(s) wisely. Does your mentor see you as only just a competitor? or as a friend who is also a competing and furthering the sport? The mentor has to want you to succeed. Both the mentor and mentee have responsibilities to uphold in the relationship. The person being mentored needs to be humble and give credit to the mentor, where credit is due.

2/8/2025 8:14:01 AM

Grittyville, WA

Yeah, it doesn't bother me that successful people want others to share a bit of the burden of "what it takes to be successful". In the second video I think, paraphrasing this, he says "you should be willing to sacrifice a little to learn, to do your own research on your own farm". Thats reasonable.

2/8/2025 3:23:57 PM

Grittyville, WA

It does get frustrating when you are trying to ask a good question but the answer is hidden by internet fluff and paywalls. In some cases, this is where having a mentor could help.

I like how these guys are all studying their plants and probably they are ignoring the pressure to conform to the status quo/ groupthink. We have a tendency to settle for "what others are doing". To some extent, another part of the sacrifice might be "being a social outcast" vs "being in line / obeying social harmony".

These guys are willing to do what feels unpopular and/or confront the unkown on their own. But once other people see that something works, it becomes popular. Just some basic risk/reward psychology going on with these guys, they are willing to take reasonable risks, which is interesting. The assessment of which risks are reasonable is a fine line to walk.

[Last edit: 02/08/25 3:58:51 PM]

2/8/2025 3:34:24 PM

Grittyville, WA

Here's another of these high yield pioneers:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0I_nG29c-7I

There's a guy in Georgia who has set some corn/soybean records who is a great one to watch Randy Dowdy but this new Harrell guy smashed his record, its now 206.8 bushels. Crazy.

2/8/2025 4:05:10 PM

Bethlehem CT

I remember learning about Herman Warsaw and his record setting corn yields in the 1970's and 80's. He was a pioneer in the field of increasing yields in corn. He was doing all this back in the day with out the advantage of using any of the biological products and biology enhancers that the top corn producers are using now. However....He still was managing soil biology and improving it through his better cultural methods.

2/9/2025 9:32:30 AM