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Little-TON - Colorado

Damn, Ive come all this way, started earlier than last year ( 4/21, soaking) only to find I should of started even earlier than that........... Ill have a couple to pollinate within the window, but no way will I have 12-14 sets of secondaries mostly terminiated at 12' by pumpkin growing time.......Did I start that late? or am I just too anxious......Wait till next year......lol

7/3/2007 8:56:50 AM

Little-TON - Colorado

See Biz, premature posting......lol

7/3/2007 8:57:21 AM

Utah

starting earlier won't help unless you have have a good green house with soil and air heating included.
Better soil and good weather will help your plants to get bigger sooner.
my plants have never been as big at this time of year as the ideal plant size you list in your post -yet I've managed to do pretty well here in Utah... but I still haven't reached 1,000 lbs yet ... so I could be doing better...

7/3/2007 10:41:22 AM

Colorado

Wiz,
As late as your running this year you should probably just
quit an try again next year. As good as the Biz's plants
look you don't have a chance anyway.....:<)...LB

7/3/2007 11:20:29 AM

Western Colorado Rockies

I was late as well although we had a hard frost at 6000' in early June and I would have lost the plants anyway. T

7/3/2007 12:26:35 PM

Menomonie, WI ([email protected])

Wiz remember we are not growing Salad...If your soil is tuned properly, your plant will keep pushing and get the optimal growth needed in the later after 30 days period. An early start can mean lots of sleepless nights wondering if the heat is still on in the hoops.

7/3/2007 1:39:52 PM

Sort of Sunny Sometimes, WA

Wiz I'm having the same problem. I put up greenhouses, started about the same time you did and will be happy to have a few pollinated at 12' by July 10. The only thing I might change should I give it another whirl next year is to heat the greenhouses at night and kick the soil up even more than I have already. Sheesh.

7/3/2007 3:07:13 PM

southwest MO

I started May 2nd this year and am thinking I should have started latter! lol. I have 4 different plants going and all have multiple pollinations on the main vines. I'm afraid to set any more because the main vines are now on average 30'+... No joke. I used no plastic at all. Funny how different things can be based on geograpy!! My big concern is just the oppisite, whitch is having a nice mature pumpkin mature at the end of August with 40 or so days to sit in the patch to weigh off!! Now to get to the mature pumpkin in the patch part!! lol
Also I wouldnt let not having 12-14 sets of secondarys before pollination... This would be a huge plant!

7/3/2007 4:17:59 PM

southwest MO

secondarys before pollination... bother me

7/3/2007 4:21:15 PM

[email protected]

Wiz
Your not in trouble yet, lots of summer coming(HOPEFULLY)
If it were me, and I'm doing it, is I'd rather pollinate the last week in july, than pollinating too soon, because you'll never have the plant to get anything, Patience, they say.
Eddy

7/3/2007 5:25:26 PM

milford, CT,

Wiz...your not alone! This is the first year I've had such small plants at this date. I believe mine is due to a bad lot of manure in the fall and cooler than usual temps. Thanks Eddie for the encouragement...I know I get anxious when I hear others pollinating and giving day 10 measurements while I'm just seeing my 1st females and know they won't be ready for another 10 days. Hang in there Wiz...even with a late pollination we should still have a good 50-60 days to grow. Mark

7/3/2007 8:42:21 PM

Mill Bay, British Columbia

Hey Wiz, I started a couple of weeks this year to try and get a jump on the boyz from Vancouver Island and everything was going great till I left the ends open on my hoophouse and went to Maui for a week.

Without my traps set and someone home to monitor the hoophouse daily....I got squirreled in a bad way and now I would say that I am 2-3 weeks behind last year.

I will be pollinating in late July and lucky for us we have Indian summers and the good weigh-offs are not till mid to late October anyways.

Chin up big boy....could be worse. Could be real bad when your brother kicks your butt at the weigh-off in his first year....then you can only blame yourself for letting him start on this hobby.

7/3/2007 8:56:26 PM

Edmonton, Canada

I always have to fight the urge to start a couple of weeks earlier.... However, 2 things always stop me.

1) The cold Canadian spring
2) The knowledge that if I start too early, I'm going to have to deal with a very old fruit that is starting to rot before the weigh-off.

There's still alot of growing time left... I wouldn't panic.

7/3/2007 9:22:23 PM

Rhode Island

luke

you can not be expected to get the same results as people that have been screwing around in this hobby for many years.

so what if your plant is not as big as some others? so what if you only have 7 sides before the fruit dead ended by my target date.

you can still grow a very large pumpkin believe me. we have done it on a 125 sq ft of plant a few years ago ( 919 pounds )

each year you will learn more and get better and better.

it took ron and i many years to get where we are today. its not as easy as we think at times.

if your gonna get discouraged now before the fruit even starts growing what the hell are ya gonna do when a real problem rears its ugly head?

hang in there

darth pappy

7/3/2007 10:39:06 PM

Roanoke Il

wiz gordon made some great points, I've started early in the past the plant gets tired out if its to old. I would work on getting a young plant big as possible. Instead of starting earlier If your ground isn't warm a little plant will just sit there untill it warms up..cold frame heater cables heater, lights in cold frame. keep your plants warm and you'll get them bigger faster..

7/3/2007 10:42:45 PM

Minnesota

I'm not exactly on a record growing pace either, my plants are about 6 ft long.

7/4/2007 2:07:59 PM

Littleton, Colo

You all must excuse my brother....he's a little worried about The Biz !

7/4/2007 8:12:53 PM

[email protected]

LOL...No excuses. He who speaks smack risks getting smacked.

7/4/2007 11:19:05 PM

Taber, Alberta

I think starting dates depend on your climate. I know for me, it's easy to control the climate for my plant in early spring. Get the hoophouse up early (assuming it doesn't blow away), warm up the soil, and get it going. We start getting brutally cold nights (4-5 degrees Celcius)starting in early August. It's not possible for me to protect the entire plant once it gets to full size, so I start earlier and coast to the end.
Take a look at your climate for the entire growing season. There's so many different climates in North America. Try to find the time line that works best for you.
Alan

7/5/2007 12:32:44 AM

Colo.Spgs.CO. Pikes Peak Chapter @ [email protected]

Wiz and Biz, remember we live in Colorado, and you can only do so much. Starting earlier means nothing here, just as setting an early fruit in mid june means nothing. I myself believe a slower plant means a bigger fruit, as some of my runt plants have done very well for me. It is true that more plant this time of year is better, but remember our high altitude and strong UV will age leaves much faster also than lower climates as I am at over 6000 ft. Altitude, and especially if you mist the leaves that speeds up the age process even more. I think if you concentrate on correcting your soil to the optimum levels for pumpkins it helps an awfull lot. I could put a plant out in early April, have 500 Sq. FT of plant by July 1 with a fruit set in mid june, and I would bet my 150 sq. ft. plant I pollinate in in mid july would whip the bigger plant. As the old saying goes Size does not mean everything, as it is the tecnique you use to obtain your results. Happy Growing, JK

7/5/2007 4:32:53 AM

Little-TON - Colorado

Nothing could be finer than TheBiz growing BIG, in fact Im counting on it and working to make it so. In fact I am getting real excited as the Colorado growers are reporting in great results so far for this year. We have one new grower that last year posted 136 lbs, Another Gary, and this year has our State Record holder Joe nervous.......lol. Im just wanting to sync this up so my best chances to arrive at the final destination are successful, along with those who have grown a long time. I know Paps is right, its not easy, and Im sorry if I sounded discouraged, Really Im not, just anxious, Im wanting to figure out how to get 1000 lb ders out of our State, and I wont stop till I figure it out. Thanks for your words of support, and YO BIZ......Im gonna kick your butt........lol Dream on Bro. And if you grow heavier, Your proud Wiz Bro will buy your drinks all weekend in Niagara, goes for you too LB, no go out there, Grow'em BIG and kick my butt!

7/5/2007 10:59:32 AM

Littleton, Colo

Thanks for the advice 400 SF. My two plants remind me of " Where the red fern grows" One plant is half the size of my biggest...but for some reason I am looking forward to my smaller one. Big Dan and Little Ann !! And Wiz...better work some overtime !

7/5/2007 11:42:56 PM