Giant Pumpkins

Anyone trying to grow Giant Pumpkins?

There is no special forum around here for growing World Record Veggies.

I am toying around with growing a large pumpkin.
I dont have the best soil in the world but growing it anyway.
I will have to gradually build up a grow bed for growing a large pumpkin.
I like trying to grow large veggies. There just isn't very many folks to share it with.

So just in case there are some interest out there in growing large pumpkins, here is my Project.

I had no where to grow it really. But wanted to grow it desperately.
I have a canna bed out by the road and at the very end is where I am growing my pumpkin.
I started the seed around mid april.
I been feeding it a special mixture of commerical fertilizer.
I want my son to go catch me some fish so i can bury them just below each rooted joint on the pumpkin vine. Hoping that will help grow a big one. Will it?


This picture was taken May 17 , just one day after I pollinated the pumpkin

May 30.
14 days after pollination

Cricket,

Although I haven't tried raising them, I am very interested as I'm sure many others are. I may try it next year. Keep us updated on your progress and keep those pictures coming!

Red

Crickets,

Are you growing Dill's Atlantic Giant?

I have two plants going but they're stressed from lack of water. There's a couple fruit on each plant but I haven't messed with them at all.

Jeff

Yes Dills Atlantic Giant.
I got some seed from someone on another website. He grows them and crosses them with other dill atlantic giant pumpkins.
right now this one is from 1114 Lishness 2005
I have several more and wanted to plant a new one just because im obsessed at the moment. With our growing season, I have at least another 140 days to grow pumpkins.
Our first frost is between Oct 15 and Oct 30.
Need at least 120 days to grow a big one from sow date.

Big Red, if you could get your hands on some seeds right away, you still have time to toy around with some.


So far one mistake I have made is : I forgot to grow my fruit 10 feet away from the main trunk. I dont know why they say to do this but I assumed it was because they grow so large that they need the room so they dont uproot themselves. or break the vine. So my first fruit is only 2-3 feet away from the main trunk.
I only have one on it right now and will not allow any more to grow on it.
But I want to do the next plant correctly.

I also ordered a Used Book today: How to grow world record pumpkins.

i like the website:
http://www.bigpumpkins.com

I measured my little pumpkin today, at 15 days old it is 25 inches cc. Thats from stem to blossom end back to stem. But i didnt count the stem area. I am a ding dong. Guess i should add that too. that would make it 26 inches.
I have very poor soil so it will not be on any records this year. I do not think its goin to grow any record at all , just fun trying while I fix up a spot for record growing.

Do you remove all the fruit except one from each plant? I looked today and there are 5-6 fruits on each plant. The leaves look terrible, all yellow around the edges so I broke my rule of only watering the 'important veggies' and drug the hose over there and watered them.

Jeff

Cricket, the Alabama record is 401.5 lbs. Start singing to your pumpkin. http://www.backyardgardener.com/record.html
http://www.pumpkinpatchesandmore.org/pumpkinfestivals.php

LOL Farmer. Singing away. I dont think its gonna beat that in this soil. But will give it my all.

If you are trying to grow a big pumpkin, You let a few grow at first--and also at least 5- 10 feet out from the main trunk. After a couple of weeks you pick out the one that seems to be growing faster on the vine and get rid of the rest. And you want to grow a pumpkin that grows big pumpkins------the Atlantic Giant.

You want a few side shoots to grow just before you reach the pumpkin. All the vines -side shoots will draw in nutrients and nurish your pumpkin. I dont think side shoots after the pumpkin do the pumpkin much good. YOu keep those cut off.

I'll have to find my instructions for better details since I am new at this myself.

The previous measurement was wrong. I was looking at wrong side of the measuring tape.
Its confusing to me how differant measuring tapes have differant measurements on both sides of the tapes.
Last night before dark I measured it and it was 27 inches cc.

Today at 10:30 am it was 29 inches cc.

Guess what i bought!
LIquid Fish--yaaaaa

it is so much cheaper than Online. I went to the local Co-Op and they had Ferti-Lome Brand Fish Emulsion. One Quart was $7.98 and makes 64 gallons.
But since Large Pumpkins are heavy feeders, I am mixing double the instructions.
Mixing 2 tablespoons per gallon. I gave the pumpkin a total of 2 gallons. One gallon on its main trunk and the other gallon divided between the other root joints on the side shoots. Plus I sprayed the leaves with it too.

Lets see what a differance this makes.

I made a depressing decision.
I cut my pumpkin off the vine. Thats called Culling it.
It was too close to the main trunk.
Even though the pumpkin may never have gotten big enough in this bad soil, It could get big enough to pull its main trunk out of the ground.
So now I am waiting for the next fruit which is about 9 feet from the main trunk.
Depressing huh.
It took alot for me to get up the nerve to cut it off.

I am also starting a new plant. I barely have enough time to grow a nice size one.
Normally need a good 130 days from sow date to grow a large pumpkin and I only have 120. 10 days makes a big differance in size.
But if all fells, we will be eating alot of pumpkin pie and it is fun growing them.

Here we go again.
I finally had one to pollinate.
The Female had 5 segments(lobes)
Pollinated at 9 am but also female was half way open. Not sure if its gonna take.
Pollinated June 16 #1 pumpkin on a 1114 Lishness

4 DAP( 4 days after pollination)
#1 pumpkin.

The plant is growing rapidly now.
Its so hot lately that I made a shade house for the pumpkins so they dont scorch in the sun.
Used pvc for the hoop frame and 30% shade cloth.

differant view of plant.
I think pumpkin plants are pretty.
I tried posting this picture a moment ago and had errors.

The first pumpkin is about 9 to 10 feet out on the vine.
I just pollinated a #2 pumpkin on the same vine just incase the first doesnt make it.
This one only has 4 segments(lobes).
The more segments you have the heavier your pumpkin will mostly likely be.
So I am hoping the first one pollinated well. I won't know if it pollinated for 10 days after pollination. 6 more days to go.
There is also another female just past #2 that I will look at and pollinate just incase the first one doesnt make it.
What I want is a 5 to 7 segment female. Most pumpkins have 3 to 4 segments and often a 5 segment with 6 and 7 being not so often. See why I want the 5 segment to make it!!

So heres #2 Pollinated June 20th.

To explain more about the segments on the bloom:
Each segment will be a Seed pocket in the pumpkin.
the more seeds you have the heavier it will be.
Each segment can be pollinated by differant male pumpkin blooms but we dont want that cause then you wont know which seed pocket goes to which daddy.
So it is very interesting that a pumpkin can have several Daddys. Just like a litter of pups or cats and even humans with twins.
Each segment(lobe) has its own seperate ovary down deep into the bloom within the pumpkin tip.
I only have one pumpkin plant and it has been self pollinated.

I have been reading alot lately and keeping all my secondary side shoots except for the ones close to the pumpkin cause they will get in the way as the pumpkin grows large. Will keep a few after the pumpkin to help shade the ground and keep the soil temps down.



Large view of the pumpkin plant at the end of the flower bed.

This is at the other end of the flower bed.
I was amending the soil with aged cow manure and horse manure for next years pumpkin plant but greed took over and I sowed two Atlantic Giant pumpkin seeds on June 19. Should take 3 to 5 days for them to germinate.
If the manure is too strong and burns my plants then ohhhhhhhh well. It will be good for next year.
I wanted to start newer plants cause I started the other plant way too early. It will most likely mature before our State Fair Pumpkin Weigh-off date and I really wanted to enter the state fair.
I can weigh the other pumpkin without goin to the state fair but I have to find Certified Scales and have pictures and witnesses for it to count in world records/ state records.
I do not expect to be world record cause the growing conditions tell me it wont.
But if I could just grow a large one it would make me happy.

Anyone else want to join in and add pumpkin pictures------please do. Makes the thread more interesting.

Hi Crickets,

I tried today to take some pictures of my Dill's, but they came out really bad. We got 3" of rain on Tuesday which was more than in the last 3 months so I think we might make it through this drought. This is a fun thread and I'm up for discussing it through the season, but mine are kind of sad at the moment. If it rains 1"/week here the rest of the summer I might catch up to you. I cheated today and dumped some worm casings I've been soaking for a week on mine so hopefully I can catch up. I have 3-4 fruits on each of my 2 vines.

We get enough rain to wet the leaves. Everytime I tiller, I send out dust clouds.
I took another picture yesterday of #1 fruit.
It was 10 inches round on day 5. It is kinda early to be measuring but its a new thing for me so I get anxious.
I need to decide how I want to set the pumpkin up. On a pallet or leave it on the ground.
Either way, I need something that water can flow through but keeps the bugs off the bottom of the pumpkin and some sand on top of that---what ever that is goin to be.

8 days after pollination: 17"cc
Getting big enough to notice now.
I cut #2 and #3 off the vine. #3 was only a 3 segment blossom. I didn't even bother pollinating it.

I set up a mister for hot afternoons/evenings. I will mist the pumpkin every day during the hottest part of the day to help cool it down.
I also have to detour my main vine into a curve so the when the pumpkin grows big it will have plenty of slack and relieve vine stress. The pumpkin will push forward--- towards the vine as it grows.

1114 Lishness plant as of today. It has some pretty big leaves.

One of the newly sown pumpkin seeds (1000.4 Lishness 05) has germinated.
I don't think the other (530 Lishness 05) is goin to germinate cause it had chipped shell.

This is the plan for 1000.04 Lishness: Hoping it has a female to pollinate by end of July at least 7 to 8 feet out on vine and have 66 days to grow for state weigh-offs. Also hoping for a 5 or more segment female to pollinate with a 1114 Lishness Male.

The darn pumpkin patch is a Science Lab with all the blossom crossing and feeding it the right nutrients at the right time to grow a Mutant Pumpkin. As long as it doesn't sprout legs or bite me, I'll be fine.

I don't know if cutting #2 and #3 off the vine had anything to do with todays measurements or not but......
Day 9 20 1/2 inches cc. It grew 3 1/2 inches more since yesterday.

And surprisingly, the 530 Lishness germinated.

Is it pumpkins or watermelons where sugar transfusions are used to create record breakers This was done in the vine not the fruit.

you probably know about www.seedman.com if you go there and in the search area type in giant vegetable seeds you get to buy giant pumpkinm seeds that grow 500 pound pumpkins. don't know how true it is but thought i let you know.
good luck with your pumpkins and they look great.

Hemental, I think it is the watermelon your thinking about.

PUmpkin Genetics===its family tree.
I got my pumpkin seed from other pumpkin growers. The numbers I have been using such as "1114 Lishness 05" Means:::::: the pumpkin was grown by a man with the last name of Lishness, He grew a 1114 pound pumpkin and grew it in 2005.
His pumpkin was grown from a 371 Langevin 04. He pollinated that 371 Langevin with a 551 Langevin 04.
It looks like algebra to me. So his pumpkin seeds are labeled like this:::::::::
1114 Lishness 2005 371 Langevin 04 X 551 Langevin 04.
To confuse you even more, it was the 551 Langevin that also grew the 1000.04 Lishness that I am also growing and he pollinated that 551 Langevin with the 371 Langevin.

this pumpkin begot that pumpkin and that pumpkin begot MY pumpkin.

10 days after pollination= 24 inches cc.

It is so hot here that the leaves burn from the heat. I am seriously thinking about putting a 12x20 foot galvinized hoop greenhouse over the plant and covering it with shade cloth.
This little house is ok but not big enough.
This is the view folks see as they drive by. ITs very close to the road. It was one of my best soil areas.

Day 11 = 27 1/2 inches CC

Day 12 grew 4 inches in 24 hours. Im speechless. 31 1/2" cc

Day 13 grew 5 inches in 24 hours. 36 1/2 "cc

I built a giant shade house for the pumpkin. This southern Heat wil kill anything. Sister in the background helped me put the shade cloth on the 15x35 structure.

This message was edited Jun 29, 2007 8:27 AM

You go girl!!!!

We're all rooting for ya!!!

14 days after pollination 40 1/2 inches

15 days after pollination 44 3/4 inches circumfrence- stem to blossom and back around.
Side to side-- ground over the top to ground 34"
End to End---ground on stem side over the top to ground at blossom side 28"
Total inches 106 " OTT (over the top) estimated 31-34 pounds.

WOW!

Go Go Go!!!

When do you have to pick it by?

How are you gonna move it if it is like 1,000 lbs?

How are you gonna weigh it?