The local farm market in conjunction with the Chamber of Commerce and other businesses are sponsoring a pumpkin contest. Anyone who lives in Madison County can enter it. The pumpkin which weighs the most wins five hundred dollars. There will be other prizes yet to be determined. I'm thinking of donating a garden apron and tote bag. I have some matching ones. I signed up for it and turned in my entry blank. Rick (local farmer) grew some pumpkin seeds and gave me a small peat pot of them last week. There were three in the pot so I divided them and planted them in three different spaces. Two of them looked good this morning(I transplanted them last evening.) The largest one looks a little worse for the wear but maybe when the shock wears off it will do okay. I planted them in some garden soil and added some ranch manure. Now, I'm competing with the four kids next door and giving them advice, too. I don't expect I'll win but thought the kids, 10-12 and two 13 might have some fun with it and compete with me and enjoy gardening some. I hope to get some good advice from here to make my pumpkins really grow big. Here are the three that I have planted. pumpkin# 1 ( photo / image / picture from dooley's Garden ) pumpkin # 3 ( photo / image / picture from dooley's Garden ) ( photo / image / picture from dooley's Garden ) dooley
Hi Dooley, oh this will be interesting to watch!,..but why not try for a real biggie?,..you can do it and the children will love it,..i found a link that you will find interesting and helpful. Bill Foss's How to Grow Giant Pumpkins Instructions
That sounds delightful, Dooley. I have a feeling that this is going to be lots of fun for everyone. Good luck!
Dooley. They have a similar contest here in our area. My hubby likes growing those big pumpkins just for the fun of it. You already put on the manure, mulch around them really good and keep them well watered after the pumpkins form. Watch out for those squash beetles. Sounds like fun.
Dooley, Since we weren't eating our jack o lanterns we used Nuprid on them this year. This is a systemic insecticide that you apply as a drench and as the plant grows it takes in the nuprid. as soon as a bug eats on it it is DEAD! If you want a pumpkin to survive this might be the way If squash bugs and cucumber beetles are a problem for you. And keep fertilizing regularly.
Good luck with the pumpkin. Do you rent movies through Netflix by any chance? If so they have ... http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Lords-of-t ... e/70077102 It's called Lords of the Gourd It has been on PBS stations off and on for the last 4 years and is the story about the growing of pumpkins for the annual contest in Cooperstown NY
sounds great, only my second year of growing pumpkins, but from what i have read. Feed regularly once fruit forms. careful with the watering try not to get it on the leaves. try to do one pumpkin per plant for big ones. I wondered if any of the gardenstew crowd fancied an online competition for the biggest garden stew pumpkin?
