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Twists and Turns in the Dragon's Tale

Growing pumpkins is a jagged journey that goes places one would never dream.  I have pumpkins growing too fast and some too slow. Nothing I do seems to change their behavior.  Only the pumpkins know how the pumpkins grow.

We have perfect pumpkin growing weather now in the San Francisco Bay area.  And the pumpkins are doing what they gotta do.  Here's a little patch update:

Mound 1 - 789 Zunino - I blew up a nice one in mid July on this plant but was able to pollinate a female 24 feet out on the main vine on July 20.  To be safe, I set three more fruit on the plant to suck the juices out enough to slow the growth down a little.  The plant now covers 1,100 square feet and is very healthy.  The pumpkin on the main is still growing faster than the one I blew up in July.  What do I do now?? I stopped fertilizing it over a month ago.   The four pumpkins on the plant gained a combined 60 pounds last night.  All I can do is cut off it's water supply.


Amanda pollinates a female on the 789 Zunino

Mound 2 - 846 Calai - The most manic-depressive plant on the planet -  a plant with all the potential for a 1/2 tonner.  Started out like gangbusters (75" circ. on day 20) but then was never able to sustain over 20 pounds a day and no wonder.   I've done everything wrong with the dragon Calai.  Overfertilized, under sprayed, under pruned, I've mismanaged it horribly.  I should be jailed for plant abuse.  The fruit, Beowoulf,  is now growing huge shoulders that are defying every attempt to relieve vine stress.  I've had to remove several side vines entirely and pull up others.  The tap roots are cut five feet up and down the main vine. The part of the main vine that the fruit has lifted is so thick and weighs so much, I have to prop it up farther daily to take some of the weight off the stem. I need some kind of jackscrew arrangement.   Making dragons behave is no easy task, specially if you don't treat 'em right.

Still, by Al's new formula I get an estimated 887 pounds on Sept. 20.  Sounds good to me - if I can keep the vine attached that long.  You can watch it grow on the dragon cam at:  http://home.pacbell.net/diana_do/cam/dragon.htm
This page is updated daily at about 8 am pacific time.

Mound 3 - 983 Ciliberto - Another case of severe plant abuse.  Under fertilized and under sprayed and perhaps a soil problem, the whole center of the plant has died off and the secondaries are stunted. The fruit has stopped growing at 400 pounds.  My apologies to Tony.  Based on it's early growth that rivaled the Calai, this coulda been a big one.  My head is hung in shame.  Strike two!

Mound 4 - 937 Mombert - This one never really took off at first.  I started to ignore it and not water it and it started growing perfectly.  I've started four pumpkins kinda late.  I've propped them up on their blossom ends to see if I can get some nice 300 pound jack-'o-lanterns.  Strike three, someone call the plant police!

This is not where I wanted to be but here I am.  Ashamed, forlorn and confused in the dragon patch.

vince
best 789, 2000
zone 9 - the dragon zone
 

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