Re: Cross Recommendations
Matt,
Are you happy with the appearance of the 582 Hester offspring? Do they
exhibit characteristics you like? Do you like the appearance of the 1458
Whittier? If so, crossing your 582 with the 1458 and 1458 with the 582 is
certainly a sensible plan of action. The potential for huge size is
certainly all right there. As you know though, its really impossible to
predict exactly what you will get. Its only over generations of careful
selection will you create a seed that can reliably produce consistent
results. If you are in this for the long haul, stick with a line you like
and finetune it over the next few years. Random cross-pollination produces
random results with each generation becoming harder and harder to predict.
Keep in mind too that, unless your soil and cultivation techniques are on
par with Mr. Whittier's, you are not going to see results such as his no
matter what seed you plant. At this point, Bruce could probably grow a 1000
pound pumpkin from a watermelon seed in his patch. In an unexceptional
environment though, most of your seed choices are going to perform pretty
similiarly, all within a couple hundred pounds of each other. I guess what I
am saying is that you should not become too preoccupied with size this early
in your pumpkin career. Don't trade all your cows for a handful of magic
beans. Concentrate more on cultivating healthy, vigorous seed lines that you
enjoy. Most of today's seeds contain the firepower to grow you a personal
best. As your environment and techniques improve, the higher weights are
sure to follow.
Just my opinion...
Mike
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