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Edmonton Alberta Update 07/27/97

Greetings All

It's been a busy July for me.  Between keeping up with my plants and my real
job, I have not been able to catch up to the email until now.

Here is an update on my progress for those of you who wish to compare.

My main plant (Howard Dill 500-700-parents unknown) now covers an area of
about 500 square feet.  It would be more like 700 but the vines have run
into the fence around the patch and are now climbing over it.  I will be
pinching the ends of these vines soon.

MAIN VINE:
The main vine is now 18.5'.  Near the base of the plant it is about 2" in
diameter.  The first fruit on this vine was pollinated July 4/97 at 4.6 feet
out.  It aborted.  The second fruit (#4-97) was pollinated 07/14/97, 8.4'
out.  It is presently my largest and fastest growing pumpkin.  It is very
round and almost taller than long.  Is this what is called a "Cartwheel"
shape George?  From what I have seen in the emails, this may not be the most
desirable shape to have.

I pollinated a third fruit (#10-97)on this main vine on 07/21/97.  It is
12.6 feet out.  Unless it grows extremely fast, it will probably be removed
as I don't think it will catch up to #4-97 mentioned above.

SECONDARY VINES:

My next best vine is now 16 feet.  It might be called what Chris and Duncan
referred to as a main secondary vine?  It takes off of the main vine about
4'' from the base and runs in the opposite direction.  My next best pumpkin
(3-97), is on this vine.  It was pollinated 07/14/97 ( the same day as
4-97).  It's growth rate is slightly below that of 4-97, but I will probably
be keeping this one as I only have one plant, and don't want to risk losing
4-97 with no backup.

The other secondary vines are all in the 14 to 18 foot range in length.  I
have two other pumpkins pollinated and growing on two of these vines.  They
have similiar growth rates to the others on the plant so will not likely
catch up.  I am patiently waiting and watching all five of these pumpkins to
see if any shows unusual potential.

OTHER PLANTS

I have two other plants at one end of the patch.  These are for experimental
purposes, pollen supply, and seed supply.  One of these plants is from a 195
lb. I grew in 1995 and the other is from my 231 of 1995 (my best so far). 

There are several pumpkins growing on these plants.  I am tracking their
growth also just for additional data for future use.  These plants are
limited in space and I have trimmed them back considerably.  I don't expect
large sizes for these pumpkins, but am hoping to get some seeds from
different crosses I have made.

STATISTICS
I measure every day, and track growth rates in a spreadsheet.  I track
growth two ways: 
1. stem to blossom circumference only (Stellpflug).
2. OVT (Dill) total measurement.

The spreadsheet contains a number of graphs that allow me to easily
visualize which fruit are doing the best.  I also include growth curves from
my "best to date" pumpkins (1995) on the same graphs to easily compare this
years growth to previous best growth rates.  The spreadsheet also calculates
estimated weights using both the Stellpflug equation, and Howard Dill's
method.  All my graphs are duplicated showing growth rates for both
measurement methods.  I use separate graphs for each plant.

I am happy to report that although my measurements are not as great as many
of the growers out there, all of my fruit are growing at a rate that is as
good or better than my personal best from previous years.

HERE ARE SOME NUMBERS:
(All pumpkins below are on the Dill 500-700/parents unknown plant.)
All flowers had 5 segments.

Measurements taken 07/26/97 @ 2130 hrs.

Pumpkin 3-97. 
 Secondary vine. 6.25 feet from junction with main vine which is 4" out on
main vine.
12 days since pollination.
Stem to Blossom Circ.  20.25"
ovt. side to side:  15.75"
ovt. stem to blossom  15.4"
ovt. total  51.4"

Pumpkin 4-97 (best so far)
Main vine.  8.5 feet out.
12 days since pollination.
circ.  23.8
ovt. side to side:  17.75
ovt. stem to blossom:  17.95
ovt. total:  59.5"

Pumpkin 5-97
Secondary vine. 5.4' from junction which is  22" out on main vine.
10 days since pollination.
circ.  18.0
ovt. ss:  14.7
ovt. sb:  15.0
ovt. total:  47.7"

Pumpkin 7-97
Secondary vine.  7.8 feet from junction which is only 4" out on main vine.
9 days since pollination.
circ.  15.2
ovt. ss:  12.1
ovt. sb:  12.2
ovt. total:  39.5"

Pumpkin 10-97
Main vine.  12.6 feet out from base of plant and 4.2 feet past #4-97.
5 days since pollination.   (not on ground yet.  I use a ratio to estimate
ovt. sizes based on the other pumpkins on the plant.)
circ.  ACTUAL 10.0"
ovt. ss: (est. 7.77")
ovt. sb: (est. 7.77")
ovt. total: (est. 25.5")

If anyone is interested in my spreadsheet, email me directly and I can
answer questions or send you a copy of the file.  It is in Quatro-Pro.

Kurt Frederick
Edmonton, Alberta

ps.  Don't forget to include where you are from with your name at the bottom
of your postings so we can better compare progress.
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