Re: A putts or the bomb

In a message dated 98-07-18 16:21:36 EDT, you write:

> 
>  Steve i only sent that 561 cross out to 3 people.....and your one of
>  them...Mike Neperency had it going and it was putsy and sluggish...so he
>  pulled it...i have one plant in a test patch and it appears just
>  average...size....lots of these crosses look to be phenominal and then they
>  don't fill our expectations.......It seems to me that most good crosses
>  have 10 good seeds that have 700+potential and the others are
>  average....and theres no way of knowing which 10 are above average...thats
>  where the luck comes in........also the more a seed is planted it seems the
>  better the odds that 10 great seeds will get flushed out...unlless your
>  lucky enough to have a 567.5 mombert which was the most " old reliable".and
>  probably most planted by top growers...its a guessing game.......if you
>  really like that cross and think theres a big one lurking in there i'll
>  send you some more seed.....really hard to figure just yet if its a piece
>  of ----or a diamond waiting to be found have to use your own
>  intuition..............Presently my biggest pumpkin plant  turned out to be
>  ah a squash!! ohhh the pain!....brock

Well, I have been really depressed lately, since the two 561 seeds I planted
carefully in the hill both rotted, and this last one I am trying to germinate
in a moist paper towel (after soaking in water for a few hours) does not seem
to be germinating. (This is the 3rd day). I can;t figure out what is wrong.
The temp outside was in the upper 80's so I didn't treat those two seeds with
any fungicide since I figured there was no need for it. This last seed I am
germinating carefully in a paper towel, and it too doesn't seem to be
germinating. I can't beleive it is a fungus, (could it be)? It is too weird.
The first time I even soaked the first two seeds in bottled water, (I always
go overboard on these things!), but this time I just soaked the last seed in
regular tap water, since maybe the chlorine helps in some way by killing off
some bacteria or sposres, and most other people use tap water. Nothing I do
seems to make a difference though! SO if this last seed doesn't germinate....I
was trying to think whether I should askfor another one, or resort to one of
the others you sent. But since so many people (O.K., well 2!) said the 561's
were performing lamely I was windering if I should forget my fixation on this
seed (who wouldn't want to grow a plant from it just so they can SAY "Hey!
This plant is derived form the 2nd biggest pumpkin in the WORLD!"), and maybe
one of the others had more potential. I don't know. I was thinking of the
Brock 591, the self-pollinated 887 Orr, which is on the list of the best 10
performing pumpkins. Or maybe the 701, which has the 1006 as a mother. ARGH,
this stuff can get so complicated. I wish there was room for me to just grow
them all! Anyway no one has been able to make a preference among those seeds
(or the Brock 606, the other one you sent) either. Are you growing any of
them, and if so, do any look better than the others? That's one benefit of
starting late, I can see what plants are doing better with you guys who
started early. (Now I have to go make plans for the greenhouse we will
probably have to build around our pumpkin patch come October. ARGGGGH).
Oh, I am growing a 618 Wallace, which is a self-pollnated 567 Mombert....so
maybe I could be lucky there. Except a new development of flattening
vines....but I'll post that in my update email next....
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