RE: Weather

Your ideas aren't so crazy mike. I had considered metal halide lamps as well. While costly, 4-foot fluorescent fixtures with grow lamps are not. I figured it would run me around $100 to get electricity out to my patch in a waterproof receptacle and build a frame work to hold a couple of lights. This would be to coddle one plant. Well worth it though in my opinion. I'm in central Virginia.


-----Original Message-----
From: Mike Lill [m*@efortress.com]
Sent: Wednesday, June 18, 2003 9:36 AM
To: pumpkins@hort.net
Subject: Weather

Anyone else find this weather here in the northeast to be troublesome.  In
particular, here in Rhode Island we've only had a couple sunny days all
month!  Combine that with about 4.5" of water so far, and cool temps.  I've
hit 80 degrees once at my house.  Needless to say the pumpkin plants aren't
doing well.  Living, but not growing much.  The soil is great, with cow and
chicken manure sowed in really deep.  What I need now is mother nature to
bring us some summer weather!

Looks to be a very short growing season which makes it hard to grow
AG's.   I did start seeds in April but it was so damn cold around here it
was a losing battle.  May never warmed up and was cloudy most of the
month.   I guess I picked a bad year to try to grow my first ever
AG.   Always next year.

I've been going over crazy ideas in my head like renting those high powered
lights they use on the highway projects, but putting in plant growth bulbs.

I also have one of those portable outdoor fireplaces that I put close to
the pumpkins. Although I damaged one leaf  as the ground caught fire
briefly from the mulch hay I use around the plants.   I figure the
fireplace will keep the plants toasty at night when the temps dip into the
40's.  I had 48 degrees the other morning, 51 this morning (the clouds
moved in early).

Not only has it been difficult to grow AG's.  Most everything looks awful
in the garden.  Only thing doing well are the lawns and the
hedges.  Strawberries are 1-2 weeks late, and the crop is
pitiful.   Tomatoes, and other vegetables are growing at a snails pace.

Just one of those years I guess.

Mike Lill, Warwick, Rhode Island
Weather Observer T.F. Green Airport.

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