Re: Tricks of the Trade
In a message dated 5/22/00 2:09:21 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
pumpkinsandchess@yahoo.com writes:
<< Subj: Re: Tricks of the Trade
Date: 5/22/00 2:09:21 AM Eastern Daylight Time
From: pumpkinsandchess@yahoo.com (pumpkins and chess)
Sender: owner-pumpkins@mallorn.com
Reply-to: pumpkins@mallorn.com
To: pumpkins@mallorn.com
I am pretty sure heavy hitters have their tricks in the bad that they
don't let go but as far as I have seen, they will help out in a general kind
of way.
--- Greg Schraiber <Greg@schraiber.com> wrote:
> Two questions.
>
> One: What is the most outragous 'trick' used by growers
>
> in their attempt to grow the big one?
>
> Two: How many of you feel that the heavy hitters don't
> share there real secrets?
>
> Greg Schraiber
> >>
Greg,
If the heavy hitters were not sharing info, people would still be growing
200 pound pumpkins. 15 years ago a 250 pound pumpkin would routinely win
local competitions. Back in 1983 , I was asking goofy questions about milk
feeding and almost killed my plant on numerous occasions with over
applications of fertilizer, water and chemicals. I contacted Howard Dill and
Ray Waterman in the Fall of 1983. Did Howard and Ray divulge every little
piece of info or trick on my first few phone calls to them??....Probably not.
But what they did do is get my basic pumpkin growing skills straightened out,
get me some good seeds and get me pointed in the right direction. I became
very serious about learning every factor that affected plant growth and spent
endless hours reading and talking to researchers in horticultural science. In
1983 I grew a 73 pounder........in 1984 I set the all time New England record
at the time at 433 pounds. I believe that pumpkin was in the top 10 in the
world that year.
Just like sending a son or daughter off to college.....you give them good
basic knowledge and guidance and you ease them out of the nest to fly on
their own. You don't do their homework assignments for them.
90 % of growing a large pumpkin can be summed up as follows: Climate,
getting the soil in good shape, proper nutrition and sunlight, good seeds and
correct cultural practices. Not some magic bullet that a heavy hitter has
concocted. Thats not to say that I haven't done extensive growth regulator
research and research into many aspects of plant physiology to try to squeak
out another 5% in weight over the past 16 years.
If a newbie that has never put a seed to the soil calls and wants to get
started, virtually every heavy hitter I know of will hook them up with good
seeds and get them going in the right direction. If that same person who has
put in little effort on his own, wanted me to photostat my files and explain
every detail and aspect of my research that has cost me tens of thousands of
dollars and 16 years of my life.......I would not comply. On the other hand,
you can spot a person a mile away, who has started to conduct his or her own
research and has some pointed questions about things they have come across in
their studies. I would and have answered very specific questions and given
detailed information on topics that I have studied for years....if I know a
grower has been making an earnest research effort.
A heavy hitter could be a person who consistantly grows 500 pound
pumpkins in a bad climate area. A newbie can pop an 700 pound pumpkin in an
ideal climate area. The secret to success is to sweat alot and follow good
gardening practices. The frosting on the cake is the experience you gain over
the years. Then throw in a little luck. A man once said, " The harder I work,
the luckier I get".
Pumpkin growers have for the most part, have been a very sharing bunch
with seeds and info. It is human nature to suspect that the heavy hitters
have a magic bullet that is helping them to prevail over the others. Have you
ever seen a heavy hitter that wasn't a good gardener, spent endless hours in
the patch, became a plant physiology student (some more than
others)............it all adds up to the ones that put in the extra effort.
pumkinguy
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