Re: Tricks of the Trade
Pumpkinguy and Others,
I enjoyed your reply. After reading it though, I felt maybe I should write the
list and clarify that I did not mean to imply that the heavy hitters amongst us
were a bunch of SOB's that wouldn't pass along their knowledge to others. I agree
with you and content that the record speaks for itself with regards to sharing,
caring and teaching. I have been on this list since Jan. 1998 and have been the
recipient of much good information from all of you.
I'm the kind of guy that could kill any garden given me. :)
I simply do not have a 'green' thumb. I try and try and study and test, but so
far have not been able to grow much of anything worth speaking of. Now, I am not
complaining. I really enjoy coming home and tending to the patch (as frustrating
as it can be sometimes).
I seem to be much better at the gadgets I've concocted for my patch and it was
with the gadgets side of things that I was thinking of when I wrote my questions
(trying to flush some new idea to tinker with). In hindsight though, the second
question simply was not called for.
If I have insulted any of the growers on this list then I wish to offer my
sincere apologies and hope that none will think ill of me.
Greg Schraiber
Machesney Park, Il
(where ever the heck that is)
Pumkinguy@aol.com wrote:
>
> 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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