Seeds started!

Update from near Rochester, NY...

I germinated a Greene 348 as a test of my germination technique around 4/9.  Last year,
not knowing any better, I almost rotted everything because I worked at room 
temperature; this year, I walked around with a thermometer until I found a spot 
that stayed at 85 degrees 24 hours a day... on a certain spot atop a terminal in 
a neighboring unoccupied office at work.  
With a 6 hour pre-soak, this warm location, and a damp paper towel and ziploc
bag, this sanded seed germinated *very* strongly within 2 days, and now has 2 true leaves.  
I probably won't plant this outside as I have limited space; I may give it away
to a co-worker.  Since I've put it in a peat pot, I've only been keeping it 
at room temperature, near a sunny window; it's got two secondary leaves now.  
Should I be keeping it at 85 degrees around the clock too?

Last Wed., 4/28, I started germinating my "real" seeds, at least 2 of which
I'll be growing this year- 
  879 Rockwell
  771 Fortin (won the '98 Oswego weighoff- Thanx to Carl Greene for the seed!)
  608 Hester

(Is there a photo or description of the Fortin pumpkin available?  I got the
family tree already from CucurByte- thanx, Mike!) 

The Fortin and Rockwell seeds were tan, the Hester white, for those keeping track.

The Fortin sprouted first, and then the Hester, both within 48 hours, but the 
Rockwell hasn't (yet, as of 5/3 AM).  I put the sprouted ones in peat pots/dirt on 
4/30, but they haven't poked out of the dirt yet, I think because I've been 
keeping them in the house at a mere 70 degrees.  The Greene test seed
was much further along with I potted it (root 2 1/4" long, with 6 root offshoots) 
than these were (1" and 1/8" single roots, espectively).  Today I brought the pots
in to work to sit in the warm car in the parking lot all day- my "rolling greenhouse" 
technique which I used last year.  Maybe that'll speed them up.  

I rented a rototiller Saturday and turned the sunniest part of my back lawn
into a small 350 sq. ft. garden, rototilling in 13 40-lb bags of
composted cow manure from Agway.  Boy, tilling up that grass is quite a 
job... I'm still sore!  For now, I put about 2" of composted manure in just the 
ends of the garden, where I'll put in the seedlings when they get big enough.  
I'll add manure to the middle later as they start to grow (still a bit pessimistic 
about this).  With such a small garden, I'll put in two plants, and heavily prune 
them, letting a little go out onto the grass, or till more later if things look 
really promising.  I'm not looking for a record, just shooting to get one so big 
that I need to get some buddies over to help get it out of the yard!  :-)
Anything over 4 (four) pounds will be an improvement over last (my first) year!
(Stinkin' store-bought seed!  :-) )

Looking at the chunk of lawn I just sacraficed, and seeing how small my one early 
test seedling is, I feel silly thinking I'll need all that space for just one or two 
plants (my wife has been incredibly patient with all this), but if the seedlings grow 
like I hope, I know by late July I'll have a jungle.

I had a slight problem getting good composted manure... I called around, and the
closest place that had it sold me "humus and manure" ... after I got a carload
home, I read the label, and it was only 10 percent manure, having only 0.05% Nitrogen.
100 percent composted manure has 1 percent Nitrogen.  It turns out what they sold me
was it was 90% peat moss.  I wound up returning all this stuff, and going someplace
else to get the, uh,  "full-strength" product, which I tilled in.  :-)
Well, I'm on my way!

-------
Rick Inzero, grower of dwarf Atlantic Giants, near Rochester, NY
      "Why *ANYBODY* can grow a BIG one!!"
rdi@cci.com

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