Re: Serious questions in a light vein

Terry:
	Put it there Terry (high five) Yes! 
	I'm real interested to see if you get a response in favor of your ideal
pumpkin.  I've posted a number of similar articles about breeding a better
shaped pumpkin.  However, here in the giant pumpkin e-mail community size,
as in weight, means everything.  For instance: last year the World Record
and 1,000 lbs limit was broken. That grower won $100,000.00 plus.  The guy
that grew the best shaped pumpkin got a cupie doll.  Talk about insentives!
	We all know that a few commerical seed companies have developed some big
beautiful pumpkins like the hybrid Burpees Prizewinner, but I don't think
they get big enough - 100-200 lbs, if grown intensively they may even get a
little bigger.
	What I'd like to see is a 2,000 lb Jack-O-Lantern, deep red-orange in
color, a slightly elongated sphereical shape, no flattening, mild ribbing,
strong stem, with fine grained flesh that tastes wonderful and can feed
4,000 people at a single sitting.
	If I had a dozen acres of rich and fertile bottom land to grow out and
breed and select 4-5 different pumpkin varieties, (and a dozen laborers to
hand-pollinate, etc.) in a decade or so I'd be the pumpkin king myself. 
And, if cows could fly I'd have my manure flown in instead.
	As for the 700+# pumpkins looking no bigger than 300-400# pumpkins from
previous years . . .  well it is either 1.)  the stems now weight a couple
hundred pounds, or 2.) the camera man is not standing close enough to the
subject, or 3.)  the person photographed behind the pumpkin is standing,
rather than kneeling like they used to for pictures.
	I've got some real interesting seed stock, some knowledge, ideas, etc. and
might be able to assist your efforts to a minor degree.  
	If any others are interested in Terry's ideas please raise your hand.

Michael in Akron
mcohill@neo.lrun.com
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index