Re: count down to harvest

Almost all of the guys I know are old farts.  I agree that a forklift would be
ideal, however I am unemployed and renting a pickup truck will be costly
enough.

Uhm, "see you at the weigh-off" ... are you coming to IL?  I have an
extra room 
for anyone out of state and am approx.  an hour or so away from
the Oct. 3 
weigh-off in Homer Glen, IL.

Debbie
________________________________
From: Kathie Morgan <fishrap@att.net>
To:
pumpkins@hort.net
Sent: Sun, September 5, 2010 10:48:08 AM
Subject: Re: count
down to harvest

Debbie,

Others may do it differently but here's how we do
ours.

Buy approx. one case of something cold to drink. No reason to spend 
more.

Invite 16-20 of the youngest best-looking guys you know. Get your 
husband's permission, if necessary and appropriate.
Take pictures of everyone
with the pumpkin to be harvested.
Hand-select four guys to tip the pumpkin up
on one side. Your favorite  
hunks.

Slide a tarp, folded in half, beneath the
fruit.
Then roll or otherwise wrestle the fruit back up on its other side and 
unfold the tarp.

Everybody rests and drinks a drink.

Then you have the guys
each take a handle of the tarp. Everyone ready?
At the count of three,
everyone lifts.

When they do, a short fat elderly lady gets underneath and
shoves a  
pallet beneath the pumpkin-on-the-tarp. I try to get the pallet 
centered directly beneath the pumpkin and scramble out from underneath 
before the guys lose their grip and collapse in exhaustion.

If you followed
these instructions carefully, you now have a kind of  
layer cake: pumpkin on
top of a tarp on top of a pallet.

Here's where the forklift takes over - you
really need to beg, buy or  
borrow one -  and eases the layers into the bed
of the waiting truck.

See you at the weigh-off!

Kathie in Santa Rosa



On
Sep 4, 2010, at 5:45 AM, Debbie Runkle wrote:

> Ok, Glen, Steve and Shazzy. 
I'll break down and buy beer for all of  
> your manual
> labor during this
process.  LOL  It is amazing how many people  
> suddenly have bad
> backs
when you ask them to help.
>
> Is a lifting ring the same as tarps?  Also, I
do not have a  
> significant incline
> unless I first roll it into the
neighbors yard (after taking down  
> veggies, fence
> and grapes), back the
truck up and go for it.
>
> Debbie
>
>
>
>
>
>
________________________________
> From: Steve Haberman <shaberman@insmgt.com>
> To: pumpkins@hort.net
> Sent: Fri, September 3, 2010 2:53:24 PM
> Subject:
RE: count down
>
> Did I hear the word BEER?
>
> Steve Haberman
>
>
>
-----Original Message-----
> From: owner-pumpkins@hort.net
[o*@hort.net] On  
> Behalf Of
> Peters, Glenn - 1170 -
MITLL
> Sent: Friday, September 03, 2010 2:51 PM
> To: pumpkins@hort.net
>
Subject: RE: count down
>
> Hmmm I didn't see any mention of the most
important part ---
>
> Make sure you buy plenty of beer and pizzas first.
>
>
Glenn
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-pumpkins@hort.net
[o*@hort.net] On  
> Behalf Of
> Shazzyshaz@aol.com
> Sent:
Friday, September 03, 2010 2:38 PM
> To: pumpkins@hort.net
> Subject: Re:
count down
>
> debbie,
> i never used a lifting ring til last year and we will
load a 1000  
> pounder
> by hand in a 3 weeks. this is what has helped us
over the years.
>
> 1. if you have any kind of slope or hill in the yard that
you can  
> back the
> truck up to, use the slope so you do not have to lift
so high.
>
> 2.  we take  two  2"x10" planks of wood about 8 or  10' long and 
> place them
> side by side on the tail gait to the ground. this will  be the
resting
> platform.
>
> 3. make sure all trip[ hazards are out of the way. all
vines, cords,
> anything that could blow out a knee or ankle.
>
> 4. get 2
people on tarp duty. take 2 or 3, 4 how many it takes on  
> one side
> and
begin to lift, roll and balance the pumpkin on the opposite side  
> of
>
lifting.  the 2 people on tarp dut position the tarp under the  
> pumkin with
> one
> end folded  like a curtain. slowly ease the pumpkin back down. now  
>
do the
> same thing with  rolling it, then have the 2 people on tarp duty on 
> fold and
>
> stretch out the  tarp. ease back down gently. have everone
grap  
> handles of
> the tarp and start  centering it to the middle by
sliding and  
> puilling.
>
> 5. take a breath.
>
> 6. make sure pallet in
back of truck has slots pointed the right way  
> for
> forklift or skidsteer
forks. put styrofome on the pallet and  
> cushions on top
>
> of  that. i use
old thick couch cushions.
>
> 7. now the fun part. slowly lift and walk it to
the trcuk. easy. set  
> it
> down when needed. get it to the planks of wood
leading up the tail  
> gate.
> situate  the 2 or 3 strongest shortest pople
in the truck. the  
> others lift
> and
> slowly let  it rest on the planks
and keep working it up to the  
> tailgate.
> then
> this is the  big lift
time up and ontop of the cushions. the most  
> dangerous
> time to blow a 
knee or ankle so do it in unison with one person  
> giving
> orders.
>
> 8.
take another breat. laugh pop a cold beer and strap it down...not  
> to
>
tightly.
>
> 9. attach some bags or milk containers of water to the vines you 
> left on on
> both sides of the stem if everything is rot free and they are
still
> capable of  sucking in water.
>
> 10. the next morning enjoy the ride
when people see you driving down  
> the
> street to your weigh off. you will
understand when it happens. lol
>
> and i should have said, number one thing
you always say first, "nobody
> touch the stem!" and someone still will and it
will snap off and you  
> will be
>
> pissed, then laugh it off after you
settle down. save the stem and  
> put it on
>
> the  pumpkin at the weigh
off. it still counts. lol. been there done  
> that.
>
>
> unloading is easier
with the planks of wood used again to slide it  
> slowly
> down with your
lifting crew.
>
>
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