Re: newbie tale: the pumpkin giant that wasn't

Hi Kathie,
Thanks for the NorCal dates.  I've never been to a weigh off and it'll be a
great way to meet folks. I plan to go to Morgan Hill and will arrive in the
morning to mingle with the contestants.  Will you be there and entering a
pumpkin? What is the current state of your pumpkin? Are others on this list
going?

I'm also interested in HalfMoonBay, but dunno about skipping work. Maybe.
Isn't HMB the granddaddy, or in some way special.  It's curious that the
weigh off there is a Monday. I wonder why. Perhaps the weekend crowds aren't
helpful to true competitors?

Can someone enter a pumpkin in more than one contest?
Yours, Marc
___________


On Sun, Sep 5, 2010 at 8:28 AM, Kathie Morgan <fishrap@att.net> wrote:

> Hi, Marc from San Jose!
>
> Where do you go from here?
>
> Elk Grove on 10-2.
>
> Santa Rosa on 10-3.
>
> Uesugi Farms in Morgan Hill on 10-9.
>
> Half Moon Bay on 10-11.
>
> Salinas on 10-16 (closer to you than Auburn on the same date).
>
> Introduce yourself to the rest of us and hang on for the ride of your life.
> Welcome aboard!
>
> Kathie in Santa Rosa
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Sep 5, 2010, at 8:07 AM, Marc Siegel wrote:
>
>  Hello,
>> I m Marc from San Jose and have been lurking here for a month, reading and
>> learning from your advanced techniques. Thanks. I m a first year grower
>> and
>> have had an amazing fun ride in my first season. Unlike your 500+
>> pounders,
>> my  giant  is now about 5 pounds, yellowing and turning soft. Not to fear:
>> I
>> have two baseball size beauties gaining an ounce per day.
>>
>> I d like to tell you my story and see if you have any helpful advice for
>> salvaging the season.  My journey started in April when I attended a
>> workshop by Stuart Shim (http://bit.ly/9r6J0o) in San Jose, CA.  He
>> motivated me to dig (by hand) a 4 x4 x4  hole and fill it with delicious
>> amendments, manure etc.  I sprouted the seeds he provided in a peat pot
>> and
>> was so excited to sink the finest baby into its special mound on May 30.
>> Quickly it established and began spreading its vine briskly. Each day,
>> with
>> excitement, I interrupted my work at least a dozen times to check in. Soon
>> flowers came and I read up on the advanced techniques for just-right
>> pollination. I decided to let the pumpkin have its own sex, and I d keep
>> the
>> most desirable.  That s when the forementioned  giant  started and once it
>> was softball-sized, I started breaking off the other budding babies.
>>
>> It was late June and all was good.  Confident, I began trashtalking that
>> (no
>> matter what!) I was gonna grow a pumpkin that weighed more than me.
>> Currently I m at 200lbs but vowed to lose whatever weight it took to make
>> my
>> goal.
>>
>> During a San Jose heat storm, I first encountered wilting leaves (though I
>> had just watered), and a very friendly guy taught me about misting. Rigid
>> leaves left me pleased I had mastered this advanced technique. Every few
>> days I mixed some fish emulsion with water and treated my beauty vine to
>> this stink juice. I buried a few of the vines, My daily dozen visits
>> continued, and loved my new sport.
>>
>> Then, things went horribly bad. I got busy in life, didn t pay as much
>> attention, and somehow latched to the notion that if a little water was
>> good, a Niagra was better. I watered every day, sometimes for hours,
>> spewing
>> it up and overhead. To compound matters, I didn't think much about
>> fertilizing or snipping tertiary sprouts.  Eventually my Prize stopped
>> growing, and over time all the plant's leaves yellowed. Eventually I got a
>> clue and stopped the incessant watering.  But the damage is done. The once
>> yellowed leaves haven't really come back. The leaves near the tap root are
>> dead or drying up. But the growing ends of several vines are delicious
>> dark
>> green and growing and producing flowers and baby pumpkins. Is there hope?
>>
>> I'd appreciate any advice on where to go from here, for this season, or
>> next
>> year, especially information on watering schedules. I'm not embittered but
>> enthused. This hobby is SO COOL.
>> Yours, Marc
>>
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>
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