Pumpkin patch practices and gourd garden grooming.
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By Chewy
#48831
Summer has finally arrived. Consistently getting days into the 20's finally, only what, a month late?

New blooms have pretty much all but stopped now, I'm guessing what i have, is what i will get now.

Few new pics follow.

One of a handful of lumina's coming along - this is Gordy (named by Hottie)

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Couple more Lumina's. These guys arent very large at this point & arent really expected to get too big. Will be interesting to see how they grow.

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Biggest of the not-so-giants. It's about 1/4 the size of our biggest big max. Its still growing, which is promising, but, weve given up any hope of it getting to anywhere near being a "large" pumpkin. It is interesting to see that the giants are all taking the "squashed" shape that the really big ones get, despite really not being very large. I guess we were expecting they'd start normal and get all saggy as a result of their size. Doesnt seem to be the case. Hmm!

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Last up, one of the mystery kins. Coming along quite nicely hiding under the canopy of leaves.

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User avatar
By Chewy
#48929
Here are the kins we've named (based on the Addams family theme suggested in the other thread) & where they are now in terms of size:

#1 - Based on the size of this one, we named it Lurch. It was 40" around on July 31 - is now 47".

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#2 - Being somewhat dainty, not growing any more & the most curvaceous of the group, this one could only be Morticia. Holding at 27"

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#3 - Slightly misshapen, unknown species - Thing. Has grown from 24" to 29"

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#4 - This one was obvious, it could only be Fester. Up 6.5" from 21" last time.

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#5 - Short & somewhat squat yet growing energetically still, we figured this one just matched up with Pugsley. Was 28.5" on the 31st - has grown significantly, is now 45" around. Is only half as tall as Lurch, which kinda makes sense dont you think?

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#6 - the late addition, a little (so far) Lumina named Gordy. Gordy's just 15.5" around, hopefully we see some rapid growth

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User avatar
By Chewy
#49148
Update for this week. Not good news for the large patch, have discovered many of plants infected with downy mildew. Not sure how this could have happened, as i understand it this affects planst that have moisture left on their leaves, which is one of the reasons why i invested in a drip system. In any event, need to get on with treatment now.

Updates on the kins

Lurch - up another inch and a bit to 48", getting much orangier now

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Morticia - grown a little too, just abot 28" now, starting to show more orange also

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Thing - no change size-wise. A lot more orange.

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Fester - grown just about an inch, 28.5"

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Pugsley - holding at 45"; looks like i forgot to take a picture of it. oh well, next time.

Gordy - little guy still but has grown a bit up to 17.25" now

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The large bed, the plants most affected by the downy mildew are at the far end of this bed; mostly jack o lanterns and connecticut field pumpkins

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Couple of jack o lanterns

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The smallest variety we planted (and shortest maturation time) were the jack-be-littles & they're starting to come now. A week after bloom, these guys are only about as big as teh female blooms on the other species. Living up to their name at thsi point! Couple of little guys here:

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User avatar
By Zombie Pumpkins!
#49150
Sorry to hear of the mildew issue. :? From the info and photos you've posted, it's clear that you've been giving your patch plenty of love and care. Perhaps the most detailed documentation I see around here. Hopefully a good learning experience for everyone.

I like the names you've chosen... the Addams Family traits certainly fits. White bald Fester is a natural choice. :lol: I feel like I've had a chance to watch these pumpkin "children" grow up, I can't wait to see what they become when they're "adults."
User avatar
By monstermash
#49156
They're creepy and they're kooky, mysterious and spooky. They're altogether ooky, it's chewy's family patch. :wink:

Really nice to see them getting bigger and bigger. I just hope the guy who I get my kins from is doing as well as you. Fingers crossed.
User avatar
By staticfurball
#49910
wow thats a nice space to grow. I dont have a very big yard. i did grow lantern pumpkins by accident one though. I had a vine growing up my fence one year and since I had planted zucchini nearby I figured it was the same thing but then the little sprouts werent growing longer and I figured...."well thats wierd". and soon the started to take shape and was pleasantly surprised. I must have thrown oou the seeds to the squirels the year before and some were left behind,lol. I used them all to make candle holders.
User avatar
By Chewy
#50641
Update much delayed from what id hoped, have been a little busy with late season camping trips & a LOT of fishing (the Pink Salmon run is in full swing right now here; they only come every two years). Have been a little unenthusiastic the last few weeks also - the wife tells me we're looking at a trip in late October which may make all my work this year a complete waste of time. :(

The patch is doing as well as expected at this point - the larger species are looking more or less ripe & the vines are in heavy decline. The smaller ones still going full force.

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tracing will be tough on these guys. not sure what happened, maybe cross pollination with some of the nearby squash.

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User avatar
By staticfurball
#50645
That last one looks pretyt cool though. like bubbly flesh. nice and spooky.
User avatar
By Raven
#50663
They are all so beautiful!

I've grown pumpkins once, years ago. I didn't have a problem at all with any mold but I also lived in a very dry climate. I had to water them every day. Not sure if that has anything to do with it.

I can't wait to move so maybe I can grow some again.
User avatar
By monstermash
#50703
I love the lumpy ones. If you don't want them, you can always post them to Scotland for me. :lol: I will give them a nice home... in my cooking pot! Mwahahaha :twisted:
User avatar
By Chewy
#50840
Thanks for the suggestion there monstermash. I'll keep you posted on the final destination. We havent booked our trip yet, so, im kinda hoping my wife leaves it too late (like she's apt to do) & we end up not travelling over halloween.

Ive been reading more on the mildew - it actually sounds like its somewhat natural for it to happen later in the season here, caused by the dew sitting on the leaves overnight. Maybe not too big a deal afterall. The kins that were worst hit have all matured & are pretty much ready to harvest now. Im turning the watering system off this weekend, which should start the hardening up.

The little ones are ready now too (except for a few stragglers).

The luminas are more of a concern, they're only half of what was expected - not carveable even. Most are still growing. Sadly Gordy didnt make it.

<pause for moment of silence here>

And now, back to fishing!
User avatar
By Chewy
#53843
Ok, fishing done for this year's pink run - smoked salmon anyone? LOL. Now, we'll work on some catch & release Coho & some really big Springs. Woo hoo!

Probably my last update for the patch this year. The water systems shut down, & most of the kins are ready to go. A few have already gone (sadly), but the majority are looking good enough.

Learned a few things -

Jack be littles are very productive plants. My daughter will be taking a couple dozen to school i think. LOL

Theres a fine line between ripe & mush for luminas. Oops. Ive also learned that i'll need to be much more selective with them if i want them big enough to carve - have a couple that are just too small.

Atlantic giants - i know why they're so heavy. Have a couple "regular sized" ones - that probably weigh 50 pounds each. I figure the walls must be really thick.

And, i need to be much more proactive about getting them onto their bottoms early on. Have way too many lopsided flat back kins!

Anyway... we harvested a few today - probably 1/3 of the larger ones & maybe 1/4 of the wee ones. Going to have a lot of pumpkins to carve in a VERY short period this year. Will be interesting!

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Have a few more pictures to post a little later.

I will say though, that the experience has been quite rewarding. I was quite proud today when a neighbour (in my townhouse complex - who wouldnt have known about the patch at my parents) asked me what patch i got the cool kins from - i got to tell them from MY patch.... :)
User avatar
By monstermash
#53850
Ive thoroughly enjoyed looking at your progress pics Chewy. Thats such a great variety of kins you've got there and they look really shiney! I'm sure you'll enjoy carving them as much as you've enjoyed growing them.
User avatar
By Chewy
#53851
The reason why we only harvested what we did today...

Fantastic problem to have!

:D

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User avatar
By Zombie Pumpkins!
#53853
Chewy, I wanted to say thanks for posting all the progress photos of your pumpkin patch. It's been interesting to watch, and I hope having the information here will prove helpful to other would-be pumpkin growers. It's something I hope to attempt someday when I have the space, and maybe I'll take inspiration for your efforts.

Even if you lose some, have small or flat-backed pumpkins, still you gotta be very proud of your efforts. Carving pumpkins is one thing, but it shows a special level of devotion to grow them too. You started from seed and will end up with an awesome Zombie Pumpkin to display. Hope the oohs and aahs you get on Halloween will make it all worth it.