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Alvarado,MN

hey there everyone im new to the site and live in northern minnesota. Im going to give it a shoot this year on a huge pumpkin. I grow a 50x80garden so i thinki have a chance at breaking 400 pounds this yearbeing my first year. Do yall have a accurate way that a person can measure pumkins and get a close estimate. I do the red worm composting and compost tea and got a little chikken/goat manure ( about 10- 15 gallons worth, i aslohave my own homeade fish emulsion in a five gallon bucket. Well i'll be around Goodluckthis year yall

4/27/2012 10:49:25 PM

San Diego, Ca.

Hi 1ton, welcome to giant pumpkin growing. You will be hooked before you know it! There is a ton of good info here on BP to help you grow a big one.
Go to this site, it has the latest weight estimating chart to help you figure out how much you pumpkin weighs.
Go to http://www.ovgpg.com/articles.php and click on the 2012 giant pumpkin weight estimation chart. "OTT" means Over The Top which is a combintion of 3 measurments added together to come up with a sum. Take that sum and match it up with the chart to get your weight. On page 2 you will find an explaination of how OTT measurments are taken.
Good luck this year!

4/27/2012 11:58:52 PM

Minnesota

Hi, do you have good seeds? the seeds here are alot better than the ones you buy at the store. I have a few I can send you if you want. fogsurfer313@yahoo.com

4/28/2012 12:04:29 AM

Menomonie, WI (mail@gr8pumpkin.net)

If you have store bought seeds with no genetics get some good seeds

4/28/2012 9:11:00 AM

Alvarado,MN

Hey there guys i just noticed thjat i prolly put this topic in the wrong spot. Richard what part of MN you live in? I got some seedfrom a friend that he got from a friend.His friend growsb monsters ,well nothing over a 1000# i think anyhow he got some seed and grew one it only weighed 290 pounds. He then sent me the seed from that one. I believe they aresomething like Vanook? x Halbock and there was some numbers by them but dont know them off hand. Do you thinkme seed are any good and capabile of growing something over 500# ? Richard ill send you an e-mail Thanks

4/28/2012 10:59:47 AM

South of Buffalo

1 ton, last year was my 1st year growing. 2 plants both in very small areas(see diary jeffp 2011). My initial goal was 500# i ended up weighing off at 1079 and 835. Youll be surprised how fast these grow and what size you get if you keep the plant healthy.

4/28/2012 1:45:50 PM

Minnesota

Burnsville, 30 miles south of Mpls, Yes, Van Hook is a grower here. I will try and explain what the numbers mean
500vanhook10
500 is the pumpkin weight, vanhook is the grower, 10 is the year, as in 2010.
It may of also said something like 500vanhook10 (900johnson08 x 800smith07) the 900johnson08 was the mother plant, the 800smith07 was the pollinator plant.

4/28/2012 1:46:57 PM

Alvarado,MN

richard i'll have to check the numbers it looks like its a cross btween them both.Do you think the seed you have is better?

4/28/2012 4:37:46 PM

Oak Grove, Mn

Good luck in your first year. I would suggest joining the st croix growers association. Their weighoff this year is Oct 13. Last year was my first year and i had great time. I live and grow in a northern minneapolis suburb.

4/28/2012 4:49:08 PM

Minnesota

Seed Soil Sun & Luck, don't know, there is alot of work that goes into doing this, but its fun. I would say the soil is the most important, alot of growers have a soil test done in spring and fall and add required amendments. (I'm fairly new at this myself, I still make alot of mistakes) So just because you have a silver bullet seed or proven seed you still have to grow it right. Use the search box to look up questions you might have.

4/28/2012 5:25:58 PM