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Connecticut

This topic has been popular for the last five years so I am going to post it again as this is typically the time of year most growers are starting to look at what they may want to plant in the future.

There have been many great pumpkins grown and I am always interested to see which seed the grower themselves has the most confidence in.

This is your chance to tell other growers about your seeds. Let everyone know which seed of yours you like, the cross, and why. It can be proven or unproven the key part is that you have confidence in it.

As we know, the growers themselves know their plants the best so let us all know which one of your seeds is your pick.

11/5/2014 8:07:51 PM

Karns City PA

451.5 Weibel 2014-- 1317 Clementz X 1985 Miller both of these seeds have shown their power! I have been looking I am not sure if anyone else made this cross! I will be growing it for sure I love this cross :) I think this seed in the right hands could grow a monster ;) ( got the right forum this time lol)

11/5/2014 8:22:08 PM

Connecticut

I am going to select my…

179.4 DeBacco ’14 (F:335 Scherber ’11 x 1734.5 Steil) “Marshmallow”

Note further backgrounds are:
335 Scherber ‘11 (F: 1421.5 Stelts [1663 Zoellner] x M: 1161 Rodonis [1725 Sweet])
1734.5 Steil ’13 (F: 220.3 DeBacco ’13 “Snowball” x self)
After the success of my 220.3 DeBacco ’13 “Snowball” the pressure was on to see if my greenhouse grown pumpkin could prove itself again.

While my 179.4 DeBacco ‘14 may be a 2014 seed it does have a track record already. While I know there are quite a few seeds out there only three growers took a chance on it this year and it did not disappoint. It grew the…

1,644.5 Gehweiler = This is his second biggest grown this year and was 11% heavy
http://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=230101

1,183 Fuller = Which is a new personal best by 515.5 pounds and was 8% heavy

1,152.5 A.Kaczenski = Which was his best this year
http://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=230607

It seems all offspring have been long in shape and white/concrete coloration with no grower complaints that I have heard to date. With a small sample size it is hard to make any solid conclusions, but I can say that based on the small sample, results look positive and the 179.4 DeBacco '14 "Marshmallow" would be worth considering for your 2015 growing season.

11/5/2014 8:34:19 PM

Bethlehem CT

I saw the 1183 Fuller at Durham and it was a tank! A real beast.

11/5/2014 10:13:46 PM

Eurasia

612 Ammer 14 a 1172 Singleton 09 x self, which is a 1385.5 Jutras 07 x self.
612 was grown in hardiness zone 6 without irrigation and without fattening methods for best seed quality only.
This 4-lober stretto bred from the best ever AG 1385 is the base for crosses to enlarge my edible pumpkins, squash and giant varieties.

11/6/2014 4:52:22 AM

President - GPC

Im liking my Woody II from this year, nice and smooth, filled in butt, for a three lober. Went heavy and I crossed my 1623 into it, another smoothy...we shall see next year

11/6/2014 10:20:25 AM

President - GPC

the 222 Grande 14 (1725 x 1647) x 1623 ...Oh yeah

11/6/2014 10:21:46 AM

Minnesota

377brouillard, 2009 x 1789, proven genetics, 3 world records, 1810, 1725 & 2009, 2009 has produced the present we. 175brouillard, 100brouillard x1107, 1003christensen, 975kline, 1103youmg & now 1107 Kline, a lot of orange.

11/6/2014 10:41:49 AM

Minnesota

Should say 975 Kline, 1107 zunino,,,seeds are to hot to handle!

11/6/2014 11:18:01 AM

I am going to plant (if there are seeds ) my 913. It was a bad growing year even for here.
it is a 1472 mathison x 1544 mathison

11/6/2014 1:02:15 PM

Colorado

Out of my crosses I like my 1073.Its 1734.5 steil x 282scherber. The steil was very smooth long fruit x 2009 Wallace clone that had a sreamer growing on it that BES at 1415est.Nice plants on both parents and nice baby pumpkins

11/6/2014 2:46:09 PM

Pocatello (cliffwarren@yahoo.com)

For orange fans... if you want to grow and preserve orange, I have your seed. If you ever wanted a 1059 VM and never got to plant it, well, here goes...

In 2013 I produced a 500.5 on a plant that had taken severe damage to it's main vine. This was 608 Olilla X 1432 Northrup. (The Olilla was 1059 X self.) The Olilla wanted to rib out and finish early, but the Northrup was orange and very shallow ribbing. It wanted to keep growing. What I saw in the 500.5 I grew this season was a mix. Enough beauty to take home the Howard Dill award, but enough "long growing" genes to give me a personal best weight. This was a personal best, despite the fact that we had a "six week summer" here.

So I have lots of orange in the 500.5 (2013) and 849 (2014) that I grew this year. The 849 is 500.5 Warren X 608 Olilla again. This year's (2014) Olilla plant also grew a fruit that wanted to rib out early, but it was SOLID. I've never before had a round 450 pounder that I could not roll on it's side! Right now my guess is that the 500 will be better than the 849, but it's just a guess right now.

11/6/2014 4:59:53 PM

Langley, British Columbia

I am picking my 1177 – A 1985 miller Sibb that is an 80 day pumpkin pollinated July 25th it was germinated late on May 14th.

Or my other 1060 - A 1985 miller Sibb that was pollinated very late August 14th.

I grew 6 (six) 1985 millers this year and the main pollinator in my patch was a 1985 miller that had a very impressive growth profile which was growing too fast for my experience and soil conditions to hold it together. After some discussions I was able to figure out that my Boron levels were extremely low for the growth rate and that the available calcium in my soil was locked up and not getting to the right spot in the pumpkin. As a new pumpkin grower I wish I knew the quote "Calcium is the truck, but boron is the driver".

After adding foliar calcium on a regular weekly basis my issues to bottom splits were gone through my patch. I also grew 2032 Mathison, 1872 Wallace, 1659 Miller, 1382 Bryson.

11/6/2014 5:03:40 PM

Menomonie, WI (mail@gr8pumpkin.net)

I will throw both my 1048 and 1374 Engel out there. 1048 is a 777 Young 2011 x self. The 1374 is a 359 Foss x 1048 Engel. 359 Foss was a 1048 x 2009 Wallace. Howard Dill Award winners in all the lineage. Smooth Bright Orange with the mottled red, to the chart.

11/6/2014 7:00:14 PM

Cincinnati,OH

For orange my 823 Rahe 14 (874.8 Geyelin 13 x 979 Rahe 13)
The pollinator grew the 895 Rahe and it went +6%
The 979 also has lots of 1000lb+ beauties in it's lineage.

11/6/2014 7:44:42 PM

Rhode Island

Well here we go,,,, A grower grew my 288 Buglio
His cross was (288 Buglio x 922 holeke) It is now 736 Wetzel. Take a look,,, great color and shape for you Orange growers. Will post picture in my diary.

11/6/2014 7:47:55 PM

Cheshire Ma USA

1280.5 kruszyna- f-1843 geddes x m 1791 holland or reverse
1048 kruszyna--f-1791 holland x m 1843 geddes

look at the different genetic backgrounds with this cross

11/6/2014 9:07:47 PM

Nottingham, UK

I normally just opt for super orange but for 2015 I can not ignore my 150 patch pumpkin which basically grew it self (rarely watered, never fed):

496 Geyelin (1730 Werner x 854.5 Frei) - 19% Heavy.

The pollinator (854.5) went heavy and does so consistently: +11% (623 Geyelin 14) and +14% (978 Geyelin 13). The 854.5 is a 1161 remake and hasn't disappointed in less than ideal UK conditions.

Only other to plug is the 874.8 (1770 x 1290), super orange everytime

11/7/2014 6:16:51 AM

Farming- a bunch of catastrophies that result in a lifestyle

I love all my pumpkins, but my top three are, based on what they grew for size pumpkin vs area grown in:
817 Bond: 92 square feet with zero amendment, it ate birds that flew over I think. Really stellar, this plant pushed everything to the kin...immediately.
822 Bond; 250 square feet, beautiful orange, perfectly round.
476 Bond: 250 square feet, an unknown dill in it's second year- stellar color, zero leaf issues, and sets kins without so much as batting an eye.

11/7/2014 6:55:56 AM

Mill Bay, British Columbia

Not my seed but 1043 Chan from 2013. Has 2 offspring both over 1000 lbs at first asking. 1124 Dixon and 1040 Chan....2 for 2 is pretty good odds that it will continue to grow big and heavy.

11/8/2014 3:41:35 PM

Mill Bay, British Columbia

1124 Dixon (1043 Chan x 1602 Glasier) Pollinator grew 1026 Dixon (1602 Glasier x 1043 Chan) 1026 pumpkin went 15% heavy.

11/8/2014 3:44:16 PM

Mill Bay, British Columbia

Sorry, fat fingers ... Was 1126 Dixon on the 1602 Glasier x 1043 Chan.

11/8/2014 3:45:57 PM

stoughton WI

1756.5 howell/jolivette it is the 1057 howell selfed. the 1057 howell is 1381 checkon + 2009 wallace

11/8/2014 4:59:02 PM

stoughton WI

1756.5 was also 20% heavy

11/8/2014 4:59:28 PM

Torrance, Ca.

11/8/2014 5:28:33 PM

Concord, CA.

Nice post Chris, is this representative of your best pumpkin of 2014?

11/10/2014 9:55:15 PM

Torrance, Ca.

Bingo Brad:)

:(:(:(

2015 can't come fast enough!!!!

11/10/2014 11:12:23 PM

Central Minnesota

While the 1873 (2009 Wallace x 2328 Meier) is getting a lot of interest I believe the 1662 Steil 14 (1676 Daletas x 2009 Wallace) may be an excellent cross. The 1662 had perfect shape, went 12% Heavy and was a flawless plant. I am hoping by adding the 2009 that grew the 1873 to it we can make a much bigger pumpkin that will still go 12 Plus percent Heavy. Seed count was low on the 1662 but after I get done with the clubs there should be a small handful left for those that want to give it a try.

The 1666.5 Steil 14 (1623 Wallace x Self) has endless potential. This one was doing 12 a day when I cut it to weigh it. This one grew in the wet part of my patch and was basically underwater in the beginning so I didn't get a pumpkin set until very late. This was by far the best of the three 1623 seeds I grew last year and had perfect shape. Seed count was excellent on this one and I will be growing it in 2015

11/12/2014 9:28:16 AM