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Southern Illinois

i would like to grow the 705 stelts this season,i have some good seed to trade,but i would rather give you some seed from the 1092 x 705,865 x 705,1230 daletas x 705,845 x 705,935 sibb x 705,1236 eaton x 705.

2/8/2003 8:34:39 AM

Ontario

Your planning on planting way too many plants. Better to concentrate your efforts on a couple of plants. This will increase your chances of a bigger pumpkin. By planting so many plants your just wasting good seeds.

drew

2/8/2003 10:52:27 AM

Southern Illinois

thanks for your concern drew,but i think i can handle a few plants,there are a few growers that raised a lot of good seed for size and cross last year,if i need any help i will give you a yell.

2/8/2003 11:48:36 AM

Paradise Mountain, New York

I would have to agree with Drew. I would like to plant more if i could but, my patch could handle 4-5 plants. But i know that if i stick with three my chance are better. If you can grow three plants and maybe four heavy hitter, you can devote more time to get things done right. Plus genetics are also the size, shape and weight of the off spring also. just my two cents.

2/8/2003 11:55:58 AM

Southern Illinois

ok guys,but please wait till after this season before you start,the criticism,then you can give me all the heck you want to dish out,but at least give me a chance.

2/8/2003 12:08:23 PM

Indiana

Rick,
Dont take it personal, you have some good ideas, but they are just questioning the probability of your time availability to grow all of them. If you want a bunch of 200 pounders, you have a great plan, but it you want 1000 pounders, you dont. That is all they are trying to say. This is coming from a person that has dealt with 60 plants in a year. It took me 40 hours a week to do what I did, and that wasnt even enough time to properly take care of the 17 in the main patch. In fact, I only had enough time to properly bury 6 of them. I think Brian and Drews criticisms were purely constructive. If you dont listen to them, listen to me. It isnt possible without hired help. A more than adequate number of crosses can be made with 60 plants.

Tom Beachy

2/8/2003 12:20:01 PM

Ontario

Just consructive criticism Rick. With all the great seed you have and are trying to get, I thought I would offer you some advice because I didn't want you to be disappointed with your results. A lot of growers are retired and the most they can manage is 10 plants. If you think you can do it great!!! but you might want to save a couple good seeds for the following year, just incase you find that it is too much too handle. If your results are good in the fall I'll be the first to admit I was wrong and will send you a bubblepack lol. Best of luck in 2003.

drew

2/8/2003 12:37:02 PM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

Rick,

Aren't you already a fulltime commercial pumpkin grower? If so, then perhaps I'm missing something here.
While the type of cultural practices that most growers engage in would bankrupt a farmer & render his crop a commercial loss, I think Rick already knows this & manages his fields with losses in mind.
While a backyard hobbyist grower who loses 2 or 3 pumpkins will have nothing to bring to the weigh-ins, a farmer makes his 9-5 living managing those losses with an eye on producing a marketable commodity.
Rick, Am I out of line here? You're just attempting to grow a larger commetrcial crop, while attempting to produce a few real giants & some breeding experiments right? So if the labor was adequate in the past, a few additional hours per week should yield the results. Unless I missed something?

Steve

2/8/2003 12:39:33 PM

Western Pa.

I don't think many of you realize just how rare the 705 actually is, first of all, I don't believe that very many were saved when the fruit originally split. I received an email last week, that there may be only as few as 4 or 5 of these out there that haven't been planted. I believe 1 sold for $605 last year on the internet, and I don't believe I've seen another offered up since then.

2/8/2003 12:40:14 PM

Caceres, mid west of Spain

Hey Rick, I'll do this for fun. If you like to plant a lot of different plants and play with crosses, go ahead my friend, this is for fun! I want to get the biggest I could, others want a very orange one, others just one big the childs can play with in Halloween. Who cares?
However, I myself with four plants will have job enough this summer weeding and... At least I have two months vacation.
Don

2/8/2003 3:17:06 PM

caro mi.

2/9/2003 12:41:40 PM