Since this year started off a little slow, I decided to make it a year of experimentation.  My 1065 Corbin pumpkin from last year had very few viable seeds.  I averaged a 50% germination rate at best with them.  I was able to get five pumpkins up, but four of them did not withstand the frost we had on June 15th.  I had them in hoop houses with heat lamps, but it was still to cold.  The remaining pumpkin took off, but 8 days later we encountered a hail storm after I removed the hoop house.  I’m not sure when I took this photo, but I went ahead and decided to give this plant a chance because I wanted to see the color and shape of this pumpkin.

My watch cat who continues to scratch all of my pumpkins sits above helping mice gnaw at the pumpkins on cooler days.  As you can see, I was able to set a pumpkin on this plant and it’s really starting to gain weight.  I plan to give this one to my wife for her classroom to get the kids interested in growing giant pumpkins.  I suspect it will be a brilliant orange as it ripens.

This year, I am performing and documenting the following experiments:

1.  What adjustments have to be made to your PH while adding potassium to the plant?

2.  Do dark colored sheets work better for pumpkin weight gains?

3.  How much nitrogen should I be adding throughout the year?

4.  If I flood a patch with a genetically inclined pumpkin to go light, will it weigh heavy?

5.  If a pumpkin starts growing over the blossom end, how can you stop it?

It has been a fun year and I feel I am learning all the time as to what works best in our growing region.  I’ll post my results later in the year.