As I continue to research and learn, there are some things that I am going to try that will be different from my first year. Since I tried to keep the first document tailored to new growers, I have decided to continue my information sharing in this blog.
Check out the video of me loading my pumpkin with the tripod.
How I grew an 1180 lb Pumpkin my Rookie year
I started growing Atlantic Giant Pumpkins in 2010. They are so amazing to grow that I have spent several hundred hours reading everything I can find to help me to be successful. I grew 2 plants, one of which produced an 1180 lb pumpkin that took second place at the 2010 Circleville Pumpkin Show weigh off. Several people I work with have shown interest in growing a Giant Pumpkin, so I created this document for beginners that want to grow a huge pumpkin, competitively or not.
Welcome! I hope you find the information helpful to grow your own Atlantic Giant Pumpkin.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Winter Plant Trial update
The final trial tested BioGrow Endo Plus. Mykos, and Epsoma Bio-Tone Starter Plus.
The trial ran for 14 days. There was little difference in above ground plant growth with all of the Mycorrhizaes. The control lagged a little and was a little smaller. The Epsoma Bio-Tone Starter Plus plant was a little bigger and greener (it has natural fertilizers in it too). Root growth on all of the Mycorrhizae trials was very similar and were significantly larger than the control. The Epsoma Bio-Tone Starter plus had longer roots but a slightly smaller mass.
The light deprived plant didn't show much change. The leaves and roots were smaller, the stem was significantly thinner, and it grew much slower than control.
Final decision for me. Use Mycorrhizae (I'm going to use both Epsoma Bio-Tone Starter Plus and BioGrow Endo Plus) and don't stress plant with light deprivation.
Good Luck!
The trial ran for 14 days. There was little difference in above ground plant growth with all of the Mycorrhizaes. The control lagged a little and was a little smaller. The Epsoma Bio-Tone Starter Plus plant was a little bigger and greener (it has natural fertilizers in it too). Root growth on all of the Mycorrhizae trials was very similar and were significantly larger than the control. The Epsoma Bio-Tone Starter plus had longer roots but a slightly smaller mass.
The light deprived plant didn't show much change. The leaves and roots were smaller, the stem was significantly thinner, and it grew much slower than control.
Final decision for me. Use Mycorrhizae (I'm going to use both Epsoma Bio-Tone Starter Plus and BioGrow Endo Plus) and don't stress plant with light deprivation.
Good Luck!
Monday, March 7, 2011
Winter plant trial results
This winter I have done some plant trails. I was testing to see if a plant was light deprived and the extra length was buried as it grew, if additional roots would develop on the lengthed stem. This is were I got he idea http://www.bigpumpkins.com/ViewArticle.asp?id=65.
I did two different plantings and let them grow for 14 days. Then I dug up the plants and compared the roots. The first trial I had the light deprived plant 24 inches from the light. The controls were positioned 2 inches from the light. The controls grew normally. The light deprived plant grew almost a foot tall but never actually grew a 1st true leaf, while the controls were starting the 4th true leaf. The roots on the controls were well developed and very close to the same weight as the plant above ground (it was very hard to get all of the soil off without breaking the roots). The roots on the light deprived one were almost non existants. Barely 1 inch long and less than a dozen of them. There were NO roots on the extremely long stem even though it was buried as it grew.
The second trial I moved the test subject to only 12 inches from the light. The plant grew alot better, it was still leggy, but grew to the 4th leaf stage, however, the leaves were smaller than the controls. There was one extra set of roots that developed on the stem, and the root ball had longer roots but not as much root mass as the controls. During this trail, I took one of the controls and added Bio-tone starter plus with Mycorrhizae (that I used last year) during a transplant after the first leaf stage. This plant had bigger leaves, was greener, had started the fifth leaf and the root mass was about 20% larger than the controls.
I will be getting some bio-endo plus mycorrhizae soon. When I do I will be running a final trial to see the difference between the Bio-tone and it. I will move the leggy plant to within 10 inches of hte light and leave it until it is root bound (maybe after planting season) and see if roots develop on the stem over a longer period.
My conclusions so far. Light deprivation makes a weaker plant. Pumpkins don't grow roots on the entire stem like a tomato does. Bio-Tone created a healthier plant with a larger root mass. I will update this after the final trial ends (around mid April).
I did two different plantings and let them grow for 14 days. Then I dug up the plants and compared the roots. The first trial I had the light deprived plant 24 inches from the light. The controls were positioned 2 inches from the light. The controls grew normally. The light deprived plant grew almost a foot tall but never actually grew a 1st true leaf, while the controls were starting the 4th true leaf. The roots on the controls were well developed and very close to the same weight as the plant above ground (it was very hard to get all of the soil off without breaking the roots). The roots on the light deprived one were almost non existants. Barely 1 inch long and less than a dozen of them. There were NO roots on the extremely long stem even though it was buried as it grew.
The second trial I moved the test subject to only 12 inches from the light. The plant grew alot better, it was still leggy, but grew to the 4th leaf stage, however, the leaves were smaller than the controls. There was one extra set of roots that developed on the stem, and the root ball had longer roots but not as much root mass as the controls. During this trail, I took one of the controls and added Bio-tone starter plus with Mycorrhizae (that I used last year) during a transplant after the first leaf stage. This plant had bigger leaves, was greener, had started the fifth leaf and the root mass was about 20% larger than the controls.
I will be getting some bio-endo plus mycorrhizae soon. When I do I will be running a final trial to see the difference between the Bio-tone and it. I will move the leggy plant to within 10 inches of hte light and leave it until it is root bound (maybe after planting season) and see if roots develop on the stem over a longer period.
My conclusions so far. Light deprivation makes a weaker plant. Pumpkins don't grow roots on the entire stem like a tomato does. Bio-Tone created a healthier plant with a larger root mass. I will update this after the final trial ends (around mid April).