| seminar_hand-put.doc |
HELPFUL STUFF:
To Contact Us:
www.bhgpg.com
blackhillsgiantpumpkins@yahoo.com
www.BigPumpkins.com
Weight Estimation Chart
http://www.bigpumpkins.com/ViewArticle.asp?id=57
Get the Book:
How To Grow World Class Giant Pumpkins II
By Don Langevine
www.amazon.com –check for used books
http://www.hollandsgiants.com/book.html
Simple Seed Starting:
1. File the seed edges, but avoid the tip.
2. Soak the seed in water at 85° for 4 to 8 hours.
3. Place seed in pre-warmed soil in a 20 oz. cup. ¾ full of soil, plant seed 1 in. deep laying flat.
4. Keep cup warm on a propagation mat, or a cooler with hot water bottles in it that are changed every 12 hours, or on top of your computer monitor or refrigerator.
5. Once sprout is up, remove from heat. Transplant to a one gallon bucket or pot. Place in a window or preferably under a fluorescent light bulb (1 in. above cot leaves).
6. Plants should be hardened off within 5 to 7 days by placing in direct sunlight for a few hours a day in a wind protected location.
7. Weather permitting, seedling should be in the ground once the first true leaf has opened.
The vine will almost always grow in the direction opposite of the first true leaf!
Top New Grower Mistakes
- Starting too soon - figure 2 weeks start to patch in a 1 gallon pot.
- Leaving a seedling in a peat pot for a week.
- Too many plants – enthusiasm is great, but give yourself a learning year before growing more than 2 plants.
- Spraying too soon - nothing kills a seedling faster than too much fertilizer or insecticide at a young age.
- Fertilizer in the starter mix - DON'T - Miracle Grow seed starter kills – use a sterile, fertilizer free mix.
- Unvented plastic huts - use a wife, sibling, slave, hired hand, or child labor to open those hoop houses.
- Manure & plastic huts kill - we can always see the pattern where ammonia aged the leaves.
Many new growers spray fungicides, which makes matters worse.
- Never spray anything when the sun is shining – EVER – it will cook your leaves.
- Keeping them inside - get them into real sunlight with wind right away. Leggy is for runway models,
not pumpkins. Life outside will harden them off and make them tough!
- Fertilizing the plant near pollination time – too much Nitrogen causes fruit to abort.
- Not putting “S” curves in your main vine – it’s no fun seeing your pumpkin break itself off the vine from growing.
- Letting the fruit be exposed to the elements – a bad sun burn or hail storm can end a great season!
Thanks for Participating!
We look forward to seeing you at the Weigh-Off!
To Contact Us:
www.bhgpg.com
blackhillsgiantpumpkins@yahoo.com
www.BigPumpkins.com
Weight Estimation Chart
http://www.bigpumpkins.com/ViewArticle.asp?id=57
Get the Book:
How To Grow World Class Giant Pumpkins II
By Don Langevine
www.amazon.com –check for used books
http://www.hollandsgiants.com/book.html
Simple Seed Starting:
1. File the seed edges, but avoid the tip.
2. Soak the seed in water at 85° for 4 to 8 hours.
3. Place seed in pre-warmed soil in a 20 oz. cup. ¾ full of soil, plant seed 1 in. deep laying flat.
4. Keep cup warm on a propagation mat, or a cooler with hot water bottles in it that are changed every 12 hours, or on top of your computer monitor or refrigerator.
5. Once sprout is up, remove from heat. Transplant to a one gallon bucket or pot. Place in a window or preferably under a fluorescent light bulb (1 in. above cot leaves).
6. Plants should be hardened off within 5 to 7 days by placing in direct sunlight for a few hours a day in a wind protected location.
7. Weather permitting, seedling should be in the ground once the first true leaf has opened.
The vine will almost always grow in the direction opposite of the first true leaf!
Top New Grower Mistakes
- Starting too soon - figure 2 weeks start to patch in a 1 gallon pot.
- Leaving a seedling in a peat pot for a week.
- Too many plants – enthusiasm is great, but give yourself a learning year before growing more than 2 plants.
- Spraying too soon - nothing kills a seedling faster than too much fertilizer or insecticide at a young age.
- Fertilizer in the starter mix - DON'T - Miracle Grow seed starter kills – use a sterile, fertilizer free mix.
- Unvented plastic huts - use a wife, sibling, slave, hired hand, or child labor to open those hoop houses.
- Manure & plastic huts kill - we can always see the pattern where ammonia aged the leaves.
Many new growers spray fungicides, which makes matters worse.
- Never spray anything when the sun is shining – EVER – it will cook your leaves.
- Keeping them inside - get them into real sunlight with wind right away. Leggy is for runway models,
not pumpkins. Life outside will harden them off and make them tough!
- Fertilizing the plant near pollination time – too much Nitrogen causes fruit to abort.
- Not putting “S” curves in your main vine – it’s no fun seeing your pumpkin break itself off the vine from growing.
- Letting the fruit be exposed to the elements – a bad sun burn or hail storm can end a great season!
Thanks for Participating!
We look forward to seeing you at the Weigh-Off!
