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Reuse pampoene in Suid-Afrika
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#1 Dec 22nd 2007 3:01 pm
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Johan
Administrator
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Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Stellenbosch
Posts: 83
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We decided to plant a few plants in our greenhouse this year as an experiement - to help protect the plants from the harmul effects of the sun - and soil overheating etc. (it can become were hot here). I am happy to say the the plants in the greenhouse is the best I have ever seen in all my years of growing giant pumpkins.
To show the difference, here are some of the plants planted outside without sunprotection, planted at roughly the same time as those in the greenhouse:
The Oliver 947# 2006 [Female: 1443 Palmer - Male: 854.5 Oliver]
These pics were taken at 14h00 today - one of the warmest days we have had for a while (about 35 degrees Celcius / 95 degrees Fahrenheit).
Here are the plants in the greenhouse: (these pics also taken at 14h00 today)
The Malone/Oliver 779# 2006 [Female: 1229 Holland - Male: 1068 Wallace]
The Holland 1014 # 2005 [1229# Holland x 1127 Holland] - just look at the size of the leaves. I have never seen a giant pumpkin plant grow like this one before. Michelle Lofthouse from Monrovia, California grew a 1376 lb pumpkin with a Holland 1014 seed this year - so I am really excited to see what's going to happen.
There is absolutely no wilting of the leaves in the greenhouse, even on very hot days - so no need to install the misting system I was thinking about earlier.
I also received some very goods seeds from Brooks Bosworth, from Ohio, USA late in November. They include a few seeds from his 1402.5 Bosworth (1068 Wallace x self) - which was one of the biggest pumpkins grown in the world this year. I decided to plant 1x 1402.5 seed, even though the pumpkin would not be mature in time for the competition next hear - hoping to get some good seeds from it for distributing to others growers locally.
Seeing how well the plants in the greenhouse were doing, I decided to construct a mini greenhouse for the 1402.5 Bosworth - using a method as used by Joel Holland for his pumpkin shades. This can be done easily without spending a lot with just a few basic materials:
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#2 Dec 23rd 2007 7:13 pm
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Drikus
Member
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Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Sasolburg
Posts: 30
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Johan
Jou pampoene lyk uitstekend en baie gesond. Dit is rugbreker werk om `n plant so mooi te laat lyk. Sterkte vir die res van die seisoen. Ek hou van jou idee van die "mini greenhouse" Dit gaan beslis werk. Ek doen dieselfde hier in die binneland.
Drikus Kleinhans
Sasolburg
SA
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#3 Jan 4th 2008 4:31 pm
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Johan
Administrator
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Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Stellenbosch
Posts: 83
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Had to make a choice between the Holland 1014 # 2005 and the Malone/Oliver 779# 2006 - not enough space to grow both in the greenhouse. Decided to keep the Holland 1014. Was not a difficult choice to make - the 1014 was starting to outperform the 779 in terms of growth rate. The fact that a Californian grower grew a 1376 lb pumpkin with this seed also aided in making the decision. It shows that the 1014 is well suited to grown a big one in a warm climate.
Here is a picture I took this evening of the 1014:
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