You say that doesn't look like the way to begin
the 2002 growing season. Truth is the season ‘starts’ with soil preparation and that began with the demise
of my 707 pound pumpkin. You have to do something with them so I cut them up and add them to the
patch. Where are those boys when I need them?
The 2002 Season ............
April 17, odd weather for this time of year. We have officially had a heat wave with 3 days of temperatures above 90 degrees.
I started 5 seeds from my 707Toftness01. The 707 patch will start with 3 huts. 2 of the huts will have 2 plants in them and a single plant in the last one. As the plants grow I will remove plants until there is one in each hut.
Later I will choose the better plant to be the sole occupant. In the other patch I plan to grow the 846Calai again. It produced the 707 for me last year so I will try it again.
May 5, the huts are up and the seedlings are inside.
May19,20,21,22, I thought the heat was strange but now I have record setting FROST. It killed 2 or 3 of the tomatoes but the pumpkins all survived in their huts
under additional tarps at night.
27 May, Removed one of the 707's in this hut to make more room for the best looking 707 in the patch. The biggest
leaf is more than 14 inches across.
23 June, well that was a fast month. The 707's are the fastest growing plants I've ever had.
26 June. The 707 fruit have nice long stems as seen in this one pollinated yesterday. The color looks a bit strange because the picture was taken at dusk in low light. In normal light it is a nice yellow.
5 July. The past 3 days have been very hot and humid with temperatures at or over 100. The high temperatures have fried several leaves and aborted many fruit. The only good news is the fruit are just as fast as the vines. This little cull is 1 1/2 times the size of a softball at 9 days. Yes the orange color covers the pollinator. It wouldn't be any fun if I told you everything and besides it was culled after the photo. One patch is almost consumed with the fast growing 707. The other patch is doing well with the 846Calai. Tech problems with the pumpkin cam have prevented it being online. Soon I hope.
14 July. Finally got the pumpkin cam back online but no pumpkins for it yet. Seems like everything that was pollinated in June has or will abort. Many of the early July ones will likely do the same. Vines are almost out of control and out of patch space. My plan to have ONLY 2 plants has fallen. There are more than 2 but some are severly pruned. 1 of the 707 plants may go yet. I did manage to pull one of the 455's but the other one will remain in the corner of the 846 patch for now. Culled a soccer ball size fruit from the 'runt' because it looked like it may abort.
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