Pumpkins.... It's that time of year!

[firefighter9208]

A garden that size is quite an endeavor. I hope you are only hoeing weeds in close proximity to the pumpkins and cultivating the remainder with a tractor.

Those melons look like they may be Crimson Sweet? I had a volunteer plant this year that produced 3 melons and they sure are good.

Around here we don't call it a garden, we call it a farm .

Here is a picture of my 4 year old sitting in the back of the mule eating some crimson sweet while we gather them. :licking:

Chris

 

[firefighter9208]

We plant many different types of pumpkins. Those include Gold Medal Jack O Lanterns, Pie Pumpkins, Cinderellas, Baby Boo, Jack B Little, Lil Pumpkemon, Lumina, Phat Jack, Jeradelli, Peanut Pumpkins, and Monster Smash.

Picture 1 is of the patch of Monster Smash
Picture 2 is another of the Monster Smash
Picture 3 is of my kids, Abby and Garret, with a Monster Smash
Picture 4 is of 25 Monster Smash on a 20 foot gooseneck.

Abby and Garret really enjoy growing the large pumpkins.

Hope you enjoy!

Chris

 

[Farmerford]

Nice operation, and nice to be able to include the kids.

I think some of your morning glories jumped the Chattahoochee and made it to my place. I bottom plowed some old pasture to replant bahia and the morning glories popped up before the first harrowing. Two percent Roundup did not faze them. I was thinking about atrazine once (if) the bahia gets established, but from your experience these may be safe against everything except a harrow.

 

[firefighter9208]

Nice operation, and nice to be able to include the kids.

I think some of your morning glories jumped the Chattahoochee and made it to my place. I bottom plowed some old pasture to replant bahia and the morning glories popped up before the first harrowing. Two percent Roundup did not faze them. I was thinking about atrazine once (if) the bahia gets established, but from your experience these may be safe against everything except a harrow.

The kids love the pumpkins!!!

I've got about 3 acres of white field corn on 30" rows that I plan to pick with my New Idea 323 corn picker. I grind the corn and feed it to pigs for finishing.

When I planted the corn I sprayed 2 quarts per acre of Roundup, 1 quart of Atrizine, and 1 quart of Simazine. I then went back and resprayed after the morning glories covered the ground (the corn was about 12" high) with Roundup @ 2 quarts per acre. I have a very good uniform stand of corn.

About 3 weeks ago I mixed up a 50 gallon sprayer (PTO) and stood on the loader arms while sitting on the canopy, while my wife drove around the corn (poor man's highboy sprayer). I was trying to kill the morning glories that are climbing the talks. They play havoc on the corn picker. I noticed the other day that the roundup had "bit" the morning glories, but hadn't totally killed them.

I don't know what else to do to kill them???

Chris

 

[firefighter9208]

Yesterday we decided to start on the Cinderella pumpkins. Was pulled about 1/3 of the patch and got nearly 300 pumpkins!

The barn is quickly filling up!


Chris

 

[firefighter9208]

Most of the pumpkins are now in the barn :thumbsup: . I got a call today from one of the wholesalers that I sell to. He wants 5 or 6 bins delivered @4:00 AM tomorrow. Looks like it will be a busy afternoon for me.

Picture 1 Abby
Picture 2 Garret
Pictures 3 and 4 Pumpkins in the Barn

How about that "cheap" wall for the Lean-To???? We had Tropical Storm Lee come through last week and we enclosed the two sides of the lean-to with blue tarps, so rain wouldn't blow in on the boxes of pumpkins.

Chris

 

[viceprincipal]

Most of the pumpkins are now in the barn :thumbsup: . I got a call today from one of the wholesalers that I sell to. He wants 5 or 6 bins delivered @4:00 AM tomorrow. Looks like it will be a busy afternoon for me.

Picture 1 Abby
Picture 2 Garret
Pictures 3 and 4 Pumpkins in the Barn

How about that "cheap" wall for the Lean-To???? We had Tropical Storm Lee come through last week and we enclosed the two sides of the lean-to with blue tarps, so rain wouldn't blow in on the boxes of pumpkins.

Chris

Wow! Those are some nice looking pumpkins... some questions for you: I just bought an acreage and have a 1.5-2 acre spot I was thinking about tilling up for a pumpkin patch. How did you go about finding a wholesaler that would buy them from you? Where did you get the boxes to hold the pumpkins? Any other advise you would be willing to give to someone thinking about planting pumpkins as a hobby for the kids would be great.. thanks!
Geoff

 

[firefighter9208]

Wow! Those are some nice looking pumpkins... some questions for you: I just bought an acreage and have a 1.5-2 acre spot I was thinking about tilling up for a pumpkin patch. How did you go about finding a wholesaler that would buy them from you? Where did you get the boxes to hold the pumpkins? Any other advise you would be willing to give to someone thinking about planting pumpkins as a hobby for the kids would be great.. thanks!
Geoff

I've been going to the farmer's market with my grandad (he's 83) since I was a kid. I just got to know a lot of the people on the farmer's market. I sell to a couple wholesalers and directly to several curb markets. I also sell a lot of pumpkins on Craigslist.

The boxes are available on the market. I'm not sure what they cost. The wholesaler usually will give them to me (he gets them back with pumpkins in them) and I have a curb market that keeps them for me.

I could talk all day about growing produce. One thing is to get a soil test. Lime the ground, fertilize to the soil test. The main thing when growing pumpkins on a larger scale is to keep disease out of the vines. I use two fungicides (every 5-7 days) and 2 pesticides. You have to keep the pumpkin vines alive and keep the worms out of the pumpkins (so they won't rot).

I've got 6 bins of pumpkins (about 300) loaded on the gooseneck to take to one of the wholesalers in the morning. Have to leave home at 3AM to get there by 4AM, so the curb markets can pick them up from him in the morning.

Until later....


Chris

 

[campman63]

Nice pumpkins FF9208

 

[firefighter9208]

Thanks!

Chris