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Macomb County

    I love it, some growers come on my post with the sole intention of hassling me and I'm the one whose wrong? I thought that was one of the things we all agree not to do in coming on this site.
    But moving-on to something more constructive. For those who don't know me, I earned my nickname. It was given to me long before there was AG growing and Howard Dill was breeding the seed. Giant Jack, as Jack and the Bean Stalk. Because I can grow anything big, if big is what you're after. Growing everything big was all I knew how to do, so if you wanted giant tomatoes that tasted and had the texture of styro-foam, that I could give you, no problem.
    To grow anything big simply means to grow a massive root system. The big mistake beginners and others make is to think of outdoor growing like growing house plants. Notice, fert in and small root ball. Because that's what you want to do when you grow house plants. Keep the roots small and contained in a much smaller pot than the area the roots would cover outdoors.
    Just as I said long ago, I'm not on the site for advanced growers. Who all have their methods and own take on things. I'm only here for the Newbies and the confused, to try to help them get a handle on the overall process. So, they in turn can go on and make their own informed decision and not have to rely-on or take anyone's word for it.
    We put an AG seed in our starting pots of soil. The seed sprouts, comes up and around the 4-6th leaf stage, we give it just the mildest shot of soluable fert.
And I mean, an 1/8th and never more than a 1/4 teaspoon per gallon of water. And we water them with this fert solution until it starts to run out of the bottom holes.
    The reason we do this is because when we put them in the ground, we're not going to fert them in anyway. And we want out transplants to have just enough of a reserve to grow roots far out before they start feeding heavily and stop and slow down.

1/11/2009 9:42:55 AM

Macomb County

Roots do this, they grow and reach a spot where there's plant food, stop growing and feed. Once their plate is clean there, they inch out a little further to come in contact with a new fertile spot.
    So, as growers, we do have some control. To limit the root size is to limit the mass, the top portion of the plant, leaves, branches or vines, flowers, fruit, etc. And in some cases it's good. For example, a 4 ft. lillac bush can be better than an 8 ft. In that with the 4 ft. bush, the internodes are closer, the spaces between leaf and budding sites. So, it has a much more striking look because it's flowers are close together, where an 8 ft. bush can look spare and with a lot of bare spots.
    The thing to keep in mind is your transplant is not a house plant you're simply re-potting. You don't want the center of your hills to be so fertile, your plants wind-up with shortened root balls for August.
    Of course, the tricky part is not feeding them so little that they develope decifiencies. But ideally, you'd like to keep them just short of them. Enough to live, but still having to send their roots ever and ever furhter out.
    How far out you want to band your compost, manure, etc. isn't an exact science. I band mine around in a 5 ft. circle, but that's not to say a 7 ft wouldn't be even better. You just don't want to fail to band is the key, because the roots have to get there and feed heavy. Or they will exhaust themselves and you'll have a worst problem on your hands, dieing and rot.
    

1/11/2009 9:45:00 AM

Macomb County

That is why I get upset when I read a grower threw-up his or her hands and ripped-out their plants in mid-season. Because every Fall, you want to pull up your crown and look at your root mass. A huge root mass and a 200 lb. pumpkin most likely signals that your seed isn't good stock. However, if you pull up a very short, small root mass and your 200 lb. pumpkin is your error and not your seed. If you pull your plants out in July, you can miss a lot that you need to find-out for next season.
    For those who don't know me, let me explain the crushing vines thing. I did it like 6 years ago to a Howden. Right, a Howden. Why I wish some people would get their facts straight. I always throw a couple up in the corners of my patch, just for that reason.
    I brought it up, along with those growers who covered their pumpkins with blankets soaked in a calcium solution, to show new growers, don't feel bad or embarrassed about making learning mistakes. We all learn from our mistakes and we've all made our share.

1/11/2009 9:45:28 AM

Ohio

I remember when I was a kid and was in and out of juvenile detention centers, my foster parents made me go to band camp, I guess they thought this would teach me responsibilities, but to tell you the truth I don’t think it did, at band camp I played the triangle, its a instrument that looks like a triangle that you hit with a small metal striking stick, the sound it makes is *ding* ,,,,,like that,,, but once a person gets really good at it, its nothing to be able to make it go *ding*~ding*~ding*,,, real fast like that there.
But none the less I wasn't very good at it, I myself could only make it go *Ding*,,just one time no mater how much practice I did. I also didn’t have very much rhythm and that was unacceptable being in a band,, I would Ding '' when I wasn't suppose to during a song and the band director would yell at me for it, he made me feel like I was a loser. I tired my best but the yelling never stopped from him, he would embarrass me in front of the whole band daily. Then one day at camp the instructor was screaming at me and I just snapped! I took my triangle instrument and set it sailing threw the air towards my instructor. It did miss my instructors head by a hair but it ended up bouncing off Billy’s trombone and Unfortunately it then ended up hitting my instructor on the left side of his temporal regions. The instructor did end up almost dieing from it and went through a 16 hour surgery, but unfortunate for me he lost his hearing and his entire left ear because of my anger. And unfortunate for him he is bald and cant grow hair anyway for it to grow long enough to try to hide the ear he doesn’t have now, I’m sure he gets a lot of stares and I’m sorry for that. I was locked up for 4 years for malicious wounding ,and till this day I think I didn’t get a fair shake at trial because at the time I was only 16 years old, didn’t have a good lawyer, and didn’t belong in a federal penitenti

1/11/2009 4:17:45 PM

Ohio

When I finally did end up getting out of prison the judge's one stipulations was that I was banned from any type band activities. And rightfully so, since then I go through many flash backs of that day, it makes me want to throw the triangle instrument at any guys in bands or plays instruments ,or really anything they do that has to do with music. What has changed my life since that horrible incident was I started growing pumpkins , its really turned my life around for the better.

1/11/2009 4:18:19 PM

Waquoit Mass

i have one question whats jacks pb ?

1/11/2009 6:48:28 PM

Pataskala,OH

Brooks lol. I like gj post they give me a good laugh.

1/11/2009 6:53:16 PM

Massillon, Ohio

brooks, nick and i met in band!! (so this post really made me laugh so hard i almost died).

so yeah, next time i see you i'm going to run !!!! i really like my ears!!!

1/11/2009 8:40:11 PM

Ohio

HAAAAAAA!Chris!!!!!!! You didnt happen to have one of them Band instructors that was in his mid 60's, wore the black framed glasses, brown corduroy pants, with purple striped shirt with pocket protector did ya?,,,lol

1/11/2009 9:42:38 PM

Farmington, Utah

Big Dave, I think that he said his personal best was 400. Didnt he say that after crushing his vines in July that his pumpkin put on another 400 pounds. Crush vines around pollination time(July) plus 400 pounds... equals 400 pounds.

1/12/2009 7:53:22 AM

Menomonie, WI ([email protected])

Come one Brooks..You are letting me down..the way you described him don't you think she would have recognized him?

1/12/2009 7:54:34 AM

Waquoit Mass

jack whats your pb ?

1/12/2009 12:32:36 PM

Mill Bay, British Columbia

in 2005, he said his pb was 800 something....

http://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=38022

1/12/2009 3:08:15 PM

Waquoit Mass

if your pb is only 800 i think you would be better off keepin your mouth shut so you could listen and learn some more hamr

1/13/2009 9:47:57 AM