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Rhode Island

i dont know about your neck of the woods but here in rhode island the weather has really been totally awful.

rain, rain and more rain.we finally got a nice day tuesday
(in the seventies only ) followed by temps in the low fifties last night.
today we get some sun followed by three or four more days of crap.

dont get me wrong its a long season and anything can happen good or bad from here on out however,if you grow for competition you really need to meet those correct windows .

one being large enough plant at pollination time. minimum i will go is 12-13 ft out. any closer and your just kidding yourself. you will pay down the road.

my original goal was first pollination a minimum of 15 ft out but, mother nature has forced me to re-think that goal
(thanks ya old bitty)

it looks like the weather has been pretty bad from ohio valley.pa, across southern new york, all the way west to cape cod ma.the growers in the pacific north west grow under these conditions every spring (usually except this year ), now we know what they deal with most years.

hey theres one thing in our favor. the weather is not just effecting our patch, it effects our regional competitors as well.

we will just have to rewrite our rules so no outsiders can attend our weigh-off---------lol
either that or hold our own weigh-off at home and declare ourselves champion.

our best to everyone. we will get throught it. its only a pumpkin.not life and death.

pap

6/17/2009 8:48:54 AM

Boise City, Oklahoma, USA

Pap, drag one here, bet you can take home the ribbon. :)

This year is just being last year, but moreso. I feel bad for hearing everyone's weather has been (soggier N a bowl of cornflakes) or still getting ugly cold weather, and sun sightings are hahahaha.

I just tried to get an early set and it turned baked already... just one. Global warming my patoot.

Yep, just bragging rights. Good luck this year.

6/17/2009 9:39:29 AM

Pataskala,OH

I think Ohio has been having ideal growing conditions. I would expect some big ones this year 80's at day mid 60's at night with one rain a week for the past month.

6/17/2009 10:06:27 AM

Paradise Mountain, New York

Rains five days out of the week here in Central New York. Every night it's in the high 40's or low 50's. Even the farmers corn around here will never be knee high by the fourth of July. Which is every farmers sign for a good start for farmers corn in New York. Farmers are complaining it's not a good year for haying. No weather to cut it and for the hay to dry. My plants are so far behind, I pulled up two of them saturday. I'm going to decide on July 1st if i'm going to pull all of them up. It's been so cold, I haven't had any cucumber bugs.

6/17/2009 10:08:24 AM

Darfield, British Columbia, Canada

We have had great weather here. Hottest it has been at this time of year for as long as I can remember. I'm behind by two weeks, don't have enough time and am not experienced enough to grow a car crusher but with the weather that the province has had I would be watching out for Jake Vankooten this year or other growers in BC or on the north west side of warshington..sorry..washington.lol The Hollands could grow some more monsters as well.
Keep it on the west coast.
Good luck to all.

6/17/2009 11:04:46 AM

Minnesota

Minnesota set a record for least amount of rain in May, set record for 3 straight days of the high being in the 50's, has been rainy and cloudy for most of 3 weeks now. Can we get together and have a group hug for me..wa wa wa

6/17/2009 11:33:27 AM

Mill Bay, British Columbia

Pap, you correct about the usual weather on the pacific northwest but this year has been really odd. We are setting all sorts of records for sunshine and have not had a drop of rain (in my area) now for 29 straight days. We normally get 2-3 days of rain in May and June but certainly not this year.

Yes, I would expect big things from some growers in British Columbia and Washington State this year. You just have to look at Erin's diary to see how the weather has been and how the plants are growing!!

6/17/2009 11:48:56 AM

bliss,n.y.- heart of Wyoming County

Pap-Ground just will not warm up here. Corn is not going to be knee high by 7/4 .
My tomatoes are in black plastic- they are doing a bit better.
We just plain need warm soil temps.

6/17/2009 12:01:35 PM

Billerica,Massachusetts

maybe we should start growing rice?

6/17/2009 12:03:21 PM

Little-TON - Colorado

Glenn,

We got all your rain........

6/17/2009 12:21:11 PM

Midway, UT

Don't forget the hail too Wiz and funnel clouds and wind...

None the less my plants are looking pretty good as compared to last year but his been extra work to get them that way because of the cooler temps.

6/17/2009 12:34:46 PM

Boise City, Oklahoma, USA

I got the heat, I'll trade it for rain, dump the hail elsewhere.

6/17/2009 12:44:47 PM

Saegertown Pa.

same weather as last year for me real cold, it was 37 Sunday 44 monday and 39 tuesday in the mornings. But the plants are still a day a head of last year and there is a lot of time before pollination. I think Pa. and Ohio will be just fine this year and I have a feeling that RI will still have some monsters.

6/17/2009 12:52:24 PM

Menomonie, WI ([email protected])

We are about 150 Growing Degrees Behind Average. Which is about two weeks.

6/17/2009 1:30:13 PM

Vancouver Washington

Washington state (or at least the west side of the mountains - has had an ideal spring. We never get the night time temps that some of you do. Even midsummer - night time temps are routinely in the low 50's. But this year we have had lots of weather in the High 70's over the last month - with some low 80's mixed in. I have already terminated several secondaries and will be able to pollinate all four of my plants prior to the 1st of July - and they will all be beyond 16 feet.
My worry this year is that the plant and leaves will age too fast to be productive when our warm normal Indian summer hits this fall.
So...
I'm pinning all my hopes on getting them big early and being able to keep them healthy for an extended period this year. By the time the weigh-offs get here a couple of pumpkins could be as old as 110 days...

I would look for Holland, Van Kooten, LaRue, Sherwood, Hester, Starr, and yes you heard it here first....Boom Boom Erin Huff to have really big kins this year. I think our weigh-offs in the Pacific Northwest will be very very competitive this year.

I'll start a new post about that topic.

6/17/2009 1:53:05 PM

Cochecton, NY

weather sucks here too. A couple of sunny days this month, but the temps were down in the 60's on those days. Overcast today and in the 60's. Preparing for a dumping here the next couple of days. Supposed to get 2+ inches of rain over the next 24 hours.

6/17/2009 3:33:28 PM

[email protected]

I'm gonna wait and see what next week will bring, I see temps are supposed to finally start changing to more Summer Like temperatures in these parts, and I expect to see huge growth coming up. The plants are a good week behind this time last year, but remaining optimistic after seeing the forecast, if they are correct. Summer will be ON TIME, and not before next week. I'm sure we can try to play catch up somehow. I just took the plastic off the hoop houses this week, really late. And am seeing some yellow leaves, not sure if that is because of temperature swings and lack of rain, or what, but something has to change and soon. Plants are still growing, but not as much as they should.

6/17/2009 3:38:20 PM

Cochecton, NY

Lack of rain. I'm moving to Rochester!

6/17/2009 3:47:43 PM

[email protected]

LOL...We'll get some rain tonight, but, after that and a cool day tomorrow, look out. Summer is coming! I know, wait we'll all be complaining about the heat and humidity in July/August!

6/17/2009 4:10:43 PM

Long Island,New York

there's always someone who ruins the curve...........

6/17/2009 4:16:32 PM

North Smithfield, RI

Lettuce and radishes doing fine here ,,, that's about it !

6/17/2009 6:22:01 PM

[email protected]

Heck even the peas aren't in yet this season, really late. Just now getting pea pods. I might have some by July 4th. Did have my first taste of salt potatoes this season right from the dirt into the pot, YUM! Load up the butter and salt, YUM!!! At least some things can grow in any conditions.

6/17/2009 7:14:17 PM

Pembroke, New Hampshire

....aaaaarrrgggghhhhhh.......

6/17/2009 7:53:05 PM

[email protected]

We're growing a warm remperature crop. The ideal is a daytime high of 86°F maximum for optimum growth. A 60°F minimum is in the ideal growth range.

A week below 55° F stunts their growth but our CT 5 day forecast has highs of 72°F & lows of 50°F.

Not a pretty picture.

6/17/2009 8:05:37 PM

Linden,PA

It started raining today at 1PM , hard showers. Cool and windy all day. My plants are ahead of last year. No sun in the forecast until Monday. My patch has not needed any watering this season so far. No dry hay making around here either.

6/17/2009 8:19:35 PM

milford, CT,

Figures..the one year I grow just for size we get this crazy weather pattern. Everything that normally takes days to happen is now taking 2 weeks. Example..Last year at this time my main vine was growing a minimum of 1 ft a day and my secondaries the same...this year it's inch by inch and I'm lucky to see a foot of growth in 10 days.. Not fun yet!! Mark

6/17/2009 9:16:55 PM

South Bloomfield, Ohio

Well, in spite of the hail two weeks ago, two plants have mains out to 14 ft. and females at those points. We have discussed it and decided to forgo pollination until 16 feet or so or the third week of June at the earliest. At 1 foot a day, it won't take long.

Can't really bitch too much about the weather to this point. This is the best season we've ever had so far from a plant maturity perspective. Temps are perfect as is the rainfall. Lot of season to go though.

6/17/2009 10:09:11 PM

Adams County

rain..rain..rain..rain..but good temps

6/17/2009 10:13:41 PM

almost 90 here today and humid-i expect to see many records in midwest

6/17/2009 10:21:33 PM

Paradise Mountain, New York

Watching the weather channel Sunday night, they say if the jet stream doesn't change soon, the northeast will be a wet and cold summer.

6/17/2009 10:30:00 PM

Upstate S.C.

We have had weird weather. We will have a week of 90% weather and then have a WHOLE week of heavy rain. And in the deep south we have TERRIBLE afternoon storms, I mean it may be 88% and sunny ALL DAY and every afternoon around five 65 degree winds and hail and 2 inches of rain in an hour.......Then sunny again.

6/17/2009 11:14:18 PM

Midwest

pap. The weather is turning just west of you. The East Coast will be balmy and plants happy in two shakes of a lambs tail.

6/17/2009 11:31:44 PM

Rhode Island

someone needs to adjust that jet stream. i wonder if the almighty one is listening?

6/18/2009 8:09:54 AM

Wi

The midwest where I live hasn't been all that great. In fact I only expect to see one record come from out area.....

6/18/2009 9:22:40 AM

North Smithfield, RI

Sorry Pap but that won't happened. He's busy killing flies !

6/18/2009 6:06:38 PM

Hot West Tennessee

Storms fri 50 mph winds , 2inch rain. Rain sunday. 94 yesterday 96 today 96 tomorrow 95 sat. uncle

6/18/2009 10:30:10 PM

Buffalo, New York

pap, i just got done reading your book, BG.

Looks like you had a wet spring that year too, and i read what happened as the final result......

6/19/2009 1:35:01 AM

I am listening Pap, and who you calling an "old bitty"?

6/20/2009 8:35:43 PM