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Murray, KY

Went out this morning to make sure the wind hasn't done any damage and I almost fell over. One of the earliest AG's (one of only two commercial seed from Lowes that was put atop a prepared mound) has a female bloom and marble-sized pumpkin. The bloom is still very immature, but thank goodness since there is no sign of a male bloom on any of the other plants. The vine is only about 2' long (much smaller than our Penningtons), has not had any shelter since it was set out in early April, and survived two frosts. Not expecting a real hog off this vine, but I'm very impressed with its hardiness! Hey, maybe somebody messed up and loaded the Dill's envelope with a GOOD seed! lol

5/8/2010 12:26:47 PM

Ohio

just a guess here KY,what did your soil sample read in this area of our patch before planting, and what kind of ferts are you using the most of rigth now on your seedling?( if your using alot of the 'middle number' on your fert program this could have alot to do with a really early flowering), example, like 5-20-5?

But just a guess, this could be a big reason why you have a female flower growing this early, or maybe not,,lol

5/9/2010 4:47:55 AM

San Luis Obispo, Ca.

Excellent!

5/9/2010 11:15:23 AM

Murray, KY

no amendments at all to this point other than one watering with weak Miracle Grow at the time they were set out. Potassium and phosphorus in the low range and PH is still high, 6.8 at the time of the soil sample and I've not done anything to lower it yet. Yeah, I need to bump the P and K up but I haven't.

The plant is on a 4' wide mound that was prepared with a 3' x 5' trench along either side, 2' deep. These trenches were filled with composted red maple mulch and 500 lbs or so of composted (2-year-old) horse manure. I also put about 20 lbs of surplus chicken feed in the 4" of topsoil that separates the mulch and manure. I did this because I've noticed that buried chicken feed seems to attract redworms. My ground is teeming with these anyway, and a spot check in one of the trenches a couple weeks after construction revealed the topsoil layer loaded with worms, already working into the mulch and manure layers.

The Lowes seed were germinated way too early really (if I remember right it was very early March), so by all rights these plants are old enough to be blooming if age plays any part in the equation. They were transplanted before April 6 but I don't recall the exact date and didn't make a record of it.

Not really sure yet whether the early flower is a blessing or a curse! lol

5/9/2010 12:25:15 PM

Murray, KY

posted a picture on our diary of the little gal, and an update of our Pennington 1238 that broke the surface one month ago today.

5/9/2010 1:01:42 PM