From

Location

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Date Posted

Knopp, Germany

I know this AG did not have many seeds.

I know the 1160 grew the 1810.

No one knows what the 1810 seed will bring.

I respect pumpkin dreamer, but the 1160 is a steal this year.

thanks,
owen

11/28/2010 1:36:06 PM

Cologne Brescia Italy

1160??

11/28/2010 3:41:32 PM

Germany

1161

11/28/2010 4:16:00 PM

43.841677 , -79.086692

First of all it is a piece of history. Out of thousands growers world wide I bet when chris is all out of seeds there will be only a dozen or so growers that had a chance to grow it. Almost as important than growing it is having the chance to use it for pollen. Imagine how popular the crosses will be with 1810 in them.

11/28/2010 4:57:55 PM

Farmville, Virginia ([email protected])

I would think no more popular than the 1068 or 998 were. Hope that seed pops for him...lot of money there.

11/28/2010 6:00:15 PM

Boise City, Oklahoma, USA

I do hope it germs, I hope he clones some vine tips, and I hope the pollen goes far and wide. :)

11/28/2010 7:10:41 PM

Ohio

I like it because of how extra heavy it went to its OTT size. I really think it's the kind of pumpkin we need crossed into our next generation of pumpkins to help hit that 2000lb mark. (this isn't the only pumpkin I think that about)

I think the smaller OTT pumpkins that goes extra heavy just like the 1810 did will be our ticket for the kind of genes we need to have in our next generations of pumpkins to get towards 2000lbS.

Im just guessing on this, cause no one really knows the answer, but I really think gravity will play a huge part for a pumpkin later on down the road that has the OTT measurements of it weighing 2000 lbs and then that same pumpkin weighing 2000lbs.

I just cant imagine a pumpkin that weighed 2000lbs and that is dead on for OTT measurements. The top will have to cave in, wouldn't it?,,lol,, but then again these pumpkins surprise us every year, no one thought a pumpkin would EVER reach 1000 lbs ether,,lol

11/29/2010 7:20:18 AM

Rhode Island

know this for sure. if you can get the 1725 sweet-1725 harp or 1810 stevens into your crosses? your doing well.
even better if you could cross the harp with either of the other two.

11/29/2010 8:34:13 AM

Deer Park, WI

Owen, you ask a great question.

Brooks, I agree completely with your statement "its the kind of pumpkin we need crossed into our next generation of pumpkins..." Lunatic also makes valid statements..."a piece of history...use it for pollen"

These are all compelling arguements the help define the value of 1810. But what about the value of 1161, as Owen asks?

I believe that if you were to take all of the seeds from a given pumpkin, lets use 1161 as our example, and grow them out under the same exact conditions, the end weights of those pumpkins would likely vary considerably.

This is speculation, of course, but based upon fact that no two combinations of male and female DNA are exactly the same in any organism.

If one were to plot the end weights of this experiment on a graph, I surmise you'd end up with a typical Gaussian distribution (a bell curve) where a majority percentage of the fruit fall into some sort of "median range" and a small percetage of the fruit fall into an "outlier" range. The "outlier range" includes both duds (one end of the bell curve) and stellar performers (the opposite end of the bell curve).

Once could argue, based on this logic, that Stevens pulled the stellar performer out of the 1161 pool. Of course a million other factors go into the outcome when you remove the control of identical growing conditions, but it is what it is.

Perhaps the reason 1161 isnt pulling the $$$ that one may expect is due to realization that the "silver bullet" in the 1161 pool has been drawn?

11/29/2010 10:43:45 AM

Pocatello ([email protected])

There are several genetic theories that we tend to subscribe to, whether we know it or not. I tend to support the theory that Joze just described, as it is the "most plausible" of all the ideas that I understand. This "silver bullet" theory takes into account that all seeds are different in any given fruit.

It also seems to me that if we support this theory, then the seeds from the 1810 (or ANY super heavy fruit) are uber-valuable, as we just took notice that one of the best outlier seeds did it's thing, and we must assume that this fruit passed it's genes along to it's seeds, considering that the pollinator contributes a big factor, and of course the grower's input is huge as well.

BTW, I have several crosses with the 1725 Harp, but that plant didn't do so well for me. Bad grower, bad soil, and bad weather were likely the biggest contributing factors, but did I have an outlier on the down side? I don't know, maybe.

11/29/2010 11:56:59 AM

Knopp, Germany

First thanks for correcting my typing, of course the 1161.

Second, some great responses:

"Imagine how popular the crosses will be with 1810 in them"

"I really think it's the kind of pumpkin we need crossed into our next generation of pumpkins"

"know this for sure. if you can get the 1725 sweet-1725 harp or 1810 stevens into your crosses? your doing well."

"Perhaps the reason 1161 isnt pulling the $$$ that one may expect is due to realization that the "silver bullet" in the 1161 pool has been drawn? "

"It also seems to me that if we support this theory, then the seeds from the 1810 (or ANY super heavy fruit) are uber-valuable"

Maybe there is a titanium bullet out there?

Now I can't wait to see 3 things, who grows the 1810, what they cross it with, and how heavy it is.

And this is still 29 November, what will we think about in the middle of January 2011?

thanks,
owen

11/29/2010 12:31:37 PM

Colorado

Owen,I'm big on the 1468.5 stevens-also known as the poor mans 1810.5.I'm going to cross it back into 1605 sweet and 1725 harp genetics and others. If I get a light colored fruit on the 1468.5 I'll be uber excited

11/29/2010 12:48:42 PM

Ham Lake, Minnesota

The best way to get the most out of an 1810 would be to share all the males you can and grow multiple fruit on each plant to make a few different crosses. You could do a self, sib and a cross all on one plant.

11/29/2010 3:04:59 PM

Deer Park, WI

They guy who makes a sib 1810 meets one of the following criteria:

Pans a helluva lotta gold
Has the last name "stevens"
Knows how to import viable pollen using a reliable courier service

11/29/2010 4:16:39 PM

Ham Lake, Minnesota

If people are willing to spend $1600+ cash for one seed I suspect some people will drive eight hours for pollen. Sounds crazy but this year has seen lots of crazy!

11/29/2010 4:54:20 PM

Pocatello ([email protected])

If people can spend $1600 on a seed, the recession is over... ;-) I hope someone did the drop test!

The car I drive on a daily basis has 280 hp, runs like new, and cost $2200. (Lincoln Mark VIII)

11/29/2010 5:04:47 PM

Deer Park WA

It's big I'm serious!

11/29/2010 10:43:14 PM

Deer Park WA

Oh yes the 1810 was a big bruiser of a fruit, but was it the best of the 1161 genetic variables? I think Professor Lieber showed a wonderful variant with his 1610 specimen, a trait Gerry & I personally prefer over the "dog puke" (no offence Mr. Stevens) looking color most fruit display now-a-days. We are hoping to cross color, shape, and size to create esthetically pleasing monsters that also have the potential to set world Records. The sharp color variant trait that appears now and then has been in our line up for many years now. We are getting closer to perfecting the genetics of these variants.

Great work, Gerry & I are in constant awe of the master gardeners who create the largest fruit/vegetables to ever exist on the face of the planet!

Dani Gadberry

11/29/2010 11:06:42 PM

Owensboro, Ky.

A lil off topic, maybe...but the bell curve thing sorta perks my imagination...1810 top of bell? Where are the other two...or four, or eight? that were near the top of the curve? Peace, Wayne

11/30/2010 2:42:51 AM

Deer Park, WI

Wayne- Grab a piece of paper and draw a bell curve. Underneath the bell curve, draw a horizontal line that is a little wider than the bell. On the left start point of the horizontal line, write the word "dud". On the right hand end point of the line, write the word "silver bullet".

The top of your bell actually represents the most frequent weight measured on the scales, for argument sake, it is roughly close to the average weight of all pumpkins grown on 1161.

Your question, in statistical terms, is are there additional outliers? Sweet's 1725 and Lieber's 1610 might be considered outliers. A simple statistical analysis may reveal this. Or, the numbers game may suggest these fall into a normal "standard deviation" or "confidence interval". Regardless, we have no current method of predicting if there are more or better outliers than the 1810. That is the subject of pure speculation until a controlled experiment, as described in my prior post, could be performed.

11/30/2010 7:09:28 AM

Trinity River Bottom

OK this just my opinion. Does anybody know how many 1161's there were ? What percentage of those seed have been grown?
How many have been grown by expert growers? In my opinion the 1810 is probably not the silver bullet of the bunch.

11/30/2010 9:46:49 AM

[email protected]

I don't believe for a second that the 1810 was the silver bullet.
It comes down to many factors and the biggest, especially non greenhouse grown plants is weather.
The weather Chris had last year, is almost a duplicate of the Harp 1725 had, Also add in the 1725 Sweet, 1610, etc for 2010 and you will see the weather patterns are almost equal.
There is a very distinct weather pattern that makes these plants excel, in 2010 The upper midwest was fortunate to be the SPOT.
The 1161 hasn't show us it's best yet

11/30/2010 10:35:12 AM

nOVA sCOTIA

Kevin Marsh(2010)
1674-1488x1544
1548-1276x1544
1536-1180x1161
Chad Revier(09)
1579-1161x1500
1544-1385x1161
1475-1207x1385
Chris Stevens(09)
1543-1140x1500
1502-672x1428
1375-1160x1428
In the hands of the right growers i'm sure a magic bullet or 2 will come out of those 19seeds.

11/30/2010 10:40:44 AM

canal winchester ohio

I'm with Eddy, every year there seems to be a "spot" where great things happen & by that I mean where excellant growers meet excellant weather. Remember this is only the 2nd year growing this seed ( 2009-2010) , in 2008 only 1 person grew the 1161 ( Quinn Werner). What did he see that no one else did ? That's a man that knows his seeds.
Paul

11/30/2010 11:12:20 AM

Ham Lake, Minnesota

I'd like to see the meterological data before I would say much about Chris weather patterns. All his plants were hit with hail early and smashed with killer winds along with enough rain to warrant an arc. Chris kept them going with no magic carpet ride summer. Stroll through his diary for a recap.

http://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=133591

11/30/2010 11:50:09 AM

canal winchester ohio

That would even lend greater creedence to my point the weather was great. When I say weather remember I'm talking temps not prec.( we can control that). I'm talking about temps during the time from day 10 of fruit set thru the point where growth ends. From the diary it looks like hail hit about 3-4' point of main vine & keeping them disease free after that was a awesome job by Chris because the 1st week after that is very critical.
But I remember a hail storm on Bob Liggett's patch the 1st week of June in 2008. Main vine over 20' long & secondaries out 14' & a pumpkin set & ready for the ride. The storm destroyed the pumpkin & tore the ends off every vine & most leaves. He set another pumpkin on a secondary, grew the plant back in & got a 1375 lbr.
The temps after that fruit set was awesome & let him recover.
That's what I mean by great weather, the temps after fruit set.

11/30/2010 1:00:15 PM

[email protected]

Exactly as Huff said.
There is a difference between what the grower deams as great weather and what the plant needs.
Realistically the Hail or excessive rain could push the plant into overdrive in the fact that it is trying to maintain growth.
Every part of the plant that was destroyed gets reborn, and in actual fact, could gain you 6 or 8 weeks more of a healthy plant at the end to push the extra weight.
I can't believe I'm saying this, but the hail may be partly responsible for the 1810.

11/30/2010 1:25:35 PM

Woodburn, Indiana

What's the rate of golf balls per gallon in the Stihl backpack sprayer?

11/30/2010 3:56:05 PM

East Jordan, MI

lol @ kelly

11/30/2010 5:58:36 PM

South Bloomfield, Ohio

I agree with Paul and Eddy. That hail storm may have pushed Chris over the top. As protective as we are with our plants, we can't forget that they are just plants and Mother Nature has, over eons, provided them with protective strategies.

Ten years from now, I can just see a thread here on BP.com: "What methods do you use traumatize your plants"?

11/30/2010 6:25:55 PM

Long Island,New York

I throw ice cubes from my gin and tonic to simulate hail on occasion.

11/30/2010 6:38:48 PM

South Bloomfield, Ohio

That just turns 'em green G.

11/30/2010 7:08:34 PM

Breslau, Ontario, Canada

I guess Giant Jack was right all along???

11/30/2010 7:28:00 PM

Annapolis Valley Nova Scotia

G must be drinking Gordon's or is it Tanquery in the USA ?

11/30/2010 7:44:19 PM

canal winchester ohio

I was waiting for that reference...LOL
I think this is different, didn't he want us to stomp our plants flat?
I know not all stress is the same, heat sucks. With our high temps this year I only got 2 pollinations to take.
But the stress from vine termination always seen to tick the plant off & plant growth seems to go crazy. I would never try to destroy a plant to stimulate growth but sometimes mabey a great grower meeting the right situation brings records.
I would love to know if anything was different is Chris's pumpkin plants besides just genetics. Like if the soil in one area was different than the others. Getting to the source of what creates very dense pumpkins like the 1810 is probably the key to going even higher. But then you wonder if what ever caused the density of the pumpkin also led to the low seed count?

11/30/2010 7:47:58 PM

Rhode Island

all i know is if any of had to deal with the weather eddy z has? we probably would have thrown in the towel years ago. i know i would have.

11/30/2010 7:58:55 PM

canal winchester ohio

amen to that

11/30/2010 8:03:53 PM

Owensboro, Ky.

As I remember, Giant Jack talked about driving a tractor thru the pkn patch (field pkns, not AG's)...but I now know why John-D is a member of Team Lunatic!!! LMAO!!!
Joe Pkn, If it works it won't take 10 years!!! LOL
and Kelly might be on the right path...maybe frozen fertilizer marbles thru yer Stihl??? LOL Peace, Wayne

11/30/2010 11:26:40 PM

Frankfort Ohio

buck shot for better air flow just got that message from above

11/30/2010 11:42:00 PM

Colorado

The plastic bb's the kids are shooting now sound perfect.I'm guessing $150 bucks worth to fill the stihl tank

12/1/2010 3:25:26 PM

Owensboro, Ky.

cojo, ya think Tom will have the pellets availble soon? LOL Peace, Wayne

12/1/2010 8:51:19 PM

Www.extremepumpkinstore.com

Plastic pellets are on order.....lmao

12/1/2010 10:01:45 PM