Hardening off

The weather the past few days in Portland has been great. Perfect for warmth and sun exposure for the seedlings, getting them ready to plant. I'm thinking within the next couple of days there will be a plant in the ground. Very exciting, but also a new phase of variables to worry about, namely wind damage, cold exposure and soil moisture. I have the pumpkin bed hooked into the drip system, which I'm hoping will be adequate for the rapid growth. I also have thin white garden fabric cover that will help keep the plant protected from wind and cold.


Looks like Chris just planted some of his mystery seeds this weekend, so he's about 2 week behind me at this point. That could be the difference that pays off in the end.


Here's a black and white photo Chris sent me of, apparently, the shipping labels for the pumpkin seeds he bought online. Looks like this is the "Prizewinner F1" seed and from a search online, these are the pertinent details on this seed:


Pumpkin Prizewinner F1

120 Days. This hybrid fits between our Howden Biggie and Atlantic Giant in size, and it requires more than one person to get it out of the field. It can grow from 75-150 lbs., depending on the care you give it. With a fairly uniform shape for a big pumpkin and a consistent, bright reddish-orange color, Prizewinner is an excellent contest pumpkin. Its typical pumpkin shape with shallow ribs makes it a good fit for roadside displays, too. 10 seeds/pkt.

So, it seems that's what I'm up against!

Also, here's an article from the Wall Street Journal that Chris sent me about giant pumpkin growing in Napa Valley. It talks a lot about the popularity of giant pumpkins and the trading and buying of good genetic seed.

http://bit.ly/d9XmkV

In the next few days, I'll go into a little more detail about the seeds I started and where I got them.