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nOVA sCOTIA

WOW! only 44 pumpkins out of 200 weighed went light to the chat this year??

10/19/2013 6:18:34 PM

Brooklyn Corner, Nova Scotia

The majority of pumpkins went heavy in 2013
GPC sites
1-100- 81% were on or heavy
1-200- 78% were on or heavy
1-300- 72 % were on or heavy
1-400- 68 % were on or heavy
1-500- 66% were on or heavy

Fun fact- only 19 pumpkins in the top 100 this year went light compared to 39 last year.

10/19/2013 6:24:54 PM

nOVA sCOTIA

lots of happy growers out there.lol

10/19/2013 6:27:26 PM

Colorado

given the overall heavy trend, its interesting to look at local results too. I wonder why we are consistently light to the charts overall? low humidity?

http://www.bigpumpkins.com/WeighoffResultsBySite.aspx?s=44&c=P&y=2013

http://www.bigpumpkins.com/WeighoffResultsBySite.aspx?s=112&c=P&y=2013

http://www.bigpumpkins.com/WeighoffResultsBySite.aspx?s=79&c=P&y=2013

10/19/2013 8:20:51 PM

canal winchester ohio

Don't everyone hate on me( and I am singling no club out) but as more and more clubs sell seeds & the prevailing want is for pumpkins that go heavy to the chart one would think some ( not all) of the numbers may be a bit off to drive up demand.
Ok said it, now you can attack me

10/19/2013 9:28:22 PM

Brooklyn Corner, Nova Scotia

You're keeping it real Paul, gotta like that.

Another tidbit for the %heavy junkies...at least 4 of the top ten fruit were offspring from mothers who went light.

2009 Wallace- -2%- had a spectacular debut with offspring going heavy. 2032 Mathison + 2%, 1985 Miller + 10%
1554 Mathison- -3% grew 1874 Mathison at +12%
1623 Wallace- -6%, grew 1779 J. Werner at + 15%
1676 Daletas- - 2% grew 1766 Debacco at + 12 %.

Do you suppose that Mr. Mathison, Mr. Werner and Matt had optimum soil combined with years of expertise and weather that allowed their plants to maximize nutrient uptake and suppress disease resulting in massive fruit that went on the plus side of an estimation chart. Or maybe the estimation should be just that.

Measure a bean bag chair, a beach ball and a bowling ball. One will go heavy, one will go light and one will be right on.
Not even Winter yet and the conversation is already getting good!!

10/19/2013 9:49:47 PM

Marion, Wisconsin

Not trying to throw wrenches.... I think this is the first year Joe Werner took a pumpkin to a GPC site and he might of said it was grown in 1% Organic Matter soil. I could be wrong.

10/19/2013 10:25:56 PM

Minnesota

I had 3 separate patches with 9 total plants this year. My 1779 was grown in 4% om with no compost added this year. My north patch was sandy soil with om of 1%. The 1779 broke my previous years personal best by 1166 lbs.

10/19/2013 10:45:09 PM

Minnesota

My 613 last year was weighed at non gpc sanctioned weighoff I help host in ottertail mn.

10/19/2013 10:48:28 PM

Saegertown Pa.

most growers this year had cooler temps and more rain, when you get weather like this you will get more over chart. Last year hot temps bigger OTT and you will get more that go below chart.

10/20/2013 12:26:15 AM

nOVA sCOTIA

keep speaking your mind Huffs and you will end up on the shit list or the ignore box with me!lol. As far as organic matter?? 1% is nothing more than dirt! Where in the hell are the nutrients coming from to grow a 1700lb in that????? I have never had a pumpkin go light no matter what seed i have grown.John Mackinnon's pumpkins on the other hand..who experiences the exact same Weather conditions as i will usually loose around 100lbswhen they hit the scale.lol Sorry John. Seed? Weather? Soil conditions?????

10/20/2013 7:15:01 AM

nOVA sCOTIA

Oh and by the way does anyone have Beni Meirs home phone #.I was wondering what kind of weather he experienced this year,how far out on the vine the pumpkin was,when it was pollinated,average temps,disease issues,main vine ,secondary vine,short stem,long stem????? One thing for sure...if a 1700lb pumpkin can be grown in soil with 1% organic matter,there will never be another shovel full of manure added to my soil.lol

10/20/2013 7:30:51 AM

nOVA sCOTIA

c'mom Steve..i know you are dying to chime in here? lol

10/20/2013 7:34:17 AM

Muddy Waters

Organic matter is not the only way to deliver nutrients.We may grow a kin hydroponically next year.I will say however my organic matter was way down only like 2%.I will be adding a lot next year to loosen my soil for better root growth and to hold nutrients in place.I agree with Quinn,I think the faster growth contributes to the air bubble fruits.It really is obvious in the melons we grow.Everyone should speak there mind right or wrong.I hate to see the forums go away due to fear of confrontation.I think you could grow a WR in pure sand if you had all the nutrients in a bottle & delivered it daily through drip tape.Can someone tell me why this would not work??Kinda like Hydroponically just using sand to hold the roots & plant in place.

10/20/2013 8:16:21 AM

That State Up North

look at the chart that was used this year for the GPC scoreboard, not the same as last years chart, and this is having a major effect on the % heavy data

10/20/2013 10:52:52 AM

Marion, Wisconsin

I thought I might be wrong on the numbers. Sorry about that.

10/20/2013 2:30:13 PM

Wi

As said above look at the high end of the chart compared to last year. big difference.

10/20/2013 5:21:09 PM

Nova Scotia

Carl,
First
don't be playing on your computer when dumping back the Captain !
Then
take off those dollar store glasses ...
and
ask your hot wife to read this to you...

#4    1,811.00    Graham, Carl    Donkin    Nova Scotia    Canada    Millville Community Centre    1634 Werner    1314 Sperry    445.0    1,882.00    -4

Hope you had fun doing your Travolta impressions.

10/20/2013 11:03:25 PM

Torrance, Ca.

ouch

10/20/2013 11:16:04 PM

Willamette Valley, Oregon

I haven't run all the numbers yet, but assessing the chart by sorting by weight should be done with caution. Mathematically we expect the top pumpkins by weight to lean toward "heavy-to-chart" pumpkins, so that should be accounted for in assessments.

Sorting by OTT gives a better picture of the "heaviness" of the year.

Having said that it did seem to be a "heavy" year, but not as heavy as sorting-by-weight would indicate.

I'll work up the final numbers in a few weeks when all the data are in.

10/21/2013 12:04:28 AM

Willamette Valley, Oregon

Couldn't resist - Quick preliminary preview as of the data entered so far for 2013:

Top 50 by OTT - Avg 1.48% heavy (1.88% heavy with the 2328 uow)
Top 100 by OTT - Avg 1.26% heavy (1.51% heavy with the 2328 uow)

10/21/2013 12:15:42 AM

Willamette Valley, Oregon

A couple past years for comparison:

2012 top 50 by OTT: Avg 0.51% heavy using 2013 GPC chart (-4.26% by 2012 chart)
2011 top 50 by OTT: Avg 0.56% heavy using 2013 GPC chart (-0.88% by 2011 chart)

A few other sensitivity analysis calculations for reference:

An OTT measurement error of 3" too short would give a 1.7% heavy error in the weight estimate (at 420" OTT).

For a truly 0% pumpkin (one whose actual OTT indicates 0% to chart) to come in 10% heavy by mistake, the OTT would have to be off by around 18"! (so sytematically 6" off on each of the 3 OTT component measurements).

10/21/2013 1:33:05 AM

nOVA sCOTIA

Well now!Hope i didn't offend anyone!A growers pumpkin continuosly going light every year is no big secret.The info is available for everyone! Last year 102 pumpkins weighed out of 200 went light.This is how i look at my 1811.Ben Hebb and Bill Nothrup measured the pumpkin(445ott)In 2012 it est 1882lbs.The 2013 chart has 445 ott at 1745lbs a difference of 137lbs so i guess it could have been heavy!!Keep in mind John that the pumpkin was also Orange and growing somedays at over 50lbs a day. Still not a whole lot of 1800lb pumpkins weighed so i would have to say that the 1811 was pretty much to chart:)

10/21/2013 11:13:00 AM

Mill Bay, British Columbia

Wow Carl, take it on the chin fella and admit that you may have made a mistake when you boldly professed "I have never had a pumpkin go light no matter what seed i have grown"

4% light...well it is 4% light...not pretty much to chart.

10/21/2013 11:20:44 AM

JACKSON, WISCONSIN. ; )

does it really mater if heavy or light.. I remember a saying.. the bs stops when the tailgate drops.. a scale never lies... its only an estimate chart.. to track daily and weekly gains.. I have had kins go 10% heavy and 10% light on the same plant... with or without a chart they both were wrong..

10/21/2013 11:38:06 AM

nOVA sCOTIA

Not a chance Glenn! lol

10/21/2013 11:39:48 AM

Boscawen, NH

As Nic mentioned above, you cannot compare estimated weights from this years chart to last years unless you plug the 2013 OTT's into the 2012 chart. The formula used to calculate estimated weight was changed in the 2013 chart.

10/21/2013 11:43:28 AM

nOVA sCOTIA

you took longer than i thought Steve.lol

10/21/2013 11:57:14 AM

Nova Scotia

Carl I wasn't offended about you pointing out the unfortunate obvious and how my AG’s are almost always light, although I have grown some over the charts (look them up if you really want). Yours up until last year almost always went heavy and considering the rate it was growing is probably no surprise. The fact we grow in very similar weather conditions certainly is a good point but our soil, amendments, watering, etc. are not the same either.
I never questioned the measuring, or the OTT of the Mold Monster as I was there and it was something to behold and one hell of an accomplishment which made me proud. What I was alluding to was your statement of "I have never had a pumpkin go light no matter what seed I have grown" That information is available to everyone to judge for themselves as truth or fiction. Thus, I was a bit shocked you made that statement. Perhaps I should have just let it go but where would be the fun in that??
I didn't realize we could take OTT’s from other years and use them in a year that the charts were more to our liking, in that case I might have had another pumpkin or two that may have weighed to the charts..LOL
I think most would agree that your wife is hot ;) so I would say that was a compliment. The Captain, maybe a poke at you and the dollar store glasses I would call karma for anyone that follows your rants. Now if you need a hug let me know. I had no intentions of offending you, Charlene, the MM OR your choice of beverages, perhaps I have to come over there and buy you a round or two?

10/21/2013 7:20:13 PM

nOVA sCOTIA

ahaa.No fun in you anymore John!I figured you would be all ove me with a comment like about your pumpkins.lol Thought i might start the fireworks early this year..but i see you are getting old John Cabot...no fight left in ya.lol. You know,i had the 1811 taped at 449.5 ott so it's a good thing Ben and Bill measured it at 445 ott because i would have had it wayyy under the chart.:)

10/22/2013 11:52:57 AM