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Brooklyn Corner, Nova Scotia

North of the 40th parallel encompasses almost half of the US and pretty much all of Atlantic Canada. *In Europe, England, France, Belgium, Poland, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland the Ukraine and most of Italy are situated between the 40th and 50th parallel. So....without a greenhouse, can someone outside this area realistically compete for a world record?

* There are many more European countries within this area, however, I don't have any knowledge of significant sized specimens.

12/12/2014 9:39:40 PM

Home of happy lil plants

im in the anti sweet spot

12/12/2014 10:27:04 PM

Torrance, Ca.

lol Spence,,,,,,,,,, me too.

12/12/2014 10:32:02 PM

Wixom MI.

California

12/12/2014 10:41:59 PM

Whitehall Montana

Each valley here in Montana has its own micro climate.I live just on the east side of the continental divide.Most of our moisture moves from west to east and by the time the rain gets over the divide there is little left for us.If lucky we get 2" during the summer.Nights are cold ranging from low 40s to low 50s.Butte on the west side of the divide is low 30s to upper 30s for night time lows during the summer.So its a hard grow up here

12/12/2014 11:12:44 PM

Anamosa, IA BPIowegian@aol.com

Ocean currents like the Gulf Stream have a big effect on climate. That is why some northern areas are warmer than other areas at the same latitude. The big effect latitude has is in the length of daylight. Micro climates can have big effects in a very short distance. My little valley snakes around and is full of trees below my garden. Cool air sinks in in the evening and can't get out. Just walking from my house to the garden on a summer evening is like turning on the air conditioner. I get about a 2 week later start in the spring than I could if I was on top of the hill less than half a mile away.

12/12/2014 11:25:03 PM

Concord, CA.

The sweetest spot is the result from the combined effect of the Humboldt current and the breeze off San Pablo Bay.

12/12/2014 11:57:32 PM

Netherlands

Andy, it's a lot more complex than that. We don't have a land climate here like Germany and Switzerland do. Our average highs at the height of summer are 13°C (55°F) at night and 21°C (70°F) during the day.
That, with lots of rainfall (35 inches) and lots of dull skies, makes it one of the most difficult climates to grow in within the 40th to 50th parallel.

12/13/2014 3:25:55 AM

Muddy Waters

Weather is very unpredictable,so on any given year the weather you need to grow a 2500 lber might be dealt to you.Will you grow that year?Will your soil be up to par?Will you over water your plants & cause disease that year?So many variables in growing a monster.Most folks are in a region that could make it happen.Never loose hope,The chance is there for many.

12/13/2014 7:21:23 AM

50 Acres

I don,t know geography. My question is it possible the Australian, and New Zealand growers are out side this parimiter.tks Jim

12/13/2014 9:01:50 AM

Spring Hope, N.C. - USA

learn to bend your enviroment and be ready.(Greenhouse)

12/13/2014 10:18:25 AM

Brooklyn Corner, Nova Scotia

You're on the coast Brad in a very small country slightly larger than half of New Brunswick. I suspect your climate is similar to Newfoundland. Going inland, as you say, the conditions improve greatly, like here in Nova Scotia. Coast.

Jim, it's not a fair comparison, but I would imagine there are pockets of good growing areas between 30 and 50 degrees south. Talk about complex weather systems in Australia and New Zealand.

12/13/2014 10:42:52 AM

Quincy, CA

Andy - Have you heard of a town called Napa?
Three pumpkins over 2,000 pounds grown there last year by three different growers and the world record the previous year.
It's outside the 40th.

12/13/2014 11:49:03 AM

Rhode Island

i might be inclined to agrre however several over 2,000 pounds were grown in the us this year. it is very possible that in a good weather spring ,summer and fall that a new wr could be grown in the good old us of a.

not gonna be easy though and i do believe that a greenhouse for those bad weather days could help accomplish that goal.

having said that? even outdoors it could be done? ya just gotta get lucky with things like the right seed, weather,no disease,etc.

pap

12/13/2014 12:41:11 PM

Torrance, Ca.

Just like dguyh just said,,,,,,,,,,,, that line is slowly changing as weather patterns change and guys adjust to the growing conditions they have.

12/13/2014 12:56:55 PM

bliss,n.y.- heart of Wyoming County

All I know- this area is the geo sour spot!

12/13/2014 3:16:52 PM

Australia eastcoastcitrus@hotmail.com

im curious also after talking to big moon last year on this subject my pumpkins mature by early to mid january when day temps are hot and humid still good growing weather are they light sensetive like soya beans? as the days at that time of year are 20 to 40 degrees celcius my friend pipster who lives down near melbourne can grow them for 120 days where i dont seem to get past 65 days the last couple of years i am up close to the qld border will try starting earlier next year to get more days i think growing outside you have to work as best you can with the climate you have i am relatively new to this but this website is so valuable to guys like me as theirs not many of us over here

12/13/2014 4:08:51 PM

Eurasia

Germany is not in the sweet spot!
Pumpking grows in Saxonia and I grow in Lower Bavaria.
These two regions are the very best for growing pumpkins in Germany, but we are not anywhere near that sweet spot, where you might grow more then 1500# without a greenhouse.

12/13/2014 4:19:30 PM

Upa Creek, MO

Dale, you have done pretty well the last couple years down there! Check his diary if you haven't already. That makes a Dale way up north and another way down south who grow big. Must be the name.

12/13/2014 6:57:54 PM

nOVA sCOTIA

nope! everyone needs a greenhouse!The valley,CA, AUS, without a greenhouse no one in the world will ever beat the current WR. Build them ...put them up,so i don't have to listen to anymore f...! excuses............................

12/13/2014 7:08:32 PM

nOVA sCOTIA

and if you don't want to build a new greenhouse and compete with Beni then spend your $$$ on a new camera and take lots of photos..........

12/13/2014 7:12:59 PM

nOVA sCOTIA

rant,rant,sleep like a baby!!!!!!!

12/13/2014 7:35:30 PM

Brooklyn Corner, Nova Scotia

I'm very familiar with the Napa Valley, the growers there and their successes. A whopping 100-120 miles south of the 40th parallel. That particular region is blessed many fold with sunlight, soil, weather and dedicated growers. I would like nothing better than seeing a WR grown outside in that area or any other. So I guess your answer to the question would be YES.

12/13/2014 9:22:05 PM

Muddy Waters

It will happen a world record will come back to the US.If I cant grow it here.I will move to NAPA and do it there.

12/13/2014 10:21:56 PM

Muddy Waters

lol

12/13/2014 11:05:34 PM

Anchorage Alaska

I think the sweet spot is a place where you get consistent sunshine.. and the weather stays around 80 during the day and 60 at night , probably one of the reasons why the Napa area does so well . In AK with the long daylight hours , growth really picks up .. if you can string 4 or 5 sunny days together in a row.. still waiting for a nice summer

12/14/2014 12:00:14 AM

Anchorage Alaska

lol.. Luke..yeah dale does a great job down there .. nice diary also

12/14/2014 12:03:04 AM

Eugene,OR

38.5 parallel in the Napa Valley between Gary Miller's house and Tim Mathison's house...which is exactly where John Hawkley lives. It is a strip about 4 miles long and a half mile wide.

12/14/2014 12:52:35 AM

Australia eastcoastcitrus@hotmail.com

thanks luke anybody know the average rainfall for napa we are drier this year only 1254 mm so far last year had 1961 mm as we are subtropical here

12/14/2014 3:03:53 AM

Bethlehem CT

I have lot's of admiration for the pumpkins dale grows down in Australia. He is in a humid sub tropical citrus region, similar to Florida. He is doing what no one thought possible. Keep up the good work dale.

12/14/2014 7:38:29 AM

Rhode Island

lets give a bit of credit to those napa growers who have over the last several years become a strong group of growers.
ten years ago no one was talking about napa were they? and the weather was great then as well.

ya need it all folks.the whole ball of wax,weather,seed,skill,etc, growers a big key as well.

we can all own a car but if we dont know how to drive it? it wont matter.

pap the pope

12/14/2014 11:28:05 AM

Muddy Waters

Amen Pap! The grower is a very large part of it.

12/14/2014 12:17:52 PM

Torrance, Ca.

That's out of the sweet spot Vineman!

Just goes to show how the line is moving because of growers ability to adjust to the growing environment they are working with.

Spence,,,, we do have hope:)

12/14/2014 1:38:28 PM

Home of happy lil plants

33.47 parrallel for the win

12/15/2014 11:45:35 PM

Deer Park, WI

I feel that a more localized and scientific means to determine the climactic potential of specific geography is to consider growing day units (GDUs). For those unfamiliar, this is a quantitative measure of how much "heat" accumulates over the course of a growing season. Each crop requires a certain amount of GDUs to reach physiological maturity. Giant pumpkins fall into this camp, in that they require a certain threshold of GDUs to grow. To my knowledge, no one knows what the ideal number is.

GDUs are a commonly used metric by crop producers when selecting corn and soybean hybrids/varieties however. In fact, my employer (Pioneer Seed) has a nifty GDU calculator on their website that you can punch in your zip and it tells you your GDU accumulation for the year and timeframe you select.

https://www.pioneer.com/home/site/ca/agronomy/tools/gdu

A neat research project for the retired, insanely bored, or college kid would be to compile a gaussian distribution of pumpkin weights and GDUs specific to that zip code to see if there's any correlation.

12/16/2014 4:46:34 PM

Parker, Co

In Napa we have many days where the fog rolls in and the sun does not come out until noon. Our average nighttime temperature during the growing season is in the 50's. But one thing we do have is a bunch of dedicated hard working growers.

12/16/2014 7:09:42 PM

Little-TON - Colorado

I agree Pete, I set me Iphone for temp monitoring in Napa, Alberta, Eugene, Greene,NY, London.. I can flip through and check out the temps...I was surprised on the Napa temps during the summer much like CO sometimes....NY particularly warm at night

12/17/2014 10:03:04 AM

Torrance, Ca.

You have that on your phone too WiZ? lol

Mines San Diego, Pleasant Hill, Green, Santa Rosa, where Spencer lives in the really hot spot, Ohio and I just added Switzerland. lol

12/17/2014 5:11:40 PM

Ely Mn

you gotta add Ely to the list chris so you can keep tabs on me next year;)

12/17/2014 5:28:54 PM

Little-TON - Colorado

Yeah itZ a great way to check tempZ across the boards in different areas....I need to add Switzerland too...Thanks

12/18/2014 9:48:11 AM

Torrance, Ca.

Just added it Dan!

12/18/2014 10:14:38 AM

Springfield, Missouri

Jose, I think GDUs are a great measure/tool for corn and soybeans, but there are a couple of huge differences between them and AGs.

Corn and soy are deterministic, cucurbits are not(except for bush gene). What I mean by deterministic is once the seeds are on the later stages of development, the plant dies. Other warm season crops such as pumpkins and tomatoes, if grown in the greenhouse or tropical conditions, will continue to grow vegetatively after fruit set(non-deterministic).

Secondly corn is a C4 plant, and soybeans are woodier C3 plants that have been bred for heat tolerance. AGs are very tender, and prone to photorespiration. Photorespiration causes the plant to burn sugars, which takes away from fruit growth. My point is you would expect the southern growers to have the advantage with the GDU, and that's not the case.

12/18/2014 2:43:21 PM

Springfield, Missouri

Numbers don’t lie. Most of the giant pumpkins have been grown in coastal states, or around the great lakes. Why is this significant? Water has a huge heat carrying capacity which stabilizes the temperature in the surrounding regions. A relatively constant environment, that avoids extreme hot or cold, is what it takes to grow giants, aside from the grower. Those that have the time and money to spend decreasing plant stress will be the ones growing giants.

12/18/2014 2:44:01 PM

Little-TON - Colorado

Well said Duncan...

12/18/2014 2:55:09 PM

Owensboro, Ky.

As old as this thread is, I am truly amazed that during the early part of it...the same ole kin came up!!! Know what I mean? Peace, Wayne

2/28/2017 5:03:41 PM