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Enumclaw, Washington

Are the people at the top of the leader board really good growers or do they just live in the right locations for growing AG’s. Latitude has been discussed before; I just looked up the locations by lat and long again to no surprise. Same people are up there year after year. The top 60 pumpkins grown in the lower 48 were 1636 pounds or more. (1636 was Steve Daletas’s little pumpkin) Note: Just 4 pds less than my top two combined. The top 60 pumpkins were grown in 4 to 5 clusters of latitude and longitude throughout the US. California(how do you spell NAPA valley) PNW, upper Midwest(Wisconsin) East RI, CT. MA (New England), and Werner’s house.
East    41.63 – 43.97 degrees latitude        69.45 -- 72.86 degrees longitude
Oregon        Same latitude            121.18 – 122.93 degrees longitude
Calif        38.5 - 38.75                same
PNW        44.21 – 47.2                same
Upper Midwest same as PNW            88.07 – 94.52 degrees longitude
Midwest    39.6 – 41.22                 same

Yep these people are good with the advantage of location, location, location. Most of us can’t relocate so just call Daletas, Wallace, Werner, Urena or the Martins and see if they would rent you a room or maybe need a live in Nanny for 6 months. And at the same time get some serious mentoring. No intent here to slight anyone at the top; just did not want to write down about 45 names since they own the top 60. A few more 1800, 1900, and 2000 pd plus grown this year over last with a few weigh-offs to go this weekend.

10/15/2015 1:41:36 AM

Netherlands

Actually if you look back at the past 6-7 years, you will see that it has little to do with latitude at all. The location for the top 10 pumpkins constantly moves and is always near large bodies of water, either the coast or south of the Great Lakes.

10/15/2015 3:59:41 AM

Menomonie, WI (mail@gr8pumpkin.net)

Is the Mississippi a large body of water? :)

10/15/2015 7:39:37 AM

Muddy Waters

Yes its all location.They just throw the seeds in the ground & comeback in 5 months lol

10/15/2015 8:24:59 AM

Muddy Waters

Let me explain this a little better.These growers at the top didnt stumble into some good weather.They worked there buTTS off.Soil amending tilling,planing Drip tape etc.Hundreds of hours of hard work.Yes thats what makes a GREAT Grower.They had there down years & now its time for all the ambition drive & determination to pay off.The weather does play a role.Butt these are truly great growers!If your in the 50 really the top 100 You worked on it and are a great grower!!!Be proud of what you did.Wherever you live.

10/15/2015 8:37:21 AM

Muddy Waters

Make that the top 250 worked hard are great growers.I just looked at the GPC results.I dont want to slight anybody

10/15/2015 8:41:05 AM

Deer Park, WI

Location is more than simply one's spot on a map. While I do believe there's a climatological, soil fertility as well as solar radiational advantage for growers +/- a few degrees from the 45th parallel, you'll also note that clusters of top performing growers exist within that top 60.

To illustrate my example, Chris Stevens, Lorelee Zywiec, Pete Midthun, John Hopkins live within 15 miles of each other. Spread the radius another 30 miles, we include Alex Bogie, Chad Gehweiler, Shannon Engel and a handful of other growers who have yet to crack into the elite ranks (yours truly). While we all benefit from similar climate, solar radiation intensity, and good soil, we also significantly benefit from proximity to each other. We help each other on family vacations, we attend the same spring meetings, we buy product from the same local retailers. We attend the same summer patch tour. We have a seed starting party. We help load each other's pumpkins.

Point is, I believe patch success is also strongly tied to the network of like-minded individuals we keep.

The people at the top of the leader board are 1.really good growers 2. live in the right locations where AG's can thrive and 3. have a network of other growers they can call upon to be more successful in the patch.

10/15/2015 8:44:34 AM

JACKSON, WISCONSIN. ; )

had a good weather year..
Used some great ferts.
There is one more weigh off this weekend and I know that Wisconsin is not done smashing scales yet...

10/15/2015 9:10:00 AM

Western NY

Quick map of 1800+ locations from the GPC database:

http://www.zeemaps.com/pub?group=1675432&x=-38.487821&y=42.242081&z=14

10/15/2015 9:32:10 AM

Little-TON - Colorado

Duh.... Greene Rhode Island.....

10/15/2015 9:40:33 AM

Little-TON - Colorado

Perhaps someone could do a map on night time low temps during the critical part of the growing cycle....Weather has the biggest play in all of it... A Green House can mitigate that.... Cold rains or warm rains...?? Rain at all? We can be 90...Monsoon Rain storm cools us down...we never warm back up that night... A lot of factors...but seeing the same HH on top is no surprise either..They are wise and get wiser every year... I am sure Ron will tell you.... he left poundZ in the ground...Cant wait till next year...

10/15/2015 9:47:27 AM

Central NY

Lol..leaving "Poundz in the ground"...that's a keeper

10/15/2015 10:04:16 AM

Netherlands

I mapped the top pumpkins since 2010, color coding each year. As Joe mentions, there are more than one factor, but climate is the big one. We have growers in Europe that work their butts off, have the experience and knowledge and don't get anywhere near the top because the climate isn't right.

The top locations switch every one to two years. For example California did very well in 2011, 2013 and 2014, but didn't have any pumpkins in the top 10 in 2012 or 2015. In 2012, 8 of the top 10 pumpkins were grown on the east and west coast. In 2014, none of them were grown on the east coast.

Wisconsin had a pretty good year in 2010 and 2015 but didn't place in the top 10 in 2011, 2012 and 2014.

In a bad year weatherwise, no HH will make the top 10 regardless of effort or location.

10/15/2015 11:19:46 AM

Colorado

Temperatures are a huge factor.

10/15/2015 11:27:27 AM

nOVA sCOTIA

dead on Brad! Weather is everything!!

10/15/2015 11:33:13 AM

Wallingford,CT

Look at another of Andy’s maps. It’s no surprise that there are more ‘big pumpkins’ where there are more growers.

https://www.zeemaps.com/map?group=837403#

10/15/2015 11:35:40 AM

Colorado

Minnesota is a large body of water with a little land sprinkled in. Remnants of lake Agassi(sp.?)

10/15/2015 12:34:41 PM

Billerica,Massachusetts

also more hours of daylight

10/15/2015 12:35:12 PM

Colorado

Joze's point about growers learning from each other is a factor. WI growers went from occasional good pumpkins, to Chris's WR to 2000lbers and top ten record.

10/15/2015 12:39:41 PM

Lancaster MN

I'd probably have to say Northern Minnesota, really nice warm weather all the time. I'm thinking a new state record will come from Northern Minnesota next year!

10/15/2015 1:47:38 PM

Deer Park, WI

We all agree that climate/weather/daylength/etc are primary factors in patch success, but I'd like to further illustrate the contribution that the social piece brings to the equation. This piece is intangible, therefore harder to place a metric upon that makes it easy to measure and compare to other more tangible factors like temperature and latitude. But that makes it no less important-

The local social network is a key contributor to geographical success. As much as its a function of an existing group of tight knit growers helping each other raise the bar, its also about introducing new competitors to the equation:

In 2005, Joe introduced Chris to the hobby. Who introduced John to the hobby.
In 2008, Joe introduced Pete and Lorelee to the hobby, who introduced Brie to the hobby.

It is likely that Brie and John have introduced others, as it is likely that Chris, Pete, and LL have done the same. And I continue to introduce others thru community education programs.

Im not looking to pat my own back here. Im simply stating that a small pocket of competitive enthusiasts serve as a "gravitational well" of sorts that bring more and more competitive enthusiasts into the equation, both actively and passively, leading to a highly functioning local group.

Weather-wise, ma nature dealt us a royal flush this year. Its not the norm. We do have a moderate climate, above average soil fertility, and as much solar radiation as anyone else on the 45 parallel. In a "normal" weather year (one that's characterized by more stresses and challenges than what we got this year), the only real advantage we have over other similar locales are the skilled growers and grower networks that have evolved over the last ten years.

10/15/2015 1:50:52 PM

Deer Park, WI

To ensure this horse is truly beaten down, one last backyard illustration I find intriguing. While weather seasons are erratic, a constant has been the evolution of the TTA at Stillwater.

In 2006, Stillwater's TTA was 873. In 2015, our TTA was 1813. Plot this on a graph, our slope (average increase in TTA/year) is 103lbs, with an R-squared of 0.93 (this means the data is very consistent and legit).

While certain years deviate from the line (2010 was warm and great, 2012 cool and crappy), climate has not been able to disrupt our trend of averaging 103lbs increase in TTA every year.

There are a number of factors that contribute to that event's TTA increase. The take-home point is that performance at any location on a map is inextricably linked to the dynamics of grower number and skill.

10/15/2015 2:03:19 PM

Little-TON - Colorado

While I tend to agree with you Joe...Locale and mother nature still trumps grower enthusiasm... We are still looking for a 1500 pounder here in CO... We got lots of social networking growing on... but mother nature rules.... until someone here masters a greenhouse... to change nighttime temps.... Simple as that...

10/15/2015 3:29:42 PM

Upa Creek, MO

The biggest in Missouri this year was 420 pounds. Nobody even broke 500. Usually it's the heat, but this year it was floods and hail (like Wiz deals with). I agree on the weather.

10/15/2015 4:26:15 PM

southwest MO

Climate is the base on which the pyramid built.

10/15/2015 6:27:04 PM

East Jordan, MI

if only we lived 85 miles north......

10/15/2015 7:52:03 PM

Zurich, Ontario Canada

I used to think that most of this is luck, I now beleive it has very little to do with luck. A serious grower will get a big one no matter where they live. They just learn how to adapt with what they got, and some!!

10/16/2015 6:16:03 PM

Upa Creek, MO

Joe I respectfully disagree. The top 15 growers in the world would have problems consistently being above 1000 pounds if you put them in very tough conditions like a Baton Rouge Louisiana or even away from the coast like Birmingham Alabama. I only mention the Southeast US because I am down there often. I also think the guys in the mountains have it tough, but that's a whole different element.

10/16/2015 7:39:16 PM

nOVA sCOTIA

Joe you are 100% wrong!Climate...length of growing season is everything!I see diary's with 800sq ft plants fully termed in june. I see diary's with keepers on the vine on the first week of june? I would invite any grower in the world to come on down to my growing area and show me how they do it!!!!!!!

10/16/2015 8:26:32 PM

Upa Creek, MO

Donkin, if you see vines terminated by June, that just shows you how rough July will be on the plants. Have you been to the southeast U.S? Given your logic, why wouldn't world records be grown in Mexico... they could terminate by April? Enjoy your long hours of light up there without heat and intense sun.

10/16/2015 9:38:48 PM

N.c.

The key will be figuring optimal temps, night and day, Donkin I would use Napa Valley average temps as a guide. Why let a cold September ruin your season. It is just more money. Perhaps your kerosene supplier will sponsor you.

10/16/2015 11:31:34 PM

JACKSON, WISCONSIN. ; )

Good fertilizers have done a lot for us..... Weather helps ... Feeding them also helps

10/17/2015 1:17:56 AM

N.c.

Due to ethylene, heating a greenhouse for pumpkins late-season with kerosene is probably a very bad idea.

10/17/2015 9:15:33 AM

Zurich, Ontario Canada

When I said adapt, I meant things like green houses, indoor climate control,controlled lighting. I am saying If you don't have the proper climate, create it. You don't have to move. We do this with livestock all the time. We make them think the days are longer than they really are and it works. Would it not work with plants also?

10/17/2015 11:36:42 AM

South East

I believe there are superior growers. They have a feel and an approach to growing that puts them a knotch above the rest. These are the guys that were on top 10 to 15 years ago, and still crank out monsters every year. Always improving, and always ahead of the field. ( and they all grow in ideal climate areas, none of them grows in arizona, or new mexico or louisiana)

Then there are the superior growers that do well because they have a geographical advantage. They don't crank out monsters all the time. They crank out one on occassion, , usually when all the growers in their region do the same, but If you take away there geographical advantage, they turn in to just growers. That second group decribes most of us, dependent on our climate for what ever outcome the season has. No other factor comes even close to being as important.

Andy's map doesnt lie, if the langitude and longitude ain't right, your not gonna win the fight!

10/17/2015 3:45:41 PM