World Records Set For Pumpkin, Squash

World Records Set For Pumpkin Squash AG WORLD Ag World This fall Gordon Thomson Hemmingford Quebec harvested a 755-lb pumpkin while Leonard Stellpflug Honeoye Falls N Y harvested a 743-lb squash - both world records according to the World Pumpkin Confederation Previous records were a671-lb pumpkin and a 653-lb squash Stellpflug grew the world record squash in 1988 Thomson s biggest ever world champion measured 31-in high 51-in wide and 48-in long Circumference was 12 ft 7 1/2 in and during its peak period of growth it grew nearly 20 lbs per day It took six men to lift the pumpkin off a pallet mounted on a forklift The secret is to have good seed good soil good weather and good luck says Thomson who bought the seed from Howard Dill Windsor Nova Scotia Dill produced the fifth largest pumpkin in 1989 and the second largest in 1988 Thomson began growing all of his pump-kin plants indoors in 4-in dia peat pots one seed per pot on April 30 Four days later the first plant emerged from the soil He trans-planted the seedlings outdoors on May 10 planting one pumpkin plant in hills 30 ft apart in east-west rows He hand pollinated the first female flower to appear on the main vine then pruned off all the other flowers on that vine as well as all the flowers on all of the side vines He installed thermostatically-controlled electric heating cable under the soil in each hill and a cold frame on top of each plant The heating cables kept the soil at 70? He also installed under-ground irrigation tubing every 18 in in a north-south direction The tubing provided a constant low-pressure flow of water As the plants grew outward establishing new auxiliary roots he installed extra rows of irrigation tubing every two to three days Thomson staked the vines down every five days to make sure they contacted the soil to set up new auxiliary roots They feed the pumpkin just as much as the main roots says Thomson The vines grew to be 1 1/2 in in dia The previous fall Thomson had applied 20 lbs of 5-20-20 commercial fertilizer which he roto-tilled into the soil In the spring a heavy application of cow manure was rototilled into the whole patch Composted sheep manure was dug into each hill During the growing season he also applied Miracle Grow tomato formula to the plants main roots For more information contact: FARM SHOW Followup Gordon Thomson Hemmingford Quebec Canada J0L 1H0 ph 514 247-2886 Stellpflug s 1988 world record squash weighed 653 lbs Vol 13 No 1 He used seed from that squash to grow this year s squash which was 89 1/2 lbs heavier It measured 31-in high 47-in wide and 45-in long Circumference was 12 ft 4 in and during the peak period of growth from August 10 to Sept 1 it grew 18 lbs per day Stellpflug used the same growing methods as in 1988 planting two squash seeds 45 ft apart and giving each a 45 by 50 ft growing area He pruned all but one blossom per plant The main difference between 1988 and 1989 was that I used more manure and watered more consistently says Stellpflug The previous fall I planted rye Then on April 20 I applied 1/2 load of well-rotted horse manure or 3 cu yds per plant on top of the rye within a 15-ft radius of each plant Toward the end of April I plowed the manure and rye under together as well as 22 lbs of 8-23-17 commercial fertilizer Two weeks later I dug up the ground and applied another 3/4 of a load of manure and worked it in with a Ford 9N digger The weather turned dry from mid July through mid September so Stellpflug used his garden hose to water for one hour every three days He applied about 300 gal with each watering for a total of almost 700 gal per week Stellpflug has been breeding pumpkins commercially for eight years but squash for only three years My goal next year is to grow an 800-lb squash I believe my squash would have grown another 25 to 40 lbs except for an unexpected frost on September 24 Stellpflug sells 6 seeds from his world record squash for $12 or 10 seeds for $18 For more information contact: FARM SHOW Followu

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