2001 Growers Log - August
Not too much exciting to report this week. Growth was a little slower again, gaining 64 pounds to an estimated 331. Circumference is 112 inches and the OTT 252.5 inches. The main vine is terminated and I continue to remove tertiary vines that crop up. The plant is being watered every day for about an hour, and I fertilize with a soluble 15-15-27 fertilizer (1 cup powder into a mixer that mixes it into the regular water) every other day.
I have not had a chance to make an update for a while so I'll catch up here. Growth has slowed each week so the pumpkin has hit the mature stage and weight gains will be minimal from now on. From Aug 5th to 12th it gained 46 pounds. From the 12th to the 19th it gained 25 pounds and over the last week it gained 24 pounds. As of today it measures 124 inches circumference, 275.5 inches OTT for an estimated 426 pounds. The weather continues to be good and I expect the modest weight gains will continue until the weather cools off, which could be next week or the end of September or anywhere in between. Last years pumpkin weighed well over the OTT estimate so I'm still hoping that I might be able to get a personal best this year and break 553.5. Whether I can break 600 remains to be seen and is pretty much a long shot at this point.