Welcome to the Indiana Pumpkin Growers!

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A&L Great Lakes labs soil testing in Fort Wayne

Thanks to Jamie BultemeierJamie Bultemeier for a great video presentation at our spring meeting.

Easy soil test:click here.  Order the S1 testing with recommendations for Atlantic Giant pumpkins $9.35/sample. Read the sampling guide and soil submittal form linked on the page.

 

IPGA member Steve Strickler seed selection 2020 and seed starting example.  Write the name of the seed on the seed coat for when you accidentally drop them…   He says 90 degrees and 90% humidity to start.  The last three pictures are not Steve’s.  Make sure you have light on your seedlings IMMEDIATELY after they emerge, otherwise they will get “leggy” and are mostly unusable.  The cotyledons should emerge and grow parallel to the ground if they have sufficient light.  Without light, they will grow 5-8″ in one day, seeking light, becoming “leggy”.

 

Mark Clementz of www.worldwidegiantgrowers.com offers 5 great “big picture” tips for new growers:  Click here for the YouTube link.

 

Seed starting schedule:

Right now until April 15 to grow 2,000 lbs plus

April 15th to May 1st to grow 1,500 lbs

May 1st until May 15th to grow 500 – 1,000 lbs

The earlier you start, the more you have to fight cold soil temperatures outside.

 

Spring 2020 club update letter: click here

Ron Wallace:  Club letter for products and price sheet

 

Mikkal Hodge, IPGA president, achieves 4,000 pound GPC award

 

National news: Read the GPC spring newsletter with information from the International Growers convention just completed in Las Vegas: click here

 

Weigh-off dates for Fall 2020

State Fair:  Saturday, August 15th, 2020

…….(2020 Open show rules book pdf: Giant Pumpkins page 11 and 18)

State Fair online entry form: click here

Wasson Nursery (Fishers):  Saturday, September 26th, 2020

Fair Oaks Farm:  Saturday October 3rd, 2020

 

1,781 Mark Goodman – Marion, IN State record 2019

Click here for a list of the Top Ten pumpkins grown in Indiana

Indiana State records for all vegetable classes

 

Fall is for soil testing.  Here’s a quick PDF for guidance. Get your patch tested!!

Roasted pumpkin seeds recipe from SeriousEats.com

How to build a tripod to lift your pumpkin: Steve Strickler, Bloomington, IN

 

Steve Strickler from Bloomington, Indiana pumpkin carving 2019

 

“TOP TEN” overall page for each of the following categories:

Squash    Long Gourd   Watermelon    Tomato    Field Pumpkin   Bushel Gourd

 

Indiana State Fair results

Wasson Nursery, Fishers, IN results

Fair Oaks, DeMotte, IN results

Roberts Farms – Wawaka:  Jim Beal 1,102, Kelly Klinker 295 pictures below

Pennville Harvest Festival:  Mark Goodman 1,750 from Marion, IN

 

 

State Fair 2019 photos (click once on each photo to enlarge)

Wasson Nursery – Fishers, IN 2019 photos

Fair Oaks Pictures  DeMotte, IN 2019

10-12-2019  Roberts Farms, Wawaka, Indiana (NW of Fort Wayne) Non-GPC

10-19-2019 Pennville Harvest Festival, (near Marion, IN)

 

Visit Phil Groenewold’s Atlantic Giant greenhouse near Dyer, IN

 

Click here for the PDF presentation by Bryan Reeb at our Spring Meeting covering Curcubit diseases and control.  Great presentation and information for all growers.

 

Thanks to Becks Hybrids in Atlanta Indiana for hosting our meeting!!

 

Thanks to Ron Wallace for several door prizes including mycorrhizal fungi products.

Please click here to visit his website for many other products also.

 

2019 Spray Program detail: click here for PDF with details

The spray program is updated and incredible.  Excel spreadsheet to help you remember when to spray.  Still time to sign up.  All materials are mailed to you.  This is a great opportunity to keep your plants alive in Indiana!

 

Get your soil testing done!  Google: AMS 401.04 7/8″ x 21″ to order a soil sampling probe  $50

Take your sample to your local Co-op or fertilizer plant  $15 for soil test with micro-nutrients.  You don’t have to be a farmer with a large order, they are happy to help any gardener.

From our links page, more comprehensive testing:  Western Labs or A&L Great Lakes labs – Fort Wayne, IN

 

Role of various elements in your soil: click here

 

Click here for pictures from the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth (GPC) Big Show.

GPC website click here.

Click here for Summer 2019 GPC common ground newsletter.

Our own Kelly Klinker is GPC treasurer, picture on page 24!

 

 

Click here for a link to some seed germination tips, with pictures.

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Giant Pumpkin growing article from Indiana Agrinews newspaper 10-19-2018

Link to online article with pictures: click here.

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2018 Weigh-off results – click below:  (Links to www.bigpumpkins.com)

2018 Indiana State Fair

2018 Wasson Nursery in Fishers, Indiana

2018 Fair Oaks Farm near Demotte, IN

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Want to grow Atlantic Giant pumpkins this year??  We are here to help you.

Click on the Membership link above. Donate $20 to join and support the club.

Membership runs from January 1st until December 31st.

We will mail you plenty of great seeds to get started.  April 15th is the date to start them germinating.

Just looking for seeds???  $20 per year to join our club.

We’ll send you great seeds to get you started.

(Example of seeds received with membership)

The trick is to keep the plant alive from April 15th through September 15th.

Generally that means keeping the bugs and fungus off the plant.

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Guide to growing from one of our friends from another state.  Click below:

How I grew an 1,180 lb pumpkin my rookie year.

This is a 34 page guide.  There are less detailed instructions, but this is comprehensive!

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Wasson Nursery pictures 2018
Fair Oaks weigh-off pictures 2018

August 11, 2018  Indiana State Fair results below:

Winner:  Phil Groenewold from Dyer, IN    1,250 pounds grown on the Holland 2363 from 2017

Also won the Howard Dill award!  Congratulations to Phil and Kristi

Wayne O’Brien: Cayuga, IN  1095

Jim Beal: LaOtto, IN  761.5

Mikkal Hodge: Alexandria, IN  440.5

Gary Gunther: Corydon, IN  414

Kelly Klinker: Woodburn, IN  278.5

Don Beal: Hartford City, IN  120.5

Please click the picture above to view the entries.

“Cheesecake” weighed 1653.5 but had cracks to the inside, considered damaged. Phil brought it for exhibition only.

Long Gourd entries:  Wayne O’Brien 8’5″ 1st, Jim Beal 6’10” 2nd, Don Beal 5’3″ 3rd

Tomato entries:  Jim Beal 2.22 lbs, Wayne O’Brien 2.14 lbs, Richard Feigh 2.02 lbs, Kevin Arnold 1.96 lbs and Rebecca Feigh 1.84 lbs

Watermelon entries:  Wayne O’Brien 116.5 lbs, Gary Gunther 152.5 lbs, Don Beal 62 lbs and Jim Beal 53 lbs

You can always send a $20 check for your dues to:

Paypal accepted at:  payments@nullipga.us

(If you’re feeling generous, add $1 to your purchase to help cover our PayPal costs – 30 cents + 3% per transaction)

Kelly Klinker-IPGA Secretary

5219 North Sampson Road

Woodburn, IN 46797

United States

Fair Oaks 10-07-2017

Official results from Fair Oaks 10-07-2017 click here

Phil Groenewold, from Dyer, IN won with 1,666 pounds

Wasson Nursery 2017: 

Official results from Wasson Nursery in Fishers, IN: click here

Mikkal Hodge 1,266.5 at Wasson Nursery, Fishers Indiana

Mikkal Hodge 1,266.5 at Wasson Nursery, Fishers Indiana

Kelly Klinker’s son Kenny – Voted cutest little pumpkin! Wasson Nursery 2017

2017 Indiana State Fair results 08-12-2017

Official results from Indiana State Fair 2017: click here

How to move and inspect a large pumpkin (video from the 2017 Indiana State Fair)