Alan Eaton and his 1446 lb World Record Pumpkin

1. What did you do in the fall to prepare your garden for the 1446?

   On the 1446 site

   • Removed all vines
   • Added 350 lbs of my leaf-grass compost
   • Added 1000 lbs of 1-year-old cow manure
   • Tilled to about a 4" depth and planted winter rye.

2. What made you decide to plant the "842 Eaton '02"?

   It did very well in 2003 and I thought it should continue to do so.

3. What fertilizers and organic matter did you add to your garden in the spring?

   No organic matter but added the following:

   • 5 lbs sulphur
   • 5 lbs ironite
   • 2 lbs 46-00-00
   • 1 lb 10-52-10
   • 1 lb kelp fertilizer
   • 2 lbs 18-18-18

4. Did you bury and prune your vines? If so, give us a few details.

   I grew the plant in an Xmas tree layout but took the first secondary vine on each side out at 135 degrees from the main vine, not 90 degrees as in a standard Xmas tree. Any secondary vines, about a quarter of them that were too close to others were removed. All tertiary vines were removed. All vines were buried an inch or so, except the fruit-set region of the main vine. The main vine was terminated at about 30'and the secondaries at about 11'.All vine growth was stopped about Aug 4.

5. During the season, tell us what type and amounts of fertilizers you used?

   Small amounts of 20-20-20 in June and July, and 12-00-44 in August. About a teaspoonful at a time. Overall about 1/4 of a pound of each for the season, I would estimate.

6. How were your Fertilizers applied?

   In the water.

7. How did you water your plant? By hand, underground, sprinklers, etc?

   During the first half of the season, with 100' of soaker hose buried 2-3" below the surface. The hoses were gravity fed from 45 gal drums on a 5' barrel stand. Later as the plant overgrew the hoses I also used a "showerhead" type nozzle on a long light cedar pole. Wherever possible I watered the soil directly but often had to wet the leaves too. This system was fed from the barrels by an electric pump.

8. During the peak period, what was the average amount of water (gallons per day) you used to feed the 1446?

   Averaged one 45 gal drum per day at the peak usage.

9. What type of insecticide and fungicide did you use?

   • Sevin for cuke beetles, white flies and black aphids.
   • Used 3 different common "garden center" fungicides and alternated them. I don't remember their names because I don't think it matters much. I have found that any readily available fungicide will work as long as it's used properly.

10. What was the weather like in your area? Wet/Dry, Cold/ Hot?

    In general temperatures were cooler than average and rainfall was about average.

11. What was the size of your 1446 plant, in sq ft?

    The foliage area by measurement was 650 sq ft. The plot area was about 800 sq ft.

12. What were the average daily weight gains during the peak period?

    I measure the OTTs each 4 days and the greatest 4-day average was 33 lbs using the latest Stellpflug tables. After the Port Elgin weigh-off the beast turned out to be 19% over the chart. Therefore I think I am justified in assuming the true maximum gain was about 39 lbs/day.

13. Did you cover the pumpkin and if so, what kind of shade structure did you use?

    Yes, I use light foam rubber, which is discarded carpet underpadding. The material was laid over the AG to protect it from the sun. If wind gusts were likely I held the padding in place with a cord tied around the AG.

14. What were the 2 most important factors that helped you grow the 1446?

    Top genetics and good luck. I didn't do anything different for the 1446 and it was just good luck that that particular seed had the genes to keep it growing right to the end of September. In fact though, I had a lot of bad luck too. The 2 x 845 Bobier and the 898 Knauss plants that I grew were eliminated about the end of July since their fruit would not grow properly. That left my two 842 plants. The best plant had a nice fruit that measured 1019 lbs on Aug 30 and was still gaining well when I lost it to a split. This left the smaller poorly shaped AG on my last plant, but that one just kept growing and to my astonishment became a winner. The Guinness people in the UK have sent me a nice frameable certificate stating they accept the 1446 as a new world record. Thanks to the Port Elgin folks for doing the onerous documentation for Guinness (Book of World Records).

15. Last, but not least. What would you do differently next year, if anything? Explain.

    • Experiment on one plant with heavier pruning.
    • Be more alert to get the small fruit positioned properly at the right time.
    • Experiment with some molasses around one plant.
    • Try to do more shovel work and less roto-tilling.
    • Start a long-term plan to grow 3 plants for maximum weight and 2 plants for maximum red-orange color (and hopefully good weight too). I'll cross the red-orange types and hopefully, with other growers, help evolve a strain that will reliably produce top color and top weight.

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