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Rhode Island

growing season is just about here. before you know it its going to be all butts and elbows in the patch, with little time to play on the computer so...... i thought it would be fun to answer the following question. ( we all were guilty of premature expectations at some point early on )i know back then i was.

YOU KNOW YOUR A ROOKIE WHEN

1. you have your pallets built AND padded before the 4 th of july.
2. you keep asking that "milk" question.
3. you worry about what your friends might think.
4. you hurry so you can take the wife and kids out for icecream
5. you reply "everything" when someone asks you what your doing a day.
6. you ask someone else to watch your pumpkins while you take off for two weeks vacation in august.
7. you arrive two hrs early for your first weigh off.

3/12/2006 8:36:50 PM

Eugene,OR

YOU KNOW WHEN YOU ARE A ROOKIE WHEN

1. You don't know who pap is!

3/13/2006 12:18:17 AM

Clinton, Iowa

YOU KNOW YOUR A ROOKIE WHEN

1. You look at that giant beast you grew and start thinking to your self " I wonder just how many pies I could make from this sucker!!!!"

2. you look at that flat side of the fruit and wonder..."maybe I should have turned it?"

That completes the 2 most requentl;y asked questions I get asked

3/13/2006 7:02:05 AM

Follansbee, Wv

YOU KNOW YOUR A ROOKIE WHEN

Your scrambling on the day before weigh-off trying to figure out how to load 1100 pounds of pumpkin into a truck you don't have, without the lift you were counting on because everything fell apart at the last minute and you DIDN'T HAVE A BACK-UP PLAN!

3/13/2006 7:40:51 AM

Coventry R.I.

YOU KNOW YOUR A ROOKIE WHEN
1.when the big boys come by and laugh at your patch
2 also , when you dont no who pap is

3/13/2006 7:50:27 AM

Rhode Island

YOU KNOW YOUR A ROOKIE WHEN

8. you know just one tbl spoon per gal wont do.
9. you think stem stress is from being overly active (lol)

3/13/2006 7:59:47 AM

Mulino, Oregon

How 'bout this one:
You know you're a Big Pumpkin.com geek when:

1) your nervous about being named to the top ten visitors to the site at the Niagara convention (sorry Joe, Glenn & Eddy).
2) you know most of the nicknames and their owners, especially 'pap' being Dick Wallace :o)

3/13/2006 9:17:24 AM

Halifax, Nova Scotia

You Know You're a Rookie When:

1. You beat your personal best before you even pollinate.
2. You're wife still thinks pumpkin growing will be a fun hobby for you.

3/13/2006 9:18:30 AM

huntsburg,ohio

When you see growers tilling at the beginning of march in my part of the country

3/13/2006 9:36:04 AM

Pocatello ([email protected])

The number one "question" I am asked is:

So, to get them that big you must start them inside in January, right?

3/13/2006 10:06:26 AM

Kiel WI

When you're surprised that the seeds you got free from a grower(Thanks Shannon!) are HUGE compared to the ones bought from the store!

3/13/2006 10:42:43 AM

Menomonie, WI ([email protected])

On that note...you now your a rookie when you still buy seeds from the store or a seed catalog:) Most of us made that mistake.

3/13/2006 11:07:04 AM

Knopp, Germany

you know you're a rookie when you think that all you will need is that first bubble pack from the generous grower that shared with you.

3/13/2006 11:13:45 AM

Colorado

You know you are a rookie when you
step down out of your raised bed pumpkin
patch and the dog runs under your feet causing
you to do a flying 360 with a half twist face plant.
Hurts like heck but the first thing I do is turn around
and check to make sure the pumpkin is all right.

3/13/2006 11:28:52 AM

[email protected]

So Jim, I'm a Big Pumpkins .com Geek.
Thanks for the compliment. LOL
Eddy

3/13/2006 12:01:07 PM

ordinary,VA

You know your a rokie when.

you take the best looking pumpkin to the scales.
not that BIG cream looking thing....ahhhh still kicking myself in A** over that one..

3/13/2006 12:42:55 PM

~ When you think you need seeds FROM a big pumpkin in order to GROW a big pumpkin. ~

3/13/2006 12:51:30 PM

Napa Valley, CA

When you use 25 males to pollinate 1 female.

3/13/2006 1:31:58 PM

So. Maine

Hey CliffWarren , I had someone ask me how many summers it took to grow a pumpkin that big.......

3/13/2006 1:46:16 PM

[email protected]

~ Cover pollinations with a styrofoam cup.
~ Read the directions AFTER the plants are burned.
~ Ask how much AG seeds cost & where to buy them.
~ Post diary entries 3 times because they haven't appeared yet.
~ Think there really is a secret to growing these thing.
~ Plan to grow 4 plants in a 30x20 garden.
~ Tried to find manure in the Yellow Pages.
~ FOUND manure in the Yellow Pages
~ BOUGHT manure found in the Yellow Pages
~ Googled the word "manure" more than once in a single day.
~ Added fresh manure, lime & commercial fertilizer all in the same day - all without a soil test - KABOOM!!!

3/13/2006 1:58:48 PM

Paradise Mountain, New York

You know your a rookie when:
You go out in the patch first thing in the morning and you move your main vine all at once to go in the right direction and you snap the main off in your hand. This will make any preahcer man swear.....

3/13/2006 4:08:29 PM

Johnston, R.I.

when one Tbs per gal is good 5 will be better

3/13/2006 4:14:56 PM

Syracuse, NY

Transplant said:

"You Know You're a Rookie When:

1. You beat your personal best before you even pollinate."

LOL!

i'll think of something i did, i am sure....

3/13/2006 4:34:37 PM

Long Island,New York

You know you're a rookie when......the best thing the RI boys can say about your pumpkin is "its got a nice flat bottom".......lol

3/13/2006 4:39:28 PM

Vancouver, White Rock, Canada

I hope they're talking about your pumpkin?

3/13/2006 5:28:46 PM

ordinary,VA

LOL @ pumpkinpal2

3/13/2006 6:38:53 PM

Ray, North Dakota

I am a rookie so here is my input...

You know you are a rookie when you dig through the snowbank with hopes that the exposed garden dirt will heat the ground enough to melt off your patch.

Did that two days ago lol. 20 inches of snow in my yard yet.

3/13/2006 6:59:44 PM

Rhode Island

actually we were looking at glens botton lol

3/13/2006 7:41:14 PM

Rhode Island

Hey what can i say " the guy worked his ass off " growing those green squash and pumpkins.

3/13/2006 7:43:46 PM

addison Il

when you think cuke beetles will never come to your patch
when your talking to a heavy hitter and you dont even know it till your told.when you keep going thru all the seed you got from the great peaple here trying to decide what your going to grow and why.

3/13/2006 8:05:45 PM

West By God Virginia

Tremor said "~ Cover pollinations with a styrofoam cup."
Hmmm I remember Al Eaton saying that that was what he did in the Elk Grove video! LOL

3/13/2006 8:14:58 PM

Wallingford,CT

You know you're a rookie when......you try to buy a dill ring for your pumpkin

3/13/2006 9:00:57 PM

Indiana

You know you're a rookie when you buy two 40lb bags of water soluble fertilizer thinking you will need them the first year.

3/14/2006 10:50:50 AM

Nashville, TN

You know you're a rookie when:

#1 you let those vines that keep aborting ALL females - keep growing. And PRAY that it will at least grow ONE - and it ACTUALLY DOES!!!!

#2 You self EVERYTHING (exept that vine in #1) - because you're unsure of which to cross and why.

#3 You believe that that 'greenie' (vine in #1) will turn orange - it just goes lime green.

#4 You think 'the weirder shaped' the more interesting.

#5 EVERYONE that comes by, gets a tour pronto - even if they're here to buy a horse...

#6 You think it's funny that your daughter will help you 'clean & harvest' seeds out of 300 pounders - whereas the two boys think 'it's gross'.

#7 You encourage daughter to chase her brothers and hit 'em with 'pumpkin guts'

#8 You save seeds out of pretty much EVERY pumpkin that made it to maturity... regardless of final size.

#9 Now you're trying to remember how to roast and salt all of those extra 'worthless' seeds..

3/14/2006 12:16:33 PM

San Jose [email protected]

First you drown your seeds, soak them for 8 hours, then plant in very wet starter mix. Then you try another method, put seeds in baggie, on hot pad, and cook those, and when you finally get something growing, you plant it and then gently water it over head and the stem breaks

you dig a pit in April, put in fresh mushroom compost, then plant your punkin 2 weeks later right over the pit, and then you water LOTS, every day.

That seems to be it for the first year...

lol

3/14/2006 6:40:12 PM

Marion,IN

...worrying about not having enough seeds, then trying to figure out which ones to plant after you receive the bubble envelopes...hurrying home from work everyday checking the mail for the bubbles that were promised to you...looking out the back door thinking "If I could only get a couple more square feet for the patch"...drawing and re-drawing your planting and pruning blueprints for the season...I NEED Pumpkin Growers anonymous...Please HELP!!

3/14/2006 9:06:52 PM

Marion,IN

...you go to work Monday morning and someone asks you what you did over the weekend and you tell them " I watched a pumpkin seed auction on the internet, from start to finish!!"...you ask your wife "If I grow a big pumpkin, will you get in it after I carve it out and let me take a picture of you?" and ask her if she will walk around the pumpkin patch in her bikini top to raise the testosterone
levels of the male flowers...she said YES to both! Great Wife!!

3/14/2006 9:55:26 PM

Joliet, IL

you know you're a rookie when you dump a whole bag of 10-10-10 fertilizer in a 3' wide planting hole or when you decide to try to make an 's' curve in your main vine in the middle of the night after being at the bar all day long and then wonder why it snapped. DOH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

3/14/2006 10:43:46 PM

Mt Vernon Ky

you know you're a rookie when you sent so many bubble pack and all these great guys and gals sent you so manny seeds you dont know what to plant

3/15/2006 9:52:26 AM

you are rookie when ask an obvious questions about growing giantpumpkins.com on this forum but are to stupid to use the search fuction to find answer when it was given the first 1000 times before.

3/16/2006 12:28:52 PM

Knopp, Germany

you know you are a rookie when you listen to matfox

3/16/2006 1:14:16 PM

Eastern Pennsylvania

Hey Mat I heard you know you're a rookie when you go to Altoona and don't recognize one of the Checkons and you try to tell them how to grow pumpkins

3/16/2006 1:21:50 PM

orange i met checkons 4 years ago there easy recognize since gerry is behind booth and larry is talking to the reporter.

But my point about newbies goes for any garden forum.

3/16/2006 3:04:29 PM

Sloughhouse, CA

You know you are a rookie when you go to the weigh off with your "big" pumpkin (450 lbs) and can't believe what you see in the pick up in front of you. Their pumpkin is higher than the cab.

3/22/2006 12:02:54 AM