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Simi valley, ca

My pumpkin off the 522 ceja even with VERY bad weather has acheived an ott weight of 826, & i think this one is heaver,,, i would like to take to sm local weighoff ,But its got a place where it was resting on dirt up behind pumpkin (my mistake) so it has rot there but iv scraped rot & sprayed bleach ,only the hole is 4 in deep & 8 in round , now got sm heator drying it , im just hoping this sm weighoff will reconize it as ok to enter , i had squrill attack one & similar to this & elk grove did not object , What you think ?? is a pumpkin elagable if rot has not gone into pumpkin ? its at back where it probly very thick ! ??

10/14/2006 11:55:03 AM

San Diego

Glen, email me and I can give you Stuart's email, he is running the weigh off. From past experience with this weigh off, they are not very strict on enforcing rules so I would say you are ok as long as it stays sound without going through to the cavity. Jimmy

10/14/2006 12:31:44 PM

Midway City, California

Duster What do you think other weigh 0ff groups would say about the hole being that big. Just because it is a small weighoff the rules should be followed.
John (Water)

10/14/2006 2:29:23 PM

Thornhill, Ontario, Canada

I'm not an expert, but as long as you've scraped out the rot and can dry out and heal the wound, I don't see why it wouldn't be a legal pumpkin. That's no different than healing a stem split or dents and divots from hail or raccoon scratches. On the other hand, if the spot remains soft, I don't see how you can get around that.

I agree, the rules should be followed no matter the size of the weigh-off. But, the main thing is knowing what your pumpkin weighs. Who cares if it has a "DMG" after the name?

10/14/2006 2:46:13 PM

San Diego

John,

I completely agree, the rules should be followed. The reason I commented is because I went to this weigh off a few years back, I followed the rules exactly because I was told to do so. When I arrived, many of the other growers had not followed the rules (stems being cut, rot in pumpkins, a late entry that won which didn't follow the rules, etc). So I never returned. This is why I said, "from past experience with this weigh off, they are not very strict on enforcing rules". Unless it has changed, which I hope it has, rules were not enforced.

Under normal circumstances, a 4 by 8 inch hole in a fruit sounds questionable, but if it's not through and still sound, maybe it's ok. But if any softness is there, should be disqualified.

10/14/2006 3:41:56 PM

San Diego

I forgot to say that when I tried to nicely bring up the enforcement of the rules with the people running the weigh off, they told me "It's no big deal, this is just for fun." And they looked at me like I was crazy :) Jimmy

10/14/2006 3:54:37 PM

Simi valley, ca

Duster the reason i was asking is at main weighoffs like elk grove my wifes pumpkin was elagable & had large hole due to ground squrills (see 2004 diary) but herd that the master gardners might not allow that at this weighoff, iv been there for 3 years & never seen any other broken rules !!

10/14/2006 5:53:21 PM

Ohio

Well, this is what I have seen at Barnesville Fish, I seen Doc Liggetts 1173 '06' with a soft spot on the side of his pumpkin about the size of a silver dollar and if you wasnt really looking you would have never have seen it. They didnt even probe it to see if it went into the cavity but they dq'ed it anyway. Why is it they dont DQ a pumpkin when its soft around the stem end then? Because they think its thicker on that end? I guess rules are slightly diffrent at diffrent weigh offs.

Brooks

10/14/2006 6:32:20 PM

San Diego

Glad to hear it has changed for the better since I was there!

10/14/2006 6:36:17 PM