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Giant Pumpkins with Joe Kuosman
85 Plays14 days ago
In this midsummer episode, the Hort Culture team welcomes Joe Kuosman, Lexington-based giant pumpkin grower and co-founder of West Sixth Brewing. The conversation starts with heat survival tips from the hosts (spoiler: giant hats and shade are a must), then dives headfirst into the fascinating world of giant pumpkin cultivation.
Joe shares how his pumpkin passion was planted decades ago in Pittsburgh through a combination of family gardening, seed catalogs, and curiosity. He walks listeners through the evolution of giant pumpkin growing—from seed selection to fertilization, pest control, and even protecting pumpkins from sun damage and cracking.
Highlights include:
- Joe’s personal best: a pumpkin just under 800 pounds.
- Tips for beginners: start with quality seeds, don’t overthink it, and enjoy the process.
- The space commitment: 1,000 square feet per plant.
- Kentucky’s climate challenges and how growers adapt.
- The wow-factor of displaying pumpkins.
- How giant pumpkins become a gateway to growing other "giant" fruits and vegetables.
This episode is packed with inspiration, practical advice, and quirky charm. Whether you're dreaming of a blue ribbon or just want to see a pumpkin grow 30 pounds a day, Joe's story will squash your doubts and seed your excitement.
Tune in if you’ve ever wondered:
- Can a pumpkin really weigh as much as a Toyota Corolla?
- What does it take to grow a 1,000-pound pumpkin in Kentucky?
- How do you turn a massive pumpkin into a community spectacle?
Kentucky Giant Pumpkin Growers (Facebook)
Growing Giant Pumpkins in the Home Garden
Questions/Comments/Feedback/Suggestions for Topics: hortculturepodcast@gmail.com
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Transcript
Weather Woes in Kentucky
00:00:18
Alexis
Well, it is July here in Kentucky, and if you're listening to this episode when it comes out, it is July for you as well. And you are likely sweating a lot. And it feels very much like ah you like go outside for about 10 minutes and you're like, did I get in a pool?
00:00:33
Alexis
Because it feels like I've been in the pool, but my clothes are on and I'm confused.
00:00:37
Plant People
Yeah, very swampy.
00:00:38
Alexis
It's swampy.
00:00:40
Plant People
Very wet early and now very hot. I don't know what the weather's going to be at the date of the airing of this episode, but today it's actually cooled down a ah couple of degrees and
00:00:50
Alexis
Yeah.
00:00:50
Plant People
I mean, it feels kind of nice with some rain moving through the area, I guess, at the date of recording.
00:00:54
Alexis
Compared to what it's been, it's been like a two, three shower a day type of thing lately.
00:00:56
Plant People
Yeah.
00:01:01
Alexis
um i don't know about you all, but it's been crazy. been crazy
00:01:04
Brett
no matter No matter how far we believe that our technology has advanced us as a species, we cannot get away from the conversational universal of, oh my God, this sucks.
00:01:21
Plant People
It's a universal truth.
00:01:21
Brett
You know?
00:01:22
Brett
I mean, that's we we still have that that's that body sweat, hot feeling. It still makes your brain do weird things and want to give up
00:01:22
Plant People
It's like the background of the universe.
00:01:29
Plant People
No, man, i think i think I think it's actually amplified.
00:01:30
Alexis
We're not quite robots yet, so.
00:01:33
Plant People
I mean, the older I get, I'm like, when did the heat get so hot? I mean, either that or I'm spending, my debt my father would say that I'm spending too much time in the air conditioning, and he could be right because,
00:01:45
Plant People
It's pretty jarring going from a comfortable 70 degrees out to a 96 swamp.
00:01:47
Alexis
Yeah.
00:01:50
Plant People
So 96 degrees swamp.
00:01:52
Alexis
yeah
00:01:52
Plant People
It's a little tough. It's a little tough.
00:01:53
Alexis
what Do you all have any, ah maybe maybe this is a good time for like tips and tricks that you may use as we're as we're all plant people, we're all outside people for staying cool or maybe just keeping the sweat out of your eyes so that it's not blurry all the time because that's what I've been dealing with.
00:01:59
Plant People
Oh, man.
00:02:13
Alexis
Anybody any tips? Joe, do you have any tips? Joe is on the show today. We'll let him introduce himself shortly, but Joe first, sweat tips.
00:02:20
Joe
A big, big giant hat. Why doesn't it have a hat?
00:02:23
Plant People
Yes.
00:02:23
Alexis
Big giant hat. Yep.
00:02:25
Plant People
Yeah.
00:02:25
Joe
It's not about how you.
00:02:26
Plant People
I've become a believer.
00:02:26
Alexis
Brett has a huge hat.
00:02:26
Joe
Wise man.
00:02:27
Alexis
One of the biggest hats I've ever seen for that big old noggin of his.
00:02:30
Joe
wise man
00:02:33
Plant People
I'm glad you didn't wear it today, Brad.
00:02:33
Brett
the bri The brim is also large. It's not just but not just the part that can encapsulates my head.
00:02:36
Alexis
Hmm.
00:02:36
Plant People
written Just the hat itself.
00:02:37
Alexis
both
00:02:40
Plant People
Yeah. I'm a firm believer in big giant hats, something that will cover my neck, especially if you're bending over.
00:02:44
Joe
Yeah.
00:02:44
Alexis
and
00:02:46
Plant People
And used to be that just annoyed me. And, you know I'd see people wearing the big prim straw hats and I'm like, Oh, fashion over function. I'm like, no, that actually serves a very important purpose. And I've come to appreciate that.
00:02:57
Plant People
So yeah, that does help a lot.
00:03:00
Brett
ah So I'm, um this will shock some audience members, I'm bald.
00:03:00
Plant People
A lot.
00:03:05
Brett
ah And also, i also have glasses.
00:03:06
Plant People
Look at the video feed.
00:03:09
Brett
And so what ends up happening is I have this, ah you know, in the in the world of stormwater management, it's just this erosion zone where there's nothing to hold back the sweat from pouring down onto my glasses.
00:03:23
Brett
And so I've had to supplement
00:03:23
Plant People
Okay. Gain some velocity.
00:03:26
Brett
with some geotextile, aka like a bandana buff kind of thing on my head. It makes a huge difference. Put that under the hat, you got a lot of soaking up capacity um to prevent that erosion erosion loss. And the other one I would say is that sometimes people just don't people just don't stand in the shade.
00:03:45
Brett
like They'll just sort of stand out in the sun and not not seek out the shade. um Some people do, some people don't.
00:03:50
Alexis
I
00:03:51
Brett
but ah And then when it's humid enough, it doesn't really even matter. You just sort of going to steam or steam or fry. So you just got to choose which
Joe's Pumpkin Passion
00:03:59
Brett
one. But those are my my quick tips.
00:03:59
Plant People
i don't know that shade thing. ah if there's a shade, I'm in it. We ah went on a work trip here recently and there was a tour.
00:04:07
Alexis
so was going to say that, yeah.
00:04:07
Plant People
There was a tour in a zoo and there was little tiny blobs of shade around this zoo. Not a lot of shade. And it was 97 degrees that day out West. Not a lot of humidity, but a lot of heat.
00:04:20
Plant People
And on every point of shade at first, the first hour, nobody paid attention to the shade. The second hour of standing out on the concrete in the sun, though You had to fight people to get into the little tiny shaded areas where the speaker was talking.
00:04:35
Plant People
So yeah, the shade.
00:04:36
Alexis
Ray and I like immediately were finding them. We were like, where's the shade? Like creeping into little nooks to listen.
00:04:43
Plant People
was not cool.
00:04:44
Alexis
was
00:04:44
Plant People
The first five minutes I was looking for shade, then after the first hour people were like,
00:04:48
Alexis
like, I'm too pale for this.
00:04:50
Plant People
Yes. I was not built for this. And I did not have a wide brim hat, Joe. I had nothing but regret of standing out in the sun. And it's okay if you're moving. It seems like if I'm moving out in the sun, that's different.
00:05:02
Plant People
But just standing and listening in almost 100 degrees heat. And our tour guide seemed to not be affected. I different or something. don't know.
00:05:11
Alexis
Yeah, that guy was built different.
00:05:13
Plant People
Yeah, he was. Yes.
00:05:14
Alexis
I don't know. He could have laughed me around that arboretum several times as an older gentleman.
00:05:18
Plant People
Yes.
00:05:21
Alexis
But anyway, so there's your tips and tricks from your local plant nerds that you all probably knew. But if you need to invest in a good hat, this is us as your educated professionals telling you, do that, right?
Pumpkin Growing Beginnings
00:05:35
Alexis
You can trust us. We're professionals.
00:05:36
Alexis
Yeah. right but we're not just talking about hats today we're talking about that giant pumpkins and we're all really excited about it and so uh we've got joe on with us joe why don't you introduce yourself who are you what do you do why do you love pumpkins
00:05:51
Joe
Yeah, so my name is Joe Kuzman, originally from Pittsburgh, but and started growing giant pumpkins back in Pittsburgh when I was younger, and then moved to Lexington several years ago, and continued my giant pumpkin passion, and I've grown several large ones over the years here in great old Kentucky.
00:06:12
Plant People
So this is not like a recent development. Your pumpkin passion is not a recent thing.
00:06:17
Alexis
Thank you.
00:06:19
Plant People
And you you say it started back in Pittsburgh. Was this like an, um this is like my number one thing with giant pumpkin growers. I want to know why and how, I mean, was it Charlie Brown and the the giant pumpkin?
00:06:27
Joe
yeah
00:06:30
Plant People
I mean, or or was it something else that started you down this, this, this road of passion for pumpkin?
00:06:36
Brett
No, he just said it's Joe Kuzman. that His name is not Charlie Brown, Ray.
00:06:40
Joe
Yeah.
00:06:40
Plant People
Oh, true. Joe, the other Joe. Gotcha. Yeah.
00:06:43
Joe
ah No, it's an interesting story. So, you know, growing up in Pittsburgh, my ah ah grandfather always had a ah ah big garden and loved his garden. And I would always go up there and and help him out.
00:06:54
Joe
But also this house, you know, I don't know if it was a thing with like the old folks, but like the seed catalog was the most precious thing. And it was, it was everywhere, but actually it was, it was on top of the toilet.
00:07:05
Joe
Get in the back. Yeah.
00:07:06
Plant People
Bathroom reading. Sure. Bathroom reading.
00:07:08
Joe
So it was basically bathroom reading.
00:07:08
Plant People
Absolutely.
00:07:09
Joe
And, uh, I remember over the years and I forget how, how are you? It's my teens. And, uh, you know, what are you doing to it? You read the the literature next to the toilet.
00:07:19
Plant People
Yeah.
00:07:20
Joe
and And they had, amongst other things, they they had, guess it was like just the original Dill's Giant pumpkin seeds. And when they're selling was like, you know, I'm going to try, I'm going to get some of those. I'm just going to see what happens.
00:07:36
Joe
um So I ended up planting them at my house. And they were, again, this is probably 30 years ago. And they they hadn't kind of continued to to to dial them in to make them as big as ah as they are now.
00:07:49
Joe
um But I planted them ah at my my house. My parents were encouraging, they said, Eric, take this out of the house and do whatever you want. and But I am growing probably a 100-pound pumpkin. And I thought it was the the coolest thing ever.
00:08:00
Plant People
Oh, wow. Your first time out, you grew 100-pound pumpkin. So, yeah.
00:08:05
Joe
I think it was about maybe maybe like 80. But I mean, it was it was it was it was big.
00:08:08
Plant People
It was big. It was a big pumpkin.
00:08:09
Joe
It was it was big it bigger bigger than any pumpkin I'd ever seen.
00:08:12
Plant People
Yeah.
00:08:13
Joe
But the ironic thing is that grew this giant, what I consider a giant pumpkin at the time. In the middle of the night, some neighborhood kids came and picked that thing up and smashed it in the middle of the road.
00:08:23
Plant People
No.
00:08:25
Joe
Yeah.
00:08:26
Alexis
so Vendetta against you and your pumpkin.
00:08:29
Joe
I know. it was It was very disheartening. but But, I mean, you guys know that. That's the great thing about gardening is, you know, you get to give it another try every year. So every year, if it doesn't work out, give it another go.
00:08:38
Alexis
of
00:08:41
Alexis
You learn something new every year.
00:08:42
Joe
Yeah.
00:08:43
Alexis
Like there's always something that changes and it keeps it interesting no matter what you're growing.
00:08:43
Joe
Yeah. Yeah. that you
00:08:48
Alexis
if you're growing the same thing over and over, it's never the same over each year.
00:08:52
Joe
Yeah. yeah but i that's that's the That's the beauty of it, you know? And you're like, oh, I think it's almost like golf. It's like you have a good year and you're like, man, I think I figured it out. And then next year comes around you're like nothing.
00:09:04
Plant People
You've absolutely got the formula.
00:09:04
Joe
So.
00:09:06
Plant People
I mean, yeah that's, that's pretty impressive. The first time out, which those deals, you know, Atlantic giant, I guess is what that was Atlantic giant deals, Atlantic giant cross back then.
00:09:15
Joe
Yep.
00:09:16
Plant People
I mean, like maximum, you know in the eighties, I guess would have been 400, 450 pounds for those guys.
00:09:21
Joe
Yeah, exactly.
00:09:22
Plant People
And you grew a 100 pounder, like right out the gate. So the seed was planted then.
00:09:26
Joe
green Green thumb. Yep, green thumb.
00:09:27
Plant People
Yeah, absolutely. So I would be super pumped too, even though it met an untimely end.
00:09:33
Joe
yeah
00:09:33
Plant People
ah You were encouraged enough, I guess, to to go, what, the next year? Did you follow up with another?
00:09:38
Joe
I did, I did. And and and just thinking about it, before we did this, I was just trying, I i was reflecting on my giant pumpkin journey. And, you know, it was a different time 30 years ago.
00:09:46
Alexis
That's what I've heard.
00:09:48
Joe
You didn't have the internet. You didn't have all these resources. um You know, you tell people you're growing giant pumpkins and they'd hear old wives tales about, you know, injecting them with milk and like all this.
00:09:59
Plant People
oh yeah, yeah.
00:10:01
Alexis
know that's what all i've heard Yeah.
00:10:01
Joe
Yeah. yeah Yeah. So there was none of like the, you know, these guys that are really into it. I mean, it's, it got it down to like a science, you know, and, but they didn't have any of that back then. So, you know,
00:10:15
Joe
threw threw it in the ground and made sure there was good soil. And you that that was kind of it.
00:10:21
Plant People
I mean, I know when they first started, you know, if you look into the hit i was looking into the history of giant pumpkins a little bit, and, you know, the first ones were like the mammoth crosses, and then along came the, you know, the Atlantic giant in the 70s. But, you know, even those things, the big ones were like, I don't know, 400, 450 pounds. And now today, like the world record holder is over 2,700 pounds. can't even imagine.
00:10:42
Joe
Crazy.
00:10:42
Plant People
i can't even wrap my head around that. But I mean, I know that some of that is improved genetics, but a lot of that has to be like the rise of communities around growing giant pumpkins and trading information and science, you know, micronutrients and feeding and all of that.
00:10:59
Plant People
I have to think some of that is because now people can communicate with each other a little easier, but I realize the genetics are better now too, but they were pretty good back then.
00:11:06
Joe
Yeah,
00:11:07
Plant People
I mean, that strain still around the Atlantic giant strain. So the seeds.
00:11:13
Joe
yeah I agree. But no, I completely agree. I mean, you know, there's a giant, there's a Kentucky giant pumpkin growers Facebook page.
00:11:19
Plant People
Oh, is it?
00:11:21
Joe
There's, you know, a national one. and And I think i think not not only does it allow for better communication and dissemination of information, but it also gets people excited about it, right?
00:11:32
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:11:32
Joe
Where you can go online, you can see this giant pumpkin, you're like, oh my gosh, you know? I mean, think about 27 hundred pound pumpkin. It's insane. Yeah, it is.
00:11:40
Plant People
Yeah, I think the record, hold mean yeah.
00:11:41
Alexis
And it's like it's from a plant, you know, like to think about especially, i mean, I don't know, thinking about it, if it was a tree or something, you're like, oh OK, there's this big tree, right?
00:11:43
Joe
you
00:11:50
Alexis
No, this is like ah a vine that comes from a tiny seed. And it's just like mind boggling to think about the amount of like water and nutrients that plant is pumping into something that large, like just the root system on those
Advancements in Pumpkin Genetics
00:12:03
Alexis
things must be wild.
00:12:04
Joe
yeah it it is and I said my my biggest is I grew one for just under 800 pounds.
00:12:12
Plant People
Oh, wow.
00:12:13
Joe
It was interesting that I actually, one plant produced two pumpkins almost 800 pounds and then another pumpkin over 300 pounds.
00:12:13
Plant People
Yeah.
00:12:24
Joe
So one, and this is for me, so one plant produced almost 2,000 pounds of pumpkin. And that's just me as an amateur kind of kind of gardener. And we can talk some more about how do they get to 2,700 pounds.
00:12:35
Plant People
Yeah.
00:12:39
Joe
But even for me, it's mind-boggling. Like you were saying, Alexis, it's just crazy. Yeah. Yeah.
00:12:45
Brett
So 27 for those sometimes are, you know, sometimes people don't have a sense of scale and 2,700 pounds is kind of an odd number that, you know, it's like way more than and than most body weights or it's roughly the size of a Toyota Camry. I mean, sorry, a Toyota Corolla.
00:13:00
Joe
yeah
00:13:00
Brett
So like a modern Toyota Corolla is about 2,800 pounds.
00:13:01
Plant People
ah tar A car, a car.
00:13:03
Brett
ah The ones when they came out in the seventy s were like 1,700 pounds. So the old introduced Corolla, add 1,000 pounds to that, and that's this pumpkin, which is just...
00:13:16
Brett
insane And you plug that Kentucky Giant Pumpkins group, but you can tell I'm a numbers person. um There's 628 members in that group as of today. So this is not some, you know, that's Kentucky Giant Pumpkin growers.
00:13:29
Joe
I
00:13:29
Brett
So it's yeah, I think it's really cool to see. i love people following unique, interesting people. Some could say odd. i every Almost everything I do is odd. So for me, that's a badge of honor. Things. And so that's just so cool.
00:13:45
Brett
a win for the internet and for social media in this case. There's some losses involved, but that's a good thing.
00:13:49
Plant People
It's a good thing. Yes.
00:13:50
Brett
It's really cool.
00:13:50
Plant People
Yeah.
00:13:51
Joe
but also think it's a great way to get people interested in in gardening because the the genetics in those seeds now are such that you know, the average novice can grow a 300, 400 pound pumpkin without getting crazy.
00:14:06
Joe
And, you know, you get you should you get a kid to basically, it's almost like, you know, Jack and Beanstalk type thing.
00:14:06
Alexis
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
00:14:13
Joe
You get a kid and you you know, say, okay, let's go, you know, create a little plot and um let's put the seed in the ground and see what happens. And, you know, three months later, this little kid grew 300 pound pumpkin. I mean, that kid's going be lifetime gardener.
00:14:25
Joe
It's like, what else can I grow? up
00:14:26
Plant People
yeah i mean
00:14:27
Alexis
Yeah. and i And those types of weights, I mean, you can like literally see it change day to day, you know, like with when it's putting on that much in a short, and relatively short amount of time for for a crop.
00:14:32
Joe
Oh yeah. yeah yes
00:14:38
Joe
Yeah. So there's big ones. I mean, really most of the, you know, if you're growing them for the state fair, you got to start them really early. You got to do like really greenhouses because most, most of the pumpkins you can plant them, you know, end of May, beginning of June, which is when the, you know, if you don't do anything special, that's when the soil is starting to warm up.
00:14:45
Alexis
Mm hmm.
00:14:55
Joe
ah They're maturing in September, which is after the Kentucky state fair. Um, But really, the pumpkins like mine at home that I have now, um they just the the pumpkins are just getting to the point where they're they're going to be fertilized. So basically, you've got like a 60-day window where this thing's growing.
00:15:14
Joe
So from zero to you know even if it's 700 pounds, I mean sometimes they're putting on 30, 40 pounds a day.
00:15:20
Alexis
Yeah.
00:15:21
Joe
It's mind-popping. It's a small child. It's a small child.
00:15:24
Alexis
It's a plant, you know, like it's not. I feel like people don't. So like when you think about something moving that quickly, you're thinking animals, right? ah You know, human animals, like not a plant putting on weight.
00:15:33
Joe
Yeah. Yeah.
00:15:37
Plant People
I mean, kudzu can eat its heart out.
00:15:38
Alexis
That's just a mind boggling thought.
00:15:40
Plant People
It has nothing on the giant pumpkins. really doesn't. As far as mass, I mean, it's pretty incredible. um You said you, I know there's lots of special techniques and and things that you do to to make that happen.
00:15:54
Plant People
to get the really, really big ones like a thousand pounders and on up, even a 400 pound pumpkin, super impressive to me.
00:15:59
Joe
yeah
00:15:59
Plant People
But I guess we could start at the beginning. Like if you're interested in, I mean, you listen to this podcast or, you know, you want to be that guy that grows the county fair winner in your county.
00:16:10
Plant People
ah How do you get started? I mean, like where would you, I know you've already talked about the Kentucky Giant Pumpkin Group that Brett is pumped about, but like if you're looking for seeds, it all kind of starts with the seeds. Is that a good place to start?
00:16:23
Joe
Yeah, I mean, you're not going to grow a giant pumpkin if you don't have good seed. I always think it's interesting that, you know, when you buy one of these giant pumpkin seeds, it's almost like buying a pedigree dog.
00:16:33
Alexis
Yeah.
00:16:34
Joe
you know You know the lineage of the the seed. And you can find um
Techniques and Challenges in Pumpkin Growing
00:16:40
Joe
these seeds online. You just go go on and go online. and um say, you know, type in giant pumpkin seeds, you bought know, bought, you know, purchased or whatever. And there there's several reputable places. i've I've used a couple different ones.
00:16:54
Joe
But yeah, you in there and you can you can get seeds that came from, you know, 2,500 pound pumpkin, which is, you know, they'll they'll go for, you know, anywhere from 25 to $50 a seed.
00:17:05
Plant People
Oh,
00:17:05
Joe
um You can get some that come over from over 1,000 pound pumpkin, and those normally more reasonable around, like, you know, $5 to $10 seed. um But it all it all starts with the pumpkin seed. And and most of the places that you buy them from, a lot of times they'll send kind informational sheets to go along with those pumpkins.
00:17:23
Joe
um So again, I think the biggest thing with giant pumpkins is not to be intimidated that you have to do all this crazy stuff. At the end of the day, it's like gardening in general, right?
00:17:30
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:17:33
Joe
You get a plot of land, make sure the soil is good, you stick the seed in the ground, and you kind of see what happens. um So you can go anywhere from just, you know, that simple, kind of seeing what happens, to going over the top where you're shading them, you you know you're putting heaters in the soil. I mean, it's one of these things that you can take it as far as as you want.
00:17:56
Joe
And really, the the beautiful thing now is there's just so many resources online that you can you get them with different materials um that you need and then the the instruction as well.
00:18:06
Joe
But at the end of the day, some you know I still have years where you've got this great plant there's no pumpkins. Some years the whole vine dies. Some years you don't do anything and you've got these giant pumpkins.
00:18:14
Alexis
Yeah.
00:18:17
Joe
So it's still kind of a hit or miss kind of kind of thing. But like said, anybody that wants to get into it, I'd say don't don't be intimidated by it. you Just like growing anything else, create up a lot of land, put the seed in the ground, and then and see what happens.
00:18:33
Plant People
It's great thing about gardening.
00:18:33
Alexis
So at the right yeah with the right genetics, you're saying like you can still be like have the biggest pumpkin that you've probably ever seen with just good genetics and like, you know, basics, garden skills.
00:18:34
Plant People
Yeah.
00:18:35
Joe
Yeah.
00:18:41
Joe
yeah
00:18:45
Alexis
well And that's fun.
00:18:45
Joe
exactly
00:18:46
Alexis
I mean, a kit showing a 100-pound pumpkin, sign me up.
00:18:53
Joe
Yeah.
00:18:53
Plant People
Yeah.
00:18:53
Alexis
What do you – okay, but what do you do with them afterwards?
00:18:56
Joe
yeah but to to me That's a great, great question.
00:18:56
Alexis
That's what I really want to know.
00:18:58
Joe
And and and that's that's the joy it. I think you find that most people that grow giant pumpkins um They do it because they want to see the expression of people on their face when they see this giant pumpkin. So I'm fortunate enough, you know, I own my own business, West Six Brewing.
00:19:14
Joe
I grow the giant pumpkins and then I take them to our different locations throughout the state. um Some locations will have people come and carve them, um but nothing else, they're out there.
00:19:22
Alexis
Mm.
00:19:24
Joe
Like majority of the people they walk up to and they think it's fake. And then I go out there, I said, no, you can stand on it, sit on it. I said, I grew that thing. Where'd where'd you grow that thing? I said, I just grew it over in Jessamine County. um But like the look on their faces, and and that's what it's all about, is is is you know especially little kids, but even even adults.
00:19:42
Joe
You see a pumpkin that big, it just brings a smile to your face. it it just you know It just can't not, right? Because it's just such an anomaly.
00:19:50
Alexis
and
00:19:51
Joe
Yeah.
00:19:52
Plant People
After all these years, you're going to see that look on this guy's face. I'm going to walk up to that thing and ask lots of questions with a smile on my face every single time.
00:19:58
Joe
Yeah.
00:20:01
Alexis
The ones that are carved that are like big faces on these giant pumpkins and stuff. Those are wild. Some of the coolest things ah I've seen.
00:20:08
Joe
Yeah, and we've been fortunate. We've had some amazing carvers come over the years. And but what they can create, because the interesting thing is they're giant pumpkins, is that the you know they they measure how big a giant pumpkin is based on weight, right?
00:20:22
Alexis
ah
00:20:22
Joe
There's two factors that impact that weight. It's not just that the overall volume of the pumpkin. it's It's also how dense the basic rind is.
00:20:34
Joe
So you get a big giant pumpkin. I mean, that brine's anywhere from six inches, sometimes 12 inches thick.
00:20:40
Alexis
Wow.
00:20:40
Joe
So these pumpkin carvers, they come in there. It's not like the majority the time if they're not busting through, you know, and know having a light source inside. um They're creating this three-dimensional kind of image. it's It's almost like a sculpture.
00:20:53
Joe
but but you can
00:20:54
Alexis
Yeah, the dimensions because they don't go as deep in the and the Rhine layers.
00:20:57
Joe
Yeah, they don't even go all the way through. so what they can create. and And again, I have no artistic ability whatsoever. So to see these guys be able to do that, and every pumpkin has it has a different shape to take the shape of that pumpkin and incorporate what their design is going to be.
00:21:13
Joe
And it's
00:21:13
Plant People
it seems like I see those featured more and more at, I mean, I love fall. I mean, everyone knows, I mean, October is my jam, but I see those more and more and I always look for them and fall displays. Like last time was at Kings Island, they had some kind of fall event. They had several of those big, big pumpkins from the region. And I think Louisville has that, um,
00:21:31
Plant People
the pumpkin walking tour, like i forget what it's called, but I always see big pumpkins there and I love seeing those things showcased.
00:21:33
Joe
Yeah.
00:21:34
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:21:34
Joe
I agree.
00:21:39
Joe
yeah
00:21:40
Plant People
and And you're right, it is art. To call it pumpkin carving doesn't do it justice because it is just art when you look at those things, especially if they do have a backlight component to that and it shines through, it's just absolutely amazing.
00:21:53
Joe
yeah i agree
00:21:53
Plant People
It is something else. It is something else. So you, uh, to grow these things, I'm assuming that these things are the giant pumpkins. They take a long growing season. What? 131, 60 days or something.
00:22:05
Joe
Yeah, I don't know what exact date is, but it said normally I've tried different things over the years.
00:22:05
Plant People
What are you shooting for?
00:22:10
Joe
And a lot of people say you've got to get them in really early to get the really giant ones. So, you know, certain periods of my life, depending on how much free time I had, you know, free kids, free wife and stuff.
00:22:14
Plant People
who
00:22:20
Plant People
Yeah. What free time?
00:22:21
Joe
funny it I was trying to find things to occupy my time.
00:22:22
Plant People
What?
00:22:25
Joe
know, I'd build little greenhouses and, you know, um and i I always start them inside, you know, probably two, three weeks before when I put them into the ground. um But I built a greenhouse and tried to warm up soil and got got them in the ground in you know pretty early May, which in general the soil is just too too still too cold with general planning.
00:22:45
Joe
um But I've kind of moved away towards tailoring how much time and effort I spend on the pumpkins based on how much time and effort I can put on the pumpkins. And my kid's not coming up to me and say, you spend more time on those pumpkins than you do us.
00:23:00
Joe
to us
00:23:02
Plant People
Yeah, it's like, you need to come to the pumpkin patch, children.
00:23:04
Joe
yeah
00:23:05
Alexis
Knowing your kids, they've definitely said that to you. Yeah.
00:23:05
Plant People
yes
00:23:09
Joe
I was actually out there watering them yesterday, and they haven't yet, Alexis. But they haven't, but I was out actually out there watering them yesterday, and you know it was hot, yeah and I had my wide-brimmed hat on. um And I thought, I better get back inside before my kids do say that to me.
00:23:25
Joe
But like I said, my basic structure is now, and I make sure I get good seeds. I get new seeds from these suppliers every year. um You know, some years I spent more than more than others.
00:23:39
Joe
I actually got some really good seeds this year, so I'm interested to see what happens. but But I start the seeds inside, um you know, middle of May with the idea that I'm to get them in um towards the end of May, first week of June.
00:23:48
Plant People
Yeah.
00:23:52
Joe
um That way they should be, ah you know, ready to go kind of mid-September so that I can take them to the different locations we have throughout the state.
00:24:00
Alexis
Hm.
00:24:01
Joe
um but But, you know, put them in the ground, and I do put a wind barrier up around them. So whenever they first go, know, I think these things, I mean, they grow fast, right?
00:24:11
Plant People
yeah
00:24:12
Joe
The leaves are are so big that they're almost like kites. um So I do put, like, a wind barrier up around them, at least until the the the vines are long enough to start kind of stabilizing.
00:24:24
Joe
After that point, I kind of pull them off, and just make sure they've got a lot of water. um I do fertilize them a lot. um Fish emulsion is my preferred one, you know, like a foliar fish emulsion.
00:24:31
Alexis
Mm-hmm. Hm.
00:24:34
Alexis
Hm.
00:24:36
Joe
It's just so low and, you know, because really I like to fertilize them every day. um And the the contents of that are low enough where i'm not going to burn it.
00:24:42
Alexis
and
00:24:45
Joe
I'm not going to do
00:24:45
Plant People
Yeah, it doesn't burn them up. Do you follow your feed that you're the specific formulation on the emotion?
00:24:50
Joe
it. I do. I do. they
00:24:51
Plant People
Yeah.
00:24:52
Joe
I'll just put fish emulsion in kind of a, you know, spray bottle and hook it up to my hose and
00:24:55
Plant People
Mm hmm.
00:24:58
Joe
you know make sure that they're they stay well hydrated, and then just kind of keep an eye on them. And and again, you go online, um there's tons of resources about certain shapes that you should you know kind of from the vine, where you want the pumpkin to set in order to get the largest pumpkins.
00:25:16
Plant People
Yeah.
00:25:17
Joe
If you really want to go crazy, there's different recommendations on the type of fertilization you should do.
00:25:17
Alexis
yeah
00:25:24
Joe
you know, throughout the entire growing period.
00:25:24
Plant People
yeah
00:25:25
Alexis
yeah
00:25:26
Joe
I don't, it's too much for me at this point my life. Um, but again, you can find all those resources online. Um, but like said, in general, you, you put the pumpkin in, um, beginning of June, right around now, beginning mid July when you're going to start seeing your first, um, female pumpkins that will, you know, you see the female blossoms.
00:25:48
Joe
Um, you can either hand fertilize them or leave it up to nature to, uh, to, uh, to do that for you. And then just keep an eye on it. And a lot of fertilization and, you know, there's different ways of handling the pest control.
00:26:05
Joe
Vine borers are the bane of every pumpkin river's existence.
00:26:06
Plant People
Thank you.
00:26:11
Joe
And those little buggers, they are as nasty as they can be.
00:26:11
Alexis
Facts
00:26:15
Joe
um You can go out or either organic or, you know, conventional. as far as controlling those, but you do have to control them. Otherwise, they'll take out your your plant pretty quickly. I've done both, yeah and they both work.
00:26:28
Joe
You just go organic. You're going to have to spend a little more time and yeah apply some of those things more frequently. And then you just kind of keep an eye on it. And once August hits, that's when the things, they just start exploding.
00:26:41
Joe
And like you were saying, Alexis, literally you can go out there every day, and the thing's getting bigger and bigger and bigger. I
00:26:49
Alexis
I think I just want to grow it like for that, just to like see it in action, you know, just the.
00:26:54
Joe
know. I really want to give people a say, you you haven't you've never gotten one of those
Environmental Factors in Pumpkin Growth
00:26:58
Joe
time-lapse cameras? And I think I might do it this year.
00:27:00
Alexis
hmm.
00:27:00
Joe
i think it would just be, you know, it adds a whole other dimension, this giant thing. And it goes from zero to that size, and they were anywhere from 40 to 60 to 45 to 60 days. It's just mind-boggling. Yeah.
00:27:11
Plant People
I'd love to have like a scale underneath so you could see that time lapse, the scale, just the weight that they gain.
00:27:17
Joe
Yeah.
00:27:17
Plant People
I mean, in addition to the size, because I mean, one's related to the other, but yeah, that'd be so cool.
00:27:22
Joe
Yeah, people people people do it right. Like you said, if you make my mind, man.
00:27:24
Plant People
Oh, do they but like put put scales under them?
00:27:26
Joe
Oh, yeah.
00:27:26
Plant People
Like from the beginning? Wow. I wondered about that because I know you at the end of the season, you're there's all kinds of lifting techniques, but they get them up and weigh them.
00:27:34
Joe
Yeah.
00:27:35
Plant People
But some people, I guess it makes sense. They want to know.
00:27:38
Joe
Yeah.
00:27:38
Plant People
They want to know.
00:27:38
Alexis
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
00:27:39
Joe
Because a lot of people, what they do as well, and and I try to do this as well, is... um you know if you're sitting if you If the pumpkin is just sitting directly on the ground, depending on if it if it gets super wet, um the likelihood of it rotting does increase.
00:27:52
Joe
um so So I do this the majority the time, especially if I have a big one that I'm trying to nurture. um You'll put something underneath there. A lot of people just put sand. It's something that basically makes sure that the pumpkin's not sitting on know permanently we wet ground.
00:28:08
Plant People
Yeah.
00:28:09
Joe
So if people do that, they have these know permeable kind of things that they put on.
00:28:14
Alexis
They put them on pallets a lot of the time too, right? Like just start them on the pallet so they can get forklifts under them.
00:28:20
Joe
Exactly. exactly
00:28:20
Alexis
Okay.
00:28:21
Joe
So you can do that or you know something else, but people will but put scales in there.
00:28:21
Alexis
Yeah.
00:28:25
Joe
But it's also interesting, a lot of these places that you buy the seeds from, you can buy everything else that goes along with growing as well.
00:28:31
Plant People
Oh, nice. All the support accessories or whatever. Yeah.
00:28:34
Joe
Yes, and they've they've got proprietary for fertilizer blends and and anything else you want.
00:28:39
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:28:40
Joe
It's it's ah it's a whole industry.
00:28:43
Plant People
The fertility.
00:28:43
Brett
But can you really put a can you really put a price on the dream of a giant pumpkin,
00:28:44
Plant People
You're
00:28:47
Joe
No, it is truly priceless.
00:28:47
Brett
you know
00:28:49
Joe
ah did my My previous goal was I wanted to break 500 pounds and I broke 500 pounds. ben and If I can break 1,000 pounds, i would be I'll be a happy guy.
00:28:58
Brett
Man, your your goals jump. That's that's pretty that's that's some scale scaling.
00:29:01
Joe
Yeah. You got a question.
00:29:04
Brett
Well, I have a question that it's not a, don't think it's a silly question, but it kind of is a funny question.
00:29:04
Plant People
progressing.
00:29:09
Brett
What is the spacing on a giant pumpkin? In other words, like when this thing is at full tilt, when these vines are at full tilt, all feeding into this 30 to 40 pound gain per day, how much space is that thing taken up?
00:29:16
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:29:22
Joe
Yeah, so in general, you want about 1,000 square feet per plant, which is a lot.
00:29:26
Brett
Wow. Okay. Yeah.
00:29:29
Alexis
you
00:29:29
Joe
I had some people over last year, and they saw, you know, all these green leaves and everything. And I said, that's one plant. And they're like, really?
00:29:41
Joe
Yeah, I said, that's one.
00:29:43
Plant People
Stay away from it.
00:29:44
Alexis
Which is like, that's why like if it does go down from borer or mildew or something, God, that's so like crushing of your soul.
00:29:51
Joe
It's a lot, you know.
00:29:52
Plant People
That's so much.
00:29:53
Joe
yeah Yeah, but even at the end of the year, cleaning up all those vines, it's a why
00:29:54
Plant People
Are you growing more than one?
00:29:59
Alexis
yeah
00:29:59
Plant People
Wow. um On those, ah do you grow more than than one vine at a time just as so you don't have all your eggs in one basket?
00:30:09
Joe
lot. You better believe it. I got...
00:30:10
Plant People
Yeah, I wondered.
00:30:10
Joe
i Yeah.
00:30:11
Plant People
I mean, you got some square footage out there. I guess if you have four vines, that's at least 4,000 square feet.
00:30:15
Joe
Yeah, I try to i try to go have three plants that that are growing throughout the year.
00:30:16
Plant People
That's amazing.
00:30:20
Joe
So normally what I'll do is I'll start, you know, six or seven, maybe eight seeds. And, you know, if I start eight seeds, six of them will germinate. had really good luck this year, you know, if they all germinated.
00:30:34
Joe
um But i'll I'll, you know, crimp my little mounds. I normally put two plants in each mound and then inevitably one of them doesn't take or or whatever.
00:30:39
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:30:43
Joe
And then I'll try to cull those down to one plant per per mound. But so this year I got i have three plants and that's kind of what I've done in the past.
00:30:52
Brett
But four so four four plants would be roughly a quarter acre. if you, you know if a thousand square feet, that's 4,000 and over 40, whatever, 43,000.
00:30:52
Plant People
Now,
00:31:00
Joe
It's a lot.
00:31:01
Brett
So yeah, I mean, that's and like those imagining the scale. It's always so hard because sometimes in pictures or people talk about it, it's just so cool to put it in those kinds of terms. um and And so what's the, is is where the area that you're growing, is this like, I assume it's not a, ah you know, traditional, well, that would take up my entire traditional suburban lot.
00:31:21
Brett
Um, what's the, the kind of area around where you're growing? Is it like ah more of a, I don't, yeah I don't know, know where you live. Uh, is it more like a farm area or is it like, what's, what's the area?
00:31:31
Joe
It is.
00:31:32
Brett
and
00:31:32
Joe
We have five acres. so it's it's ah it's ah it's a field where people used to have horses. um And I've tried different areas on my property. The challenge is you have to have access to water um because you need to water them a lot.
00:31:45
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:31:47
Joe
um So going through different things and they don't they don't really like super wet areas, ah you know, especially kind earlier on in the in the summer in the springtime.
00:31:53
Plant People
Oh,
00:31:58
Joe
um But I basically have a big middle of a big giant field. They do like sun, you know, as much sun as you can possibly get them, um which is interesting. So a lot of the giant pumpkins are actually grown in more northern climates just because the amount of sun during that growing season. So they grow giant pumpkins. lot of them are up in Minnesota, Wisconsin.
00:32:19
Joe
Alaska grows a lot of giant pumpkins. Canada, they grow a lot of giant pumpkins.
00:32:22
Plant People
ah wow
00:32:24
Joe
um So that they love they love the sun.
00:32:29
Joe
They're the more sun.
00:32:29
Alexis
Ray and I were Ray and I were just in Montana and like the first day I got there, it was like 10 o'clock at night and it was still light outside. and I went, oh, okay, you know, whatever.
00:32:37
Joe
ah
00:32:39
Alexis
And then the sun came up at 445 and I was like, what is happening? Mm-hmm.
00:32:45
Joe
I'm crazy. Yeah.
00:32:47
Plant People
We should have looked for the pumpkins.
00:32:47
Alexis
ah
00:32:48
Plant People
Very dry out there.
00:32:50
Joe
yeah But one of the other things that that people do do so is that, you know, Kentucky is kind of tough because it just gets so, it just gets so hot, right?
00:32:50
Plant People
i mean.
00:32:58
Plant People
yeah
00:32:58
Joe
And, you know, even when I was out there watering my pumpkins yesterday, but and whenever I got home, um you know, a lot of the the leaves were starting to wilt a little bit because even though
Community and Competitions in Pumpkin Growing
00:33:07
Joe
I'm out there, you know, watering them every day, every other day, it just hasn't rained in here in so long.
00:33:07
Alexis
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
00:33:12
Joe
um they They don't...
00:33:12
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:33:15
Joe
they do get impacted by you know extreme heat and extreme sun. But one of the things, again, though one is if if you want to kind of take it you know further, um people will actually shade the pumpkins.
00:33:27
Plant People
Yeah. yeah
00:33:28
Joe
um So they'll put umbrellas or they'll create you know just a little structure where they can put some of that you know garden you know netting over it. um
00:33:38
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:33:38
Joe
But the idea behind that is if that pumpkin is just getting hammered you know day day in and day out by the the sun, it's going to lose water to evaporation. And if you're really looking at you know adding a lot of yeah weight, which is basically water at the of the day, you want to minimize that amount of evaporation.
00:33:58
Plant People
The grower that I worked with quite a bit, he was a you always used shade. And finally, I was like, well, ah you know, and he said, well, there's a lot of reasons why he used shade. But he was always afraid that because of our summers in Kentucky that the rind would get hard and get expansion cracks.
00:34:12
Joe
Yeah.
00:34:12
Plant People
And so he kept that rind soft. But there was always shade over there, burlap shade and grass.
00:34:17
Joe
Yeah.
00:34:17
Plant People
Sometimes he would use like a white bedsheep type material, remade, but usually like a burlap material.
00:34:17
Joe
Yeah. It's,
00:34:21
Joe
yeah
00:34:23
Plant People
But yeah, I thought I knew then that it was serious business. I went out, I saw the wind block when it was young, and then ah come back out and he's removed that structure later in the season. And then he's put up this whole little mini hoop house over the pumpkins and...
00:34:37
Joe
yeah
00:34:37
Plant People
You know, before I went out, there was eight or 10 pumpkins or six or seven on a vine. And then there were three and then there was one pumpkin. So is that a thing too? The thinning and all of that stuff?
00:34:48
Joe
it It is. And again again, it's this idea of how far you really want to take it.
00:34:52
Plant People
Yeah.
00:34:53
Joe
You know, general just kind of logic is you got you got this plant. It's got a finite amount of energy that it can, you know, direct towards whatever it's growing. you really want to get a big one, ideally that the, you want the pumpkin to grow on the main vine. So you think about you know pumpkin plant, it's got it's got its main vine and then it's got its tertiary vines and all that.
00:35:17
Joe
um The biggest pumpkins ideally will grow ah of that main vine. That main vine, the vine, is providing most amount of nutrients.
00:35:22
Plant People
you
00:35:23
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:35:26
Joe
um But if you want to grow you know theoretically the biggest pumpkin you can, you want to direct all that effort to one single pumpkin. um I don't normally do that.
00:35:35
Plant People
That would be scary.
00:35:35
Joe
Yeah, I don't normally do that.
00:35:37
Plant People
Yeah.
00:35:38
Joe
just because it's it's it's more work and you're, you know, if that one pumpkin doesn't make it and, you know, it happens, um then that's fine.
00:35:49
Plant People
was Or if the neighborhood kids come out, i mean, yeah, let's hope not.
00:35:49
Joe
i get matriar Yeah. So i I'd rather have, you know, a bunch of big ones than, you know, the state record. But you were talking about the whole, like trying to minimize cracks for those people that are really trying to get into the competitive
00:35:58
Plant People
Yeah.
00:36:03
Joe
um That is one of the things that removes a pumpkin from the ability to enter competition is if there are cracks. That's kind of the the fear for every like true competitive giant pumpkin grower you're going to grow this giant pumpkin and then it cracks right at the end.
00:36:12
Plant People
Hmm.
00:36:20
Plant People
Oh man.
00:36:21
Joe
Yeah. So...
00:36:22
Plant People
i mean, but it sounds, it sounds like you're in, yeah you're into the culture.
00:36:24
Alexis
So much pressure.
00:36:26
Plant People
Yeah. You're into the culture of it though. I mean, you're not specifically growing for ah state level competition. It sounds like that you have, do you have like a ah local circuit that you'd like to kind of go and display your large pumpkins or like places where you display those?
00:36:42
Joe
No, just just that like just at the brewery locations.
00:36:43
Plant People
Yeah.
00:36:45
Joe
Kind of what I've focused on.
00:36:46
Plant People
Gotcha. Gotcha.
00:36:47
Joe
Maybe later on in life, once I retire and my kids are gone, maybe then I'll get a little crazier and start...
00:36:56
Plant People
Oh, I think there's already plans for that.
00:36:57
Alexis
traveling pumpkin show
00:36:58
Plant People
and
00:36:58
Joe
that
00:36:59
Brett
Joe and the Giant Pumpkin. It's like a Roald Dahl sequel.
00:36:59
Plant People
It seems like, yeah, he's like that 2,700 pound ah record is not going to stand.
00:37:00
Joe
Yeah.
00:37:06
Plant People
It sounds like you have plans.
00:37:08
Joe
Yeah. But if I think any giant pumpkin grower, you have to be kind of
00:37:08
Plant People
you
00:37:12
Joe
by nature a little kind of quirky. Yeah, because it...
00:37:15
Plant People
We thrive on that.
00:37:16
Brett
Well, I was going to ask about that.
00:37:16
Plant People
We thrive on that.
00:37:18
Brett
I was going to ask about the the psychology of what makes someone do this. um And I have, again, i this is coming from, um I have things like that in my life where I'm like, no no sane person would do this or no, you know.
00:37:18
Joe
yeah because it
00:37:34
Brett
You try to explain it, but do you see, like, is there something, ah you mentioned the kind of growing up and seeing, um ah you know, family gardens and being into gardening and like liking to grow stuff. And that that makes sense.
00:37:47
Brett
But do you, what do you attribute the... the the gravity of the large pumpkin, so to speak for you, what do you attribute that to? Like, ah do you gravitate toward large record sizes of anything like the biggest ball of string or is it a competitiveness thing or do you enjoy spectacle or you do you have any thoughts about why it is that might've real gin?
00:38:10
Joe
I don't know. yeah I've never psychoanalyzed my myself to delve into my motivation. But I think at the end of the day, like to me, it's it's it's all about kind of that wow factor for people being like, you're crazy.
00:38:23
Joe
But man, that's a big pumpkin.
00:38:25
Plant People
Yeah, you're like, thank you.
00:38:25
Joe
That's pretty cool.
00:38:26
Alexis
Thank you.
00:38:27
Plant People
Thank you. Yes, absolutely.
00:38:28
Joe
But it's it's interesting. you know at At the brewery, we'll do a lot of but dode classes on anything. We've partnered with the extension of different agencies around here and done anything from you know gardening classes to you know be keeping to to whatever.
00:38:44
Joe
um But obviously i'm I'm passionate about giant pumpkins. So I said, you know, let's let's do a giant pumpkin class. And I'm like, man there's going to be so many people interested in this. You know, and i'll get I'm going to give away free seeds and everything.
00:38:59
Joe
Put the class on, nobody showed up. Yeah.
00:39:02
Plant People
that That sounds like the story of our of our life. Doesn't mean it's not a good idea, but for whatever reason, nobody showed up that day.
00:39:09
Joe
But I'm like, you know, at the end of the day, but maybe the general public isn't as passionate as about giant pumpkins as I am. But for those few people out there, and i think I think it's pretty cool thing.
00:39:21
Plant People
and Once again, I think it comes off at a time of the year where, at least here in Kentucky, you know ah during that time of year, such a great you know fall weather ah usually, but people start to gather. It seems like you know the summer, everybody's going in different directions, but there's something about that time of year where you typically start to see giant pumpkins that people are just
Sustainable Growing Practices
00:39:41
Plant People
gathering. i don't know if you you see that there at a Wessex farm, which we didn't, we didn't, split you know, say it, but I guess you're the co-founder of West six ah brewery there in Lexington, Joe. And was that? 20, 2012 Yeah. And get,
00:39:54
Joe
Yeah, it's been 13 years, so yeah, 2012.
00:39:54
Plant People
or so
00:39:56
Joe
Ah, like it.
00:39:57
Plant People
yeah
00:39:57
Joe
do and everything.
00:39:58
Plant People
and you
00:39:58
Alexis
my first legal beer West 6 brewery laughter
00:40:00
Plant People
Oh, wow.
00:40:00
Joe
i like
00:40:01
Plant People
And you remember that. So yeah, it's a, it's a great place. And you guys have also West six farm that I know you guys do all sorts of cool events out there.
00:40:09
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:40:10
Plant People
um You know, lots of things going on out there, both pumpkin related maybe. And then there's lots of other stuff that you guys have going on out there. Don't you just all the time.
00:40:18
Joe
you do and We do. So, you know, we try to do something every year. So we do, done big giant, but last year we started at a big giant sunflower field. um We did kind of start growing more pumpkins out there.
00:40:32
Joe
and So we grow a little mini ones that we do some events where kids can come and paint those. um
00:40:37
Plant People
ah wow
00:40:37
Joe
but We've tried to grow giant pumpkins out there several years. um but they need a lot of time and attention and and watering.
00:40:45
Alexis
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
00:40:46
Joe
And we haven't been real successful at growing But we're we're we're giving another go this year. So hopefully we'll have a 500 plus pound pumpkin out there this this year as well.
00:40:58
Plant People
Yeah, you mentioned that it takes a lot of care. I know and a water local water source, but it's ah it's amazing at the amount of time that goes into this. I know the growers that I've worked with a couple over the years, they were out there every day.
00:41:10
Plant People
i mean, just looking over things, and which makes sense.
00:41:10
Joe
Yeah.
00:41:13
Plant People
We're in zone 6, 6A. We have every insect and every disease you could probably possibly have. If it's not a cucumber beetle, it's mildew or something else, it seems like.
00:41:21
Joe
yeah
00:41:23
Plant People
So, I mean, it has to have labor of love.
00:41:23
Joe
Yeah, and in front yeah and but and pumpkins are very susceptible to powdery mildew. So normally, you like dog days of summer, especially around like August.
00:41:30
Plant People
every year
00:41:33
Joe
um you know do You do have to be aware of that. Normally, i just use copper sulfate, and that seems to kind of keep it at bay. But, you know, especially towards the end of August, you know, everything is just worn out.
00:41:48
Joe
you know whether it's your tomato plants or whatever, um that's when all those diseases really start to hit. Yeah.
00:41:56
Plant People
That's what's just so fascinating.
00:41:56
Alexis
And we are also worn out.
00:41:57
Plant People
Yeah.
00:41:57
Alexis
So
00:41:57
Joe
yeah
00:41:58
Plant People
ah yeah. Yeah, you may be your energy level may be going in one direction and the size of your pumpkin is going in the other direction. So yeah, that's a, that's a tough curve to deal with there. Yeah, I know.
00:42:10
Alexis
so just like be be mentally prepared. Like you were saying, what am I willing to do with the pumpkins this year? What do I have time for?
00:42:17
Joe
Exactly, exactly. and But I think you know i think is if you go into that mindset that you know you're going to do what you can you know and with you know
00:42:19
Plant People
we,
00:42:27
Joe
minimal, I wouldn't say minimal effort, but you know not going over the top. and If you watch all these videos and people are going crazy.
00:42:32
Alexis
have to like sleep in the pumpkin patch is what you're saying.
00:42:34
Joe
Exactly, exactly. You don't have to play classical music. you know You don't have to hug it every day. That's exactly right.
00:42:42
Alexis
If you want to, that's fine.
00:42:42
Joe
but it's
00:42:43
Alexis
We're just saying like you don't have to.
00:42:45
Joe
that right
00:42:46
Plant People
Well, I love that. I love that approach is that you, it is what you want it to be. I mean, first of all, you, if you get the right seeds, the right genetics and you just have a typical garden, you're probably going to get a bigger than average pumpkin.
00:42:58
Plant People
But if you want to put a lot more effort into it and get a bigger pumpkin, or if you just kind of want to be chill about it, you can just get a big pumpkin.
00:43:05
Joe
Yeah, exactly. and And it might just be the stepping stone towards and growing other giant stuff.
00:43:06
Plant People
Yeah.
00:43:11
Joe
So, I mean, there's there's giant watermelon competitions.
00:43:12
Alexis
you
00:43:12
Plant People
at Brett's shaking his head. Yeah.
00:43:14
Joe
There are giant cantaloupe competitions.
00:43:17
Plant People
No, i I don't know why that never entered in my mind that there would be a giant cantaloupe competition.
00:43:22
Joe
Yeah, and it's actually interesting that the seed company, i figured when I got it from this year, but they sent me some other seeds along with the the giant pumpkin seeds, and some of those were for giant tomatoes, and they had a competition.
00:43:23
Brett
ah
00:43:35
Joe
for who could grow the and the the seeds that came with this came from a eight pound tomato.
00:43:41
Brett
Whoa.
00:43:42
Plant People
Eight pounds.
00:43:44
Joe
I didn't.
00:43:44
Plant People
Well, I guess come to the,
00:43:44
Joe
don't.
00:43:44
Alexis
I wonder how it tasted.
00:43:46
Joe
i don't i don't
00:43:47
Alexis
Like, are we sacrificing taste or something?
00:43:48
Brett
Large. It tasted large, Alexis, and that was all that mattered.
00:43:50
Plant People
It tasted like a big...
00:43:51
Alexis
Sorry. Sorry. Yeah.
00:43:53
Plant People
We have that at the state fair. I mean, every year, I think, and Alexis has judged that before, ah but there is a category for like largest tomato.
00:43:57
Alexis
know
00:44:01
Plant People
And sometimes we, I mean, you have to really specify the largest marketable type tomato. Like it can't come in and just in mush. It has to come in in some sort of...
00:44:10
Alexis
And yet they do.
00:44:11
Plant People
Yes, they do. But I mean, that's pretty exciting. We've gotten some big tomatoes, that not as big as eight pounds, not eight pounds.
00:44:17
Alexis
Not eight pounds! Not even close!
00:44:19
Brett
Eight pounds is crazy.
00:44:21
Plant People
Yeah.
00:44:21
Alexis
I don't even... Like...
00:44:23
Brett
Oof.
00:44:24
Joe
yeah I think it's probably probably similar to pumpkins. People ask me, like can you eat this pumpkin? like What do you do I mean, these things are just grown for size. they're not they're not You're not going to turn an 800-pound pumpkin into 500 pumpkin pies.
00:44:33
Alexis
Yeah.
00:44:33
Plant People
Yeah.
00:44:39
Joe
um They're just not made for that. no
00:44:40
Alexis
What about 500 beers?
00:44:42
Joe
Maybe.
00:44:43
Alexis
Are they good for beers?
00:44:44
Joe
yeah yeah Make a lot lot of lot of pumpkin beer.
00:44:48
Plant People
Yeah.
00:44:48
Joe
think you try the same thing as the tomatoes.
00:44:49
Brett
You can definitely turn it into like 200 pounds of compost once all the water is gone and everything else.
00:44:53
Joe
Yes, exactly.
00:44:54
Alexis
Yeah.
00:44:55
Plant People
And it turns into like four ounces of compost once the water is extracted out.
00:44:56
Brett
Perfect.
00:44:58
Plant People
Yeah.
00:44:59
Joe
Yeah.
00:44:59
Plant People
And it collapses down. You say, it sounds like you have big plans for the future. I mean, what was your goal? You said you started out at as all those years ago in Pennsylvania, 100 pounds. And what's your future goal? Did you say you're hoping to crack the thousand pound mark?
00:45:13
Joe
I am. So, you know, but back, you know, starting, it was, you know, a hundred pound pumpkin I thought was, you know, the greatest thing ever. Um,
00:45:21
Plant People
Yeah.
00:45:21
Joe
And then, you know, after I started growing here in Kentucky, you know, I wanted to break the 500-pound barrier. I did that a couple years ago. I haven't been able to replicate it. um But my goal now is if I could break 1,000 pounds, which would be, I think, would be pretty cool.
00:45:38
Plant People
So it sounds like there'll be at least ah as of right now, a giant pumpkin or pumpkins out at West Six Farm then. So they're back.
00:45:46
Joe
I hope so.
00:45:48
Plant People
Fingers crossed.
00:45:49
Alexis
No pressure, right? We just like said everybody's going to show be like, where are the giant pumpkins?
00:45:51
Joe
Great.
00:45:54
Plant People
It's like, wo wait a minute, wait a minute.
00:45:56
Alexis
Joe's like, oh, no.
00:45:56
Plant People
I mean,
00:45:57
Alexis
Oh, no.
00:45:58
Joe
Ray's put a line in the sand. He says you got to do it
00:46:00
Plant People
I... mean
00:46:01
Alexis
I better go spray. Oh, no.
00:46:02
Plant People
I'm coming out there one way or another, and I'm going to be creeping around. They're is this guy out in the middle of our sunflower field? What is he doing? And I'm out looking for this secret.
00:46:10
Alexis
ah Joe, some guy asked about pumpkins.
00:46:12
Plant People
but Listen, Charlie Brown said there was a giant pumpkin out here, and he's coming on Halloween night, and i am looking for it. Yeah, I just...
00:46:20
Joe
think it's good idea, Ray. I think we might have to incorporate the whole Charlie Brown theme into into into our giant group
00:46:25
Plant People
Hey, I watch it every year and I'm still waiting on it myself. Not that I stay up after midnight waiting on the giant pumpkin every year, but maybe I do.
00:46:29
Joe
and stuff.
00:46:33
Joe
I think that's...
00:46:34
Plant People
I'm just saying I love a good spectacle and I love this whole entire conversation.
00:46:35
Joe
Yeah. But
00:46:38
Alexis
but
00:46:38
Plant People
I'm here for the giant tomatoes, cantaloupes, pumpkins. I'm here for all of it.
00:46:42
Joe
but you're exactly right.
00:46:42
Alexis
I googled it, it's huge.
00:46:42
Joe
It's a spectacle. It's spectacle. It's a spectacle.
00:46:44
Alexis
This tomato.
00:46:47
Plant People
Well, it sounds like there's a there's this neat culture around it too. I know Indiana, it seems like I've seen a lot of information for there's an Indiana group and maybe a Michigan group. So it's not just Kentucky, it's all over the place, isn't
00:46:57
Joe
i'm I'm sure.
00:47:01
Joe
It is. It is. And you know I think it's just getting bigger and bigger as you know the resources are more and more available and go people get into it. It's fun.
00:47:12
Plant People
Yeah, very cool stuff. Very cool.
00:47:14
Alexis
did Did Joe just talk me into growing a pump joe i'm pumpkin next year?
00:47:17
Plant People
i I really think he did. i think he did.
00:47:19
Alexis
i
00:47:20
Joe
it a try. but Put it next to all your followers out there.
00:47:21
Alexis
i
00:47:23
Plant People
Yeah.
00:47:23
Alexis
i yeah I know, but then people will be like, oh my god, do you have a pumpkin patch? Can we come out and visit?
00:47:27
Joe
sir
00:47:27
Alexis
And I'll be like, no. um I have one pumpkin.
00:47:30
Brett
I don't know. um
00:47:31
Alexis
I have literally one.
00:47:31
Brett
I don't know. alexis i'm not I'm not sure that you can do it.
00:47:34
Joe
I
00:47:34
Plant People
No, no, I don't think so either.
00:47:35
Alexis
yeah the oh
00:47:36
Plant People
no
00:47:36
Alexis
i have i have a legitimate question um before we fought before we finish up. This is a production question. How do you control weeds? Because, like, do they eventually shade out?
00:47:47
Alexis
I'm just imagining the grass just growing up in between.
00:47:50
Plant People
It's bothering you, isn't it?
00:47:50
Alexis
and I mean, yeah, it is.
00:47:51
Plant People
It's bothering you. Yeah.
00:47:53
Alexis
Yes.
00:47:53
Joe
yeah i think it's an excellent question and I'm battling it now. Really, what the the best results that I've had, you know i've I've tried, you know herbicides where you know I'll spray it and you know kill everything.
00:48:08
Joe
Best results I've had is I get a big giant tarp, put it out there early spring because really I'm not planting these until you know late late May early June.
00:48:11
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:48:19
Joe
I'll put that tarp out wherever I want to plant it, ah weigh it down and just hope it kills just about everything. um
00:48:25
Plant People
Mm-hmm.
00:48:26
Joe
And what I've incorporated this year actually is i get a ton of leaves and in the fall and I got one of those leaf chopper things that hook up to my mower.
00:48:34
Alexis
Uh-huh.
00:48:34
Joe
It's a huge mound of of leaves. So basically once I pull that tarp up, I'll use those leaf clippings as basically just mulch and try to keep them down.
00:48:44
Alexis
Uh-huh.
00:48:47
Joe
But I mean, every any gardener, you know, the grass and weeds, it it's a cause of battle.
00:48:49
Alexis
Yeah.
00:48:53
Joe
then
00:48:54
Plant People
Alexis, it's not going to detract from your flowers, okay?
00:48:55
Joe
And weeding.
00:48:59
Alexis
I don't know. It sounds like they might take over my flowers. Like they might just like, I can just imagine those vines just like being like, oh, what flowers? and Just like toppling them.
00:49:07
Joe
Yeah, it does. you know Ideally, once the once the plant gets so big, um and those leaves that eventually do you know shade out a lot of the the ground, so you don't have as much growth, at least where that plant is.
00:49:21
Joe
But it is it is definitely a battle year-long, you know along with any other garden, to to keep those weeds out.
00:49:28
Alexis
Yeah. but that's ah i I didn't even think about the fact of like, yeah, that tarp and then the mulch. So if you can just like give it some time to get those leaves out, then a lot of that, you know, grass growing up between your leaves is probably um diminished ah at least a little bit.
00:49:45
Alexis
So, okay.
00:49:47
Joe
Yeah, and ideally yeah I put all those leaves out and ideally, you know, I'm i'm improving the soil, you know, year over year as as as those leaves get in the soil as well.
00:49:47
Alexis
Well, and I asked that.
00:49:52
Alexis
Right.
00:49:55
Alexis
Yeah.
00:49:57
Alexis
Man, leaf mulch is just some of the best stuff, I think.
00:49:57
Joe
Yeah, it is. But the one thing i would say is I've tried to not rotate my pumpkins and I've definitely seen the implications of not rotating.
00:50:08
Joe
So I would definitely encourage do not keep the same plot year in and year out.
00:50:08
Alexis
Oh. Mm-hmm.
Conclusion and Contact Information
00:50:15
Alexis
I would imagine they're really pulling stuff from the soil too, nutrient-wise, when you talk about a thousand-pound pumpkin having to put the nutrients in there.
00:50:23
Joe
yeah Exactly.
00:50:24
Alexis
so you know Even if you're feeding them, they're going to pull pull that stuff out. so
00:50:28
Joe
I
00:50:28
Alexis
It's good maybe good for an area that you've accidentally over-fertilized in the past.
00:50:32
Joe
i would agree with that as well. yeah
00:50:35
Alexis
Add that to your rotation.
00:50:37
Joe
i agree.
00:50:40
Alexis
Super cool. Well, any last thoughts about giant pumpkins from you all before we let the the pumpkin man go?
00:50:49
Plant People
Other than they're super cool.
00:50:51
Alexis
ah
00:50:52
Joe
um i'll keep you guys I'll keep you guys updated on on on the growth.
00:50:52
Brett
now and Yeah, that'd be awesome.
00:50:52
Alexis
i mean, obvious.
00:50:54
Joe
And like I said, if I can set up one of those little time lapse things, I think I'll send it to you guys well.
00:51:01
Alexis
Oh my gosh, that would be awesome.
00:51:02
Plant People
Oh man, that would be cool.
00:51:03
Alexis
Yeah. I would also love to get some photos, if you're cool with that, to share with people on our Instagram, which you all can follow up at Hort Culture Podcast, ah of any of your giant pumpkins you've grown previously.
00:51:16
Alexis
So if you're willing to share those with us, that would be great.
00:51:18
Joe
Yeah. of Of course, I'll pull some up from the archives and share those <unk> beautiful things.
00:51:24
Alexis
We want to show them off. Yeah.
00:51:26
Joe
You better believe it.
00:51:28
Alexis
Awesome. Well, if you all have any questions about ah giant pumpkins, we do have a new email address. So we'll we'll have that in the show notes, but it's hortculturepodcast at gmail.com.
00:51:39
Alexis
And that is something that will come to all of us. So if you've used our email in the past, understandable we've got this new one a little bit easier for us for us to use and get and get a hold of and get it all figured out so uh find us there find us on instagram shoot us your questions we'll uh post some photos of these giant pumpkins look up world's largest tomato there's a very happy guy holding it and it just brings me joy to see people with their large produce so just You know, if you need an uplifter for the day, just look up world's giant whatever produce you want. And I bet there's happy people in the photo. So we thank you guys for being here with us today. And we hope that you will join us next time.
00:52:20
Alexis
See ya.
00:52:25
Plant People
Thank you.