By Brad Wursten (The Netherlands)
Preparation
I started working on the squash patch in the fall of 2006. In the summer of 2006 I had grown a 700 lb pumpkin on that patch and that plant had lost its main root and vine to rot. I decided to grow the squash on the opposite end of the patch. I added leaves and manure and dug it in.
In the beginning of April I set up the tunnel greenhouse over the squash patch and an adjacent pumpkin patch. The greenhouse was 20 meters long and 6 meters wide. The squash patch was about 9x6 meters.
Planting
I chose the 1055.5 Pitura 06* (848 MacKenzie* x self) for my squash plant. Because of the warm weather, I planted the 1055 a week earlier than normal, on April 14. Five days later the plant was above soil and on April 23 I planted it in the greenhouse. I put a small hoop house over the plant to keep it nice and warm.
The plant was very aggressive. In the 2nd week of June I started pollinating female flowers. Each of them aborted, a problem known to exist in this squash line. On June 17 I pollinated a female at 4m 80cm on the main vine.
Growth
By day 10 the squash had a circumference of 26.8 inches, a very good start. I gave water about three to four times a week. During the day I opened the doors of the greenhouse and each evening shut them again. The temperatures were quite low, especially at night. During this period I started to spray a 10% milk/90% water solution over the plant to prevent powdery mildew. This worked very well.
By day 20 the squash was 46.5 kg (102 lbs). This was over the 1000 lb benchmarks but not close to the 1200 benchmarks yet. Between day 20 and 30 the squash grew on average 23.5 lbs (10.7 kg) a day. The squash was becoming flat and wide and growing over its blossom end. I tried propping up the back end but it was of no use. On day 30 it weighed 153 kg (337 lbs).
I still gave water about every two to three days and the milk solution every Saturday. I sprayed the top and bottom of each leaf. This takes very much time. The weather was very cold and wet and each evening I covered the pumpkin with a thick blanket. During the day I covered it with a white sheet.
Most of the growth happened between day 30 and 40. The squash grew an average 27.5 lbs (12.5 kg) per day in this period. The maximum gain was about 15 kg in one day. The weight on day 40 was 277 kg (611 lbs) and only a few pounds from the Dutch record squash.
I added no fertilizer the entire year. Only water and the milk/water solution. I also sprayed the squash with milk, especially the blossom end which was growing under the squash. I was afraid it would split.
The leaves on the 1055 were about 1.60m tall. The oldest leaves started to decay and I cut them away. The other leaves were still very healthy. I only watered under the leaves so the leaves had less chance of getting mildew and the weight of the water would not cause them to break.
By day 50 (August 6) the squash had reached 375 kg (826 lbs). At this point I began to hope the squash would beat the old European record, the 1040 Van Rompaey 06*. The squash grew 16 lbs a day from day 50 to 60. At day 65 my squash had reached 1044 lbs and had passed the ER. I then I realized I might be able to beat the WR. I did not know if the squash would go heavy or light. Research seemed to conclude it would go 3-7% heavy.
The final days
On September 1 (day 76) the squash measured 1130 lbs. The WR was 1131. The squash was already above the 1200 benchmarks, but that was because it was so flat and wide. I stopped publishing data at this point to make it a bit more exciting for the other growers following the squash’s growth. On day 96 I harvested the squash. It measured 1193 lbs.
A large group of spectators, witnesses and a notary came to the patch to weigh both the squash and the pumpkin. Theo Kiewiet, another Dutch grower, and I were a bit disappointed when the weigh scale measured 1234 lbs. We were expecting it to go a bit heavier to the scales. But at the end of the day, we realized it was a WR and probably one to stay for the rest of the season. It had also beat the biggest pumpkin ever grown in Europe. I had to look twice at the weigh scale though when we measured the pumpkin. It was taping 1130 and I had lost the plant quite some time earlier. It weighed 1256 lbs and for two weeks was the new European champion.
