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The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located. This thread is a non-political respite. No matter what, you won’t be flamed, and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack...

After his magnificent massive and successful campaign rally in Manchester, New Hampshire yesterday afternoon, the POTUS, Trump & the Trump campaign made a delightful side trip in to the great state of Maine to visit friends and hold a mini rally. It was most beautiful and patriotic!!! Of course, the failed, useless, "Chris Wallace" "Dark side" Fox News Channel (Fox & Friends) made no mention of this grand meeting whatsoever, this morning!!! Fox News Channel, Fox & Friends now joins the low life, "Fake News" Media cabal!! SAD!!!

President Trump’s campaign swing through New England included a stop at a Maine orchard, where he signed pumpkins and hats for supporters on Sunday afternoon. “That’ll be on eBay tonight,” Trump joked to the crowd at Treworgy Family Orchards in Levant after signing one of the pumpkins.

Never underestimate the government’s ability to be terrible. Let’s see what’s happening in the great state of New Jersey, shall we?

There’s a bumper crop of squirrels in New England, and the frenetic critters are frustrating farmers by chomping their way through apple orchards, pumpkin patches and corn fields. The varmints are fattening themselves for winter while destroying the crops with bite marks. Robert Randall, who has a 60-acre orchard in Standish, Maine, said he’s never seen anything like it. “They’re eating the pumpkins. They’re eating the apples. They’re raising some hell this year. It’s the worst I’ve ever seen,” he said. Evidence of the squirrel population explosion is plain to see along New England’s highways, where the critters are becoming...

Venezuela police scramble to squash pumpkin threat CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - Venezuelan security services scrambled on Monday to tackle a new threat on the streets of Caracas: Halloween-style pumpkins carrying messages of rebellion against President Hugo Chavez. Local media showed heavily armed police and bomb experts surrounding one orange squash with a Halloween face and covered with stickers; others sprouted cables and wires making authorities wary they could be home-made explosives

The scariest thing you will come across this Halloween is a Jack O'Lantern, because they are having a huge effect on climate change. That's the message that has gone up on the Department of Energy's website this week, warning people to be wary of pumpkins on All Hallows Eve. According to the agency, 'millions of pounds of pumpkins have turned from seasonal decorations to trash destined for landfills, adding to more than 254 million tons of municipal solid waste (MSW) produced in the United States every year'. The site says that the waste then decomposes into methane, 'a harmful greenhouse...

How scary are your jack-o'-lanterns? Scarier than you think, according to the Energy Department, which claims the holiday squash is responsible for unleashing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Most of the 1.3 billion pounds of pumpkins produced in the U.S. end up in the trash, says the Energy Department's website, becoming part of the "more than 254 million tons of municipal solid waste (MSW) produced in the United States every year."

This article was originally posted by cnn.com: (CNN)–You can see Donald Trump’s face almost everywhere this campaign season. Here’s proof. Jeanette Paras painted a caricature of the GOP presidential candidate onto a larger-than-life pumpkin. The giant “Trumpkin,” as she calls him, weighs in at 374 pounds and took 10 hours to create.

Canadian officials seized three pumpkins from a passenger's bag at the airport. And boy were they stuffed, they say, with 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds) of cocaine. Border agency officers at the Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport found the pumpkins while searching the luggage of a female traveler, according to a news release.

The Arizona Game and Fish Department is reminding residents to be aware that Halloween pumpkins, as well as fall decorations like gourds or squash, attract wildlife when displayed outdoors. “Javelina, coyotes, deer and even bears eat some of the vegetables that are part of traditional holiday displays,” said Regional Supervisor Raul Vega of Game and Fish in Tucson. “When displayed outdoors, they may attract wildlife to homes, potentially creating conflicts with people.” The department recommends that decorated pumpkins and cornucopias be displayed indoors, on window sills to be seen from outside if desired, and then discarded securely to help prevent...

Contact: Oris Sanjur sanjuro@naos.si.edu 202-786-2094 x8824 Smithsonian Institution Genetic marker tells squash domestication story In the January 8 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI), The Cucurbit Network and the University of Puerto Rico establish mitochondrial DNA analysis as a powerful tool for understanding relationships among flowering plants. A comparison of mtDNA from cultivated squash, pumpkins, gourds and their wild ancestors strongly supports hypotheses based on archeological and ethnobotanical evidence for six, independent domestication events in the New World. Even Oris Sanjur, who conducted the genetic analysis was "surprised by the resolution" ...

MORIARTY — Matthew Schindele and Lauren Medina had a nice romantic date at McCall’s Pumpkin Patch last October to walk through the haunted barn and corn maze. But that date didn’t really end until Tuesday in Torrance County Magistrate Court where the Albuquerque pair, both in their early 20s and University of New Mexico students, were found guilty of shoplifting an item worth $250 or less. The heist? Pumpkins no larger than a volleyball and worth no more than $5. “It’s not the dollar amount we’re talking about,” Magistrate Steve Jones said. “We’re talking about something you took without paying...

My son sent this to me in the email. He asked me if I thought they would let him punch out his ballot the same way. So I checked out the video and it's a guy carving a pumpkin with his pistol.Here is the link to the video Vidoe of How to Carve a Jack-O-Lantern With A Glock Handgun

Pie makers and jack-o'-lantern carvers may want to nab a pumpkin while they can. A cool summer in Minnesota, and much of the Midwest, could result in fewer pumpkins for sale this fall at farmers' markets and retail outlets. "It was too cold of a summer. The heat wasn't there," said John Blonigen, who grew about an acre of pumpkins this year on his 6-acre vegetable farm near Paynesville. He sells to local retail outlets. Instead of the usual four to five pumpkins on a vine, he's seeing two to three. "I don't know if there's going to be enough...

    The 23rd Annual “World Championship of Punkin Chunkin” will be held Friday October 31st through Sunday, November 2nd, in Sussex County, Delaware. This hugely popular event draws 40,000-50,000 spectators each year. They gather to watch 100 or more amazing air cannons, catapults, trebuchets, giant slingshots, and other fantastic devices launch pumpkins into the air. In conjunction with the Punkin Chunkin Championship, there will be cooking contests, and the Charley Daniels Band will perform on the 31st. Proceeds from the annual event go to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, various other charities, and scholarships. We think the timing is perfect–this gives folks...

Armand Michaud was tending his pumpkin patch when he heard something eerie. "I heard like a pfffff, and I looked around, and I thought 'What the heck is that?'" he says. Then he saw a 2-foot crack in one of his giant pumpkins. "I could put my arm right up in it," he says. Michaud had just witnessed a bizarre phenomenon plaguing New England — exploding giant pumpkins. Each year, thousands of pumpkin growers compete to grow the biggest pumpkin the world has ever seen. Just last year, a world record was set by Joe Jutras of Rhode Island. His...

Another way to show your support for John McCain and Sarah Palin. Right-Click on the image, and select "Save Picture As" to download the graphic to your computer. Open the image in your graphics viewer program and print. Next, cut out the black sections with an x-acto knife. Put the resulting template on your pumpkin, and you can trace through the openings with a felt pen to put the pumpkin carving pattern on your pumpkin.

Three Viruses Threaten Watermelon, Squash, Pumpkins, Cucumbers And Now Green BeansCucurbit Leaf Crumple Virus, a major problem of cucumbers, was found in green beans in Florida for the first time. (Credit: USDA) ScienceDaily (Apr. 20, 2008) — Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists in Florida have made recommendations to help growers deal with several whitefly-transmitted viruses that threaten cucurbits and other crops in that state. In recent years, the number of whitefly-transmitted viruses in cucurbit fields, home to crops like cucumbers, squashes, pumpkins, melons and watermelons, has increased to almost epidemic proportions in Florida. Researchers led by plant pathologists Scott Adkins...