Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 90 Entries. Sunday, January 3 View Page Happy New Year all.... Patch Photo as of the 3rd... Saturday, March 27 View Page 1 of my 2 New Hoops built today....Pressure treated 2x4's being used as the frame with rebar pounded through them with 9' long PVC pipe over the top. 4' x 6' in size. I wanted to make them heavier this year to prevent them blowing around as much as last year....I think the 2x4's will help much better. Friday, April 2 View Page Tilled in the Winter Rye today and got the 2nd hoop built....Now just waiting for neighbor to bring me some plastic for the houses. Wednesday, April 14 View Page Picked up a pickup truck load of manure compost this morning....nice fine aged stuff. Not free this year....but oh well.... Hoping to go get a few more loads in the next couple weeks. Saturday, April 17 View Page Patiently deciding what seeds to grow this season.........? Im starting to decide on saving the 1566 Rodonis for another year and growing 2 local growers seeds this year!! Tuesday, April 20 View Page Burried the heating cables today....I hate laying those things out........ Old TroyBilt running like crap also.....time to rebuild the carb.....NOT good timing. Hoops Will go up Friday or Saturday to start heating the soil. Wednesday, April 21 View Page 2nd load of composted cow manure layed out this morning. Planting sites are finished with the exception of hoops. Troy Bilt carb getting rebuild tonight! Saturday, April 24 View Page All afternoon in the patch today...another load of composted manure also....everything tilled in....hoops up, will start heating the soil tomorrow and start chosen seeds in my basement tomorrow. Sunday, April 25 View Page 6 seeds filed, soaked and planted today..... (3) of my 882's, (2) 1143 Wolf, and (1) ? incase an 1143 doesnt sprout. Wednesday, April 28 View Page less than 72 hours after soaking seeds, 4 of the 6 have broken the surface......both 1143's, 1 of my 882's and 1 other.......2 of my 882's are nowhere to be seen yet. Saturday, May 1 View Page 6 for 6!!!!! 4 of these will see the dirt on Wednesday Tuesday, May 4 View Page I set 2 plants out in each hoop today. Let my season begin! Friday, May 7 View Page Nights are very cold around here lately. Temps in the hoops have been 40's at night. Plants are growing but very slow. Installed some cheap heaters in the hoops this morning on timers to go on around 8pm nightly and off at 7am. Will find out after work tonight how well they work. Friday, May 7 View Page also....cool days today and the next couple days.....hoops closed 24/7 and wind storm coming Saturday....hoops are currently anchored down well....let the games begin! Sunday, May 9 View Page Due to Flaws in my 882 Plants in the South Hoop....I removed 1 of them today due to a double first leaf...here is a side view of her. I brought her back down in the basement and replaced her with a 753.5 schweigert. The other 882 is left in until the Matto seeds are ready in a few days, then i will decide weather to remove that also and replant. Wednesday, May 12 View Page Pulled my other 882 Plant out today.....the pictures are not the best but as you might be able to make out, the 2nd and 3rd leafs were growing together....i just didnt like the look of this.... Wednesday, May 12 View Page another.... Saturday, May 15 View Page Both of the 1143 Wolf Plants......Gotta give Andy a reason to watch my diary this year :) Saturday, May 15 View Page South Hoop....the 882's are gone....lower is 753.5 Schweigert and uppers are 833 and 205 mattos....close to eachother, but will remove 1 soon Saturday, May 15 View Page I planted 2 close rows of corn along the west edge (rear) of patch today.....not for eating as they wont pollinate correctly, but to help with the darn westerly winds throughout the season. Wednesday, May 19 View Page Finally picked up my (2) 40 pound bags of Gypsum yesterday. The 753.5 and 833 plants are starting to pick up the pace now, while both the 1143 plants are growing like weeds! Saturday, May 22 View Page South Hoop - 753.5 lower, 833 upper Saturday, May 22 View Page North Hoop - Both 1143s Tuesday, May 25 View Page Some heat stress going on here this week.....Takeoff on both the 1143's....One is growing the main in great landing position, the other is going opposite of where it should....this may help me make my culling decisions on Saturday. The other hoop is a given to which plant to keep! Thursday, May 27 View Page My Neptunes Fish & Seaweed, Daconil, and Companion arrived yesterday - 2 days after placing my order...Thanks Tom for the Super Fast Shipping. I will definately be ordering again from wwww.extremepumpkinstore.com for future supplies. Friday, May 28 View Page One day before culling, south hoop. Friday, May 28 View Page North Hoop. Saturday, May 29 View Page 753.5 Schweigert Saturday, May 29 View Page 1143 Wolf Saturday, May 29 View Page Overhead Thursday, June 3 View Page Almost time to remove the plastic. Bought more silt fence today, will install it tomorrow. High winds coming saturday. The 753 is a slow grower, while the 1143 is growing like a weed. Sunday, June 6 View Page I was planning on removing plastic on hoops this weekend....but with a Cold, Windy, Rainy, Miserable Sunday here with 35 mph gusts, may need to wait a day or 2 more. I cut holes in the sides of the hoops for side vines to grow through and run. The 753 is picking up the pace now, while the 1143 is the biggest, fastest growing plant I have ever had this early in June. Monday, June 7 View Page Plastic has been removed from the hoops. I kept putting it off due to windy weather but eventually I had to just do it. Silt fence around the plant now for there only protection. Monday, June 7 View Page 753.5 plant, about a 6' main vine. Monday, June 7 View Page 1143 plant, about a 8' main vine. Saturday, June 12 View Page Finally got my Hudson in the Mail Yesterday. I have been wanting one of these for months now. Probably wont use it much til plants get alittle bigger and anchor themselves better. Sunday, June 13 View Page Since I had the wind fence down for an hour to have more room to do some pruning and burrying, I thought I would take an overhead shot.....still waiting for the side vines to start runnnnnnnng......muddy out there today, I probably should'nt be out there, but oh well. Monday, June 14 View Page Here is the 1st female I will pollinate on the 1143 plant. She is sitting 10' out. I started my first "S" curve today a couple feet in front of her. Should be ready sometime next week. I would rather wait for a female 12-14' out but who knows what the future brings, so I will have to keep this one for now just in case. Side vines on this plant are only 4-5' long and are growing ever so slow> not a whole lot of plant behind this one yet. Tuesday, June 15 View Page Well I have encountered something I never imagined was possible....In the last few days I have noticed No growth on any side vines on either of my 2 plants, though the main vines still grow slowly. All the side vine tips seem to have cluttered with males flowers and have stunted. I emailed Pap, and thanks to his quick response, tried removing some of the bunches of male flowers and hoping some tiny 3rd stage growth will grow to make new secondarys. It even seems that the newer secondarys within the last few feet of the main tip are not growing either. Maybe a defiency in my soil.....I havent sprayed the vine tips with anything. I will be doing a soil test here soon....but it looks like my plants are ending early...... Plants look very healthy but what a heartbreaker....time will tell :( Thursday, June 17 View Page Just an update of what is going on here. While the 1st 2-3 sets of secondarys on each plant seem to be stunted....the mains are slowly continuing to grow along with newer secondarys. Maybe things are just too wet and cool around here. I have never had a problem with drainage the last 2 years, but i am guessing I may have a root rott problem going on. I am gonna get creative with my vine training here, maybe some type of spider plants to fill in the empty areas along the center edges of the patch. I wont give up, but without a doubt my worst early season ever......... I should have done it months ago, but am sending out a soil sample tomorrow just to see what i am working with here. Thursday, June 17 View Page 753 plant Thursday, June 17 View Page 1143 plant Friday, June 18 View Page Finally sent out my Soil Sample this morning to A & L Western Labs, something I should have done months ago......shame on me again for procrastinating AGAIN. Things are finally starting to dry out here today, but more rain on the way... Saturday, June 19 View Page 753.5 males cut and inside tonight.......what do you think that means? Sunday, June 20 View Page My first attempt of 2010 this morning. 1143x753.5 10' out Sunday, June 20 View Page More vine tips gone today, this time further out and eaten off........what's next? Sunday, June 20 View Page Here is a picture of an end of a side vine further down the main, the tip is missing, I am guess someone/something was hungry.....noticed 2-3 this morning, and 2-3 more before work tonight...... also still no 3rd stage growth anywhere to be found on either plant.... Sunday, June 20 View Page another......all i can do is laugh on the outside, but I'm heartbroken inside :( Tuesday, June 22 View Page First pollination (5 lober) on the 753 plant this morning, crossed it with the 1143. Only 8' out on main vine but gotta work with what I have here. Each plant has about 3-4 side vines with tips remaining. Goal went from 1000 pounds this year to just something to get to the weighoff, even if it is just 100 pounds on these less then 100 sq. ft. plants !!!!! Tuesday, June 22 View Page 753 Plant, main out about 11' Tuesday, June 22 View Page 1143 plant, main out about 15' Thursday, June 24 View Page 2nd cross on the 1143 plant this morning, about 13.5' out on main. I like the distance out better then her older sister at 10', but distance don't mean much without secondary vines between the 2 fruit...I may have to decide on fastest growth and positioning instead. Friday, June 25 View Page Saw the 1st SVB today on a leaf. Tried to spray her but she got away from me.....Im on the lookout now. Saturday, June 26 View Page Soil Test Results are in.....seems I'm very low on Nitrogen, and even though N is a big No No come pollination time.....I need to do what I got to do. Foliar Fed with Fish/Seaweed last night to try and Green Up my Pail looking leaves.....gonna add some N to soil at very small amounts and hope for No fruit aborts. Monday, June 28 View Page 2nd cross pollination on the 753 plant this morning after a night of heavy rain and storms, About 11' out. Monday, June 28 View Page Another day...........another stupid mistake Wednesday, June 30 View Page Day 10, 1143 fruit, only 10' out. Thursday, July 1 View Page My 23 pound bag of calcium nitrate arrived today. I know this is the worst time to apply nitrogen to plants due to fruit aborts. But in my case, I am going all out today with drenching some come cal.nitrate, more urea and plenty of Neptunes Fish/Seweed. As Andy said "Jack it up"......what have I got to lose? Thursday, July 1 View Page 1143 Snake Plant Thursday, July 1 View Page The 753 plant Sunday, July 4 View Page Rapid Vine growth on the 753 plant last night...maybe all that nitrogen I have drenched in has helped as vines are reaching for the sky........luckily no aborts yet. Hoping for 1 more pollination on each plant at about 18-20' down the mains in the next couple days. Gonna have to try the Ice thing since temps are gonna be in the 90's the next few days. First culling is tomorrow on the 1143 plant. Monday, July 5 View Page (1) cull on each plant today so down to 1 on each plant now. Mains are growing 1' a day now with HOT weather and warm nights and some sencondary vines growing well ok. Mains are out past 20' now with more females opening tomorrow and wednesday. Still not many new 2ndary vines growing from the main after my keeper fruit. Not sure if I have the heart to cull my keepers (2 weeks old now) or see if the ones 18' out take and go with them. Decisions....Decisions....Decisions.... Monday, July 5 View Page I'm trying to keep my Head Up with regards to this terrible growing season......lets see how big I can grow on these small depressing looking plants. Tuesday, July 6 View Page 5th pollination of the season today on this WARM Humid Tuesday. 753 x self - roughly 18' out Wednesday, July 7 View Page 15' and 18' females on the 1143 plant never opened her pedals and softened, so I am down to just my keeper on that plant. The female I Pollinated yesterday on the 753 plant seems to be soft also, so I guess I am down to my keeper on that plant also, as mains are slowing down. Sunday, July 11 View Page 1143 day 21 - 100 sq ft plant Sunday, July 11 View Page 753 fruit looks like she is turning into a Wheel....plenty of well need watering being done today and leaves are showing need for more fish/seaweed tonight. We need a good rain! Thursday, July 15 View Page Noticed tonight after a hot day today that almost every vine left growing including the mains seemed to have yellowish leaves on the ends. I think this is heat burn, as I dont think this could be a disease problem since it happened on all growing vines the same day. And didnt see any signs of SVB entrance. So since I got nothing to lose, i terminated all the 2ndary vines and burried them. Now only the mains are left growing. 2011 cant come soon enough. Saturday, July 17 View Page Regarding the yellow leaves on the growing vine tips....seems like they all have recovered somewhat except for the main on the 1143 plant....leaves look very yellowish and vine tip looks brown/burnt....may terminated and bury it anyday now. This main is probably about 25' long...and as you can see, no secondary vines off the last 12'+ ft. Sunday, July 18 View Page Windy weekend here, some of my 8+' high wind protection corn blew over. Here is the 1143 plant.....this is the worse looking of the 2 plants....this fruit is slowing down very quick. It just refuses to rain around here. Sunday, July 18 View Page 753 Plant....better looking, still growing but I highly doubt these fruit will be around come weighoff time. Wednesday, July 21 View Page Everything is out of whack here. Signs of cantalouping happening already. Guess I know what that means........ Thursday, July 22 View Page 753 plant - Open pollination this morning about 21' out on main vine. Will leave her alone seeing it looks like my chosen fruit is starting to slow down. Thursday, July 22 View Page I planted 2 narrow rows of corn back in Early May for some wind protection on the west side of my garden. It's obvious there was no "Lack Of Nitrogen" in their area... Thursday, July 22 View Page My Jack be Little Pumpkin Plant....Vines growing well here also..My best growing Pumpkin Plant of the season! Monday, July 26 View Page Well I havent had the Heart yet to pull my plants out, but I have been patiently waiting for 1 last disaster to arrive to help. I have noticed most of the secondarys/main leafs after the 753 fruit have been wilting the last couple days....so inspection was done. I left this secondary on near where the fruit is attached to the main. SVB'S I believe!!!!!! I didnt find any borers in this vine yet and Dont think they are in the main.....time will tell...The beginning of fall prep (or should i say summer) could start any day. I am known for doing things "Spur of the moment"!!!!! Monday, July 26 View Page Who said "you can't grow sweet corn with only 2 rows"? Probably the same people you didnt think I could grow an 882 pound pumpkin in my city backyard last year! My wind protection corn was a good idea this year, not for protecting plants but for eating!!!!! Monday, August 2 View Page Here is the 1143 plant....weeds are quickly taking over here. Growth is quickly coming to an end on this one. I will be pullling this plant within the next week. Monday, August 2 View Page The 753. Growing better then the 1143...maybe i can reach 300 pounds on this one. Saturday, August 7 View Page Today starts the end of my season.....pulling the 1143 plant this afternoon. Saturday, August 7 View Page 1143 fruit Noticed a split along bottom side. Unofficial weight = 233 pounds via bathroom scale. She taped 205 Pounds OTT. Thursday, August 12 View Page Stopped and picked up another 200 pounds of chicken manure today. Also, got my first load of Compost from the Town of Amherst Compost Facility today. Thanks to my friend Paul of amherst and Karl Haist here for suggesting their compost. Will get another load tomorrow and hopefully have half the patch planted with buckwheat Saturday or Sunday. Friday, August 13 View Page Planted my buckwheat today. Hope to get somewhat of a decent crop in the next month. Half of patch put to rest until Early October now. Thursday, August 26 View Page 13 days after planting buckwheat. Not as even as I hoped, but it seems to be spreading somewhat. Wednesday, September 8 View Page 25 days after planting, my buckwheat filled in pretty well and has been flowering for a week. Wednesday, September 8 View Page so i chopped it today. Hopefully I can get another crop from it before tilling it in next month. Sunday, September 19 View Page Tilled in my buckwheat today. More compost/manure, but most importantly SOIL TEST in the next couple weeks, then winter rye to put patch to sleep for the winter. Sunday, September 26 View Page Mailed in my 2 soil samples yesterday to A & L Labs. Should be interesting to see what has changed since June. So much work to do by winter....... Friday, October 1 View Page I figured since I have nothing to lift this year, and while currently waiting for my soil results to get back,it's a nice day here to go get more truckloads of compost.....4 yards so far, plenty more to go!!! Sunday, October 10 View Page Today I close my Diary, a year of learning from Mistakes. Here is the only fruit I had left up until yesterday, grown off Pauls 753.5 seed. She was cut up and thrown in my dads backyard. Plenty of seeds in her, but I decided to let them be.