Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 43 Entries. Thursday, May 6 View Page first photos of the year this year. We put our pumpkins in the patch a week ago Monday. They seem to be settled in and we will grow these three and also an emergency plant in another area in yard this year. This is year three so we feel like we SORT OF are starting to get the hang of it and are also giving plenty of room this year. Thanks again for all advice and assistance in last two years. Steve Thursday, May 6 View Page photo two. I think we are right about where we were last year at this time. we get frost right up to may 1 ish so put started our plants indoors then raised them in pots in a protected area this year until last Monday. They are all looking healthy. We dug out holes this year again and then lined with small gauge chicken wire to keep rodents out and are trapping all gophers in vicintity like crazy hahaha. the holes plants are in with high end soil from Hydroponics store mixed with coco this year. Since they have so many tap roots it is impossible to raise completely hydroponically i think but main root area is hydroponically grown - or that is the theory hahaha. This year we're giving them a real cocktail of fertilizers and suppliments and organic hormones. We'll see what these babies can do hahaha. Steve Wednesday, May 19 View Page This is our largest plant right now. its about 5 1/2 feet long and getting first pumpkin. Steve Wednesday, May 19 View Page This one is way too far in but we'll pollenate it for practice. Should be about 7 feet from stump when its flower opens. Steve Wednesday, May 19 View Page This plant is out of a 1350 pound pumpkin. its getting its first pumpkin too. we are just not getting any hot weather though here yet. we're in a desert but this year it just keeps raining hahahahaha. Still we do have five months of growing season ahead of us so i guess we have some time hahaha. steve Wednesday, May 19 View Page Here's its first pumpkin. They're small but they are there hahaha. i figure in about 3 weeks we should have our pumpkins set. Steve Wednesday, May 19 View Page Our third plant is not as big but its getting two pumpkins already. and so close together too. Basically all is good and they are growing well but we need some warm weather. also we had an insane amount of gophers come out of nowhere about two weeks ago. they seemed to be trapped down now though. however this is why we raise ours on chicken wire. keeps the gophers away from anything vital. Steve Wednesday, May 19 View Page Our third plant is not as big but its getting two pumpkins already. and so close together too. Basically all is good and they are growing well but we need some warm weather. also we had an insane amount of gophers come out of nowhere about two weeks ago. they seemed to be trapped down now though. however this is why we raise ours on chicken wire. keeps the gophers away from anything vital. Steve Wednesday, May 19 View Page Our third plant is not as big but its getting two pumpkins already. and so close together too. Basically all is good and they are growing well but we need some warm weather. also we had an insane amount of gophers come out of nowhere about two weeks ago. they seemed to be trapped down now though. however this is why we raise ours on chicken wire. keeps the gophers away from anything vital. Steve Tuesday, May 25 View Page Here is this week's pumpkin updates. I may go to bi-weekly but for now have been too busy lol. I am sure once I have pumpkins on the vines and growing I will go bi-weekly again hahaha. Steve Tuesday, May 25 View Page here is our biggest plant at this point. Our weather is so cold this year though that growth seems way slower than normal. We live in a desert and weather is supposed to be about 90 daily. Instead it is in low sixties and raining. Still they are growing and look healthy. If we get a summer we should do okay lol. Maybe they will just be miniatures this year hahaha. steve Tuesday, May 25 View Page Two pumpkins on one of our vines. They are too close in to keep but it is nice to see them. Actually we have no male flowers at all that are close to opening but female flowers on each of our plants that should be opening in next few days to a week. Our longest plant is about 7 feet long right now but we have no heat right now and they are just not growing as fast as if it were a normal summer. Steve Tuesday, May 25 View Page sorry. here was last photo. Steve Tuesday, May 25 View Page sorry. here was last photo. Steve Monday, June 14 View Page Been a crazy year thus far so have been slow in getting photos on diary. Here is a side view of our three plants this year. Our biggest is almost 18' long by 18'. It has been very cool here this year so last week of warm weather has really helped a lot. They are taking off now but still no real warm weather. We have been lucky to break 80 degrees lately - normally about 95-100. I should be pollinating our first potential keeper tomorrow. Its about 13-14' from stump. Also had to turn up water a bit today too - a good sign lol. Steve Monday, June 14 View Page Here is a second angle of our biggest plant. This our third year of raising giant pumpkins so if you see anything blaringly wrong please let me know lol. No stump rot this year at least hahaha. First year our biggest was about 800. Second year was about 1100. This year we are hoping to break 1250. We are also going to try raising one completely hydroponically just to see it will work. I will post photos if it works hahaha. Tuesday, June 15 View Page Here's our first keeper of the year. It is about 14 feet out from stump and I pollinated this morning with flowers from our 1335 plant. I like the shape on this little beauty. Its our third year so this year I am way more relaxed on the whole process hahaha. I am pretty sure that with three plants and lots of time we'll end up with something decent. Steve Tuesday, June 15 View Page Here is a photo of the inside of flower before I tyed it shut. I can't remember if photo is before or after pollenization hahaha. I feel sort of like a peeping Tom with this photo. It seems almost too up close and personnal hahahaha. Steve Monday, July 5 View Page Here's our biggest. We are finally getting some passably warm days but still nothing over 80 degrees. Usually here this time of year it has been 80-100 every day. This one is starting to take off and should be taping at 50" in circumference around middle and growing about 3 1/2"-4 a day. Got a new secret method for mixing our fertilizers with microryzens. Will tell at end of season but the hydroponics guys told me about it and it makes the "soup" look insane. Thanks for all assistance in past. This year we actually feel like we have some idea of what we are doing hahaha. Steve Monday, July 5 View Page This one we are naming the beach ball. it is only about ten feet out but our dog snapped off main stem right past it. Well actually she half broke the stem and it is still growing but I don't trust it to grow a pumpkin on lol. Still i am hoping it will push some stuff back to pumpkin. This is our smallest plant but starting to do pretty okay now that weather is warming up a bit. The pumpkin has been growing 3" a day last few days and will be up to about 32" in circumference by morning. Feels like I finally have some real pumpkins going lol. Steve Monday, July 5 View Page Rhis last pumpkin is our smallest but it is at 20 feet from stump and starting to take off. We'll see how it compares to the others in a month hahahaha. adios. Steve Sunday, July 11 View Page New photo of The Blob. It broke 100 pounds today and is starting to jam along now. Weather is still much colder than usual for this time of year here. Usually 95-100 but have not had a day over 80 this summer. Steve Monday, July 12 View Page Here is our number two. It is growing well and is sitting about 52" circumference today. Its about 5 days behind our number one. Steve Monday, July 12 View Page Our number three pumpkin - about 27" circumference. It is about 20 feet out from stump. I feel like I waited too long on this one though and should have just kept one closer to stump. Still, its growing about 3 1/2" a day and its plant is huge and looks amazing so maybe it will catch up with others in a month lol. Steve Sunday, July 18 View Page Here's the blob on the 15th. I have photo for today too. seems to be growing about 20 pounds a day now. steve Sunday, July 18 View Page Here's a photo if it today. Hit about 220 pounds this morning. growing about 20 pounds per day now. Plant looks healthy as hell too but vine growth has really slowed. Steve Sunday, July 18 View Page The beachball is looking much more like a bell now hahaha. this photo is a few days ago. it is growing about 15 or so pounds a day now and is about 120 plus pounds now. Steve Sunday, July 18 View Page photo from today. The beachball is really looking like a bell now hahaha. Steve Sunday, July 18 View Page The egg is not really looking much like an egg in this photo hahaha. this is a few days ago too. It is starting to grow fast too and should break 1oo pounds in a few days. Steve Sunday, July 18 View Page The egg today. Maybe a bit more like an egg looking today hahaha. Growing fast. I am hoping it will catch up with other pumpkins as its plant is huge and it is about 20 feet from stump. Steve Sunday, July 25 View Page Here's the egg. It grew over 110 pounds this week. Its 20 feet from stump and starting to crank. Should hit 200 pounds within two days. Its our smallest but I think it will be biggest by end. Beautiful plant and great position on vine and genetics. Steve Sunday, July 25 View Page Here's the egg's stump. Its massive already hahaha. Steve Sunday, July 25 View Page here's the middle pumpkin. its about 220. I don't have much hope for this one as its main vine got broken by the dog just beyond the pumpkin but mended itself - partially. this one is only about 9 feet from stump but couldn't do one further out on this plant. It is gaining about 12 pounds a day though still. steve Sunday, July 25 View Page this is our largest. the blob hahaha. it is about 320 now. it grew about 100 pounds last week. problem is we are getting NO warm weather this summer. it is 80 or less every day and low fifties at night. normally 95-105 in day and high sixties to low seventies at night. no days over low eighties all summer so far. volcanic backlash? global COOLING? HAHAHA. i want to move to where it got warmer hahaha. Steve Monday, July 26 View Page This fellow is living under one of our pumpkins. When i moved my pumpkins out of the garden last year there was a toad living under both of them and there was a small dent in bottom of pumpkin where the toads had lived. Very cool really hahahaha. Steve Thursday, August 5 View Page here is the blob a bit over a week ago. computer problems complicated getting these photos up. it is now about 450 pounds and putting on about 16 pounds a day. slow this year but no heat still. not a day over 90 this summer and almost none over 80. strange weather indeed lol. steve Thursday, August 5 View Page the egg now looks more like an apple on its side hahaha. however it is growing best of the group and is 20 feet out from stump. it is now about 350 but this was from a week or so ago - this photo. slow year this year. this will be our best i am sure but it is about 100 pounds behind top dog and about 2 weeks younger. it is growing about 20 pounds per day. steve Thursday, August 5 View Page here is the beach ball. it is not doing well but is around 300 pounds. many tragidies have befallen it hahaha. however it is still growing and will if nothing else make a great porch pumpkin. however it no longer looks like a beach ball either. starting to wonder if a bee with crook neck squash pollen got into its flower last year hahahaha. steve Monday, August 9 View Page Sorry about delay on photos but it has been a very crazy year at best lol. It is still cold as hell this summer here and still in mid 70s to low 80s every day - normal - 95 to 105. This one has the structure of a beached whale hahahaha. it is just sprawling along with nothing but blobbiness to say about it. it is growing about 17 pounds a day still. in a normal year probably 25 but this year is cold. we had hoped for some really big ones this year but will be lucky to hit 1000 with our two big ones at this slow rate. well there is always next year hahaha. Steve Monday, August 9 View Page This one doesnt' really look like an egg any more but the name has stuck hahaha. It has hit over 400 now and will have to measure tomorrow. It is growing about 20 pounds a day now. in a normal summer probably would have done 30. It is catching up with our biggest one by about an inch a day and has about 1 1/2 weeks to be same size. This one looks like the perfect pumpkin so far. living, loving, fighting, and soaking up rays. a true rock and roll pumpkin hahahaha. well we will see but i think this one will beat the other two easily and be our biggest and best. it is 20 feet from stump and its plant looks amazing. 2 months and one week until contest hahahaha. steve Friday, August 13 View Page The blob as of yesterday. It is just getting blobbier hahahaha. It is measuring about 131 circumfrence and is still growing at its same pace. however it is so cold here this summer it is hard to get them to grow and they have been growing about 30 percent or more slower this year with the lack of heat. Well at least everyone else around here will be having some problems hahaha. Steve Friday, August 13 View Page The "Egg" is hitting stride at about 20 pounds a day. However it has been slow as hell this summer up until now with no heat. The days are about 20 to 30 degrees below normal every day this year. nights are the same. its more like late October here all summer hahaha. This one is measuring 287 ott. big problem today maybe. I just noticed a small 1/2" long x 1/8" wide split near blossom but don't know how deep it is. Is there anything I can or should do on this. I was thinking silicon and antifungul powder - one at a time of course lol. Steve Saturday, August 14 View Page THE EGG HAS CRACKED!!!!! What more could go wrong this year? Weather over 20 degrees cooler than normal daily and now this. Is there anything that can be done to save her. now the crack is about 1 1/4" long x 1/4" wide. I am thinking of filling it with silicon caulking or some thing like this. Anyone have any ideas to save this one? It was finally growing well too at 20 pounds a day. The other two are only 15 and 10 because its so cold. Well we will see what happens. My biggest is about 550 or so with a lot of time to go so i can hope for the best. And of course will try to save the egg if possible. Thanks. Steve