Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 28 Entries. Monday, March 8 View Page Time to start a new diary. The Fall Soil Test Report. OM- 4.3, Phosphorus- 61ppm, K- 113ppm, Mg- 321ppm, Ca- 1964ppm, Na- 124ppm, pH- 7.2. Base %- K 2.2, Mg 20.1, Ca 73.6, Na 4.1 Nitrogen 34ppm, Sulfur 36ppm, Zinc 5.3ppm, Manganese 7ppm Iron 73ppm, Copper 2.5ppm, Boron 1.2ppm, Sol. Salts- .5 C.E.C- 13.3 Monday, March 8 View Page Patch Prep 2010 (Patch was built on top of a leach field) -Septic Tank drained(may have caused the high Na levels) -Drainage pipes installed. -One hothouse built(one to go, plans from J.Jutras from World Class Giant Pumpkins 4) What I have added 4 yds of Sandy loam top soil 2 yds Compost 2 yds Shredded Leaves 19 cu ft or 200lbs of Peatmoss 120 lbs Gypsum 40 lbs Bonemeal 6.5lbs 0-0-50 2 gallons Mollasses Thursday, March 11 View Page Warmer weather has finally arrived, day time temps have been in the 60's and the low tonight will only be about 50. The rain has settled in and the snow has melted away, hopefully for good. Germinated 3 more seeds from last years crop for practice sucessfully. April can't come soon enough. Sunday, March 21 View Page Sunday, March 21 View Page Sunday, March 21 View Page One down, one to go. Sunday, March 21 View Page Last year's pumpkins. Sunday, April 18 View Page Spring Soil Report O.M- 5.5 P1- 66 P2- 136 K- 279 Mg- 357 Ca- 2618 Na- 69 pH- 7.1 C.E.C- 17.1 N- 88ppm S- 266 Zn- 7.6 Mn- 7 Cu- 2.6 B- 1.6 Soluble Salts- .6 Base Saturation K- 4.2 Mg- 17.4 Ca- 76.6 Na- 1.8 Sunday, April 18 View Page Added another Yd of nice black leaf compost to the patch. Hopefully by the end of the week I can get another 4 yards of compost added. I feel I'm in pretty good shape, just clueless when it comes to setting up an irrigation system. Monday, April 19 View Page Monday, April 19 View Page Almost Ready Monday, April 19 View Page Inside the houses. Monday, April 26 View Page Monday, April 26 View Page 4 yds of leaf compost and waiting for a bottle of Soil Logics "Liquid Gypsum" to complete Spring soil prep. Monday, April 26 View Page 1383 Sundstrom and 1116 Traylor have both both rooted in the germination chamber. Hoping to see cots within the next day or two. 2" of rain has the patch a mess, hopefully things will dry out in time for me to get cables buried before transplant. Tuesday, April 27 View Page Brown edge on side of 1116 Traylor cot. Wednesday, April 28 View Page 1116 Traylor and 1383 are up. 1116 has deformed cots, but am still giving it a go for now. 1383 Sundstrom has come out beautifully, innoculated with Rti's pumpkin pro and am amazed, seedling sprouted today and already has roots coming out the bottom end and sides of peat pot. Started a 1449.5 Traylor for back-up to the 1116 and will decide between the two after germination. Sunday, May 2 View Page Seedlings went out to the patch today. Mixed Rti's pumpkin pro, epsoma 4-3-2 organic fertilizer and granular humic acid into the planting hole. Soil drenched with Dramm's drammatic "K" and Lancaster Ag. F-1 liquid fertilizer. Also did a soil drench of Actinovate fungicide. Sprayed some Soil Logic liquid gypsum around the patch to increase calcium levels toward 80% and decrease the base sat. levels of Mg. Heavy rain has the patch to wet to get my last till in, may have to wait until mid-week. Sunday, May 2 View Page It's amazing how much you can learn in a year and at the same time realize how much you don't really know. Last year I had my brand new patch without any ammendments and was growing on straight clay. Seedlings were put out late May, early June and Pollinated mid-late July with barely any plant behind the fruits. Walking into the patch today it really hit me why these top growers put so much emphasis into soil-prep. Without a soil report your completely in the dark, leaving the plants to fend for themselves. With a balanced and rich soil, the plant will (or so I hope) thrive; pulling the nutrients from the soil symbiotically improving both its health and potential. Using mostly/all organic ammendments I have noticed life in the soil increase dramatically, a great sign. I'm hoping for the best this season, but it will inevitably have its ups and downs. Good luck to everyone, I hope the season treats you well and thank you to everyone that has given advice/help in times of need. -David Saturday, May 8 View Page High 40's, Low 50's Today for a high today. Quite a hardening off period for the plants, hopefully the foam coolers, mini green houses and heating cables are enough to keep them warm. Frost warning for the night. Sunday, May 16 View Page Plant nearest in picture is the 1449.5 Traylor that was transplanted to a 1 gallon pot as a backup. Furthest plant in picture is the 1116 Traylor. Some scald on the leaves from taking the styrofoam cooler off before venting. Inside temps of the cold frame were around 90 that morning. Lesson learned. Sunday, May 16 View Page Plant on the south end of the patch is the 1383 Sundstrom. I love this plant so far, except for my own mistake the leaves are very healthy and has a nice stout base. Monday, May 17 View Page High today in the mid 50's, with an 1 1/2 of rain through today and Tuesday. Pressure system has south east Michigan and Northwest Ohio in a funk until Wensday. Wednesday, June 9 View Page Have been spending the day burying and pruning vines. It looks like the tip of the main vine on the 1449.5 Traylor has broken a bit from the storms on Sunday, but overall am very lucky. Six tornados struck around the area the closest only some 5 miles away. Friday, June 25 View Page For Record: 1116 Traylor was pollinated with the 1449.5 Traylor on June 24th. A spray of Talstar was done on June 25th. Drammatic K, Lancaster Ag F-1 and CO2 have been rotated regulalry. 1/4 cup of Symbios Pumpkin Pro buried at each leaf node. A weekly spray of Tom's extreme blend. Captan was put on as a paste on any broken vines that occured near vine. 1116 Traylor is near 425sq ft. 1449.5 near 350sq ft. 1116 main is near 21ft. 1449.5 main is near 18ft. Weather: June 19-23 alternating above and below 90. June 24 near 81, June 25th near 85. Lows between 70 and 64. Monday, June 28 View Page Lost alot of leaves today from another storm system. Its getting old. Rolled vine on 1116 Traylor. Thursday, July 1 View Page 1449.5 Traylor fruit pollinated on June 28th for own records. Wednesday, July 28 View Page Lost 1116 Traylor plant on July 9th, with what was described as phytophtora. Fruit was 40lbs on day 15 and had a real nice shape. I have batteled other issues with the 1449.5 Traylor, but appears to finally have a fruit set. Late pollination of July 15th for the 1449.5, fruit has very high wheel shape. I hope I can get something to a weigh-off. Will post pictures soon of early July damage, this disease literally took the plant out within 8 hours. Stump was jello by the time it was pulled.