Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 31 Entries. Sunday, February 7 View Page hi all, my first entry, this is my 3rd year of growing giant pumpkins, and so far my best effort yet. the pumpkin in the photo was pollinated 22 dec 09 and this photo was taken 31 jan 2010 and going by the pumpkin measuring chart it was 159kgs and is growing fast. i have started to add more and more fert as i think i wasnt giving it enough before. the seed came from a 900 pounder. with another 7 to 8 weeks to go i am hoping to exceed 900lbs and get the New Zealand record. its alot of fun, and a great learning as well. i will post more photos soon. regards Sunday, February 7 View Page a more real life picture Wednesday, February 10 View Page full view of the pumpkin patch Wednesday, February 10 View Page oh dear.......... the other patch........ was just a back up for seeds. Saturday, February 13 View Page todays weigh in 224kgs. Monday, February 22 View Page measured the pumpkin again today. growth is now slowing down. measurements total 766cm which is around 250kg or 550lb. still have 4 weeks to the weigh off so i dont think i can break the new zealand record this year. Wednesday, March 3 View Page measured again and is at 593lbs or 269kgs. 3 weeks to the competition with the slowing growth its touch and go if i can match or beat the new zealand record....... just hoping that the pumpkin is a few % heavy...... Wednesday, March 3 View Page by the way... new zealand record is 334kgs or 735lbs. Monday, March 8 View Page new update, pumpkin is now at 279kgs, growth has slowed down to the point that i cant achieve the NZ record. but...... it is a very nice pumpkin just the same. have learnt alot and next year will go for the record again with a few changes in my setup. Monday, March 8 View Page and another pic Friday, March 19 View Page another measure today, its reading 810cm which comes to 291 kg or 641 lbs. so close to the record with 12 days to go. it is a very nice round shape so im hoping it will be heavier than the measuring chart says. its just sad that the mildew is really hitting the vine and the shade is reaching the pumpkin at 5pm now....... am losing a lot of light. Tuesday, March 30 View Page show is just around the corner, how am i going to lift it? Tuesday, March 30 View Page the local timber merchant offered to help. thank god for that, took us a while to get it onto a pallet. but its on the way to the show. looking forward to the weigh off. Tuesday, March 30 View Page also got into the local news as well, but the original story has been changed a bit from the print version. at least its a bit of fun. http://www.stuff.co.nz/oddstuff/3527730/Smashing-pumpkin Thursday, April 1 View Page had the pumpkin weighed at the local grain silos on their truck scales. with the pumpkin still on a pallet it came in at 380kgs. so minus the pallet it bets the new zealand record of 334kgs set in 2005. !!!! the pumpkin is now at the auckland easter show waiting for the final weigh offs tomorrow, so far its the biggest one there. one thing i did notice though was the total lack of co-ordination at the event. which is a shame. i think a few of us kiwi growers might set up something next year which might be more entertaining. i'll keep you posted on the office results soon. Tuesday, April 6 View Page as said in the message boards, the weigh in was not the best, but they got it right in the end. mine came in at 330kgs and am stoked with that, as last years one was only 70kg. looking forward to the next season. i never got to meet any of the other growers as we were an hours drive away from the venue, so we dropped it off on the thursday and collected it on the following tuesday, with alsorts of other things to do in between. i will really have to work out a better lifting device for next season also. i did get some photos emailed to me from the show... posted below. the big grey is sitting behind my one, i hope to get a better picture of it,...... i wish i was able to see in real life. anyway, we had lots of fun growing it, and the local community seems to have pumpkin fever, so there might be a few more competitors next season. cheers Tuesday, April 6 View Page my pumpkin with the big grey behind Thursday, April 15 View Page took my pumpkin to the local supermarket to help spread the word about growing AGs for fun and competition. had a huge amount of feedback, it would seem our local district is really going to have a great competion next season. pic attached. those supermarket lights are really cool! Tuesday, November 9 View Page hi all, has been fun watching you northern hemisphere growers with your pumpkins. quite amazed at the sizes. here is my attempt this year. plants went into the ground about 2 weeks ago. here is a photo of the plot area. its a green field that gets pitch forked and composted as the vine grows. my compost is very rich composted horse poo full of worms. im laying it on the turned earth as the vine grows out and water the nutrients into the soil. the compost is also covered with hay. Tuesday, November 9 View Page a bit closer pic Monday, November 15 View Page as the pumpkin grows i go out and fork the ground 1ft deep lay on rotting horse poo then cover with sacking. seems to work Monday, November 15 View Page composted poo full of worms, have noticed when i extend the digging the earth is now full of worms turning the soil and compost right where the roots are. Monday, November 15 View Page all wrapped up again for another week. of the 4 plants, this one is doing the best. 4 plants 4 different growing methods. i will just update this plant with a pic of the others now and then. Wednesday, November 24 View Page first flowers have arrived. this is 3 weeks earlier than last year, must be the new full sun position. Wednesday, November 24 View Page different view. last years pumpkin was in a patch parallel to the turkey in the background, lost like 3 hours sun per day. Wednesday, November 24 View Page main vine heading in the right direction. several side vine are 2 ft long and being trained. i have started to gently cover the main vine with straw and have noticed that tap roots are forming very nice. the earth/compost under the tires and cut up feed bags it creating a very nice humid environment. the worms are all over the place, making worm tea i guess. im also adding thin layers of tree clipping, hay and cut grass, along with the composted horse poo. as yet no artificial fert has been added. i going to buy some seaweed foliar spray but might hold off for a while. every week i add 2 to 3 50kg bags of poo to the ever increasing diameter of the patch. the pitch forking of the ground is getting harder as i break new ground.... due to the ground drying out as we hit summer. will be setting up a timed watering system soon. am using 2 buckets water a day now. Tuesday, December 7 View Page first pumpkin pollinated Tuesday, December 7 View Page looking good, its growing like crazy, need to catch up on the pitch forking but at this stage no roots from the vine is in hard grown yet Tuesday, December 7 View Page got to start training the vine off shoots this week. Tuesday, December 21 View Page all the first pumpkins on all the 4 vines have died, im guessing it was too early for the plants, but, in the last 2 weeks the vines have grown dramatically. im not too worried as the show is in late march so have plenty of time to pollinate a pumpkin Tuesday, December 21 View Page another view