Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 75 Entries. Sunday, June 2 View Page All right guys, first time growing anything since my 90lb Big Max back in the early 2000's. After some persuasion from my younger brother, I decided to give it a go again this year. Unfortunately, I wasn't convinced until a week into May and thinking it wouldn't be too big of a deal this season, I ran to Ace Hardware and bought generic Dill AG's (facepalm). Within a few days of browsing BP.com for the first time in a decade, I realized I was absolutely hooked again! The grower diaries were fantastic and terrifically exciting to read through. /Here I am guitar-ing it up a few years ago. Sunday, June 2 View Page Now, realizing I didn't want to be saddled with some unknown seeds, I sent out a plea in the seed exchange under my old username, which was valiantly met by numerous offers. I ended up receiving numerous superb seeds from Mark Clementz (a huge shoutout to Mark for mailing them free of charge and within a day of reading my post! You are my hero and your diary over the years has been immensely enjoyable to follow) and the Orange Maestro himself, Jim Gerhardt (who also ended up paying for return shipping after UPS fudged up my request; another giant thanks and shoutout for an awesome diary!). /My cat Indy...Indiana Jones Sunday, June 2 View Page Unfortunately (as far as growing goes), my yard is surrounded by tall trees. The big question this year was, where can I possibly plant some AG's?! The absolute best spot on my entire property, is an area that receives sun from 12pm until 4pm and then filtered light from 7pm until sunset. That's right, four hours of direct light and that's after pole sawing every branch within reach. Even worse, the ground was previously foundation fill when our basement was excavated and it is literally (sometimes actually literally) concrete. Does growing plants under these conditions constitute cruel and unusual punishment? Sunday, June 2 View Page My brother and I decided our best bet was to excavate a rectangular shape as deep as we could go and refill it with quality soil. We soon found out that about a foot and a half was where we hit a soil/rock concoction from hell that was so hard it sheared off the head of a hammer he was using to pound it lose. /Hard to tell with the very sloped sides, but the rectangle is about 6ftx8.5ft and 1.5ft deep. Sunday, June 2 View Page Most of my extra income goes towards protein supplements/bodybuilding etc. and musical endeavours, so I knew this'd have to be an extremely budget project. With that in mind, I rented a Uhaul pickup truck (not cost efficient, I found out) and hauled back 1 yard each of cedar grove compost and sandy loam soil, mixing it and filling in our cement pit of root death. Turned out, we neeeded a few more yards so we dug up and 1/2" filtered soil from back in the greenbelt portion of our property. Here's my little brother, and the motivator behind this, in school uniform just before we started hauling in the compost/loam mixture. Sunday, June 2 View Page Now let me make something clear, I'd honestly be thrilled with a pumpkin over 200lbs. With standards set that low, I'm hoping to keep my sanity this year :). Ultimately, my brother and I want something that entertains trick-or-treaters. Now, since the generic Dill (or as Smallmouth_Luke would call 'em Ace Hardware XYZ123) had a two week headstart, I decided to give it a spot in the patch. /Dill after germination...soils too wet, ah well. Wednesday, June 12 View Page Here's the lineup a few weeks ago (excluding the Dill AG, which'd already been transplanted). Back left is an old Sam Lovelace seed he'd sent me many years ago. Front left is Mark Clementz's PB 1478.5 '12 (1161 Rodonis x 1723 Marshal!) and front right is a 1248 Stelts 09. The back three plants are Zucchini. Wednesday, June 12 View Page Here's the Dill about a week ago in the patch. It's a little more green than the picture suggests, but certainly not as green as I'd like. Miraculously, I've completely escaped slug damage this year. Wednesday, June 12 View Page Here's a poorly focused closeup of the 1478 Clementz the same day and a superb example of why Sevin shouldn't be sprayed on new growth. Though it wasn't in direct sun during or after the spraying, it still managed to burn a few holes through the leaf...as it grew out, the damage became very apparent. Makes me sad, but it's recovering well. Thursday, June 13 View Page Here's the Dill now. It's doing all right with its exceptionally limited light exposure. As you can see, Sevin did wonders for the leaves :). The newest leaves look fine (if not a little pale), thank goodness. Thursday, June 13 View Page And here's the 1478 Clementz! It's behind due to being started a few weeks later, but is growing great and slowly being layed down. Obvious again here, is a nicely mutilated/burned leaf, seen in a previous photo with the little holes. I foliar feed both plants with Soluble Kelp once weekly/5 days and drench with 20-20-20 once a week as well. Too afraid to hit them with Sevin or Daconil again so I'll wait until they're running and the newest growth can be avoided. I've also got a healthy helping of Joel Holland's Pumpkin Power fertilizer mixed in the soil. Thursday, June 13 View Page Man, that leaf looks rough in the last picture. Anyway, here's my latest dilemma. When I transplanted the Dill, I buried it up to the cots to promote root growth along a slightly lengthy stem...it quickly bulked up and I've realized I'm very late to start laying this thing down. I've boosted the image brightness to show it better. It's currently growing like a flippin' tree! If you have any tips or tricks to getting something like this to lay down, please email me :) Saturday, June 15 View Page Gave the plants their last dose of 20-20-20 (drench...before upping the N since leaves are definitely on the pale side), foliar fed with Kelp, gave them a diluted spray of Sevin, carefully avoiding all new growth *still nervous* and trimmed the kickstand leaf on the Dill. Both the 1478 Clementz and Dill are slowly working their way to the ground, so I'm a happy camper. Also, have a mole problem! Throwing the gauntlet at this thing (cat litter, traps, vibration, etc.) Also, have to give a shoutout to Robin Halbert, the grower mentor with PNWGPG. He's very kindly reached out and answered my many questions, giving great advice and superb insight. Here's my other cat, Henry (as in Henry Jones...). He spends every evening no my windowsill and most nights constantly harassing me. Sunday, June 16 View Page Finally bought and installed some proper silt fencing. The wind has a nasty habit of funneling between my neighbor's house and mine. With both plants being slowly worked towards laying down, wind could be disastrous. Here's my brother in front of the 1478 Clementz (left) and Dill (right). Both look like they're roasted by Sevin, but the rest of the leaves are perfectly healthy and really greening up with the increased fertilization. Sunday, June 16 View Page Here's a slightly closer shot. Talk about urban gardening, eh? The plants are very close together (similar to the back to back planting style), but growing towards the camera. I'll probably do a modified flag pattern for both, unless anything happens to the Dill, in which case I'll make room for the Clementz. I'd rather have a smaller pumpkin from each plant then put all my eggs in one basket. I'll add drip lines as the plants grow...got the setup from www.dripdepot.com - superb customer service, incredibly fast shipping and good prices. Definitely pleased with the experience as a whole and highly recommend 'em. Sunday, June 16 View Page Finally, here's a patch shot looking West towards the setting sun. We've got the stilt fencing out further on this side and have a closer, semi-transparent windbreak to let some lower elevation sun penetrate better. Anything for a few extra minutes! I've honestly lost sleep over the poor sun exposure...and mole; sevin damage, ants, poor genetic Dill plant, pale green leaves, etc. Kind of funny considering I don't have even the slightest weigh-off ambition. Sunday, June 16 View Page Probably not the last time I'll do that :). Here's the picture. Wednesday, June 19 View Page The Dill is making quick progress with Washington's superb weather of late, putting on several inches a day and now about 31" with a large leaf around 18" so far. Better than that, I've just about got it on the ground! From darn near vertical to laying down in a week without any splits, feels pretty good! Shame it's doomed by a lack of genetics. Ah well, I'm having fun anyway. The 1478.5 Clementz is picking up the pace too and will probably lay down within the next five to seven days. Very thankful to have avoided any double or flat vining (knock on wood). Wednesday, June 19 View Page Around the side of our house (and where I grew a 90lb Big Max back in ~'01), we've decided to grow a few Zucchini. Somewhere I read that two Zucchini plants is enough to feed yourself and all your neighbors, so hopefully three means we'll be a bona fide Zucchini haven. The soil is poorly amended, but they seem to be doing fine. Wednesday, June 19 View Page Lastly, I couldn't bring myself to get rid of the 1248 Stelts and after it started to become rootbound, I stuck it in a huge storage tub near the Zucchini. The transplant was rough for this guy, but believe it or not, it's actually looking better than the last few days. Anyway, drilled a bunch of holes in the bottom of the bucket, so here's to ultra-urban pumpkin growing. I'd be thrilled to get anything off this plant and I figure, at the very least, it'll result in a few more available males and a cool cross. Also, can you say, weeds? Saturday, June 22 View Page Here we have the 'takes up room without justification, but not going to pull it anyway' Dill at a cool 3.6ft (43"). The weather turned to crap for a few days and growth slowed noticeably, but with highs near 77F today, things look good to go again! Also, notice the ribbon+stake...one of the leaves grew straight up, like the vine had slowly rotated, so over the last four days, I've been inching it back over. Seems to be working great and the plant is almost level/proper again. Sunday, June 23 View Page And here's a forward view. Both the leaf on top and to the left, measure 18 inches in width. Probably normal (or perhaps below normal?) in the AG world, but nuts to me! I'm just glad this thing is finally on the ground. I legitimately had nightmares every night while it was perilously suspended in air with stakes. If it were a 2009 Wallace or 1725 Harp, I'd probably have actually lost sleep. Foliar sprayed both plants early this morning with Mag. Sulphate and a very weak solution of Daconil. Nearby Big Leaf Maples and some roses are showing Powdery Mildew already. Sunday, June 23 View Page Lastly, here's what I discovered this evening. Yes, that's a female at 3.6ft (prob closer to or over 4' by the time it lays down). I'm assuming this is a generic Dill trait, since most non-obsessed gardeners probably don't have room to pollinate something at ~15ft. Anyway, clearly not a keeper, but definitely has me excited nonetheless! Sunday, June 23 View Page Now, over to the 1478.5 Clementz, the patch king and prodigy of the great Handyhomegrown. It's finally looking better, with the Sevin fried leaf existing below the main canopy. This guy has leaves around 15" so far and a 2ft main that's very easily laying itself down. I think it'll touch down by Wed. at the latest, and then I'll breathe a serious sigh of relief. The holes in the dirt to the bottom left were done about a week ago as I tracked he-who-must-not-be-named's entire tunnel system. Wouldn't poke holes so close to the plant now that it's substantially larger...ish. So far, I'm having a superb time growing these plants and I hope everyone else, serious or amateur, is having a great season. Thursday, June 27 View Page Time for a patch update. Both plants seem to be growing well with the 1478 Clementz really starting to pick up the pace. The Dill has settled in nicely and is just about long enough to start burying the leaf nodes (5ft?). My brother and I have spent the last two days digging up and turning over grass to increase the exposed dirt area around the main patch to about 350 square feet. The soil is essentially garbage, but I wanted to give the plants something to root into as they vine...hopefully some Pumpkin Power ferts. along the vine lengths will give them a boost. Saturday, June 29 View Page Not terribly much to update this evening, but I thought I'd enter a few pictures in for growth progress and future reference. Here's the Dill at about 5' 4" and finally starting to put some growth into secondaries. The female shown in a previous picture actually looks like it'll open up closer to 6ft. Looking at this picture, I just noticed I need to put some new drip tape in. The tub and towel on the left covers the radio on 24/7. No definite mole hills since putting that in, but a few suspect areas that have me on edge. Also, Recently pruned tendril at bottom right. Saturday, June 29 View Page Now to something a bit more dramatic (but not pictured). After a solid week of very carefully adjusting the 1478 Clementz downward (this thing has a super thick, inflexible main vine), it decided to develop a little split on the vine, above a previous leaf node. It's very shallow...no discernible depth at all...but is against the grain, so I'm certainly an unhappy camper. Based on some of the miraculously healing vines I've seen in the grower diaries, I'm not too worried. Anyway, the plant is growing great, has much more vigorous secondary growth and huge leaves. Leaves look greener in person, but I'm still spraying with some N and Mag. Excuse the haphazardly homemade silt fence in the background; was in the process of removing it. Sunday, June 30 View Page The mole lives! GAHAKSjfaskjfasklfjs. No more nice guy. Just ordered several more traps, since I've clearly been unsuccessful in finding his primary tunnel. Honestly, how can this guy think it's safe to dig around alarmingly loud music being blasted into the ground? Wednesday, July 3 View Page Here's the second largest leaf on the 1478 Clementz. Currently at 20" and still growing, it seems. Notice the pale leaves. Not sure why they take a while to green up, but I've foliar fed high nitrogen fertilizers and magnesium sulphate with little change. Must be a lack of N in the actual soil, so I'll have to finish my drip irrigation fertilizer injection idea. Either way, the salad seems to be growing fast, so if it's low N, it mustn't be too crazy low. Wish I'd known about and gotten that soil test done! Wednesday, July 3 View Page Here's the patch from the West looking East. Just past that back silt fence is untouched greenbelt/forest that runs for a few miles. Kind of cool in an otherwise very urban city with 91k residents. The Dill in the background is 7.5ft with a female that should open tomorrow at ~6ft. May actually have my first male open the same day. The closer Clementz is 6ft. Both plants have some scorching (see one of the newest Clementz leaves) from the recent 90+ degree heat, (even after considerable and regular misting) and the Clementz is still slow to put out secondaries with only one really taking off. Luckily, it's on the right side for my flag pattern, heh. Between both plants you have the 24/7 radio and under that somewhere, King Mole the Pumpkin Pooper. I've had dreams about catching that mole over the last three nights. It shall be done! Lastly, I'm pretty happy with them so far, given the 3.5-4hrs of sun, mid-May start and several newbie errors. We'll see how I feel during pollinations in several weeks. Saturday, July 6 View Page Over the last two days, the mole has burrowed up inches away from each of my plant's stumps and seemingly, nowhere else. I wouldn't be surprised if half the plants' root systems have been destroyed. Both plants have slowed noticeably in growth, but it could also be due to the cooler temps and cloudiness. The new traps come in next Tuesday. Going to camp by the patch tonight from 8pm until midnight and then again from 5am until 9am since I haven't seen activity before 8pm or after 9am. Time to find the mosquito net! Tuesday, July 9 View Page Even with several mole traps set, the mole has still evaded capture. I was certain I'd stumbled on a primary runway, too...guess not. I've had my phone alarm set to wake me up at 3am and 5am every night to get outside with a flashlight and check for any activity, but thus far, I haven't been able to see movement. Anyway, to the plants! The Dill is at 10.5ft with some (hard to see) secondaries at 4+ft. and doing well. The 1478 Clementz (closer plant) is at 10ft with one secondary at 5ft and a few others putting on good growth. I'm happy to see the plants show signs of wanting to fill out, that's for sure. Almost to the most exciting part of growing! Got a female on the Dill that should land at 11 or 12ft and will get pollinated for insurance. No sign of females on the Clementz yet, but unsurprising. Wednesday, July 10 View Page Wow, just looked at the picture in my last diary and noticed the irradiated-green leaves, ha! Turns out my Android camera washes out images in bright sunlight. Got another picture today with an ordinary digital camera...the leaves still look pretty haggard :) but hopefully not as Chernobyl'd. Also, noticed the 1478's first female. I want to give my thanks to Mark Clementz for getting in touch with me and suggesting some specific fertilizer application. Appreciate the info Mark! Wednesday, July 10 View Page Now, onto slightly more disturbing news. Over the last few days, I've noticed an odd pale green segment develop on one of the leaves. Today, other areas on the leaf have actually browned and cracked clean through. It kind of looks like Downy Mildew to me, but I have no previous experience with it. I sprayed the leaves with Daconil tonight, so hopefully it doesn't progress. Wednesday, July 10 View Page Here are similar symptoms on a neighboring leaf, and the only other leaf showing the issue. Strangely, the only part of it that'd developed the browning/cracking, was a portion that'd grown underneath a neighboring leaf. If it's spreading it's doing so incredibly slowly. If you've got any info at all, feel free to email me! Thanks. Wednesday, July 10 View Page Shoutout to Handyhomegrown, Robin H. and Mary Jo S. for reaching out to me with fert. suggestions, mole help and other info via email. Using some of the new info, I moved one of the mole traps to a run that I'm positive has seen activity over the last two days. Unfortunately, it also sits just two feet from the stump of the Dill. Not as sad since it's the Dill after all, but each little trowel full of severed roots broke me. I also think it was my cleanest job setting the trap...hair-trigger, perfect plate contact with a mound underneath and very fine soil on top. Only time will tell. Thursday, July 11 View Page HALLE-FLIPPIN'-LUJAH. King Mole is dead. Caught it in the trap set mere feet from the Dill's stump at about 5pm. I love animals (seen those cat pictures?), but this guy had to go; If I'd caught him alive during one of my late night and early morning checks, I'd have set him free about a mile away in the forest. I don't think the picture did it justice, because it was huge for the PNW. Pulling the trap out of the ground, I thought I'd clamped onto a stinkin' log. Anyway, glad that saga's over! Tuesday, July 16 View Page Not much to update on, honestly, With the mole gone, growing has been relatively smooth sailing. The weather has been superb (as long as I mist regularly) and both plants seem to be growing fast. Here's the 1478 Clementz in the foreground at around 13.5ft and the Dill in the background at a little over 14ft, if you include the upward curve :). Tuesday, July 16 View Page First up, is the Dill. It's hard to tell from the picture, but both sides of the plant has secondaries at 6ft-ish. The ones on the left are being curved forward and the ones on the right will grow down a dirt ramp that was made during excavation of the growing area. I've pollinated two on this plant so far; one at 6ft and one at 9ft, but neither took after only receiving pollen from one male each. There's a female that'll end up around 15.5ft, that I'm really hoping will be the final choice. It should open in a week or a little more...and secondaries should have really filled in by then. Tuesday, July 16 View Page And here's the 1478 Clementz. I've got one female at 11ft and one at 13ft...so I'm hoping both will be successful pollinations and the fastest grower will win out (preferably the second). I should be able to pollinate the first in less than a week and then I'll be in the game! Once again, hard to tell, but secondaries are kicking in and the one on the back left (flag pattern, basically) is at 6ft. Honestly, it's miraculous how well this plant is doing after copious mole damage, only 4hrs of sun at best, a very late start and several poor decisions. Sunday, July 21 View Page Here's an update for my records. The Dill is 16ft+ and the Clementz is 15ft+. I pollinated the female pictured (pic is 3 days old) on the 17th at 11ft on the Dill. It's now about the size of a smaller Kiwi. I had seven males open between the two plants, so I just let the bees have free range after making sure two males made direct contact with it. The one I'm hoping to keep on that plant opened the 19th and was also open pollinated in the same manner. I've got my first 1478 female opening tomorrow at 11ft, so the males are on the counter and the flower is tied up...going for a nice controlled pollination to keep that genetic line clean :). Monday, July 22 View Page The Kiwi-sized fruit on the Dill is now around a can of soda. I should probably start circumference measurements soon, since I'm terrible at guestimating size. I pollinated the first flower on the Clementz yesterday morning and have another, in a more preferable location, opening at 15ft tomorrow, woot! You can spot a few slabs of Styrofoam I'm using to shade the pumpkins/female flowers. Here's a deck shot of the patch. The Clementz is following a flag pattern with a few right-side secondaries growing forwards...I'm constantly tilling and fertilizing the previously overturned grass ahead of the vines. The Dill on the right is doing the same with the secondaries growing out of sight and down a hill. Not much plant behind the sets so far, but it's filling out pretty quickly aside from a few secondaries that decided to spontaneously stop growing on the Dill, while others seem to be growing even more quickly. Ah well :). I can't express how nice it is to check on the plant every morning without having to look for new mole damage. Thursday, July 25 View Page All is not quiet on the western front. Over the last few days, I've noticed that many of the 1478's vine tips had a strange white appearance...primarily on the very ends of brand new leaves. The white coloring actually feels like a fine powder and comes off if scraped. Any ideas as to what this is? I'll link this diary entry to a forum post, too. Also, and potentially related, a few secondaries on the 1478 that exhibit the symptoms (they all do, really), seem to have stopped growing or seriously slowed down, while the first secondary on the plant and the main vine don't seem to have slowed at all. In better news, the earliest set on the Dill is at 12" circumference and gained over 2" last night. Definitely small for 7 days and doomed to be a cull anyway, but it's fun to wake up and see the growth. Two possible sets on the 1478, as well. Saturday, July 27 View Page Here's the first Dill set at 10 dap. It was slower than molasses for the first six days, but has put on 2.5" in CC over the last two; currently at 18" circumference, though that's pretty skewed since it's so elongated. Unfortunately, it's in a terrible location, right near the edge of a four inch drop into the main planting area. I may dig out underneath it, if possible. Buried the leaf nodes when I thought it hadn't set since this was an open pollination. Also, notice the big leaf stalk crack...no idea what caused that, but the leaf'll be going soon anyway if another set at 16ft keeps growing. I currently have three pollinated on the 1478, but I'm honestly not sure if they've put on much size over the last day since none are on the ground yet and measurements haven't commenced. I'm honestly kin of worried about the 1478 with the slow secondaries and slow pumpkin growth. The main is growing great and about to reach 19-ish feet, so I may terminate that in the hopes of spurring the plant to put out side-growth. I have two more females on the main that I'll pollinate in the next few days before deciding on main termination. Monday, July 29 View Page Ah man. Terrible things are afoot with the 1478. All secondaries have gone from rapid and vigorous growth to less than an inch a day...the leaves on the newer secondaries are VERY pale (even paler than normal, heh) and the three sets went from good growth to no noticeable growth but still retain a very glossy skin...all of this in the span of a few days. To any experienced growers, what could possibly be going on? I thought it might be over-watering and have held off on watering for the last four days with no signs of droop or extra flagging, which kind of supports it; evidence against this is that the Dill seems undisturbed and continues growing like a weed. Over-fertilizing? Root crowding with the Dill secretly dominating under the soil? What might cause a previously healthy plant to suddenly stall? I've found no soft spots or rot of any kind anywhere along the main, the leaves are quite heat tolerant and haven't flagged much the past four days, there's no aphids/powdery mildew or any other observable plant damage. In other news, the Dill is at 51 OTT on day 12, hahaha. SCORCHING :/. When I decide to start watering again, I'll introduce some high potassium fertilizer. Thursday, August 1 View Page I decided to cull the first Dill set tonight. It gained 10.5 OTT and 3" circumference in the last 24hrs for a final of 66.5 OTT at 14 days. It's my biggest AG to date! HA. Anyway, there was just no amount of fiddling with the vine position and yard drop off that would have made it possible to keep, sadly. Anyway, I cut halfway through the stem tonight and will finish the deed tomorrow night so, hopefully, the next set a few feet further down, doesn't do anything funny. The 1478 continues to grow very slowly with no change in leaves and still, very slow pumpkin growth. Thursday, August 1 View Page Here's the cull off the dill. It still grew 5 OTT last night with a half severed stem for a final of 71 OTT and 29" circumference. Feels like it weighs around 8lbs. Crazy blossom end. The keeper, a few feet down the vine, is at 14" circumference on day 8. Slow but about what the Dill #1 was at, except the Dill #1 didn't have a set before it. Saturday, August 3 View Page Today was full of great surprises. I discovered an area in the patch where a stray cat had decided to repeatedly use as a litter box. It was about two feet away from the Dill's stump, but utterly hidden by the leaf canopy. Just three feet from that, I discovered a new mole hill. I thought 'hey, I'm prepared this time!' but I was wrong. Upon probing, I realized I had no way of knowing when I was punching into the last mole's tunnels or the current mole's. In fact, I couldn't even figure out which run terminated in the new hill. Furthermore, every probe with the stick was met with several sickening snaps and pops as roots were severed. Honestly, I'd be substantially more disheartened by this if both plants were growing like they were two weeks ago, but as it stands, the mole's probably getting more out of that soil than my plants are. In the meantime, I'm really enjoying Dolly's progress on Mark's diary! Monday, August 5 View Page Still very confused as to what's ailing both plants. Now, all the newer leaves on the Dill and Clementz plants display this exact same coloring (note: I boosted the contrast and brightness so it was easy to see). The only reason I'm not thinking it's a virus is because no fruit have shown any visual changes and I've had a few sets grow fine (on the Dill) after the symptoms had been around for over a week. Also, the color disparity doesn't seem to be getting any worse, but the 1478 still has stalled secondaries. Anyway, it looks like textbook Mn/Mg deficiency, right? But would that cause the vines to cease growth? This doesn't look like any kind of salt/fertilizer damage does it(?) because it's been hard getting the fertilizer concentration right in the drip irrigation...been alternating 24-8-16 and 0-52-34. If anyone has any info at all, I'd love to hear from you: [email protected] In better news, the keeper on the Dill grew 3" circ. last night and is on pace to easily pass the previous cull's day 15 numbers. Only problem is, it's on the wrong plant, ha! Friday, August 9 View Page All right, first with the good news: The Dill still has three secondaries and a main that are growing like crazy, so the square footage of the plant goes up everyday. The pumpkin on the Dill, pictured here, 15 DAP, is 72 OTT and 31 CC (still skewed to the larger end of the spectrum due to the shape), which is 1 OTT larger than the last cull on the same day, woot! Can't complain about that, even if it's a dismal 15 DAP compared to everyone else's; it did grow 4" CC in 24hrs ;). I'll get some fabric and sand under it pronto. Lastly, the 1478 pumpkin, which basically completely stalled for the first entire week the plant showed symptoms, has started growing like crazy and is 73 OTT at 18 DAP. I don't know how that's even possible, but it is and I'm incredibly happy something is growing on it. I really hope other growers out there are giving the 1478 Clementz a shot and do it justice! Now the bad news: After a lot of research, the leaf symptoms on my plant look EXACTLY like Fusarium in several older grower diaries and at least one of the tap roots on the 1478's main looks to have rotted. Luckily, I only buried the leaf nodes and after uncovering some, I can't find any rot on either main vine or secondaries. I think, if I'd had any watering system other than drip irrigation, I'd probably have two rotten plants by now. Even worse, I realized the symptoms showed up within two days of me using a brand new bag of potting soil to bury the leaf nodes...gah. Luckily, the symptoms haven't worsened at all, probably because it has only rained once in the last 40+ days, heh. Mole #2 is still alive and well but not using any tunnels I set the trap in. Ah well. Saturday, August 10 View Page For my own entertainment, I took another shot of the Dill pumpkin tonight, 24hrs after the previous entry's photo, and cropped/resized them to the same scale by matching the Mountain Dew can's width to the exact pixel. It gained 3.5" CC and 10 OTT, so I guess that's what that looks like! Hey, just 18 OTT from finally being on the chart! 25lbs, here I come :). Kind of cool how the lighting can so vastly affect the perceived color. Sunday, August 11 View Page Just wanted to get another picture in at day 18 for future reference. Here's the Dill at 40" circumference and 98 OTT...or about 22-25lbs. Unfortunately, and for the first time this year, I gave it a pretty nasty scratch with my pinky nail >.< gah, not happy about that. Normally I'm careful and/or wear gloves, but not this time. Anyway, hoping to hit 40lbs by day 20. That sounds sad, but I'll take it! Also, to note, found a rockin' mole tunnel that's now got a trap set in it. Can't wait to check that tomorrow morning! The Clementz has a set at ~22 feet that's five days old; hoping that'll be the keeper with absolutely perfect vine position. I know it's getting really late, but I'm growing until October 31st, ha. Monday, August 12 View Page Here's the last cull from the 1478, which was growing around 11ft. It was 23 days old and 100 OTT. My brother and sister were so excited to see a pumpkin in August that they decided to carve it, ha. The Dill is at 105 OTT on day 19 and put on 7.5 OTT last night. Looooong way to go. The keeper on the 1478 at 22ft is already way ahead of the cull on the same day, so there's hope yet on this plant! Wednesday, August 14 View Page Sitting at 43-46lbs and 49" circumference on day 21 for the Dill. Still about 3" circumference every 24hrs. That'd be great if it were several times larger. Anyway, I might have planted the plants too close together, in a terrible area with untested soil that clearly lacks nitrogen and various other nutrients, but at least I got sand under my pumpkin, ha. Will this thing make it to 200lbs? I sure hope so. The two potential 1478 sets are chugging along and measurements will start soon. Saturday, August 17 View Page Ah poop, the Dill has slowed and is only putting on 4OTT, 1.75" CC and about 4lbs a day at 56lbs 24 DAP. All of that after a spectacular 83 degree day. I wouldn't be too concerned, but this thing already has deep ribs and looks 60 days old, ha. I shouldn't be surprised since its predecessor might have been a thirty pound pumpkin, but I haven't given up hope yet. It's also got some gnarly looking dill ring going on. Who gets a dill ring before day 25?! Time to pump up the 0-0-50! Even though the 1478 is a much smaller plant with all but one secondary stunted due to Fusarium and/or nutrient deficiency, I have faith it'll grow a bigger pumpkin. Sunday, August 18 View Page All right, here's the Dill on day 25 compared to previous days. Still only gaining 4-4.5 OTT and ~4lbs a day at 61lbs currently. I'll name it when (if) it reaches 100lbs. The pumpkin looks old and the dill ring/indent continues around in a semicircle underneath the pumpkin. It's pretty darn deep on the right side, but no splits, yet. Both plant's main vines have kicked into high gear, so I'm thinking it's time to use only 0-52-34 from now on. God dang mole is still on the run; will reset the trap in a new tunnel if there's no success tomorrow. Wednesday, August 21 View Page Hey, pssst...want to see something funny? How about a split into the cavity on a pumpkin that only weighs 76lbs! Seriously...this is not something I ever expected to confront on such a small specimen. Honestly, I'm really bummed about this. Took out some of the plant's thickest taproots to relieve stem stress a few days ago; wonder why it grew such a goofy dill ring. Definitely should have taken some advice and given the whole patch to the 1478 - learned that tough love early can pay huge dividends at the end of the season. I'm probably going to let it sit on the vine until it goes down. I'll be going on vacation for a week on the 25th, so maybe I'll come back to an excitingly stinky pile of pumpkin soup. Saturday, August 24 View Page Here's the unnamed Dill; made it 31 days before growth stopped due to the split. Extra lame because it'd gained 5, 7 and then 8lbs over the last three days. It ended up at 155.5 OTT or about 89lbs est. I weighed it on a bathroom scale and it came in at 90lbs exactly, so I guess that's 90 UOW DMG '13 Open. Am I doing it right? Ha. Saturday, August 24 View Page The best part is, I tied my Big Max grown in '03 (I think) to the exact pound, so even though my PB is about as low as possible, it stands. Anyway, my brother and I were in for a pretty gnarly surprise when we flipped the pumpkin over. Check that out! It's almost like the entire pumpkin wanted to split in half. Amazingly, there were no soft spots, smell or goop and the inside looked fine. Going on vacation tomorrow for six days, so I'm freaking out about the vine positions on my next Dill and the 1478 Clementz, which is growing crazy fast. The weather's supposed to be mediocre while I'm gone, so hopefully nothing rips itself off the vine. Friday, August 30 View Page Finally got back from the trip to Disneyland today! It was in the mid to upper 90's every afternoon. After only 6 days away, I came back to a legitimate jungle. Whatever caused the 1478 to slow to a crawl a month ago has passed because it's growing insanely fast. Tertiaries everywhere! Did a bunch of pruning and now everything looks decent. Unfortunately, while I was gone, we had some crazy thunderstorms roll through and in the process, quite a few secondaries rolled over and a decent number of leaves were somewhat obliterated. On the other end of the spectrum, both the newer Dill set and the Clementz set are ahead of the 90lb Dill that split on the same day; 28lbs and 22lbs with a side of stem stress. Also, caught the second mole! AH YEAH. I'd set the trap before I left and came back to a rotten rodent stuck in it. That's 2/2 so far. For some reason, the 1478 pumpkin is growing a crazy shape...looks like a spinning top. I'd like to think it'll grow out of that, but I'll take what I can get! Tuesday, September 3 View Page Here's Dill #2 on day 20...41lbs and two pounds ahead of the last Dill on the same day with substantially worse weather during most of its growth. I'm liking the less elongated blossom end and hoping that means no huge splits. Having been home for a few days, I've noticed that the lowered sun elevation means both plants are getting far less direct sunlight...closer to 2hrs than the 4-4.5 I started the season with. Quite a handicap and definitely evidence that I'll need to be incredibly creative next year to find more sun, but there's nothing more I can do this season after felling several trees over 30ft tall. Saturday, September 7 View Page Add this to the list of reasons not to plant anywhere near a tall tree...some thunderstorms over the past few days caused water to pool on the leaves 30+ft up and drop onto leaves near the base of the plant; apparently, the repeated impacts was enough to completely destroy several on the Dill and a few on the 1478. That and I'm having to clear fallen Big Leaf Maple leaves from the plants at least once a day :). Strangely, the tree they're planted under-ish, is the only one in my yard not shading them at all, heh (foliage doesn't begin until higher than the sun's angle of elevation). I'll get pictures of the pumpkins up in two days! The Dill is at 62lbs - 6lbs ahead of the last Dill on the same day - and the 1478, though slower, is still in the 55lb range. Much improved weather is on the way. Monday, September 9 View Page Here's the 1478 on day 30-something...unfortunately, it stopped growing at 50lbs and has the 'white spots of death' around the blossom end. I dug out the sand around it looking for any real rot/soft spots but It still feels solid. I do have a softball on a tertiary that I'll let grow until Halloween, so I'll get somethin' :). Monday, September 9 View Page And here's Dill #2 at 76lbs on day 26...ten pounds ahead of the last Dill on the same day. I dig the shape, personally. In fact, I like everything about this pumpkin since A) it's actually growing (no matter how slowly) and B) the ribs aren't on steroids this time around. It doesn't look like I'll have any split issues like the last, so it's cruise control until Halloween! Also, this plant is completely terminated. Monday, September 9 View Page And lastly for today, here's a slightly distanced shot of the patch. Cool beans. I found it's pretty easy to keep your patch aphid and powdery mildew free when you're only growing two small plants, heh. Friday, September 13 View Page Finally! The Dill pumpkin hit exactly 100lbs in OTT estimation today, day 30. I'm actually pretty darn pleased with it. I said way back, that I'd only name the pumpkins at 100lbs or greater, so from now on, this'll be known as Hyperion, the Greek titan of light. Especially ironic, given that this plant now sees less than 2hrs of sun when it's sunny out. Friday, September 13 View Page And here's another slightly distanced shot of Hyperion. It's only doing 6lbs a day and that's bound to go down with the impending terrible weather, but I'm not too concerned as long as it makes it to Halloween. On the other end of the spectrum, I harvested the 50lb 1478 today...it'd completely rotted through the bottom. Another set on the plant also has these weird soft brown spots, despite continuing to grow. I've scraped out the brown tissue and applied a fungicide, but I'm wondering if this is another symptom of fusarium? Monday, September 23 View Page Well, measurements on 'Hyperion' (I think I'm taking myself too seriously, but oh well) came back at 142lbs today on day 40, so, behind its previous pace and definitely declining in gains...200lbs by Oct. 31 seems unlikely. No pictures of this little giant (hehhh) today due to the pouring rain. We haven't gotten terrifically cold, but it's been pretty miserable out lately. Saturday, September 28 View Page Here's a picture from a few days ago...day 42 for this guy. Growth has gone down the tubes with lows in the 40's and nary a sunbreak. It might just have hit its genetic potential too, since it's a generic seed. It should have been around 146lbs in the picture and 150+lbs today. I get the feeling the plants are going to take a beating over the next few days with the forecast calling for several inches of rain (torrential for September around here) and the potential for a strong wind event Sunday. I guess we'll see how things look Monday :D Sunday, September 29 View Page Ah man, yesterday's weather event brought torrential rain for hours on end (my basement and weight equipment is now sitting in a shallow puddle of water) and gusts to 45mph...which, with deciduous trees full of leaves, was enough for 20k+ power outages and two ravaged pumpkin plants. Tonight, they're calling for the potential for the strongest September wind event in recorded meteorological history for the Seattle area with gusts to 60mph and storm force winds in Puget Sound. I've got to feel bad for all the local growers if the forecast verifies...but at least the season is coming to a close. Personally, I'm torn between a lifelong obsession with severe weather and wanting my flippin' pumpkin to reach 200lbs by Halloween, haha. Ah, who am I kidding; bring on the wind! Friday, October 4 View Page To my disappointment, the windstorm amounted to far less ferocity than originally predicted. Forecast models showed the low center moving inland much further south (and closer) than it ended up. So basically, I didn't get the exciting wind event I'd expected but still got massive plant damage regardless, ha! Anyway, about 10pm that night, gusts to about 45mph ripped through the greenbelt, wreaking havoc on trees that probably would have been unfazed sans their leaves. I sincerely hope other local growers made it out all right. Here's two pictures of the plants...most damage happened to the Dill with probably 3/5ths of the leaf stalks bent and vines rolled. The Clementz lost closer to 2/5ths and doesn't seem to have minded. Friday, October 4 View Page Fortunately, it's not like I have anything huge on the vine, though I think my hope for 200lbs was just dashed against the wall. Since the wind event, this guy's been putting on less than 2lbs a day, haha. Last night, some areas even had an unforecasted frost, too, so things are looking grim. Anyway, it's at 171lbs (81.5" CC 56.5" EE 57" SS, 195" OTT) as of my measurement two days ago. This plant is probably 100 sqft or less pre-wind damage, but now only has leaves in a ~50sqft area. The stump is less than 2" in diameter where it enters the dirt. Wish I'd gotten some fabric under it...just sand now :/ never thought I'd care about a pumpkin pollinated near the end of August. Saturday, November 9 View Page Back to post images for future reference. It'll undoubtedly be the most attention a sub-200lb pumpkin has ever gotten on this blog :). Let's see...the 1478 Clementz had a very late pollination on a tertiary that grew to 106lbs before rotting because I was certain it'd be a pointless venture so close to the end of the year and neglected to protect it. Whoops. It was 20% heavy on a scale, so there's that, ha. Moving on, here's a picture of my brother and the Dill just minutes before we harvested it for Halloween decorations. The plants were looking a tad haggard at this point. Saturday, November 9 View Page So, Halloween had arrived, and it was finally time to see what that generic Dill seed had done for me! It'd nearly completely stopped growing after my early October post and was estimating at 180lbs even. The Clementz had gone 20% heavy...could the Dill?! Alas, no. It went light :). 176lbs, but I couldn't be happier. Anyway, after weighing it, I rolled the thing onto a tarp and dragged it up a gentle, but seemingly endless, incline to my front porch as the centerpiece of our surprisingly legitimate Halloween decorations. That night, we got well in excess of 100 costumed hooligans, many of whom clearly skipped the Puyallup Fair, exclaiming at the gargantuan size of our pumpkin. Surprisingly, the most common question I got was if it was real. I told 'em they could probably take the same seeds, throw them behind their back into a pile of dirt and show up in October to their own 176lber. Here it is with my younger sister in front of the house. Saturday, November 9 View Page Today, I decided it was time to harvest the seeds, just so I had a memento to an entertaining first season growing Atlantic Giants. All the pumpkin innards were fresh and I got several dozen, apparently mature, seeds. I also discovered quite a few of these strange growths inside. I'm not sure if they're symptoms of a virus or simply common inside AG's, but see the bottom picture. I want to congratulate the new world record holders. I'll never forget the first time I saw Mark Clementz's video of Chris Kent's 350.5lb watermelon. That's about it for my first year. I had an astonishingly good time. Thanks BP.com and fellow growers for the forum replies, insight, seeds and platform for sharing my growing pains. Definitely looking forward to next year!