Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 82 Entries. Thursday, April 24 View Page I am a bit behind schedule this year. I realize I better get going if I am going to compete with the Wallace, Jutras and Rockwells of this hobby. Hopefully this is the year that I can shed this monkey thats been on my back and finally join the 1000 pound club. I am trying to amend the soil and improve the new patch which we started last year. Rocky advised me to add some maple limbs and stumps last fall. He said it would break down and be fluffy compost by spring. While he was adding molasses, compost and cleaning up the bibibobolater to improve his patch mine has not done much. I am now wondering if he was trying to pull one over on me. Thursday, April 24 View Page Luckily I had bartered with a neighboring farmer last year. They have a corn maze exhibit in the fall and I lent him my 845.5 from last year for a couple of weeks for all to see. The trade off was a delivery of some 5 year old composted manure this year. The new patch is looking better. There may be hope afterall. Sunday, May 4 View Page It has been a tough year with the monkey still on my back. Hopefully this is the year that we can weigh a 4 digit pumpkin. I am getting tired of carting this thing around. Sunday, May 4 View Page I can't believe that Rocky was boasting that he wanted to beat me this year with one of my own seeds. That is just wrong! Thank goodness that plastic seed that I sent him did not germinate. Seeing that post made me realize that I needed to pay extra attention to seed selection this year. When I started going through my thousands of seeds the task has become impossible. There are so many good seeds out there that it has become impossible for me to pick just a few. I came up with a plan. I am going to put the monkey to work. So I asked him to reach into my seed bag and pick one out for me that will have the mojo to defeat the Rock. Sunday, May 4 View Page My mind is made up. No matter which one he pulls out I am going to give it full attention. The monkey shuffled and shuffled until he finally pulled one from the bag. So here it is. Its not a bad seed so I must keep my promise and go with it. Game on Rock. Wednesday, May 7 View Page The new patch is coming around. I amended the soil with some Azomite, Kelp Meal, Gypsum and some Humic Acid. We are lucky to have a Fertrell rep close by and fellow grower Andy Box and myself took a ride to North Slope Farms to pick up some supplies. It was interesting to hear that there are other giant growers who make the trek to the farm. I have finished some hoop houses and have put in 4 unproven but loaded with potential seeds into the unproven but loaded with potential soil. Getting full attention in the new patch will be the 1232 Bailey, the 1235 Daletas, the 1423 Wallace and the 1556 Werner. How can you go wrong with those genetics. Wednesday, May 7 View Page Here is a photos of the 1556 Werner. I loved the shape of that huge pancake. I don't think a personal best will come out of this new soil but who knows. At least I will have strength in numbers to challenge my formidable opponent in Sayre. PS. Shhhhh don't tell Rocky, but the 998 Pukos germinated. Friday, May 9 View Page I would like to introduce the pumpkin growing community to one of our local gardening legends. He is Honesdale's "Howard". To say Howard is an avid gardener is an understatement. This guy is incredible. Each year he has a perfectly manicured garden. He tills his own patch with a machine that he bought over 50 years ago from Sears and Roebuck. He raises vegetables to be given away to the local aging office and delivered over a hundred pounds of rhubarb to the local bakery. Howard told my mom at church that he was thinking about not gardening this year as it was getting to be too much. He asked how my pumpkins were doing and said that the one thing he never grew was a giant pumpkin. I had a couple of spare plants so Howard is now set up and growing strong. I will keep you posted on his progress. And he just may be the oldest pumpkin grower out there. Yes, Howard is an active 94 years young! Here is Howard getting ready to plant one of my 923's. Good Luck Howard!!! Friday, May 9 View Page Howards the man! When my children were only 5 and I had just gotten started in this crazy hobby I was busy telling them all about Howard Dill. They looked at me kind of funny. One day we were sitting behind Howard at church and he leaned back and said "How are the pumpkins doing, Ned". I said hello "Howard" and filled him in on their progress. After we were finished my son Alex whispered to me, Dad is that Howard Dill! I had to smile. Howard dug the holes and filled them in with a little compost he had and I sprinkled in a little Micro stuff. Friday, May 9 View Page Howard watered them in and I assured him that all looked well and he would have a good shot at growing a huge pumpkin. He sort of smiled and said, "they are in the ground now, they are gonna do what they are gonna do". I like that approach. It seems a little more stress free. As Howard told me that this may be his last year gardening as he can't hear out of one ear and he just feels tired in general most of the time. I had to remind him that he was just carrying 2 5 gallon buckets of water, tilled the patch himself and he was doing just fine. As I realized my arthritic hip has been bothering me, along with all of the ailments that go along with a 47 year old, that Howard is exactly twice my age. I think that, "their gonna do what their gonna do" attitude may be the secret to a long life. I think I will try it. Tuesday, May 27 View Page Wish I had something good to report but with all of the cold temperatures that we have been having in Northeastern PA my plants are busy doing a whole lot of nothing. Wednesday, June 11 View Page The weather has finally warmed up and the plants are starting to move in the right direction. I thought I was finally able to post a positive diary entry when mother nature had to throw another cog in the wheel. A fast moving severe storm ripped through our area yesterday afternoon and I was not able to cover the plants in time. I don't remember seeing hail that large before in our area. I would call it grape size with a few closing in on golf ball size status. Needless to say the plants took a hit. My plants are already far behind my Sayre challenger Rocky so it looks like I may be fading faster than "Big Brown". Wednesday, June 11 View Page The plants at the new patch are all in the one to three foot vine status. The 1233 Bailey took the most punishment from the storm as its main vine was snapped. The 1235 Daletas faired better but it looks like this one wants to flat vine on me. I may have to operate down the road to correct the problem. The 1556 Werner had a small lengthwise split on its young stem and is just starting to pick up the pace and is the smallest in the patch. My best prospect here is the 1423 Wallace but the hail caused lots of leaf and stem damages. At least the main is still in one piece. I know this race is not a sprint so I will give Rocky the early lead.... but keep looking over your shoulder, mail man as I have not checked the 998 at the main patch yet. Below is a photo of the damage to the 1423 Wallace. Tuesday, June 17 View Page Round 2 of the hail from hell storm again yesterday. A little league practice kept me from being home to cover the plants. For the second time in a week there is leaf damage. I am falling WAY behind the mailmans impressive plants. Hope you get your slunger Rock! Wednesday, June 25 View Page I saw your post Rocky. The plants are recouperating from the hail but there will be no early July pollinations for me. With 4 plants at my new home site 3 had issues with one main broken from hail, one main removed because of a flat vine and one split stem. The 1423 Wallace may be my best plant but with a main vine currently around the 8 foot mark. At my main patch the 998 Pukos also had some hail damage and is doing ok but needs to put on some size. I am also growing one of my 845.5's but that to has a split stem and only around the 5 foot mark. So Rocky, it looks like you have the early lead. We will have to see if the turtle or the hare is going to cross the finish line first this year. Tuesday, July 1 View Page There are still no pollinations in sight here. The main vine on my best plant at the home site appears to be forming some freakazoid tendancies and will go with the next secondary. The 998 Pukos at my main patch is slow to throw out any secondaries. Jeeeeeeez. I don't mind giving Rocky a head start but this is getting ridiculous!!!! Wednesday, July 9 View Page I took a drive yesterday to check out Andy Box's Dyberry patch to see how things are progressing there. His 964 Wolf plant is looking good. He too is a bit behind on the pollination schedule but the warm weather has turned the Honesdale area plants around a bit. Here is the 964. Wednesday, July 9 View Page I am not sure how many 898 Knauss seeds are left out there but Andy has the last one we have growing well this year. Wednesday, July 9 View Page Being a fellow postal worker Andy also enjoys the friendly competition with our Sayre competitor. Here is Andy setting up his misting system as he salutes and blows Rocky a kiss. Wednesday, July 9 View Page Back at the home front most of my plants are small and although the warm weather has them growing there are no "keeper" pumpkins pollinated. Photo of the 1235 Daletas tells the story. Wednesday, July 9 View Page It has been a strange year with plenty of flat vines, split mains, broken tips and hail damage causing the stunt in growth. Rocky is starting to rub it in by showing off his massive root structure with his fancy fungi/humic acid applications and his off the chart 10 day measurements. We have not given up here in Honesdale Rock. Anyone can grow one big pumpkin but here you will be challenged, I have a pair and won't give up. Monday, July 14 View Page I noticed that my competitor from Sayre chose not to use the "back wing" approach as mentioned in Russ Landry's diary which was documented by the McKie Brothers last season. I had to jump on the opportunity that he left me. It seems like a great way to get some extra roots down before the fruit. Since I am behind schedule this year I have been forced to pull out all of the tricks I can find to try and push the pumpkin to the limits. The photo is the extra vine growth that has been trained off of the first secondary. The stump is about 6 feet to the left of the vine tips. Monday, July 14 View Page A new addition to the home patch this year was the aquisition of a couple of water tanks that were being sold by a local excavating company. The tanks are hooked up to soaker hoses. After a day in the sun to heat the water a pull of the lever allows for the distribution of water and or fertilizer to give them a drench. I doesn't get any easier than that. Monday, July 14 View Page Of my 6 plants there are 2 which are starting to stand out. The warm weather has them moving now. The 1423 Wallace is a beast and now the 998 Pukos is taking aim at Rocky. A perfect 5 lober pollinated on July 12th by the 1235 Daletas looks like it may have taken. I hope so. Its in a great spot at 15 feet with lots of secondaries filling in fast. Monday, July 21 View Page While the plants are looking good my "main" sets are quite small at this stage of the game. I have some earlier sets on secondaries that I will cull in order to have some more roots behind the chosen sets on the main vine. While my Sayre competitor is hitting 20+ pounds per day on his fruit, mine are hitting 2+ pounds per day. I am spotting him a huge early lead. I will be out of town for a few days so hopefully I will return to see some significant growth. Friday, July 25 View Page I returned after a 4 day conference to find lots of trenches in the patch from the heavy rains that we had while I was away. I don't know if I will be able to get that monkey off of my back or not this year. I am going to need something magical to happen to hit the 4 digit mark this year. My monkey friend is trying to help out and even bought me a gift. I hope Rocky likes it. Friday, July 25 View Page It is hard to get excited with the minimal gains from a young pumpkin. I missed the 10 day measurement on this one so I will have to wait for the 20 day to compare the growth rates to others out there. I am not crazy about the thin stem on this one and the blossom seems to be pushing to one side. This is day 13 for a pumpkin on the 1423 Wallace. Thursday, August 7 View Page The weather is turning cooler and has that "back to school time" feel about it. My pumpkins are having only modest weight gains. Of the 4 plants at my new home site only 2 are of average size. I have a large portion of my patch vacant with no vines wanting to roam. The 1423 Wallace will most likely produce the biggest pumpkin here. It appears to be a bit on the low and flat side. It is also sporting a thin stem. It has yet to hit the 30 day mark so I will wait and see how it measures up then. Thursday, August 7 View Page The 1235 Daletas is my oldest pumpkin here. It has a nice shape but looks like a "dill ring" may be in its future. The plant is too small to produce anything respectable but its cross with the 1423 Wallace should make for some nice seeds to try. I dragged Lauren out to be my pumpkin model. She has been doing this for a lot of years now. Thursday, August 7 View Page The home patch is doing ok for its second year. I will need to keep adding the organic material to it to build up the soil. If Honesdale is going to compete with Sayre this year the pumpkin won't be coming from this site. We even are trying our hand at a watermelon this year. I have no clue on how big it should be now but it is young and starting to swell. Sunday, August 10 View Page I found 2 exciting things this weekend. While I was inspecting the plants I discovered a small hole with some shavings coming out of the vine. This one was a foot or so past the pumpkin. I put a small slit in it and dug out my first larvae of the season. I have been a little behind on a the spraying schedule so I guess I deserved it. Then today I took a closer look at a better looking plant and found the same thing only 2 feet on the main BEFORE my best pumpkin!!! I put a slit in it but could find no grub. I sprayed heavy with Talstar and cleaned and coated with Captan. With small plants, hail damage, cracked mains, cool weather and minimal growth you might as well through some svb's into the pot. Hopefully the spray will kill anything that may be hiding. The 30 day mark will be here soon so I will measure then to see how far I am behind the 2008 Rockwell benchmarks. Tuesday, August 12 View Page As the 30 day marks approach on my young pumpkins it is time to confirm what I already know, the cold weather is taking its toll and limiting their growth rates. First up is the 1423 Wallace. The circ. comes in at 95". Far behind any benchmarks out there and most importantly behind the Rockwell 08 charts. It looks like Rockys early lead may be impossible to catch as the forecast is calling for another week of nights in the low 50 degree range. The 998 Pukos and my 845 will hit the 30 day mark on Thursday. Wednesday, August 13 View Page I inspected my 2 best prospects yesterday and discovered potential season breakers in the making. My 845 has a stem split opening which stretches to the edge of the fruit. It is currently small and I plugged it with a Captan paste. As I took a closer look at my 998 Pukos I noticed a weeping slit on the blossom end. I have not liked the indented blossom on this one so I hope it is not the beginning of a split. The cool nights and last weeks rains have not been good. Tomorrow is only day 30 for both of these. I hope Rocky isn't sitting up there poking pins in his pumpkin vodoo doll. Friday, August 15 View Page So sorry to hear about Da Tuna cracking up in Sayre! Hang in there Rocky, that 1502 is still bigger than anything in my Honesdale patch. My 30 day numbers are in and neither pumpkin is on record pace. The good news is they are still alive. The 998 Pukos hit the 30 day mark with a circ. of 99 inches. The good news is the blossom end mini weeping spot is healed and so far so good. My 845 fruit came in at 105 inches. Far below the Rockwell 08 benchmarks. The 845 has developed more splits in that "taint" area. You know that area which is not really the stem and not really the pumpkin. I even got an email from Rocky, yes he is a softy at heart, who relayed some information that his stem split expert, Dr. L. Checkon gave him about allowing the hole to drain properly and drying methods. On its own a second crack developed on the bottom side of the stem. (Which is probably good). I am hoping that they dry and heal and don't extend to much into the fruit. The 845 is a pale white color with saddle bags and a high forehead. The 998 is a bit of a wheel which should be very high and is going to be a nice shade of orange. Pictures tomorrow. Saturday, August 16 View Page Checked on the pumpkins today. They are still hanging in there. The stem splits in the 845 seem to be dry and the pumpkin is putting on inches. I am hoping the splits give up soon. Saturday, August 16 View Page Here is my son Alex posing with the front side of the flat, low and wide 845. Saturday, August 16 View Page Here is the first photo posted of my 998. It is a bit on the wheel shape at the moment but it is young and hopefully will fill in. It was a beautiful 6 lobed female pollinated on July 15th with the 1423 Wallace. It looks like it is going to be a nice orange shade and high. There is a picture of Alex next to my 2001 pumpkin as he held up a sign to document the date,which was used in the "How to grow giant Pumpkin III ", edition. Thats not fair, he was smaller then, it made the pumpkins look bigger. Saturday, August 16 View Page The 998 looks like it is going to be my best chance for a competitive pumpkin this year. Time will tell. Tuesday, August 26 View Page The pumpkins are in the stop again, start again mode as we have had some warm weather but plenty of cool nights. Both of my fruit were late pollinations so if we could just get some steady warm temperatures they still have time to turn into something respectable. Here is a photo of my 845.5 which was grown on the 898 Knauss and I crossed it with the 1174 Wallace. It is showing a lot of the 898 traits as it looks identical to its mother. It is pale with a wide bottom. I was going to call her Rocky but I decided against it. Tuesday, August 26 View Page If the 845 is the beast the 998 is turning into the beauty. It is high and is going to be a deep orange shade. Tuesday, August 26 View Page The 998 is a bit on the narrow side. Its been awhile since I have grown one this shape but it does seem that the high ones may go heavy. Tuesday, August 26 View Page This 998 is looking a lot like its mama as well. Wouldn't it be nice if she weighed 2 pounds heavier than good old mom. Rocky and I would be so excited. They would be celebrating from Sayre to Honesdale. Wednesday, August 27 View Page Took a ride to visit with that Dyberry patch guy and see what he had going on down there. Yikes !! Sayre may have some competition from Honesdale after all. Mailman v Mailman. I can see it now on pay per view. Its a beauty. Wednesday, September 3 View Page It looks like the pumpkins are enjoying the mini heat wave that has hit Northeastern Pennsylvania. Everything is holding together and they are putting on some decent weight gains. The monkey is still hanging around to see if this is the season he can finally get off of my back as we hit our goal of a 1000 pound pumpkin. The 845 is taking the shape of an old VW Beatle. It is somewhere around the 600 pound mark but is still very smooth so hopefully it has something left in her. Wednesday, September 3 View Page Now the 998 Pukos is a different story. Steady weight gains here and still looking an awful lot like her mama. The front side...... Wednesday, September 3 View Page ..... The back side, with the monkey starting to get a little jumpy. The measurements are .... well... more than the 845. Its getting hard to measure by myself. Where is my buddy Rocky when I need him??? You ok Rock??? Monday, September 8 View Page Took a ride to check out the other Honesdale Grower, the Dyberry Patch guy, to see what he has hiding. Seems to have it going on this year. His 898 Knauss was selfed so some good seeds may be available. Its got that lumpy look to it. Monday, September 8 View Page He loves that Rockwell squash seed but females were hard to find this year. I wonder if Rocky had a hard time finding a prom date too ????? Here a little corpse abuse was found on a victim. Monday, September 8 View Page This Dyberry guy has got a good one going. Maybe I won't have the first 1000 pounder to come from Honesdale. I think we both are going to need a strong finish to have any kind of shot at it this year. This is a good looking pumpkin for sure and will be the biggest "slunger" to ever come from this site. Saturday, September 13 View Page Its the home stretch now! This is when the slow growth rates keep you guessing and wondering and dreaming... Will it be a personal best... will they hold together... will good win over evil and Honesdale defeat Sayre in the big game............ only time will tell. The 998 keeps chugging along. Saturday, September 13 View Page Alex poses with our 998. It is a high pumpkin and surely will look good hauling down Route 80 in route to Altoona. My fingers are crossed she holds together. Saturday, September 13 View Page It looks to me like it may be a photo finish in our local contest. That Dyberry patch guy and Rocky VonSandwell have good ones going too. Hope we all get to meet in the same arena. Wednesday, September 17 View Page While my buddy in Sayre chose to do some weeding in the final days to see how many roots he could compact and disturb with his "bull in the China closet approach" while giving himself back spasms, I have decided to take the "opposite" approach of whatever he is dishing up. No weeding for me. Its easy and the green growth is shooting up everywhere. Its tough to sit back and enjoy a cool beverage but the patch is whispering "stay away" so out I am. The patch has been given 3/4 to the 998 Pukos and 1/4 to my 845. The white 845 was finally given some sun today. Its low and wide but a decent size for a very small plant. Wednesday, September 17 View Page There are a few long gourds trying to stretch out. The warmer weather may give me something to take to a weigh off. They too are looking very healthy. Wednesday, September 17 View Page Where oh where is Rocky going to show up for the pumpkin weigh off. No one seems to know. I hope there is no conflict with the twinkie convention that kept him from competing last year. We had one of Rocky's friends down for a visit and even he did not know where the Rock was going. Altoona, Cooperstown, Elmira..... where oh where?? Here is Rocks friend with my mom the Honorable Mayor of Bethany discussing the 998 Pukos. I owe a lot to mom, who was the chief water girl and gives the patch tour to anyone who drives by. Wednesday, September 17 View Page It may not get me a personal best and it may not get me to that 4 digit number but the 998 will be one of the best looking pumpkins that I have grown. It is still chugging along, slowly but surely. Tuesday, September 30 View Page Despite the 2 hour drive in the rain and listening to our friend "Cocky Rocky" gloat all afternoon about his butt ugly squmpkin a great time was had in Cooperstown. That is a first class weighoff and all involve deserve a round of applause. My 845.5 went 4 percent light but I will take 692 lbs. Not bad for a plant that was only a little over 200 sq.ft. I would plant that one again. Rocky was so excited that his fruit went heavy that he cramped up and had to squat. The crowd could here him bellowing that he is closing the gap to me. He was ecstatic that his personal best is now within 172 pounds from me. Way to go Rock!!! Congrats on the 820. Tuesday, September 30 View Page My son had been asking for weeks if he could give the regatta a try. I am glad we did. It was an experience that I am sure we will never forget. We took an extra pumpkin, which weighed in at 11 percent heavy and around 450 pounds that had a perfect shape. She floated like the QE2. We will definately do it again. The town put on quite a festival with plenty of food, yeah we needed that. Here is Alex in the pumpkin boat. Tuesday, September 30 View Page Now what could top off an already great event. Why being baseball fans of course an autographed baseball. For the second time in a row Nolan Ryan was at the field. What a guy. After signing autographs and taking photos on the field for those with field passes, on his way out Nolan took the time for a few last signatures for our gang. He certainly made my 13 year old baseball lovin sons day. Thanks Nolan. Tuesday, September 30 View Page Two days until picking and all is well. There is still quite a bit of green in my patch for this time of year. Tuesday, September 30 View Page The 998 is a beauty. Not sure if Altoona has a "Howard Dill" award or not this year. This one may have a chance if they do. It is a nice orange shade and is the highest pumpkin I ever had. Love those camera angles. Hoping Rocky can somehow get out of his ballet and join us for the weighoff in Altoona. I mean come on Rock... can't they find someone else to be a tree?? Tuesday, September 30 View Page I may have to take that monkey friend of mine to Altoona and if the 998 does not go heavy the fir face will be coming back with me again. The weight gains are barely noticeable this past week... but there was gains! Tuesday, September 30 View Page Meet the 692 Sandercock 2008,(845 Sandercock x 998 Pukos); Here my daughter Lauren poses with our prize. It will be interesting to see which genes will be dominant with that cross. My 998 being high and orange it will be easy to figure it out in the offsprings. Tuesday, September 30 View Page With the debate looming can't believe Sarah took time out to visit the patch. What a thrill for all of us. That "hockey mom" loves pumpkins too. Thursday, October 2 View Page Our trailer overfloweth. I think that is a word if not it should be. With strained backs and an even more strained front end loader our trailer has never looked more jam packed. Its going to be a long ride to Altoona. With mother nature promising a dry weekend, Andy and I having at least one personal best for sure, a pumpkin filled weekend with the Checkons, Hilstosky's, Doc Meisner, Marv Hicks, Lew Joe Yohe and even Burrhead making the trip to check in his "Slunger" all we need now is for the "Rock" to suck it up and join his old PGPGA friends. I hope everyone has a safe trip. See you Saturday. It is sure to be a great day. Friday, October 3 View Page This loading pumpkins is work and getting expensive. Someone is going to need a bigger tractor. Friday, October 3 View Page We have a load going this year. After seeing the 964 not feeling real positive that I will join the half ton club this year with my 998. Might have to sit out another year. Friday, October 3 View Page Its all in the camera angle. This angle is more like it. Friday, October 3 View Page Seems like my monkey friend senses something too. He has that grin about him these days. He found a nice spot for the ride.... I think I will leave him there. Four and a half hours to Altoona on the back of trailer should be good for him. Friday, October 3 View Page Andy and his son Noah with their pride and joy. Seems like our kids think we are a bit nuts for all of the attention we give the pumpkins during the summer but this time of year they love it. The weighoffs are something they look forward to. Of course Cooperstown with the hall of fame and regatta and Altoona with the indoor pool at the hotel and a stop at Knoebles on the way home doesn't hurt either. Lots of lasting memories being formed all because of growing these giants. Monday, October 6 View Page Another season is winding down. We made it safe and sound to Altoona. The trip there actually seemed quite fast this year. As I had thought that Dyberry Patch guy had a heavy pumpkin and garnered the first 1000 pound plus patch to come from the Honesdale gang. Congratulations Andy. That thing was a rock and had a great shape too. Here is Andy with the hardware and his now Box 1067.5 ! Monday, October 6 View Page Andy got plenty of praise at the weighoff and listened closely to PGPGA legend Lew "Joe" Yohe as he gave Drew some tips to even add more density to his fruit. Monday, October 6 View Page It was another good day for the PGPGA with a nice top 5 lineup. Congratulations to Nicole and Dave Hilstosky for going 1 and 2 with a 1265.5 and a 1250. Jim and Dianne Devlin also had some monsters and checked in with a 1175 and a 1144. Monday, October 6 View Page Rocky Rockwells good buddy Matt Fox had a big ole Mater that he weighed in. He was looking around for the Rock but could not see him. Monday, October 6 View Page Speaking of Rocky we new the old softy could not stay away from the competition. I got to admit he almost had us... the disquise was almost perfect. I said almost.. we figured you out Rock. It was nice chatting with you and good luck weighing yours in next week. Monday, October 6 View Page It has been a tough year and deep down I did think my 998 was going to be on the light side but not as light as it went. It is now the 834 Sandercock 08. It looked good in the line up. I guess those pretty orange ones just sometimes go light. I best check my soil to see what is going on. Monday, October 6 View Page Those Hilstosky pumpkins were impressive.. Just may have to try one of those seeds next year. Monday, October 6 View Page Wait a minute this was the year that "I" was supposed to get the 1000 pound pumpkin. If Rocky gets it before me and now Andy has done it I don't know what to expect. I know that I have to spend another year with this monkey hanging around. Good thing we brought some of our "Orchard Tea" with us to Altoona. Even the monkey is getting sick of me but now he likes the cider too! Monday, October 6 View Page What a pain..... leave me alone! Monday, October 6 View Page Just when I thought I would be alright with Andy joining the "half ton" club before me, thinking that it would be better that he got it before the Sayre guy, Andy had to put on his new "half ton club" hat for the ride home and shout out to anyone who passed by staring at the pumpkins that "he is the man". Its going to be a long year. Wednesday, October 29 View Page Here rest the 1067 Box and the 830 Sandercock; Snow is flying early this year. Andy and I harvested the seeds and both had good seed counts. Ok Rocky you can have one! Wednesday, October 29 View Page Final mug shot of Alex and Lauren squeezed in between the 2 biggest to come from the Honesdale gang this year. I guess I will need to come up with some new tricks to hit the 4 digit mark in 09'. The seeds should have some potential. Andy's 1067 had very thick walls and the 964 Wolf crossed with the 898 Knauss should promise to be a good one. My 830 was grown on the 998 Pukos and crossed with the 1423 Wallace so the genetics are there too.