Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 128 Entries. Sunday, January 29 View Page 2012. I hope it throws me less curveballs than 2011 but who the hell knows. I know one thing, i look back at pics like this from last year and i am getting excited for the new season. I have been live trapping squirrels this winter and relocating them to a nice big park 3 miles down the road. I caught one every day for 8 days straight using peanuts. i trapped when weather was warmer so they can get adjusted in their new environment with a little less stress and a better chance at survival. this week is warming up so i will keep going. i have only seen one since in 2 weeks and the ones nesting on my property have all been relocated. the family of red squirrels were the fiestiest and the ones that would go through the patch. too much hard work for the nibbling on the main vines. gonna take a soil sample soon here when this weeks weather defrosts the patch completely. i want to have my ammendments ready to incorporate at the first good window i have this spring cuz last year was very tricky with the wet cold spring and this years pattern looks to throw out moisture now every 4 days or so and may be a repeat on the wet side. i fear diseases and bugs with the mild winter will be tough this year so i will be putting down a good solid dose of rootshield when the soil warms in the spring and i will be getting my greenhouses up earlier this year to get soil cooking sooner to hatch the corn seed maggots and avoid last years start. Here is a toast to 2012 Georgie Boy as I am ready to put a different ending on the 2012 IGPGA weigh off video. You might want to find that extension piece for the belt to fit around my fat belly....lol. i can dream can't i? Tuesday, February 7 View Page not only is there no frost in the ground, there are already an abundant of worms feeding within 4" to 6" below ground surface already. i dug 10 different holes while getting a representative combined sample for testing and was pleased to see a multitude of worms in each and every hole. i was not pleased to see the grubs too. i saw more than a few and while pinching one between my fingers its inards hit me in the forehead.....a direct shot. nasty! lol. it was good to get some soil between the fingers and was pleasantly pleased with the slimy oily slickness that wasn't so easy to wash off the hands. glomalin. sweet glue of life. the cover crop root system is extensive and deep. i will be killing it off soon and may go with a vinegar solution and will read more about it. there are so many roots from the double planting of rye that i will kill it and remove the actual grass before tilling. the dead roots will plenty for early season food for the soon to be warming soil food web. the tilled in rye grass last year was not fully broken down at planting and the small amount of green manure to me is not worth the risk of inviting more corn seed maggots. CSMs love that stuff in that stage and then go right for the sprouts when they smell their chemical scent that they have been progammed to react to for millions of years. it will be interesting to see what my soil sample shows as i have not had it tested in 5 years. Tuesday, February 14 View Page this is picture is for the Boz. last week my wednesday started off with Bobby's Tap afternoon pumpkin growers get together and partied it up with my boys Georgie Boy Janowiak, Greg Sliwka, Jerry Bandura, Billy "the Bear" McKeon and our MCee FlanMan, Danny Flanagan. that went from 1-4. then dart action until 7 when the hockey bubble game tournament started. We played that old Chicago Blackhawks slide and spin style table top hockey game so much as kids that i had the advantage. pass to the middle guy, slow it up and get good position on the puck. and then jam it left or right and make the goal guess and go the wrong way. can you say Domination? so at 9:30 an undefeated Shaz was presented this Labatt's Blue jersey and i tried to look magnanimous in this picture...lol.....it didn't work. looks like i am taking a dump, or maybe with the hand on my belly i was in labor. lol. damn fun day and night to kill a winter's day. Tuesday, February 14 View Page nice grammar on that last post. geez. make the goalie guess the wrong way it was supposed to say. doh! dusted off some mantle pieces with some of my wood carvings from long ago. the dog was carved by my Grandpa Shenoha when he was a kid. next to that is a carving based on an ancient Olmec statue i saw. it resembles a man holding a baby, but actually is man holding a smaller man which signifies God holding mankind. i put on a hard shiney stained black finish on it to make it look like polished stone. the dung beetle on the dung ball is an original idea after watching a discovery show on the dung beetle. i figured this damn nug is following around eating elephant crap and rolling it into baby chambers and loving it. no complaining from the critter so i carved it to take what i get in life and like it. better than eating elephant crap. lol. and the old man buddha carving was one of my firsts from over 20 years ago. it signifies endurance. just keep moving... and smile when you can. the Kenny Powers bobble head on the end has a voice recording in it and inspires me to be the jackass that i am. i can't wait for season 3 starting this sunday...damn funny blue comedy raunchy show. Tuesday, February 14 View Page rush rush rush..i will never learn. again nice grammar check. that was supposed to be "bug" not "nug" in the last post. dummy shaz. and here ya go BozMan, this is my latest carving i have been working on the last 2 weeks. it will eventually be the world, looking like a globe with continents carved on to it being supported by the fingertips of one hand. double meaning for this one. we have the whole world at our fingetips is one meaning, and the other meaning is just when you think you have the whole world at your fingertips, remember, it ain't your world. "HE" has the whole world in his hands an i ain't even a grain of sawdust. from this point on comes the detail work, tedious and i have to be in the right mindset or can literally whittle myself away to nothing. as i dusted off they mantle pieces, i was proud to think of the creative Shenoha spirit. the carving next to my unfinished one is an old man Bohemian man with pointed hat with beard and mustach. it is a carving my Great Grandpa Shenoha made in Bohemia before coming to America. it is a hard wood carving that is an actual walnut cracker with a hinge holding 2 carved pieces together. if you tilt the head back and you can see the whole inside of mouth and teeth too that is concave and the size for a walnut to sit on and then push the head down and smash. pretty damn cool. he also was a diamond carver and jeweler and my mom wears a crazy cool platinum and diamond ring he made back at the turn of the 20th century. my favorite wood carving of his was made on a peach pit. one side is a regular peach pit. the other side is detail you would not believe of angels and flowers worked onto the surface of the pit utilizing the pit's small holes into the composition. that is crazy creative and he was a bit mad. eccentric. glad i did not get those genes. lol. Sunday, April 1 View Page Spring update. a soil test was taken from a sample in late february and all is good but a little low on the nitrogen. cold soil at the time of sampling and my winter rye cover crop tilled in and completely decomposed arlready should help that out. gonna water in some liquid gypsum and natures magic (humic acid, kelp, molasses combo)and that should do it. biologicals will come later when soil warms after a cold spell approaching right around the corner. the patch has been tilled extra deep and broadforked and has been sitting for over 3 weeks now as the cover crop decomposes. the warm weather is already sprouting me a second cover crop of weeds. i will hoe them from here out after setting up walking boards as it is time to stay off the soil except for watering in my last 2 above mentioned additions. been a record setting warm march and this has given me plenty of time to get everything ready right before i went on 11 hour days 2 weeks ago. felt good to get the greenhouses up and i did this yesterday while the soil was getting bone dry to avoid compaction and last night we had a good soaking rainstorm. looking forward to battling mother nature all over again. she taught me a lot last year. i have since rabbit and ground hog proofed the patch unless they dig under the new fence. i have trapped and released over 15 squirrels and none are nesting near my house. hoping the crazy warm winter with frostless ground doesnt carry over and start the spring with aphids. never had them until last fall. i will get some traps set up before planting time and monitor. feels good to get things rolling. Sunday, April 1 View Page started my tomatoes today and am also trying to sprout some ghost peppers. the seeds for both were taken out of last years crop. the tomato line up this year is the 2.94 Shenoha 2011 and 2.93 Theobold 2011 (that was a close weigh off lol.) these both were grown last year off the 4.04 Johnston/Butler seeds (5.58 Timm x self). the 2.70 Shenoha 2011 seeds started were grown off the 4.25 Lyons (5.0 Timm x self). also started were the 2.44 shenoha 2011 and the 2.32 Bornman 2011 grown off the 5.35 Lyons (3.9 Catapano x self). again i started all of them for the Joliet Giant Tomato Growing Contest we run out of Bobby's Tap and weigh at Mitchell's meat market. it is $5 bucks to enter pre-season as a bet and winner takes all. Everyone near the area is welcome to compete. I may have a few extra plants when all is said and done after the tomato draft held at Bobbys around the second week of May. I will have all the plants lined up in flats and 15 guys and ladies will choose one at a time with each taking total 2 or 3 and a couple of guys will get 6 of them. it is catching on here in Joliet and the tomatoes are great fun to compete against friends who do not have room to grow AGs. Our Joliet Tomato Growers Club motto is, "You Have to Grow Somethin' to Know Somethin'" guess who came up with that cheesy slogan. lol. Friday, April 20 View Page go time! the line up changed as it usually does. hopefully if all sprout and are healthy i will be going with the 1647 Wallace, the 1723 Marshall, and the 1303 sweet. others started today are the 1789 Wallace and the 1560 Urena and another 1647. if one or more of the top 3 do not sprout or are mutants or unhealthy than the others will move in or be kept as backups incase corn seed maggots are a problem again. the ones left over in the end will go to local growers to try. also started were eight 1135 Sliwka seeds as promised to my buddy Greg. the best 3 go side by side to my top 3 as in ground back ups. Greg is rooting for tragedy to take down one of the big dogs so his plants win the spot and get a chance to get proven more. lol. the 1135 came from a 985 Werner seed that i gave Greg after vandals wrecked his sprouts one year. it then grew him a personal best of 1135 in a community garden with hand watering only and tons of disease pressure. it has the magic in my eyes and maybe some karma too. and it is crossed with one of the illinois all time best seeds, the 1119 McMullen. if one or possibly more 1135s win the spot down the road, i have full faith that it can compete with the other big dogs for patch supremecy. exciting time of the year for sure. Saturday, April 21 View Page as the tomatoes were in the solarium getting some true sun and the pumpkin seeds were downstairs cooking i had the time to get the planting spots ready for transplant hopefully next weekend if all goes well. 55 degrees outside today and so hot inside the greenhouses that i was sweating my ass off. since they have been zipped up tight for over 3 weeks now, the soil was getting dry and today i watered in some natures magic (kelp, humic acid and molasses combo) along with some biologicals with azos, thrive, and actinovate. root shield was put down a week ago just inside the greenhouses. the soil is warm enough for them micro critters inside the greenhouses as i can tell by the multitude of hatched corn seed maggot flies bouncing on the roofs of the greenhouses. 3 days before transplant i will mix in both systemic granular merit, some diatomaceous earth, and a product called "Eight" by Bonide which is a pellet style insecticide labeled for seed maggots and cutworms with the chemical bifenthrin. after transplant i will put up the corn seed maggot barriers around the sprouts and water in warrior 8 to 10 inches away from the plants but in a circle completely around it. the final ring of death. the object is to kill any that havent hatched with the granular in the planting spots and the barriers and warrior for those migrators. worked last year after the initial disaster losing all but one sprout. seeing how many have hatched and how warm a spring it has been i feel better, but do not want to chance the in between cycles as they will run 3 or 4 cycles with this warm spring. also got extension cords running to the greenhouses for the space heaters and the misting system and timer were brought out too and set up. Chicago weather makes you prepare for heaters at night and misters sometimes in the greenhouses in the same day. time for a cold one. Tuesday, April 24 View Page and the season is officially on the way. all 15 are up. the 1303 sweet was the first one completely out of the ground at 3 days and i helped remove the seed coat last night. this morning i helped out a bunch more and tonight after work the remaining coats are all off now and greening up under the flourescent. two of the 1135 got hung up while pushing dirt. you can see the one in front and another behind it not visiable as i just removed the coat and it is barely showing above ground level and blocked by the one marker. by hung up i mean as they were pushing dirt upwards they turned sidways and then then completely bent upside down and the split open shells were now digging into the dirt upwards and impeding the upward growth and the removal of the coat process. after 120 something plants started over the past 2 years, i learned the best way to handle these is to dig out surrounding seed starter mix completely around the bent seed coated cots. then carelly get your finger nails under the split coat bases and carefully pull open and remove. this will prevent them rotting tips of cots during this hung up process and get them straightened out and greening up to stay up with the rest of them. the more coats you help remove, the better you get at it. careful is the key word. and if there is onion skin holding the white cot tips or if the cut tips are stuck together and will not open on there own then careflly work a razor blade or finger nail along the stuck together cots and carefully pry the top of the leaves open and when the seal is released you should see them separtate all the way down on the sides. if not use the razor or fingernail down both sides. if you help remove a seed coat shell too early than this situation is bound to happen to you eventually. i like to see the cots separtated with the coats still on before helping them off. best of luck to all in 2012 and let these silliest of games begin!!!! Tuesday, May 15 View Page this is a test to see if smartphone and firefox works on my android. my old computer is down. this pic is from a week or so ago. Tuesday, May 15 View Page hooray...the firefox app lets me enter grower diaries from my smart phone. my old computer is down. patch update. the 1303 and 1723 won the prime spots in the shazzydome. both have mains laid completely down as of yesterday. the upcoming pic i just posted is from over a week ago. in the pic the 1723 is left center and the 1303 is right center each running opposite ways. the 1135s in the pics were beauties too but got the ax.the backup 1135 sliwka next to the 1647 would have won the spot on vigo but the back of stem base blew wide open and split on a day that might have been too windy with vents wide open. the 1647 will be down by tomorrow hopefully and is a little behind the other 2. this is because the small greenhouse is not as efficient at retaining heat as the dome. space heaters at night when 40s and misting system in day time when high 70s or 80 plus like today. all tomatoes have been distributed via the annual Bobbys Tap Tomato Draft. Wednesday, May 16 View Page 1723 to the left running one way, the 1303 on the right running the other. was 87 degrees here yesterday after dropping to 40 the night before. heaters at night, misting system and shade cloth on days like yesterday when i took this pic last night. Wednesday, May 16 View Page and the 1647 is now down too Saturday, May 19 View Page gonna be a hot low humidity cooker today. added now shade cloth and mister heads to be ready. Saturday, May 19 View Page 1303 kicking secondaries now. this pic is Saturday morning while checking misting coverage. Saturday, May 19 View Page 1303 kicking secondaries now. this pic is Saturday morning while checking misting coverage. Saturday, May 19 View Page 1723 is gathering steam and flexing early muscle. Saturday, May 19 View Page 1647 in the smaller greenhouse starting to run now the vine is down. Saturday, May 19 View Page tomatoes are in. with small root systems from recent transplant and high reflective sun and heat off the new fence I will shade them with tables ready to go in the hottest part of the day this steamy 90 degree spring weekend. Saturday, May 19 View Page and the long neck speckled swan gourds are showing first true leaves and are battling it out for fence supmremecy. I have friends making bird houses and bird feeders with staining and air brushing. very cool gourds that are easy to grow in this fashion hanging off a fence to make nice round based hanging birdhouses. Friday, May 25 View Page yesterdays set up to combat 25 to 35 sustained winds and 90 degree 27% humidity high uv cloudless day with gusts up to 45 mph. 42" silt fence with 6' spacing of solid stakes, aluminet shade cloth at 30%, and plenty of misting. plants held up better than i thought they would as the dome was only down 3 days and expected some bent stalks with plants still getting use to more direct wind. the small greenhouse is coming down saturday and the same set up will be up for sunday and mondays inferno. Friday, May 25 View Page 1303 sweet in front running towards me, 1723 marshall running away. 1303 kicking nice secondaries early. 1723 first secondary came off the top center of vine almost like a second main or rear main. it got whacked early as this can lead to problems on the stump in my past experience. the next one on that side is a stubby not kicking in so all on the side will be angle trained back to fill space. otherside secondaries and rest on both sides kicking nice now. Friday, May 25 View Page trust me, there is a 1647 with about a 4 to 5 foot main in there....lol....hard to see but this shows the set up inside the small greenhouse. the shade cloth was pulled low to keep angled sun and open greenhouse door from frying the tip when the sun got to that angle between 2 and 5 pm. the greenhouse will be down saturday. Friday, May 25 View Page here is a better view of the wind and sun protection set up. Sunday, May 27 View Page you know it is gonna be a cooker when you can't walk on your walking boards barefoot at 10:30 a.m......wow. if the walking boards are that hot then so is the fence. so up went some shade cloth with some rebar and wire. 15 minuteslater and the tomatoes will be a lot better with fence cooled, surrounding soil cooled and lastly the plants as well. Sunday, May 27 View Page and the patch is all set for this memorial day weekend record setting heat. expanded the silt fences to have black color further away from plants. added more mister heads to cover plants and all surrounding soil within silt fence areas. stretched and allowed more silt fence coverage to shade surrounding soil besides plants also. and misting heavily in small intervals more frequently. time for a cold one....or till they run out....and the fridge is full....lol. Monday, May 28 View Page 1303 sweet pic yesterday. Main grew a foot yesterday and has first female at 8.5 feet. It will get pinched. Cooler temps on the horizon which will help good female development in the cluster. This plant has so far been amazing to watch grow. I hope I can do it justice. Monday, May 28 View Page 1723 Marshall today. nice spacing on this plant. she has lots of strength in the main and has a tendency to go up as she grows. so far so good in the extreme heat and today higher winds. I will wait on weeding till after heat spell and will add myc to soil under secondary junctions and then pack soil on all 4 sides of junction for stabilization and bottom tap anchorage. too much misting to covering vines at any point completely. I hope also to do this plant justice....it has"it" as jack kerouac would say. Monday, May 28 View Page first svb caught in trap today....no sense spraying tonight as there is a straight line severe storm building on the I 80 corridor and will be here in an hour or so.....hopefully losing strength instead of gathering. I added center rebar supports on shade cloths to prevent downdrafts or small hail from pushing it onto plants. hard hat ready with broom to lift and shake of bigger hail....depending on lightening that is....love it. silt fence pounded secure, all connections on shade cloth tightened. time for the new fence to help me out.....hopefully. Tuesday, May 29 View Page storms intensity broke apart before arrival and the entire patch got what it desperately needed....a good soaking rain. shade cloth comes off tonight acnd the spray program and battle of the bugs begins. i will wait until after a couple cool days and begin a drench program. with all the high heat and misting there was no sense giving them any more energy than needed. gonna start with a fish, seaweed, and humic acid combo drench around plant bases to get them strong for female develolpment. in a week i will drench with 3-18-18 in a half dose to get some female persuasion going for pollination in 2 weeks. Friday, June 1 View Page Time to record some things for the future. Started my drench program as temps cooled considerably and we had good soaking rain yesterday so the cocktail should be absorbed nicely. The plants were running so fast in the heat and misting so it is actually nice to see them catching a breath and catching up in vine girth. I can tell by my morning and evening bamboo adjustments that the power and root system is catching up and not as easy to keep the tips growing nice and horizontal in the heat. More rigid with power and cooler temps means careful careful careful. Surgeons touch....and sometimes I ain't got that. Lol. So I make sure everything is right. No tendril feet messin with me and no grabbers on bamboo, remove a little dirt under previous junction if needed. And then do the wiggle. By this I mean remove all bamboo. Grab the union behind the tip gently. Hold it up a bit and wiggle tip and that union. A very delicate jiggle. Just making sure it has flex. Jiggle slightly a little more. You will feel a slight ease and slack. But cradle in place. Easy tip down to cradle. And cradle above. Friday, June 1 View Page also sprayed demand cs in half dose mixed with some 3 18 18 half dose and fulvic half dose. sprayed carefully on stumps, mains and secondary vines and leaf stalks that were more mature. got no where near and main or secondary tips. hit underside of mature leaves and a very light wafting on the mature tops side of leaves. preventative to start as i have only had one svb in the traps so far and no cukes or squash bugs. drench consisted of 2 gallons in a 5 foot radius around stumps. drench was humic, seaweed, fish, and 3 18 18 cocktail. recent nice soaking rains yesterday will help disperse this below soil level and be absorbed with some rain water still in soil. nice cool evening to do it. got a female at 9.5' on 1723 and none in visable cluster without digging deep. seeing dale's gap in females and how the 1725 got many last year the same way, it will get pollinated way sooner than normal if it developes completely as insurance. the 1303 has one at 9 and looks to throw one about 11 to 12 in the near future. 1647s main is 8.5' and gathering steam. Saturday, June 2 View Page last of the pumpkin sprouts going out today.the germination factory is shut down. 73 started....73 sprouted....10 to 12 culled due to poor growth with later investigation proved club roots. some also mutants...a couple doubles and extreme leggy shooters. got some newbies hooked and friends and fellow growers hooked up and hoping they get one to scale. its funny how excited they get when they get them. more than a few called back with chipmunks eating them on porches or getting fried in the heat. so this batch is it....been anorher successful year and brings me much joy when I hand them off. Sunday, June 3 View Page 1647 in the early morning sun. second secondary on left side was stunted stubby and never got going and got whacked. the next one is being angled back to fill gap. this girl didn't have the retained heat as much as the other 2. this is fine as one with a later set than the others will help me cover more bases. Sunday, June 3 View Page 1723 this morning. Sunday, June 3 View Page Sweet!!!.....as in 1303 Sweet Sunday, June 3 View Page ladder shot of 2 side by side plants planted at most 4 feet apart and the mains angled back to center. anything to get a little more room. with my first drench application of any fertilzers so far coming the other night, i dont think these 2 are starving for nutrients competing so close together. with an afternoon high uv day after cloudy and cool the past 3 days, the misting system is in use today. had one leaf near a walking board go limp on me at 11 am. removed that board and followed the plants signals. this is the 1303 coming at me, and 1723 running away. Monday, June 4 View Page took a vacation day as things were a little slow at work today. adjusted early morning bamboo, did some weeding then took a nap. woke back up from a cloudy cool drizzle to a intense high uv day with little to no northeast breeze and low humidity. in my fenced in hard this equals some of the hardest days on plants coming off an extended cloudy period. yesterday was hot and sunny, but the back of my neck this whole after noon feels the intensity of the clear high uv sky. only 74 degrees but i watered the plants with misting system a complete hour after seeing 2 individual leaves of the 1303 flagging at 11. the 1303 is the only one flagging like this late morning and have to believe it is growing so fast that the roots are having a hard time keeping up. this pic is my set up showing both main vine tip coverage with small tables and bamboo cradles at accute angles to the ground and also the female at 9.5' on the 1723 being shaded for insurance and to prevent from heating up too much as still nothing in the cluster visable without going too deep. Monday, June 4 View Page and for you Cub fans out there, how about them Whitesox!!! and what the hell is the enemy doing in my old bed room converted into my Dad's trophy and autograph room with Mama Shaz? He signed this bottle of Ernie Banks' wine after my eating some of Mama Shaz and Papa Shazzy's ribs and homemade potato salad and corn on the cob. Ernie is a character and in the weirdest of ways ended up being one of my Dads best fraiends in their old age. My old man has over 300 books on golf and i have watched him shoot even par many times.... and he has actusally broke par on a handful of occasions in his life. he is 71 and hopes to shoot his age this year. and i wonder where i got it from. i have little patience for the game but glad to see it keeping him active as they get up there in the future. so anyways, i am glad to see the folks having fun and thought i would share the irony of Ernie Banks in my old bed room....and I hate the Cubs......lol! Friday, June 8 View Page Pollinated the 1723 at 9.5' this morning with the 2 available 1303 males. Gonna use the 1303 as pollinator for everything as this plant is still going nuts. The 1723 was checked for males last night and I noticed for the first time all the early males quit development mid stream and fizzled out. New males look good and now females too at each secondary tip and finally another showed on the main which should fall about 15' out. Hoping this nice 5 lober set for insurance. I will go with 15' later for a pollination time around the 20th on this plant if all goes well. Unless the 9.5' sets and show extreme early promise that is. This 9.5 footer is very early. If worse case scenario and its the keeper and stops growing in early september then it would go to an earlier weigh off. Got a 1303 female on the ground at 12.5' that will hopefully be the one. Training curve and secondaries near it out and around a space for the pumpkin to grow. Should open early next week after this weekends hot spell. Got a female on the 1647 at 9'. It the next one lays down successfully as the main grows, then it will get pinched at that time like th 9 footer on the 1303 was the other day. I let it open and saw a mangled mess and seeds in blossom so didn't break my heart whacking it. Exciting time....anxious time....pre-set anxiety....will they take? Will I go through all this work and then have trouble setting.....oh my oh me oh my.....the fettering mind....lol....happens every year. Friday, June 8 View Page funny story how i pulled in drive yesterday after work. i expected to see the misting on full force when pulling in. high uv day and i got hom early at 2:45 pm. had a big puddle of water next to spicket and looked down to see that the poly tubing connector blew out. doh. then i realized. after a long night out blowing off steam at bobbys the night before, i remember at 11 pm reconnecting hose from tomato hose and making sure it was on misting system connect. but then i also remember getting a small rock in the threads and loosing back up after some force. didnt realize i unscrewed the lock on the polytubing in the process enough to blow it ow with pressure. luckily it was only 79 degrees yesterday. plants were fine except i lost the outside edges of 3 leaves to leathery burn that were cut off with scissors and one leaf completely toasted out. all on the 1303. i intended on misting and watering same time so the plant went through all ground water from day before. a good lesson...when drunk....watch how you are screwing....lol....and unscrewing. 1647 and 1723 showed no signs of stress. 1303 will be pampered all year. that is ok cuz growing so fast with big thick secondaries that shoot long terts right away out of the tips as growing and females on every tip. beautiful plant. Saturday, June 9 View Page 1303 looking out my window in front and 1723 in back Sunday, June 10 View Page Sunday morning patch shot. added more misting heads and have shade cloth covering females and tips on the 1303 and 1647. I have tables over the female at 15.5 feet on 1723 and shade cloth over the pollinated 2 day old growing larger and still has nice sheen. multiple females stacked on the 1303 at 12.5,and 15 feet. got a female at 11 on the 1647 that has a curve starting to shape up and none in the cluster visable without digging too deep. similar to my 1723 and many 1725s last year means this one at 11 got a fan to help it in development on this 93 degree day today. i also still have the fan rinnuning on the 2 day old set and a fan on the 12.5 footer on the 1303 that has a nice curve set for her. Sunday, June 10 View Page gave all three plants a nice flowering enhancing cocktail consisting of seaweed, fish, humic, 3-18-18, and cal mag. only 2 gallons spread around the most established root areas. that is nothing heavy, but a nice booster for plants vegetating so hard and switching gears in to the mothering stage. Wednesday, June 13 View Page 1723 Marshall x 1303 sweet at just about 10 feet..a hair shy and so far after 5 days she is still shiney and laid down yesterday on day 4. got a nice one you cant see in this pic at a little over 15.5' and another gonna fall from 18 to 19. problem with the 15.5' is she will be opening in the heat over 90 plus lowering the set odds. she will get a fan on her in developement to past setting for sure to keep a nice consistant temperature and increase odds. frozen jugs will come out as i will be trying the 11 footer on the 1647 also in high heat. got one semi deep in the cluster on 1647 that will fall about 17' so hoping this 11' takes for insurance like the 1723 at about close to 10'. this one in pic on 1723 doesnt have that great of a curve since i expected some more to show down the line between these 2. nice cool night and casually sprayed every vine and stalk of substantial size and the underside of all larger leaves thouroughly and a lighter wafting across the top of leaves with demand cs for svbs as i have 13 in the traps total so far and lots of new growth sinced last thursday. mixed in daconil as heavy misting will be required this upcoming heatspell. threw in some grandma enggys foliar fulvic and 3-18-18 into the cocktail. females on every plant developing much nicer on mains and every vine tip with none shriveling or aborting in development stage. Friday, June 15 View Page the heat is on and staying on. no measurable rain for 2 weeks. i soaked ....saturated...all my perimeter soil not covered in misting heads just to get the living community activated for future root systems. blazing dry heat. normally we have heat with humidity. high uv heat and low humidity means a lot of misting. and shade cloth over tips and females. the cool water will cool the small females through the shade cloth as opposed to if covered with small tables. the 1723 at 9.5 aborted. the 1647 at 11' stopped developing mid stream. neither scenarios upset me much as both plants need more greenage first. problem with 1647 similar to many 1725s is the gap in females. next one will fall about 18'. every set all week will require fans and ice bottles. a good jump out doesnt always mean success. and tomorrow i have 2 pollinations with only 3 males available from the 1303 sweet and none from others. had 10 open on 1303 this morning. doh. i will give 2 males to 1723b at 15.5 feet and one to 1303 at 15.5. i really think the 3 day old set on the 1303 took as it is shiney as can be and almost laid down. funny how the plants decide which and where they set. it sometimes makes the culling decision easier....especially if none to cull. lol. all in good time. Saturday, June 16 View Page Pollinated the 1303 at 15' with 3 1303 males. Thankfully I got fooled by the 1723 and she is waiting another day to open. The plant has had only 2 males make it to past the half way point of development before dying out. None have made it to maturity and opened. I am hoping it ain't sterile as the female at 9.5 made it 5 days and then stopped. That females blossom was normal, but it was one of those crimped sideways pointing petal tops. I uncrimped them myself the day of pollination like I have had to do in that scenario before. The one that is gonna open tomorrow looks normal on the outside with straight up tall petals. Not sure if this makes a difference, but symmetry in nature is usually a good thing. Really hoping the one on the 1723 takes. I do not think and hope it is a sterile plant. With the recent males making it further in the development than the earlier ones, I think she is straightening out. I believe the 3 18 18 in recent foliar helped and will hit her again with some to hopefully get her a kin. I will have another try at 19' and now more females on all secodaries. The 1647 female in tip will fall about 17 or 18. A good lesson not to whack secondaries or leaves around females until the set is for certain. I am glad I left them alone and was gonna set up the 4 day old 1303 with mill fabric and whack the leaf and secondary but will wait a few more days like past day 8 or 9 and do more than 1 or 2 inch circ per day. Saturday, June 16 View Page that should read I hope she is not......doh. Sunday, June 17 View Page 1723 at 15.5' pollinated with 6 1303 males. Nice 4 lober and symmetrical. Next try at 18' hopefully makes it through the heat and opens on a cool day. Not bad today at 88 but 94 tomorrow and going up to 97. I will be misting almost all day from 9:30 to 4:30 cooling the plants, the air, and the soil. The 1303 at now 5 days was a selfed 4 lober and still looks shiney. Did a circ. for shits n giggles and it was 10". I want to see if measurable growth to day 6 tand day 7 to see if aborting in heat or not. Gonna throw a white t shirt on her tomorrow even though under shade cloth and still has leaf for shade too. Hoping the females forming in this heat survive and will do my best to shade and fan those in prime locations. Friday, June 22 View Page 10 day old pic this morning of the 12.5 foot 1303 x self at 23.5". she made it through the heat wave and grew 3.5" circ since yesterday morning so should be on her way. here is the set up i am using this year on early pollinations when beating the heat. doubled up 30 percent shade cloth, a fan, and the misting system was timed for every half hour from 9 to 11 and then on all day from 11 to 5. the cool water hits the surface of the pumpkin through the shade cloth, the soil is staying cool under neath with moisture, and the fan has been running on that female since the main laid down and female was developing. the female never saw direct sunlight with use of small tables over them in vine tips and as vine laid down the tables were left over until replaced with shade cloth. the 1723 is still shiney and 14" on day 5 yesterday afternoon. i hope it will beat the odds of going the distance on a male issue plant. time will tell, fingers crossed. Saturday, June 23 View Page a nice casual morning spent in the patch. got my long neck speckled swan gourds running nicely and training some to go right and some to go left. along the front of the solarium i tied a piece of steel rope from the corner fence post to another 25' to get that strong one running left a good stretch to produce nice hangers of the main. the hanging one have perfectly round smooth bottom with no flat spots and make the best birdhouses and bowls. i have two friends out competing each other with air brushes and wood burners and are now also officially out of their gourds and into growing them too. they will get the best shaped ones to have fun with all next winter.....hopefully that is. earwigs took out the middle sprouts early as they live in droves under that old wooden deck. i put in some more seeds and have small ones filling in, but really no needed. these on the fence alone will cover 45 foot of fence to the right and 40 feet with the cable to the left. fun plants. Saturday, June 23 View Page i set the 1303 at 12.5' up with a home. doesnt mean its the keeper, but it is in the process of making its claim as the only set on the plant so far. the one at 15 feet aborted in heat and since the first one took it was low on female juice also. tough heat to set one in and not shocking it didnt take. the one at 18' is still shiney and developing from 2 days ago and then have another try at 21 tomorrow and another gonna fall about 24 for next week. insurance reasons and competition of those that take for growth rate and stem length and position on vine will all determine which one wins the plant. the secondaries trained around the space with mill fabric can be spidered back around to fill the empty space if this one going isnt the winner of the spot. Saturday, June 23 View Page 1723 females at 15.5, 18.5 and 22 feet. pollinated the 22 footer this morning with a ton of 1303 males. also pollinated my first chance at 17' on the 1647 with a bunch of 1303 males, and pollinated a nicely positioned female on a secondary with the 1647. also havea female i pollinated yesterday on a nice secondary crossed with 1303. will keep setting all secondary tries in good spots as the main has been terminated. hopefully one of these 3 set and i can dead head at pumpkin as i do not have much room to work with for throwing in curves allong the fence that far out. 17" and still shiney on day 6 for that bigger one in the back of the pick. all 3 of these were 4 lobers. Monday, June 25 View Page window shot of 1303 in front and 1723 behind it. this pic was taken yesterday night after removing white shirts to let them breath. might be time to strap on the seat belts, the 1303 jumped into the 5 inch plus circ this morning on day 13. all the 1723 marshalls look good still and the 8 day old was 24" this morning. fingers crossed still. did a cross section of a culled secondary female to see normal interior parts with plenty of small seeds. with some research i have found the male and female development are independently formed with different hormones and growth signals. hoping for the best. such a fantastic plant. and the 1647 female at 2 days is bigger...longer stem and still shiney. next try is at 23 feet in about a week so i hope the 17 footer took and makes it through the upcoming heat. blankets tonight on sets big enough as chilly 50 degrees. shade tents will go over 1303 and 1723 sets for upcoming heat spell. fans ready also. enire patch is now covered with misting heads. 3/4s filled up and wont be long before vine burying is over. that willnot break my heart. lol. Sunday, July 1 View Page wow what a week. 100 degrees one day and 70 mph winds the next. i survived and the plants did too. minor damage but we will be ok. the new fence did good and the plants were large enough to support themselves on the interior with out too many bent leaves. a couple roll overs and snapped leaves towards the exterior of the plants were cleaned up and put in order and today 2 days later you cant even tell except a gap here or there where i lost leaves. the heat aborted the only set on the 1647. it was 5 days old on the 100 degree day and was 12". it continued to grow while dying slowly. it was 15" yesterday night and still 15" circ this morning. lost its luster and i believe is done. too bad since a mouse or critter sunk 4 teeth into the next female at 23' that would have opened up about today or tomorrow. there were no more in the cluster so the next try would havge been over 30 feet and i would be out of room. only 3 females showed up on the main. one at 11' died in development, the 17 footer aborted and the 23 footer got munched. i will try secondaries for a bign if they take in the crazy heat all week. worse case let it go and get multiple halloweenies. the it will now just be a shits n giggles plant. part of the game. and i really cant complain as you will see when the other 2 updates with pictures get posted. Sunday, July 1 View Page 1723 pumpkin at 15.5' won the spot. with not knowing if they would take i set all the females on the main after turning by the fence. i never set up s curves knowing if one would take then i can deadhead it at the pumpkin. and so this one won the spot. this is a 14 day old pic at 54" circ this morning at 6 am and doing over 5" circ per day now. it was 31.5" on day 10. silly. its name is Jerry named after Jerry Garcia from the Grateful Dead. Sunday, July 1 View Page and this is "Baby" on the 1303. go Baby go! lol. i started walking up to it say, "Hello Baby" so it just stuck. this shows the same set up as Jerry has. high shade tarp with t shirts and the switch over to white sheets real soon. the high tarp puts solid shade over kins and area around them at hottest parts of day. the sheets prevent the side angled morning and late afternoon sun. gonna be 93 to 98 all week. needless to say misting heavily still on bright sunny days when needed. got almost an inch of rain which was nice in that storm. next rains hopefully come without the wind. luckily i never lost power like my parents and all the surrounding communities. and the only hail was was very small and sporadic. i got very luck all things considered with that wicked storm that started over us and only got stronger as it went east. all in all very thankful for what i have. Baby on day 19 is 74" circ and chugging. Sunday, July 1 View Page window shot of Baby day 19 on 1303. i actually lifted the window above my window unit and had the cold air on my fat belly as i took this pic....and oh yea.....sweaty too....how is that for those with the gift of thinking visually...lol. Sunday, July 1 View Page ps.....the scratch above the beer bottle was not done by the beer bottle this morning when i took the picture. it was done by a loaded shazzy running home from the bar to hurry up and get a small table over a pumpkin too large to squeeze the table over in small hail, high winds and blinding rain......let alone the lightening crashing down. lol. one year i will grow a pumpkin without a scar. lol. Saturday, July 7 View Page old smart phone took a crap in my sweaty pocket friday. new smart phone today so this is a test. Hot is not even close. torrid. i am surviving.....no air in the work truck with ove4r 209,000 miles... hell....pumpkins on the 1303 and 1723 are stil doing good....so far. tough season for sho'! Sunday, July 8 View Page Side view of Jerry the Wheel at day 21 on the 1723 Sunday, July 8 View Page "Thw wheel is spinning and you cant slow down, You cant let go and you cant hold on, You cant go back and you cant stand still If the thunder dont get ya then the lightening will." words to live by....i saw jerry garcia sing these words live more than once.....i just got goosebumps thinking about it. lol. maybe it is just from the cold front that finally came through. i am sitting comfortably outide for the first time in i dont remember when. wow what a week this is "Jerry" on the 1723 this morning on day 21. Sunday, July 8 View Page window shot of "Baby" on the 1303. that is a 10" fan for reference size. shortest cone shaped stem i have ever seen, more like hershey kiss than a can. should make it very interesting very soon. taps severed, main raised on blocks. gonna have to bring the main all the way equal to stem and raise it as i go. i will take pictures in the future. just hoping these girls took that heat in stride and keep chugging. the last 2 days i had misters running from 8 am to 8 pm. anything to cool air canopy, plants, soil and ppumpkins. been a week of hell i will never forget. no weeding with that heat spell means today i trimmed grasses going above leaf canopy and will not pull them, but keep them chopped down as they grow. those weeds were helping with the water pressure with heavy misting. first spray in 13 days will be a good fungicide and insecticide combo now.the heat has broke. go "baby" go! Sunday, July 8 View Page for those that remember Moments from Jack Handy....here i go with a flat out robbery of the bit. Moments with Shazzy today...after my 8th budweiser with no t shirt and shorts that continually slide down, i gave my dumb ass undercover cop.neighbor and family my good irish "crack" ing show. then about that time a 4 winged drqgonfly decided to hang in my area. my dances with wolves sense said he was my partner in crime....4 wings....instead of 2 socks....ok u get it. then i realized i stunk so bad that i was att4racting flies....4 wings knows....they all know....it is a gift........lol Tuesday, July 10 View Page took advantage since the heat broke to get back on track. a nice fungicide insecticide combo immediately sunday night when cool enough. last night i drenched and hit a half dose of 3 18 18 with fulvic. a sunny warm day early and a nice cloudy day later and the plants are in full recovery from the heat stress last week. all leaves standing tall tonight with no misting or watering needed for a change. next year i will make sure to suppliment the lack of nutrients being uptook in wetter heavy misted soils and heat waves where misting is required. the plants responded so quickly from last nights drench and foliar it is amazing. my fear was adding ferts in the heat with too rapid develo0pment of pumpkins. i now think supplimental nutrients in a heat wave make sense to help the plant deal with the stress. and if too hot for foliar, then i will makeb sure to drench in a heat wave and not worry about blowing up kins, but making sureb the plant can handle the stress betterany way possible. tough call...been rolling it through the noggin while waiting for stomata to open and give the neighbors with windows open the sound of the stihl fogger at twiligt. lol. Tuesday, July 10 View Page oh yea, cal carb tonight for calcium and water retention on week of high 80s or low 90s. Tuesday, July 10 View Page For records, that was sunday insecticide and fungicide combo. fulvic and 3 18 18 half dose foliar, full dose 3 18 18 drench with fish seaweed and humic was last night. calc mag drench tonight, and cal carb spray at 3\4 teaspoon per gallon mostly on the underside of leaves. going lite as many are still tender. Tuesday, July 24 View Page Baby 4 days ago when it was 38 days old on the 1303 Tuesday, July 24 View Page jerry the wheel four days ago on day 33. hoping for 4 digits with the current growth rate. it will be close with what it is doing. i will take it as this plant produce a total of three open male flowers and none of those had stamens. the female culls all had seeds. hoping to prove out for the community all may not be lost if you have a plant with no males. no sense pulling the plant early until if you see if it sets. no insurance this one quits any time like others with sets on male issue plants, but it has been fun growing and very unique like its namesake was. Tuesday, July 24 View Page side view of jerry day 33 on 1723 Tuesday, July 24 View Page first officially weighed tomato at mitchells meat market weighed by a dart league competitor known as surly bob the butcher. cranky old dude still drinking beers and throwing competitive darts at 65 years old. so this one is the benchmark officially posted entry into the bobbys tap giant tomato contest. next year one of our weighoff sponsors is going to run a chicagoland giant tomato contest with hopefully in conjunction with the joliet herald. prizemoney for largest megabloom and another separate catagory for largest single tomatoes. we are hoping to get things going around this area for competitive gardening hoping some also try the pumpkins too. it should be fun. joe from midwest hydroganics is a very good dude trying his hand in a late start at the giant pumpkins.he has the drive and all the killer products from his store to be a serious contender in the not to distance future. i use his products for my tomatoes and pumpkins. Tuesday, July 24 View Page forgot the weight with the last pick.....2.40 lbs of f te 2.93 theobold which i think was off the 5.35 lyons but need to double check my notes. here is a pic of my first gours to start setting in the heat. long neck swan gourds for my artist friends to craft up. 8 sets and more every day. Tuesday, July 24 View Page gourds area running crazy in the heat. i should still end up with 40 or more 10 to 15 lbers which is remarkable for the litt soil thet have by the fence. Tuesday, July 24 View Page other side of gourds i am training on a steel rope cable wrapped with a rope to suspend some alont the solarium. already got one set on the left turn coming at us. tey will also run behind theat corner to the left and up the ivy. usually get 10 or so just on the ivy. Sunday, July 29 View Page this storm rolled in tuesday morning last week packing 60 mph winds.....trees down in neighb orhood Sunday, July 29 View Page somehow the sunflowers survived.....they all bent severely but popped up nicely. the big one had the post with loose ropes to help support it. the big one is about 11.5' tall and hasnt started to head out yet....fun plants....these were burpee mammoths as some good genetic seeds never sprouted. Sunday, July 29 View Page lol.....the last post you can turn your head....doh! this gourd is more green then speckled...pretty cool looking....so far i got short stubbies with barely a neck, some with over sized heads....and some straight necks with no heads....all good for different shapes and sizes for different sized birds and birdhouses. this one is on the left turn and used some shade cloth on the steel rope for more tendril anchorage. Sunday, July 29 View Page lol...budweisers....see how this pic turns out....double banger on 2.94 shenoha 2011 seed. will be weighed soon as starting to lighten up and expect blushing soon. Sunday, July 29 View Page jerry the wheel today on day 42 on 1723. she has a bulge growing over blossom....looks like its winking. slower steady wheel grower...hopefully comes in heavy with with shape and sees 4 digits. 129 circ.....95 side to side....rolling along still like wheels do...lol...roll on jerry Sunday, July 29 View Page Baby on the 1303 day 47.....should see 4 digits in a couple days...very steady grower....but higher than normal temps...crazy heat....i fear is accelerating the maturation process...on the decline on daily gains...averaged 25 lbs per day the last 7....averaged 31.4 lbs from day 20 to day 40....all good....hoping i can coax her into growing as long as possible. you can see new growth filling in the removed old leaves along the main. this girl will sit along time i fear before our weigh off...60 days fom tonight she will be harvested. long long time away.....but very fun pumpkin and plant....great genetics....love the 1303! Thursday, August 2 View Page 3.23 shenoha 2012 grown off the 2.94 shenoha 2011.......new personal best.....woo hoo! and weighed today on my mom's 70th birthday.....very cool. lots of hard work in the spring starting all the plants for everyone and lots of hand watering everyday this wicked hot summer. and for what? for the rush i just got watching the scale read 3.23.....nice! Thursday, August 2 View Page 3.23 shenoha 2012 at my mom's 70th birthday party....it pains me to not see a budweiser in this pic.....lol. Saturday, August 11 View Page Baby on the 1303 day 60 Saturday, August 11 View Page side view of baby on day 60. she got some latev afternoon sn and then covered with blankets after this pick. chilly evenings should be done after tonight. Sunday, August 19 View Page day 68 for my "Baby" on the 1303 Sweet Sunday, August 19 View Page ass end shot....narrow shoulders..wide sides...and only one small dip sag line on right upper blossom end that doesnt yet have a deep rib line and not to significant for a 68 day old pumpkin. lots of new growth has filled in the removed growth along main in the first 8 foot from stump. should have 50 or so new nice sizes leaves connected to the beer can thick main going into it. and another 40 to 50 and possibly 75 plus new lives off new growth behind the pumpkin too. aphids and p.m. in check. not pushing her, but not laying down either. Tuesday, September 4 View Page "baby" on the 1303 sweet on day 82. she averaged 5 pounds a day for last six days and anything from here on is bonus. the nose keeps nosing out a bit, the top bulges are still bulging slightly, and the left bottom lobe keeps pushing wider. i got her in preservation mode. no soft spots on main, some powdery mildew to be expected with recent high humidity but not bad. new growth of 50 leaves lying in and above weeds on backside after the pumpkin, and 50.or so before. this sould help maintain health of pumpkin even when growth stops completely....which will be very soon. i will be happy when cool days and nights come soon. perfect timing for heat wave for final push going into last growth days followed by cool nights around the horizon. 25 days before picking and she is 84 days old today. Tuesday, September 4 View Page the last pic had bottle in center of pumpkin for reference. also that is a 10" blade fan that is over 12" wide across actual fan. this pic i moved the bottle back to stem side top flat spot to show how long it also is. nice pumpkin....now hoping like everyone else she goes heavy. looks heavy but have been fooled before. would love to see the 15 percent heavy like the 1605 grown of it was.....how sweet wuld that be? with this color though, anything heavy is cool by me...or light for that matter. i just hope se mkes it to scale in this summe from hell. Tuesday, September 4 View Page long neck swan gourds running one way. you can see a big one at the end and one resting on the deck and 8 or so thers not seen hidden in foliage. and yes this is the beast...my sweetheart watch dog....lol. she was eating some weeds cuz the pizza with extra cheese binded her up a bit. my guess is 125 lbs and stil growing..vicious as hell, but my best friend. Tuesday, September 4 View Page and here is where i started to run the gourd vines down the steel rope cable wrapped in regular ropes along with some shade cloth to get them started up the ivy on the solarium. Tuesday, September 4 View Page and further down the steel rope and up the ivy Tuesday, September 4 View Page and some growing on the solarium glass Tuesday, September 4 View Page and up the tree with now 5 sets in the tree Tuesday, September 4 View Page and way up the tree....lol....another 8 feet since this pic....like a christmas tree with gourds for ornaments. Tuesday, September 4 View Page and that original vine on the cable come down te steel rope towards the end of the solarium Tuesday, September 4 View Page and then another rope to go over solarium entrance....is one set that will be hanging on the left side of door opening and another should hang to the right middle side of door opening Tuesday, September 4 View Page and here is a pic last week of the one whacko burpee sunflower that went to heights wa above the rest....i will save the seeds....14 foot tall measured with 4 inch head before the weight brught her sagging Saturday, September 15 View Page 2 svb traps with double scent strips in each totalled 306 dead svbs caught this year. i just counted them. i never emptied cuz figured half dead or even completely dead females or males will lure in others with remaining pheramone scents. my first year yusing them with sray progra. no svb damage visable the entire year. no colapsing mystery secodaries either which i usualy attest one or 2 fnding a way in. i will be using them every year. in illinois, this is the number one enemy of all enemies in heavy pressure. you need to use the strong stuff and often. imagine how many i killed and didnt catch. amazing. Saturday, September 15 View Page Haven't measured in 13 days. Pulled the tarp off and sheet and new the nose over the blossom was still pushing and left lower lobe bulging wider. With 3 measurements and taking the smallest of all 3 (which was the other 2 being 401.5 and and other 401.25 which I rounded down. Lol. Hope she goes heavy as we all hope they do. Sitting 401ott this morning day 95. Sunday, September 23 View Page lookee what i found hiding in the 1303 new growth in the weeds. lol. this plant is 5 months old today as sprouted on april 23. and i have flowers blooming still every day on the new growth and the new growth is not slowing down. i have never let this much growth happen later in the plant starting back to about day 55 of the pumpkin. the main is still solid all the way to the stump and the stump never rotted, but i did tug on her to find those roots are all used up now and stump was getting wiggeley and a little loose. i have never seen i plant burst out of the gate like this one early on. the secondaries were always growing almost as fast and long as the main and was a triange of growth from the get go and very agressive tertiary producer early on too. and with over 125 new growth leaves intertwined in my weeds and vine tips running strong still and flowers still opening every day still and finding these pumpkins i have felt made this plant always stay young so to speak. the extra growth homrmones and energy has made this pumpkin grow for a longer period than i have ever accomplished. to still be growing sligtly at 103 days is silly. i am hoping this selfed cross carries this strong plant and fruit development with long term growth possibilities into its seeds. hopefully they will be fully developed and plentiful. Sunday, September 23 View Page for some mysterious i cant kep my hands off this gaggle og gourds.....something about them peaks my curiousity...so to speak. lol. these long neck swan gours have been growing swaying in the tree and together they lowered the branch with weight to rest on the ivy on the solarium. i am hoping i can get these unique weirdos with egg shaped bases to dry good and have 3 artists ready to compete against each other for uniqueness along with functionality...lol....i am so buzzed it dont matter..bears win....da bears Thursday, October 4 View Page the dust has settled and my post season weigh off celebration that has continued since sunday is over. tonight will be a much deserved night to just chill out. the hard work of growing pumpkins in the season from hell and the time and energy to help load pumpkins and weigh off preparations builds to a creshendo of energy......then comes the party.....now comes exhaustion. feels good to have the weight lifted.....literally. my pics from friends seem to be too big file wise and are not getting accepted. some pics will soon come. very proud to hit 1354 in the hardest year since i started growing. So proud of everyone who helped make it all happen....you know who you are.....thank you Thursday, October 4 View Page overhead shot before the show Thursday, October 4 View Page 885 shenoha 2012 (1723 x 1303) 15 % heavy to the left and 1354 shenoha 2012 (1303 x self) 3 percent light to the right. this is me and my buddy dan the mcee.....he keeps it fun...we are idiot friends for life!!! Thursday, October 4 View Page mom and dad with their nutball of a son.....and the 1354 too....my Baby Thursday, October 4 View Page you can insert any caption you want here....you can se i was trying to make her go heavier while i am looking at thescale....my friends all have a different take on this picture.....let me put it delicately,they sad i must rally love my pumpkin...lol Thursday, October 4 View Page congrats Ken on his 1471 and all the hard working growers in the group pic.....great time.....hope to se you all next year Tuesday, October 9 View Page cool pic of my friend Anne with the 1354 in the patch the day of loading. cool how she put te black and white background contrast.....now she is barely 5 foot and scrouching down so a little camara play helps make it look crazy big. a damn fun pumpkin to grow. this pic is gonna make me go to bengtsons to see my baby again in full glory with kids all over it for pics. Thursday, October 11 View Page these pics of for Brother Dale of Jerry the Wheel 885 shenoha 2012 grown off the 1723 Marshall and pollinated with 1303 Sweet. this is in the entrance area at Bengtsons so everyone out of 100,000s of people will see it as the start there journey into this amazing pumpkin farm that is like disneyland of pumpkin farms....she is all shined up purty too! Thursday, October 11 View Page back shot of the winking blossom end trait i have seen in some other 1723s as well. Thursday, October 11 View Page the wheel grew a nose on he stem side and not a true wheel as it filled in.......she is an American Beauty Dale! Thursday, October 11 View Page good look at the 1354 propped up on display Thursday, October 11 View Page otherside Thursday, October 11 View Page Side view Thursday, October 18 View Page a seed made a journey from Alaska to the urban scrawl of Joliet....what a long strange trip it has been Dale!!! proud to have her with the crooked crew at bobbys tap....Cheers Dale!!! Wednesday, October 24 View Page big shout out to Joe Adkins...also known as PUMPKINHOUSE here on bp.com.....for turning the 885 Shenoha 2012 into this happy go lucky member of the Bobby's Crooked Crew......thanks again Joe!!! Awesome work!!! Wednesday, October 24 View Page another view....what do you think Dale? one of your progenies off the 1723 for many to see going by on Rt 30 on this 4 lane stretch through my stomping grounds.....very cool and proud of Joe and his carving abilities and very proud to see him at the weighoff with his new pb this year too. great guy, great family! Wednesday, October 24 View Page my field of dreams Friday, October 26 View Page light it up Sunday, October 28 View Page Joe Adkins starting out about 10 a.m. this morning carving the 1354. i am excited to see the time lapsed photography with a picture taken each minute. Sunday, October 28 View Page so then i went to the petting zoo to pet the minature cows and billygoats and llama, a camel and mini zebra and some long floppy eared goats......scratched a big pigs ass for a spell, then went and watch these pig races.....lol...it was fun just strolling around by myself taking it all in and watching everyone with big smiles having fun. Sunday, October 28 View Page and when i came back after awhile, Joe still had it working. Sunday, October 28 View Page Mom and Dad came out to spend the early afternoon fun and took them to the peting zoo and all around the fun and then watched as Joe did the final details work. i really had fun talking with the crowds of people and taking pics with Joe as Jeoe would turn and tell people thats the guy that grew it. i had no problem chatting them up...that is never a pronblem....silly shazzy was giddy from the energy. Sunday, October 28 View Page Mom had fun and made sit down and shut up for a second. Sunday, October 28 View Page ta da!!!!! success!!!! great job Joe!!! Sunday, October 28 View Page me, Joe, and my Baby......damn fun season!!! Saturday, November 17 View Page hanging out in the garage and dreaming about next year....lol. 2012. more cold beers on hot days than i have ever consumed....all in all, it was a battle i will never forget.....and went with out air conditioning in my work truck that whole stretch of hell.....many many beers during and after patch work...lol.....bring it on 2013!