Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 80 Entries. Sunday, March 23 View Page frost is gone....snow is gone....greenhouses up to warm and dry soil in planting spots....next step when soil dries inside greehouses is to put in soil warming cables. my old greenhouses have broken zippers on door entrances so the visqueen and clamps seal in the heat. greenhouses are now 10 years old....nice. 2014...dreaming big. Saturday, April 12 View Page next week the madness begins.... .....what will 2014 bring? ....who the hell knows. lol. looking forward to enjoying the process and letting the chips fall where they may. Wednesday, April 16 View Page I saw insects last week on 4-10 for the first time all year...wasps, flies, gnats and some yellow jackets.. it went from 80 to 28 in 3 days. chicago...south enough to feel the heat... north enough to get on clipper ridge...or as some say polar vortex. but on a cool sunny evening after a bullshit day at work knowing cables are plugged in and seeds start this saturday....it makes smile...always with a little trepidation like when you hear roller coaster ascend... ....click click click click ..... .....oh shit here we go! Sunday, April 27 View Page 2014 pumpkin line up left tray. 2 up front both 1092 Naylor 2011 (991 Urena x 1725 Harp), 1546 Shenoha 2013 (1421.5 Stents x 1381 Checkon) are the 2 in the middle with the Budweiser next to the go getter of the bunch...lol...and the 679 Janowiak 2013 are the 2 in the back row. 2 of each will go side by side winner gets a spot. the right tray are backups of same crosses. one of the two 5.07s and one of the two 5.03 Boudyo seeds didnt sprout. since George bid on the package we split and his idea to bid in the first place he gets the 5.07 and I will get the 5.03. the rest all sprouted so my tomato line up is 5.03, 6.83, 6.57, 6.01, 5.50 J/B (5.88 Timm x self), 4.61 Finders (5.07 x self), and 3.95 Shenoha (3rd generation 5.88 Timm grown off my 2.94 Shenoha) tomato sprouts are 19 days old and got a good drink of Dunkels last night before I transplanted all 51 sprouts for me George J gets 10, Tommy the bartender at Bobbys Tap gets 8, and the rest go for the annual Bobbys Tap Giant Tomato contest and my friends will draw numbers and the tomato plants will be chosen May 17th at Bobbys Tap Draft Day party. Game on. Sunday, April 27 View Page forgot to mention 679 Janowiak 2013 is a 1495 Stelts x self....beautiful shiny orange Howard Dill winner that was 20 percent heavy. it an all Illinois line up....nice! Go Blackhawks!!!! Monday, April 28 View Page sprouts are in the ground. half day at work due to rain meant nice leisurely transplanting. I have had blankets and tarps over soil for over a week inside greenhouses to retain the heat from the soil heating cables. too my surprise I found this big fat toad, big fat night crawlers and lots of centipedes....good signs the soil food web is already in gear. not too many adult hatched corn seed maggot flies buzzing about but around the same number as last year at transplanting. used my collars, incorporated diatomaceous earth and granular insecticides like each year since I got wiped out in 2011. hopefully this toad is a sign of good luck and I left it in the "Georgie Dome" with the 2 transplanted 679 Janowiak sprouts along with 2 space heaters set at 80 degrees to keep them all toasty with a cool week ahead. hope he doesn't climb on the sprouts...lol. Tuesday, April 29 View Page the Georgie Dome is in the foreground. the shazzy dome is behind to the right. cover crop liking the rain and getting lush. 2 more stages of cover crop removal and tilling and ammending. in the mean time the deeper and stronger the rye grass roots go...the happier my soil and drainage. with greenhouse doors open and cloudy day was happy to see air temps at 75 degrees at 5pm. venting greenhouses and temp control is like playing chess against mother nature...my mind never stops calculating.....which is a blessing and a curse..lol Thursday, May 1 View Page sprayed ortho grounding, rabbit, and squirrel repelled after seeing from frisky young squirrels in the patch. they like to run the top of fence so I sprayed the top of fence and the bottom of exterior fence and checked all gaps. rabbits and groundhog will have to dig their way in and squirrels go over the fence. I will see if this product works as I didnt like it too much when a breeze kicked up and I got a little taste and smell the hard way. with all the recent rains and long rye grass I also cifor ccepatance led all sprouts with slug and Snail killer. greenhouses been sealed tight for 2 days except when I go into them but the doors will be open this weekend for some day time venting with some warmer temps and sun so just covering all bases. Thursday, May 1 View Page groundhog, rabbit and squirrel repellant that is Thursday, May 1 View Page And circled the sprouts with slug and snail killer.....damn auto correct with fat fingers on smartphone is killing me....I ain't that loaded yet tonight..lol Tuesday, May 6 View Page City growing gives you an orange glow good enough to work plants after dusk hours...always wondered if this night time light source was a good thing, bad thing or inconsequential. lol. makes it easier to stumble through the patch late night sprays at dusk though so for that alone I say its a plus. Saturday, May 24 View Page Tonight is last night for space heaters and plants go into the great wide open tomorrow as greenhouses will be coming down. Finalized the 679 Georgie plant tonight and culled the one looking very similar to this one but not as aggressive as this ones secondaries already. The 679 Janowiak is a 1495 x self with 20% heavy thick ass wall shiny orange genes. I have to clean up the weeds and pull greenhouses and set up misting system and some shade cloth and silt fence wind breaks around all 3 keepers. I will take pics tomorrow of all 3. My 1546 is same size as 679...the 1092 has a different gear working...and it ain't a low gear....lol....its got some muscle already Tuesday, May 27 View Page New digs for the 1546 and 1092 plants with 2 sections of tall silt fence with gaps for wind flow with a separate small section to close gaps on both side if high winds or storms. Along silt fence interior 2 fans blowing air in same direction with fans set perpendicular to fence. Shade cloth high enough on south side for better air flow between cloth and silt fence. 2 misting heads for each plant draped over shade cloth and secured set on timed intervals. Tuesday, May 27 View Page 1546 this morning Tuesday, May 27 View Page 1092 this morning Tuesday, May 27 View Page 679 with greenhouse rotated for more room with heavy storms predicted for tonight. It will get same set up as other plants in a few days. Wanted to get pics before tonight's storms incase all hell breaks loose from the sky tonight. Thursday, May 29 View Page Tomato Row: left to right. 3.95 Shenoha (3rd generation 5.58 Timm x self), 4.19 Montgomery (5.07 Boudyo x self), 5.03 Boudyo, 6.01 Boudyo, 6.57 Boudyo, 6.83 Boudyo, 5.50 Johnston/Butler (5.58 Timm x self) All plants survived pounding rains and luckily no hail. Tables were used as add hade a cclimators and weather protection early on but plants have outgrown them and now I can put them away. Thursday, May 29 View Page Shade acclimators that is Thursday, June 5 View Page 1092 males from yesterday....always an exciting sight to see Thursday, June 12 View Page 679 Georgie to the front left, 1546 Shazanova to the back left, and 1092 Meat on the back right....love the annual drunken ladder shot...lol. pollinations on prime females in next week. Sunday, June 15 View Page 1092 x 1546 at 11.5' this mornin (first female on aggressive plant reminding me of 1725) pollination today on cool morning and lots of cloud cover today. still had a table over it and fan on low blowing on it and misting system acclimating the surroundings as high temp of 85 was hit today. next one will fall about 17' on 1092. i got prime 12-13 foot pollinations falling mid week with high temps in low 90s and low temos around 68. i set up a fan on low and table for shade on both during development. and have 5 laundry detergent bottles 3/4s full of water and put a frozen bottle with fan blowing over it directing cool air to the female. too much hard work to this point not to fo the extra mile trying to set in high heat. Sunday, June 15 View Page frozen bottles used only on pollination days. i will pay a friend to replace the bottle with a bag of ice around noon also and put another frozen jug out at 4 pm when i get home from work. microclimitize. Wednesday, June 18 View Page good news it stayed overcast all morning to keep the temps down. bad news is high winds with storm that came through at noonish. i will see if damage and maybe some roll overs to fix when i get home from work. hit the 12 to 13 footer beautiful 5 lober on the 679 with the 1546 this morning and same range beautiful 5 lober on 1546 with the 1092 this morning. 3 days since pollinating 1092 and getting bigger. i will not be surprised if it aborted in yesterdays heat of 96 in Joliet. got more pollinations to try so we will see how it all shakes out. Sunday, June 22 View Page 1546 x self about 16' to 17' this cooler cloudy morning. hope she takes cuz the one at 12'-13'didnt. that day in high winds and severe rain the zip tie slipped off thr female and petals open and she got flooded with water and already by next morning when petals were removed the lobes were in very bad shape. cleaning, captan, and fan didnt help. the other pollination that day on 679 is already laid down on day 4 and still shiney. its lobes were fine the following morning when petals were removed. 7 day old set is still growing nicely at 11.5' on the 1092. selfed the 1092 this morning at 17' this morning also. pollinated the 16' to 17' footer yesterday on the 679 again with the 1546. thats a cross i will grow next year if all goes well. got some megablooms set on 5 of 7 giant tomatoes. the 6.57 has one real nice double i decided to call the keeper and pulling off all new females. the other 4 are megabooms but too small to determine if the keepers. 3" off rain in 2 hours yesterday had me out there with a squirt bottle cleaning mud caked secondary cluster tips. plants look fine today. Friday, June 27 View Page 1546 x self this morning at 19-20 feet. Will be back up and compete with 5 day old set that has laid down before. I will give the 679 and 1546 little ones a mill fabric bed tomorrow morning and maybe set to go with 2 sets per plant for all 3 and will leave backups on for not too much longer and start pruning all male flowers. Monday, June 30 View Page 1092 x 1546 at 14.5 days old last night. its now known as "Buddha" Monday, June 30 View Page Buddha's set up Thursday, July 3 View Page "Bertha" on the 679 Janowiak 2013 (which was a 20% heavy 1495 x self pumpkin grown on a third of a plant). This pic was day 13 a couple days ago and growing nicely. Thursday, July 3 View Page top view of Bertha Thursday, July 3 View Page 6.57 Boudyo double banger in its shade cloth hammock. almost waited to long and got the hammock under before the longer stem kinked as it was just starting to bend with a longer branch connected to stem on rhis one and big growth from rains. Saturday, July 5 View Page 1546 x self pumpkin at 13 days old. just took the blankets and tarps of all 3 this morning as last 3 nights have been in lower 50s. its name is "Bud"....lol. Buddha is 20 days, Bertha is 17 days and Bud is 13 days old. Saturday, July 5 View Page nice long stem on Bud. Small early on like its momma was and hopefully with warmer days and nights back now she will get on a roll. Saturday, July 5 View Page Bertha taking shape has a tiny stem and will msake life interesting very soon. Saturday, July 5 View Page Bertha with blossom end sinking and wheel like shape forming. small dry growth split where stem connective tissue meets pumpkin freaked me out until it healed so i havent been able to work it back a little away from stem end like i like to do while getting pumpkin on 90 to main. that means i will have to cut more taps on main and raise the main as she grows. Saturday, July 5 View Page Bhuddha day 20 cleared 70" circ and did 5" since yesterday on a cool night so hoping for some big things from this girl. Sunday, July 13 View Page this is "Bud" on the 1546 X self at 21 days old tonight. 4 distinct blocky lobes....lol....got the 1381 from last year mixed in fo sho' Sunday, July 13 View Page Bertha on day 25 tonight on the 679....ass is growing out but blossoms not moving...lol...she is purty so far Sunday, July 13 View Page Buddha tonight day 28 on 1092 Sunday, July 13 View Page 6.57 double banger resting comfortably in shade cloth hammock Friday, July 18 View Page Bertha on the 679 day 30. the 679 is a 1495 x self means this one has a lot of the 1161 in it...lol.....sucked in blossom.....this one is more extreme than any i have grown and am curious to watch how she plays it out long term. i had to lay on my back with a knife in hand and reach into the area and delicately cut the prodruding blossom nub from pushing into the side wall of the pumpkin and treat it with captan. a good six pack gave me the steady nerve and confidence and all went well as can be seen in next pic. Friday, July 18 View Page you can see to the right where the blossom nub was pushing into the side tilted and i cut her best i could without damaging the pumpkin or snapping the nub where it might fracture and split inwards. i love curve balls in this hobby and this one has my curiosity peaked. no record breaker as slowed down big time in cold spell but hoping to get her to 4 digits in one piece to the scale. Friday, July 18 View Page Bud on the 1546 at 26 days old Friday, July 18 View Page blossom view of Bud day 26 Friday, July 18 View Page day 33 for Buddha on the 1092 Friday, July 18 View Page this pic does Buddha more justice. reminds me of my 1493 shape off the 991 in 2010 at this stage with egg shape. also the plant reminds me of the 1725 plant i grew that pollinated the 1092. hoping the nose keeps pushing out all seaaon long like my 1493 did. Friday, July 18 View Page 6.57 at 21.75" still doing 1/3" a day circ....hoping it takes its time but assume next weeks high heat will ripen her if not sooner. Saturday, July 26 View Page 3.83 shenoha 2014 off the 6.57 Boudyo.....second heaviest tomato i have ever grown. i set the bar high for the first entry of the annual Bobbys Tap giant tomato contest. nice!!! Saturday, July 26 View Page i good pic of 3.83 with bottle for size reference Saturday, July 26 View Page Buddha on 1092 Naylor 2011 on day 41 Saturday, July 26 View Page Buddha on 1092 Naylor 2011 on day 41 Sunday, July 27 View Page me and my 3.83 Shenoha 2014 at my Mom's birthday party....she made me take a picture with my tomato....lol Monday, August 4 View Page Buddha day 49 yesterday.....no illinois record breaker here but hoping to make the top 3 at Bengtson's with this one on the 1092 Naylor 2011 Monday, August 4 View Page angled view of Buddha day 49 Monday, August 4 View Page side view of Budsha day 49 Saturday, August 23 View Page patch up date. Buddha on the 1092 started slowing after third prolonged cool nights and the fourth spell for 4 days in low 50s shut her down almost completely at day 60 at 940 estimate and done growing in measurable areas but still finishing with some bulges. the 679 pumpkin was about 750 a week ago and creeping along. the 1546 is 1000 estimate on day 62 today and averaged 14 the past 7 days with some fresh shoulder stem splitting from recent high night time temps and a silly amount of rain....big storm to hit here in the next half hour. all in all....i cant complain. here is a 5.03 Boudyo tomato that weighed 3.21 pounds. glad i got seeds from my 3.83 this year (6.57 Boudyo) and this 3.21 for good genetic lines for next year. i have a couple more over 20" but expect them to blush any day now and may see 3 pounds but i doubt will reach 4 pounds. i think i am gonna do 2 pumpkin plants with more room instead of 3 next year and also more tomato plants like 15 of them. Sunday, August 31 View Page 3.73 Shenoha 2014 off the 6.83 Boudyo....last big mater of the season. not a bad year with 7 plants grown and a 3.83, 3.73, 3.21, and a 3.65 DQ. weighed a mushy bottomed 3.95 shenoha tomato that weighed 3.65 lbs yesterday....slugs got her before weighing. put a tape on pumpkins and 1546 pumpkin at 1050lbs estimate and slowly growing still. 1092 pumpkin sits at 1002 lb estimate. i will put a tape on 679 pumpkin tomorrow. even though no personal best this year i will be proud if i can get all 3 to scale and out of the 3 plants i grew and hopefully top 3000 lbs total. tough year with all my early sets and the cold night temps but am thankful for what i have.....for now at least....4 weeks is a long time before the weigh offs....lol Sunday, August 31 View Page looking forward to fall....it's a magical time of the year.....this is a Joe Adkins carving from 2012...also known here on bp.com as PUMPKINHOUSE. Joe does some very cool work and was proud to have him carve 3 of my pumpkins so far over the past few years including last years 1546. He and is family are good people. Sunday, August 31 View Page my 1546 hoping to get me a Howard Dill Award....doh! i am gonna post multiple pics to show of this weirdo.....no idea if she will go heavy or light. 70 days old and about 1060 lbs estimate. if you read my last years diary i said who knows what freaky shapes the combo of my 1546 pumpkin and 1381 progeny last year the 1085 shenoha might produce. lol. Sunday, August 31 View Page weird shelf....lol Sunday, August 31 View Page other back angle shot Sunday, August 31 View Page other weirdo side Sunday, August 31 View Page fence behind me has me holding camara parellel as best as possible to show upper meat pocket bulge Friday, October 3 View Page lifting day.....1115 Shenoha 2014 off my 1546 Friday, October 3 View Page 877 Shenoha 2014 off Georgie's 679 Janowiak 2013.....my first Howard Dill Award which was very cool! Friday, October 3 View Page 985 Shenoha 2014 off the 1092 Naylor.....this is the one that pretty much shut down on day 55 and 50 days later still only went 2% light. This one was donated to Alsip Nursery owner in Frankfort for the agreement that I will put a list together of Illinois giant pumpkin growers who will get all products bought from their store at wholesale prices. Friday, October 3 View Page funny lifting pic with neighbors on all sides which lawn chairs watching the show.....very fun day Friday, October 3 View Page all three.....3 plants....3 pumpkins.....not my best year but who am i to complain with how much fun i had last weekend Friday, October 3 View Page cool cover to the paper and very nice article wriiten about the weigh off Friday, October 3 View Page Georgie's 1300 Janowiak 2014 grown off my 1546 made the paper with my Buddy Dan the Mcee getting some props too Friday, October 3 View Page weigh off day Friday, October 3 View Page weigh off pic Friday, October 3 View Page weighoff pic Friday, October 3 View Page weogh off pic Friday, October 3 View Page the weigh off was fun fun fun......couldnt ask for a better day and had a blast.....thank you all who participated to make it the awesome day that it was! Friday, October 3 View Page thanks again to Don Young for all his help and hard work and fun loving spirit....he fit right in with us nutballs! Friday, October 3 View Page stole this pic from Georgie's diary cuz i was laughing loudly when i saw it......this is what its all about!!!! Thanks again to all the growers and hope to see you all next year!!!!!! Sunday, October 5 View Page all 3 of my girls lined up at the show Friday, October 10 View Page tight squeeze for the 877 Shenoha 2014 off the 679 Janowiak 2013. The 679 momma ands its 877 baby won Howard Dill Awards.....the 679 (1495 Stelts z self) is a real nice seed for those who like shiny orange. Monday, October 27 View Page thanks Joe Adkins....aka PUMPKIN HOUSE here on bp.com...for this cool ass carving....congrats also Joe at reaching your 4 digit goal.....now its time to dream even bigger... lol....thanks again Buddy Monday, October 27 View Page 877 Shenoha 2014 off the 679 Janowiak 2013 (1495 x self) and is crossed with my 1546 that grew the 1115