Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 24 Entries. Sunday, April 5 View Page To kick off the 2009 season I would like to thank the Martins for a great pumpkin grower Christmas gift. I received some crosses that should do well. I plan on starting the 1323.5 and the 1180 in a couple weeks. My last two growing years have been difficult. Last year I blame the seed stock, my own. 2007 I chalk up as just plain bad crappy luck. The new early season huts worked great last year and I will be tilling a small area and setting them up again soon. More snow expected tonight, cold and blustery today. Today I messed around with some preliminary seed starting activities. I'm getting ready for a great year. This will be the 4th year growing in Brillion, WI. Sunday, April 19 View Page Today I started a bunch of seeds. Some Martin seeds from 2008 and some older seeds collected from years past. The weather has been sunny and dry the past few days. Today its raining and cooler. The two spots were my huts will go have been tilled and some 10-10-10 was added. Wednesday, April 22 View Page WOW some of the seeds I started really exploded!!! This is my earliest start ever with giant pumpkins. I hope my early season huts will be good enough to keep these babies going. All the Martin seeds that I started germinated and look good. Pictured is the 561 Rockwell 2004 845 Bobier X 898 Knauss. This seed was the most impressive start that I can remeber. Roots shooting out in all directions in only 3 days. Another worth mentioning is the 318 Wittenberg 2006 1104 Hester X 1097.5 Beachy X 1133 Demers. This seed started like a fire cracker! I also had a few others that started like gang busters and a some that show no signs of life. I broke my thermometer today so I'm guessing on temps in my seed starting enclosure. Everything is going good for now!!! Saturday, April 25 View Page I finally got my early season huts set up and they got a wind test the first day. Strong southly winds & rain last night and they were still standing in the morning. Its the second year for this plastic covering and its holding up well. The plants are rocking!!! The 561 Rockwell 2004 845 Bobier X 898 Knauss is far bigger than the rest. In second is a 785 Neuville 280*Beachy X 1247 Handy. With the 1323.5 Martin 1139 Glasier X 1368 Ligget running a close 3rd. What ever plants make the cut will be moved out to the huts soon. Friday, May 15 View Page Well I've been in the ground for 2 weeks now and things are going good. This is the 1323.5 Martin and its loving life in the early season hut. A few of the leaves got a bit wrinkled from high heat but overall its doing well. Friday, May 15 View Page The 785 Neuville is in my other hut and is doing good also. This hut is always 5 to 10 degrees warmer than the other one and both huts are the same size???? The 785 has a few wrinkled leaves from too high of day time temps. I also burned a leaf at night with my new 125 watt heat lamp. Frost expected tomorrow night so the lights will be turned on again. Usually from 8pm to 7am is when I'm running the heat lamps on cold nights. Friday, May 22 View Page Its Memorial Day weekend and the 1325 Martin is cranking out some stem!!! I gave it a soaking of worm casting tea and WOW this plant shot up like I gave it steroids. Friday, May 22 View Page This is a picture from my other hut and it holds the 785 Neuville. This hut is running quite a bit warmer than the hut with 1325. The 785 has endured some 100 degree temps real early in the day, like 9 a.m. The plant is growing good and I'm keeping the soil soaked down every other day. High winds lately but the plants have no wind damage. Rain needed as the day time temps have been over 80 the past 2 days. Nights have been OK with temps in the 40's. I sprayed round-up twice now on weeds in the garden. I think I have good control of the weeds so far. Friday, May 29 View Page Good news and bad news. First the good, the Neuville plant is growing good, the right direction and overall looks completely healthy. Friday, May 29 View Page Here is the bad news. The Martin plant has suffered some splits from laying down and running. Everything was going great for this plant and it still looks good. The next pic is a close up Saturday, May 30 View Page Dam!!! I was going to grow a pumpkin for the record books on this plant...not anymore Saturday, May 30 View Page I treated the vine splits with capatan. Sunday, June 7 View Page It has been a week since I first treated the damage on the 1323.5 Martin. I dusted the area again but it looks like the crack is pretty dam big. On the plus side the plant has not slowed down much as the next slide shows... Sunday, June 7 View Page This plant has really got the hammer down despite the basil crown damage. The main and a few secondaries are pushing against the 6 mil pretty good. I hope this crappy weather pushes out of here so I can open up these huts. The weather lately has been really bad. Cold nights and cold rainy days. I had to fired up the heat lamps again the other night when it got down to 37 degrees. Sunday, June 7 View Page A picture from my 785 Neuville hut. This plant has also really put it into high gear. Day time temps have been in the high 40's to low 50's. The nights have been worse. The new early season huts are really working great. Today when I checked them it was 80 degrees inside and around 47 outside. The plants really need to be let out and be able to run. Come on WARM WEATHER!!!! The main vine on the Neuville plant is also up against the plastic. Sunday, June 7 View Page The main of the 785 Neu. Right up against the wall of the hut. I may need to add an addition to my early season huts to allow for some extra growing space. Tuesday, June 23 View Page Its June 23rd and I have my first female open on the 1323.5 Marten. I was planning on some nice mild June weather for pollination. NOT!!! Today the forecast is 92 degrees. More bad news... the lobes of flower where deformed, Dam, how unlucky can a grower get? Also not one male flower on this plant, I pollenated it with 3 males from the 785 Neuville. Tuesday, June 23 View Page Not a good photo but I have seen this before and Its not good. This and the fact the plant has not produced a male flower yet has really got me worried. Im keeping the big crack in the main vine dry and treated with Capatan. Tuesday, June 23 View Page The 785 Neuville is smaller in plant size compared to the Marten plant but is chugging along nicely. Males open just about every morning and I should have a female open in a few days. The striped cucumber beatles showed up the other day and I treated both plants with a Cyfluthrin spraying in the evening. By morning I had many victims but still a few straglers flying around. I loaded up my vegtable duster with powdered Sevin and dusted both plants. Nothing flying around now. With this hot weather the sprinkers are running every other day. I may have to reapply between watering to keep up with insect control. Thursday, July 9 View Page Good news and some minor bad news from Brillion. First the good...pictured is female on the 1323.5 martin, its the 3rd one out on the main(est.18 feet)and looks good and normal. Pollenated W/785 Neuville last week. Thursday, July 9 View Page The bad is the main of the 785 Neuville. As you can see something snapped it off Dam!!! I'm almost sure it was my old dog Sandy. She walks around in the pumkin patch sniffing for fish guts. I should have secured the main vine tip better. My fault...oh well I have 2 beautiful pumpkin already growing on the main of the Neu. plant. One at 7 feety and one around 11 feety give or take 6 inches. Horse Shit weather lately with some very very cold night for JULY!!! Thursday, July 9 View Page The best pumpkin I currently have. The weather has been cool and dry. The lawn is completely brown and Im watering all my plants everyother day. Insects are down from previous years due to cool,dry weather here. Mosquitos are way down from last year. I need to catch up on vine burying....all is going well for now! Tuesday, July 21 View Page My chances of taking home the traveling trophy at Nekoosa are quickly slipping away. The year started out great and as usual deteriated weekly. Shown is the fruit on the 785 Neuville plant. Its growing quite slow and I now think the plant has a vine borer as a few secondaries have gone completely limp. Tuesday, July 21 View Page The 1323.5 Martin plant is huge and has aborted every female. The picture is of "hope fully" a set pumpkin. Its way out there at around 22 feet. I'm praying this one stays shiney. On a positive note our tomato plants are growing excellent.