Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 66 Entries. Monday, January 28 View Page This year I'm hoping to get my six year old son, Owen over to my pumpkin patch with me more often. I think that this newly built tree house will help lure him to my patch! Monday, January 28 View Page This is my cover crop this afternoon. We've been getting a lot of rain lately. Monday, February 25 View Page I just got a new sign for the gate at my patch! It is a picture of me with the 639 Pugh '06 (which grew the 1278 Palkovich in '07). Hopefully this will bring me good luck with the 639 in my patch in '08. I think it looks pretty cool. Monday, February 25 View Page Here is a picture that shows the entire gate. I've been working on my hothouse doors, which you can see stacked up in the background. This year I'm covering the doors with plywood. In the past I've covered the doors with clear plastic, which needs to be replaced every year. I also have to basically re-build the doors each year because they don't have any sheer strength. I'm sure that the plants will still get more than enough light with the plywood, and I won't have to rebuild them each spring. Saturday, March 8 View Page Today the 1231 Pukos fruit hit day 30 measuring 99 x 69 x 69.5 = 234.5 OTT. The plant looks great and the fruit looks young...this one could grow a long time. Wednesday, March 12 View Page My six year old son, Owen, earned money for the first time yesterday. He was paid 10 cents per load of compost he loaded (and dumped in the patch) in his kid-sized wheelbarrow. He earned one dollar and twenty five cents for his twelve and a half loads. Wednesday, March 12 View Page This year I'm planning to grow one of my 639 Pugh's here in my backyard patch. I just finished the back fence recently and added 6.5 yards of organic compost (without manure) to this site. I haven't tried to grow a big one in my backyard for a couple of years, but this year I'm going for it! Thursday, March 27 View Page I'm building raised beds for four of my planting sites. The soil is raised 16 inches in an area 20 feet wide and 32 feet long. The ends will be open and will gradually fall to the same grade as the rest of the patch. This will give me an additional 18 inches of seed bed for the plants to grow in above the clay subsoil. Two plants will be grown back to back (six feet apart) in themiddle of each of these raised beds. Thursday, March 27 View Page After doing the math I discovered that it takes over eleven cubic yards of soil to fill each raised bed. I'm taking the soil from the half of my patch that I won't be growing on this year. The front loader on my tractor is 1/8th of a yard...that makes for a lot of trips. Thursday, March 27 View Page On four of my planting sites we have used a twelve inch auger to drill holes approsimately two and a half feet deep. After drilling the holes we topped these planting spots off with compost and used a nineteen inch ripper shank to mix it all together. Thursday, March 27 View Page We drilled a couple hundred holes at each planting site. Thursday, March 27 View Page The area that we drilled out for each planting site is twenty feet wide and twenty feet long. It will be interesting to see which methof (raised beds or drilling holes) will product better results. Both were quite labor intensive, but hopefully will be what it takes to grow a REAL slunger this year! Sunday, April 20 View Page Gentleman, start your engines! Here is the official lineup for the 2008 Vineman patch: 227 Leland (723 Bobier x 1370 Rose), 805 Pukos (1092 Burke x 723 Bobier), 1092 Martin (1068 Wallace x 992.5 Glasier), 1041.5 McKie (842 Eaton x 1068 Wallace), 985 Werner (1370 Rose x 898 Knauss), 904 Stelts (1370 Rose x 1068 Wallace), 1420 Larue (1104 Hester x 1180 Daletas), 1231.3 Pukos (1446 Eaton x 1420 Larue), 1199 Swarts (692.5 Swarts x 905.5 Swarts), and Three (yes 3!!!) 639 Pughs (500 Wallace x 1068 Wallace. If these seeds can't take me to the promised land of fame/fortune/and respectability, then it simply isn't meant to happen. I'm planning to start them up next weekend. Monday, April 28 View Page I started my seeds last night (April 26th). 24 hours later my 1199 Swarts, 1041 McKie, 227 Leland were all showing a root and were placed in pots. Four of the dozen 639 Pughs I am starting have cracked their shells and will be ready to go in pots tomorrow. Monday, May 12 View Page The best thing about growing pumpkins is making friends. Sometimes those friends have ponds and will let you take your kid fishing. Monday, May 12 View Page It is even better when your kid lands a six pound rainbow trout! By the way, all of my plants are in as of this past weekend. My 985 Werner was already doubling, so I replaced it with a 1350 Starr (985 Wernerx 227 Leland). My 904 Stelts wouldn't germinate, so it was replaced with a 1385 Jutras (1068 Wallace x 998 Pukos), and my 1420 Larue didn't germinate and was replaced with a 639 Pugh (1068 Wallace x 1144 Hester). So far the 1041 McKie is leading the pack and is followed closely by the 227 Leland. They have been in the ground since May 3rd. Tuesday, May 13 View Page Actually the previous entry should say "638 Pugh" instead of "639 Pugh". Monday, May 26 View Page Happy Memorial Day! This morning the Pugh family was up making strawberry ice cream for this afternoon's BBQ. Monday, May 26 View Page This is Buster, the newest addition to the Pugh family. Monday, May 26 View Page With the exception of my 805 Pukos, all of my plants are doing well. The 805 will be replaced by two of Kyle Little's Big Max x AG crosses. This picture shows my hot house set-up and a plant as of today. Monday, May 26 View Page This morning my 1041.5 McKie has a main vine just over four feet long. Monday, May 26 View Page My 1092 Martin is the only other plant that has a main vine on the ground. It has a three foot long main vine. All of the others should have mains on the ground in the next week. Saturday, May 31 View Page Here is my first female! It is on my 1092 Martin and is about 6.5 feet out. Saturday, May 31 View Page Here is the 1092 Martin plant looking text book perfect! This is seed that grew Pete's 1535 pound state record last year. Perhaps it will be the one that grows my first 1000 pounder. Saturday, May 31 View Page This is my 638 Pugh, the reverse cross of my 639 Pugh. This plant is about ten days younger than my other plants, but is really cranking along. My only plant that hasn't had its main vine lay down is the 1350 Starr (which you can see in the background). It is five days younger than this 638 plant. Saturday, May 31 View Page Here is the 1041 McKie one week older than the past pic I posted of it. It is now about 7 feet long and the side vines are really growing too. In less than two weeks this one will have outgrown the hot house. Saturday, May 31 View Page Here is one of my 639's...the Pugh Supercross (500 Wallace x 1068 Wallace). Saturday, May 31 View Page The 227 Leland is the genetic line I'm most excited about. When I say the 1534 Starr at half Moon Bay line up with the other top four pumpkins (before they were weighed) I picked it to be fourth. It was smooth skinned and light colored, which made me think it was not "finished" and would go light. When it went way heavy and won, I had visions of continued greatness from Neal's seed. I hope that I can be part of continuing this greatness! Saturday, May 31 View Page Here is the 1350 Starr, which is two weeks younger than my other plants. It's father was the 227 Leland which grew Thad's big one, which makes it very interesting to me. Saturday, June 14 View Page Last weekend, June 7th, my company put on a small triathlon. Our big events this year are July 20 (Vineman Ironman 70.3 Triathlon - 2000 racers) and August 2 (the Vineman Triathlon - 1000 racers). In my "spare time" I attempt to grow giant pumpkins. Saturday, June 14 View Page This week the hot houses came down and additional misters went up. This is my 1092 Martin, which had about a twelve foot long main vine today. It is a beautiful plant. Saturday, June 14 View Page Here is the 1350 Starr, a little smaller than the others, but starting to catch up. Saturday, June 14 View Page This is one of my 639 Pugh plants. Saturday, June 14 View Page 1385 Jutras at about 10 feet. Saturday, June 14 View Page Ahhh, another good looking 639 Pugh plant. Saturday, June 14 View Page 1231 Pukos. Saturday, June 14 View Page This 1041 McKie plant already has a fourteen foot long main vine. I hope to be setting a female on this one right around July 1 at about twenty feet. Saturday, June 14 View Page My only casualty so far this year is my 227 Leland. Its main vine tip burnt off earlier in the week. This plant seems to be quite a bit less tolerant of the heat than the others. There is still plenty of time to grow out a secondary and train it as a main on this one...but it probably cost me several hundred pounds by losing its main vine. Sorry Neal. I was having big dreams about this one. Saturday, June 14 View Page I put up a second row of misters over each plant to make sure that I don't lose any more main vines. Fortunately our hot spell is over now and we have perfect, sunny, eighty degree days forcasted for the next ten days. Nothing to complain about here! Sunday, June 15 View Page Actually the plant in entry #32 is a 638 Pugh (not a 639). This is the second time I've made this mistake in posting. Sunday, June 22 View Page Each year on June 21 I measure the length of my plant's main vines and record them so I can compare them from year-to-year. Here are my June 21st measurements for this year: 1. 1041 McKie, 16.5 Feet. 2. 1092 Martin 15.5 Feet. 3. 1231 Pukos 13 feet. 4. 1385 Jutras 12.5 feet. 5. 227 Leland 11.5 feet. 6. 639 Pugh #1 11.5 feet. 7. 639 Pugh #2 11 feet. 8. 638 Pugh 11 feet. 9. 1350 Starr 10 feet. I've never had a plant with a main vine more than 14 feet long on this date before. This year I have done almost no fertilizing, where in past year's I have fertilized heavily (using AGRO-K). I think that is rather interesting. We'll see that this all translates to in a couple of months! Sunday, June 29 View Page If I hadn't seen Patchmaster's 991 Urena last weekend, I might make the claim that this 1092 Martin plant is the most beautiful plant that I have ever seen. It is about 19 feet long today. It is nice to have a great looking plant at this point, but I know that a good looking plant isn't what counts in the end. Monday, July 28 View Page The fruit on my 1041 McKie hit day 20 today and it looks like it could be a good one...if I don't screw it up. It has a 78 inch circ., 52 side-to-side, and 51.5 front-to back for an OTT of 181.5. It is long, but nice and wide. It is growing in one of my raised beds. Monday, July 28 View Page This fruit on my 1385 Jutrus is going to be a nice, orange wheel. It is 28 days old in this pic. Its measurements aren't anything outrageous, but is on a nice, healthy plant. Thursday, August 7 View Page One of my 639 Pugh's hit day 30 today. Its measurements are 98.5 x 62 x 59 for a total of 219.5 OTT. Thursday, August 7 View Page My 227 Leland also celebrated its 30th day since pollination today: 98 x 56x 61 = 215 OTT. Yesterday was day 30 for my 1041 McKie: 113 x 74 x 74 = 261 OTT. I took a picture, but loaned the camera to friend. I will post it tomorrow. Friday, August 8 View Page Day 40 for the wheel shaped 1385 Jutrus fruit measuring 112 x 86 x 79 = OTT 277. Saturday, August 9 View Page This is the 1092 Martin at day 30. 92 x 60 x 60 = 212 OTT or 201 lbs. It is a three lober on a beautiful plant. The four fruit before it aborted and I kept this three lober because the one after it was a three lober too. Pollinated on July 9th. Saturday, August 9 View Page This is the 1041 McKie fruit on day 33 measuring 119 x 78 x 78 = 275 OTT or 423 lbs. It has averaged 21 lbs/day since day 30 with a nice 25 lb gain since yesterday. It is growing steadily, but not too fast. So far there are no signs of cracking or stress. The next two weeks will tell the story on this one. Saturday, August 9 View Page I posted this pic of my 1231 Pukos fruit yesterday (day 30) and it showed up in my diary as a March 8th posting...kind of strange. Anyway, it was 234 OTT yesterday (not March 8th). Saturday, August 16 View Page My 1041 McKie hit day 40 today with the following measurements: 137 x 86 x 86 = 309.5 OTT or 597 pounds. With any luck I may actually have a good pumpkin to take to a weighoff this year! Saturday, August 16 View Page My 1385 Jutrus on the other hand ended any weighoff hopes I might have had for it today with a blossom end split. My record remains perfect for splitting every big wheel I have ever grown. This one tapes to 299 OTT or about 540 lbs. Saturday, August 16 View Page Today was day 48 for the 1385. I was concerned that I wasn't pushing my pumpkins hard enough this year and that they weren't going to reach their potiential...now I guess that I'm right on the line between too-much and just right. The next ten days will tell the story on my other ones, which are coming up on day 40. Like Lincoln Mettler says, "If you're not blowin' them, you're not growin' them." I'm afraid that this one would have blown almost no matter what you did (or didn't do) to it, with the saucer-looking blossom end surrounded by big, meaty shoulders. I hope that I don't blow any more this year! Saturday, August 23 View Page The 1041 fruit continues to grow! Shown here on day 47 it measures 149 x 91 x 91 = 331 ott or 763 lbs. After a couple of days of no measurable growth and considerable panic on my part, I'm quite relieved. Thanks Pete, Cindi, Gary, and Joel for you consultations yesterday. Saturday, August 23 View Page The 1231 Pukos also continues to chug along at day 45. It measures 139 x 90x 90 = 319 ott or 684 lbs. Saturday, August 23 View Page This 639 Pugh fruit just keeps getting longer. Earlier this week it added on a snout and now it looks like it is growing another. Saturday, August 23 View Page Here is another shot of the same 639 Pugh fruit. It measures 144 x 79 x 83 = 306 ott or 606 lbs on day 46. Shapewise, it is a lot like David Palkovich's from last year...just smaller. Saturday, August 23 View Page This is the 639 Pugh I have growing at home. It is one ugly beast of a fruit. On day 50 it measures 138 x 85 x 77 = 300 OTT or 572 lbs. Even though it measures smaller than the other 639, it is considerably larger. Saturday, August 23 View Page Another shot of the ugly 639 growing at home. Saturday, August 23 View Page This is the 1199 Swarts growing on the other side of the back yard. It is my smallest pumpkin by quite a bit. Saturday, August 23 View Page This is a pic of the shoulders of the 1041 McKie fruit. It looks pretty solid. Friday, September 12 View Page Two of my three 639 Pughs have split on sag lines over the past couple of weeks. This one weighed 670 pounds and the other one weighed 713 pounds. I've heard that other growers have good ones going on their 639's, but not me. Friday, September 12 View Page I do however actually have a pumpkin growing which makes me look small behind it! I thought the day would never come. This is my 1041 McKie fruit somewhere north of 1000 lbs. It is solid as a rock, but will probably split tomorrow (the curse of posting a pre-weigh off picture of a big one here on bigpumpkins.com). I think it is pretty bomb-proof, but I've thought that before about others. I hope this one makes it to the scales. Tuesday, November 11 View Page This year I grew my two biggest pumpkins ever. This is my 954 Pugh '08 (1231 Pukos x 1041.5 McKie). Tuesday, November 11 View Page This is my 1114 Pugh '08 (1041.5 McKie x 1385 Jutras). Both this pumpkin and my 954 were grown on the part if my patch that I had raised my seedbeds by 18 inches. I have really heavy clay soil that I have ammended pretty heavily over the past 5 years...but I still had drainage and vine rot problems. I'm hoping that the good results I had this year are because of my raised beds. This fall I brought in 320 yards of composted yard waste from our local landfill and now have a total of 8 raised planting spots to grow in for 2009! Thursday, December 25 View Page Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your family from me and my family! I'm not in this pic (someone had to take it), but it is the closest thing to a pumpkin family picture that I have. Have a great holiday season and grow 'em big in 2009! Russ Pugh