Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 11 Entries. Monday, April 13 View Page Seed Starting Day What can go wrong starting seeds on Monday the 13th ;-) This year's seeds selection was easy. 2154 Sperry 2023 (F: 1904.4 Sperry '22 x M: 2365 Wolf '21)- This was the seed that grew the 2587-pound pumpkin last year so it is hard to select another seed over this one. 2587 DeBacco 2025 dmg (F: 2154 Sperry '23 x M: 2670 Thompson '24) While the disqualification came from an odd edema (what looked like fish eggs) on the surface of the pumpkin just days before the weigh-off, after seeing that it went 18% heavy and was great in every other way, this seed choice was an easy. The pollinator plant was grown by another grower who reported some of the most aggressive plant growth they had ever seen. With an aggressive pumpkin on one side of the lineage and an aggressive plant on the other this makes a great combination. While the plant the pollen came from unfortunately contracted yellow vine later in the season the actual pumpkin production could not be determined. However, others that grew the 2670 Thompson were happy with the results. Friday, April 17 View Page Peat Moss Additions In order to keep a combination of good soil water holding capacity while also maintaining good aeration. Peat moss offers a great combination of these two properties. About 20 cubic feet of peat moss was added per 1,000sq.ft. just before planting. This gives the soil a spongy feeling and helps to help it resist compaction in season. Wednesday, April 22 View Page Soil Heating Cables The seeds have turned into seedlings, so final soil preparations are underway. After the heating cables are installed, then drip tape is put in place followed by the cold frames. All of these growing support systems will be put in-place and then a few days to check all systems before the plants are added. Monday, April 27 View Page 2154 Sperry 2023 Seedlings The seeds went two for two so both were planted as each seedling looks almost identical and both are looking great. Note: The plant on the right-hand side of this image is the keeper. Monday, April 27 View Page 2587 DeBacco 2025 dmg Seedlings These two seedlings look nearly identical and a third seedling was given to another grower looking for a plant. Time will tell if the plants will continue to look as similar. Note: The plant on the right-hand side of this image is the keeper. Thursday, May 21 View Page Cull Day All of the seedlings continued to grow at near identical rates. Here both 2587 DeBacco plants can be seen with one being 10ft and the other 9.75ft. The 2154 Sperry is nearly the same so the culling process was just as difficult. These plants got bigger than normal before the official cull selection was made, since the hope was one would be a clear winner. In the end it is good to know at this point everything is very consistent and looking good. Thursday, May 21 View Page 2154 Sperry 2023 Chosen One It was hard to make the selection as both plants continued to look nearly identical so it came down to a few small details that lead to this one being the selected one. Thursday, May 21 View Page 2587 DeBacco 2025 dmg The plants looks very airy since the other plant was just removed and some of the vines initially buried. Once the plant is exposed to the sun the next day the leaves will straightened out and the plant will start looking like it should. Friday, June 12 View Page 2154 Sperry 2023 Pollination Day The plant is looking great and the blue cup near the chair that is in place for shade is the pollination. The first side vines are close to being terminated at about 15 ft. long so this along with the distance out which is 17ft is and the calendar date all line up. Vine burying is underway and the weed block is being removed as the plant grows. Everything seems to be proportionally growing as it should, the rate just seems a little behind what is generally expected which could be in part due to some of the swings in weather this spring. Friday, June 12 View Page 2154 Sperry 2023 Female Flower Before the flower opened the petals did not look symmetrical, which was thought to carry over to the lobes, but this was not the case. The 4-lobes look very symmetrical so this is good to see as it seems that there may be some correlation of pumpkin symmetry and initial lobe symmetry. The 2587 DeBacco is the pollinator that will be used even though there is some genetic similarity. Sunday, June 14 View Page 2154 Sperry 2023 Anthesis Application This pollination was treated 48-hours after pollination with Anthesis which is a combination of plant hormones to hopefully increase the duration and the rate of cell division. This will typically result in a smaller pumpkin in the early stages of development but this should be for only the first 37 days, after this it should grow at a pace faster than an untreated pumpkin. (At least by the grower-based data that has been collected over the years.)