Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 74 Entries. Tuesday, April 13 View Page Welcome to my 2010 pumpkin diary. Good luck to all and have fun! I got my soil report last week and everything was high except for my potassium. Calcium 2526 Magnesium 255 Potassium 153 Phosphorus 326 pH 6.5 Organic content 6.0% Ca:Mg:K 32:5:1 As you can see, my winter rye likes it. Tuesday, April 13 View Page I started at 8 o'clock this morning and weed-wacked the winter rye. I then added 10 pounds of muriate of potash, 12 pounds of sulphate of potash magnesia, 50 pounds of kelp meal, 100 pounds of humate, and 150 pounds of gtreensand. Tuesday, April 13 View Page Then the work of rototoling began... Tuesday, April 13 View Page I'm not sure what rototoling is, but here's a pic of the rototiling underway. It was slow and tough work. I made sure to take my time and get maximum depth with my tiler. Tuesday, April 13 View Page All done by 7 pm. I'm tired and sore, but on my way! Tuesday, April 13 View Page A pic of my Royal Star magnolia, blooming early this year with the warm weather. I've got my seeds picked out for this year. I'm going with three plants. I have to put in my own 832 from last year (Topsfield Dill award winner), the 1544.5 Revier 2009 (the opposite cross- thank you Chad), and the 985 Werner 2006. It should be an interesting year. Tuesday, April 13 View Page I'm also trying some chickens this year. I've got 2 Barred Rock chicks and 2 Silver Laced Wyandottes. They're fun (so far) and very little work. Tuesday, April 13 View Page A view of me applying the finishing touches to the coop. Wednesday, April 14 View Page I've started my seeds germinating...a few days early but I'm usually a week or so behind by the end of June so it'll equal out in the end. I've got them on wet paper towels dusted with captan in a medication dispenser in a water bath on a heating pad. From left to right... 985Werner, 1544.5Revier (seed number 116), 832Stidwill, and 832Stidwill (of which I'll grow the best of the two). Growing season is officially underway. Friday, April 16 View Page 4 of 4 seeds have germinated. All have been trasferred to pots of starter mix inoculated with mycorhizae. They remain on the heating pad and should be up in a few days, then under the lights. We had a dusting of snow this morning, but I still plan to have these babies out in the garden in a couple of weeks. Tuesday, April 20 View Page My plants are looking good. From left to right...2 Stidwill plants (will need to remove one), Werner and Revier. The Revier plant is looking the most vigorous at this point, but they all look good. Still planning to be outside in 2 weeks. Tuesday, April 20 View Page My chickens are looking good too. Still under the lights to keep them warm, but they should be permanently in the coop in 2-3 weeks. They're growing fast. Tuesday, April 27 View Page I've got some leaves! The plants are doing well, although the Werner has a slight curl to it's first leaf. It's visible as the small dark leaf in the back. I don't know if it's genetic or a viral disease, but I'm not planning on starting a backup. I've had this before and it hasn't affected the plant growth in the long run. We'll see. Today the plants were given a dilute feed of fish and seaweed. This weekend I'm going to spread grubex on the patch, then bury heating cables and put up the hoop houses. I may even put the plants out...a week at the most. Snow tonight(maybe an inch). Thursday, April 29 View Page My wild turkeys are back, surveying the patch. They show up every spring, until hunting season. They've been visiting my chicken coop. Saturday, May 1 View Page Tilled in a bag of Grub Beater (Merit) and set up my hoop houses today. Temperature in the hoops was over 110F and the soil is measuring at 57 degrees. I elected to not put in soil cables since everything is warmer than usual for this time of year. Beautiful sunny summer-like day today. I plan to get the plants in the ground tomorrow. Saturday, May 1 View Page My chickens are settled into their coop. They love it. Getting big - growing fast. I wonder what the world record heaviest chicken is....? Saturday, May 1 View Page Asparagus is up...I love having my own and eating it fresh. Wednesday, May 5 View Page Revier plant, now 3 days in the garden. It's been nice and warm for this time of year and the plants are starting to grow nicely. Wednesday, May 5 View Page Stidwill plant, looking similar to the Revier plant. Wednesday, May 5 View Page Werner plant, starting to grow out of it's curled first 2 leaves. Each plant got a feed of 1 gallon of 24-8-16. Tuesday, May 11 View Page Revier plant, the best looking in the patch. It's been cold and windy the last week. Heaters at night keep everything alive, but very little growth. Tuesday, May 11 View Page Disaster! What would the season be without something bad happening. I'm not sure if the turkeys, chipmunks or insects got to my Stidwill plant. The stem at ground level is rotted. I've germinated and repotted some backups. Tuesday, May 11 View Page Werner plant is coming along slowly. Looks like all the deformed growth is finished. You can see a chipmunk hole in the upper left. They like to dig around for seeds. My patch is full of turkey footprints as well. Tuesday, May 11 View Page I've got my wind fences up. That should help with the cool winds coming out of the woods. Everything got a dusting with Sevin powder after a feed with 2 gallons of 12-4-8. Tuesday, May 11 View Page Something that is growing well are my chickens. Tuesday, May 11 View Page My wife got me a nice sign for the coop. I guess I'm the rooster.... Friday, May 14 View Page My back-up Stidwill832 plants are up. The weather remains cool and cloudy. I'm regretting my earlier decision not to put my heating cables down for soil warmth. My plants are creeping along and definitely could have used warmer weather for the last 1 1/2 weeks. Thursday, May 20 View Page I got a back up Stidwill832 in the ground 2 days ago, with a first true leaf forming nicely. I hardened it off over 3 days and it should do nicely (but of course I thought that of the original one that died!!!). The Werner and Revier plants are starting to vine with secondary vines starting to grow. I'll have pics this weekend. The larger plants got 2 gallons of 12-4-8 2 days ago. We've got warmer and sunnier weather starting so we should start seeing some aggressive growth. Went fishing 2 days ago in Vermont- first time fly fishing. Caught 5 small trout...none of them keepers, but a nice day. Tuesday, May 25 View Page Hot day today. This is my Revier plant, showing some drooping. It perked up nicely with a spraying of water. Now a nice 2 foot vine with 6 inch side vines. Tuesday, May 25 View Page Werner plant showing the same heat effects. It's going to turn cooler in a day or two. Each plant got a couple of gallons of 12-4-8 today, with a drenching of orthenex and a light dusting of sevin. Tuesday, May 25 View Page My backup Stidwill plant is working on it's third true leaf and looks like it's going to make it. Tuesday, May 25 View Page My chickens have taken to hanging out in the woods during the day. It's cooler out there. I try to tell then about fishercats and foxes, but they don't listen to me. They were all back in the coop by sundown. Tuesday, May 25 View Page My clematis is in full bloom...beautiful vine. Monday, May 31 View Page The warm weather seems here to stay. It smells like a campfire here today...smoke from the Quebec fires is everywhere. Heavy watering yesterday with an application or Merit and foliar feeding of fish and seaweed. Had to remove the end panels of two of my hoops yesterday because the plants are outgrowing them. I'll keep them in place for another week or two. They do act as a good windbreak. The Stidwill plant is behind but starting to vine and working on it's 5th true leaf. I'll be 2 weeks behind with this plant, but I really wanted it to cross with the Revier plant, so I'm good. Pics to follow later this week. Have a good Memorial Day (Victoria Day) to all. Monday, May 31 View Page Revier plant - had to open the end of the hoop house to make room. Doing good. Monday, May 31 View Page A look at the crown area. Looks healthy- growing solidly. Monday, May 31 View Page Werner plant not far behind. The leaves are a nice green. Healthy looking as well. Monday, May 31 View Page Stidwill plant just starting to get going. Doing ok for being so far behind. I'll keep after it but it's going to be hard to get a pumpkin pollinated on this plant in another month... but who knows??? Tuesday, June 8 View Page Revier plant doing the best of the 3. We've hit a cool spell with night temperatures into the 40's. All 3 plants were fed with 36-6-6 today. Tuesday, June 8 View Page Werner plant at 7-8 feet, but minimal secondaries forming. A nice male flower opened- females can't be far behind. Tuesday, June 8 View Page Stidwill plant just starting to vine and lay down. I'm keeping the hoop house over this plant until it gets to 4 feet or so. Tuesday, June 8 View Page SVB trap over my summer squash. Nothing trapped yet, but it won't be long. Tomorrow I'll give everything a drenching with Infuse. It was a busy day and I didn't get to it today. Tuesday, June 15 View Page Revier plant doing the best. Now out to 9 feet with great looking side vines. It's been cool and damp the last week, but the forecast looks great so I expect some great growth in the next couple of weeks. Tuesday, June 15 View Page Werner plant now out to 10 feet. A nice thick main vine with a first female forming at 10 feet. Poor side vine growth. The longest side vine is at 4 feet with a female forming there as well. Tuesday, June 15 View Page Stidwill plant at 4 feet, just deciding if it wants to start growing. Everything got fed with 36-8-12 today. 10 gallons for the Revier, 8 for the Werner and 6 for the Stidwill. Had the overheads going for a good soak at mid-day. Drenched with funginex this evening. Wednesday, June 23 View Page I came across this battle in the garden today. A 2 foot garter snake had swallowed the right hind leg of the toad, but the toad was still moving across the garden dragging the snake behind. In 15 minutes, the snake hadn't been able to swallow anymore of the toad. I can't believe that the snake was going to be able to swallow this size of a toad, but it wasn't letting go... Pumpkin pics tomorrow. Fertilized with 8 gallons of 36-8-12 for each plant, then sprayed with fungonil. Wednesday, June 23 View Page Another view of the battle. Wednesday, June 23 View Page My Revier plant is ahead of the others. Beautiful growth. I've got it's first pumpkin forming and will be pollinating it in a week and a half. It should be at about 13 or 14 feet out. Wednesday, June 23 View Page Werner plant is just over 11 feet long with poor secondaries (compared to the Revier), but... Wednesday, June 23 View Page ...I'll be having pumpkin sex tomorrow morning. I'll cross it with one of the Revier males. It's only at 9 feet, so I don't intend on keeping it. Wednesday, June 23 View Page The Stidwill plant is bring up the rear. Doing ok for being started 3+ weeks behind the other two. Now at about 6 feet, but growing well. Wednesday, July 7 View Page I haven't posted in a couple of weeks....busy with personal problems. My patch is doing ok, especially with this heat. I'm off work this week so I get to turn the overheads on a few times a day when the levaves are flagging. Wednesday, July 7 View Page Revier plant continues to do the best. Beautiful green. A few leaves have heat damage but other than that....perfect. Wednesday, July 7 View Page Revier pumpkin swelling nicely. Just a few days old, pollinated July 4th with the Werner as the pollen source. Wednesday, July 7 View Page Werner plant still has an agressive main vine out to 20 feet. Light on the secondaries but still looks good. Wednesday, July 7 View Page Werner pumpkin pollinated July 3rd. A second pumpkin at 18 feet will be pollinated tomorrow. It's swelling rapidly. I like the shape...long and fat. Wednesday, July 7 View Page Stidwill plant is bring up the rear....expected since it's 3 weeks behind. Despite that, I was able to pollinate at 10 feet on July 6. Wednesday, July 7 View Page Stidwill pumpkin at 10 feet. With this heat, I don't know if it took, but my fingers are crossed. Every7thing got sprayed with Cygon 2-E last weekend and propioconazole today. All plants got 12 gallons of 12-4-6. Wednesday, July 14 View Page We had our second NHGPGA meeting at my patch yesterday. Sorry, no pics. This is the Revier plant. It's a real nice disease free plant. The heat is causing tremendous growth, as long as I keep the water to it. It's been dry up here in NH. Some rain today. Wednesday, July 14 View Page The Werner plant is a monster as well. I've got a nice pumpkin growing at the 14 foot mark. Sprayed funginex this morning. 12 gallons of 12-4-6 for each plant yesterday. Wednesday, July 14 View Page My Stidwill plant is still playing catch up. It's still a nice looking plant for being 3 weeks behind. My only female pollination has aborted. The next female forming 4 feet further is dying before maturing and flowering. The next viable one at about 18 feet won't be ready for another week. Here it is the middle of July, and this plant has yet to have a single male flower open. I've had quite a few males stop growing and die off. My guess is it's the heat. I'll keep plugging away. I really want this plant to cross with the Revier. I want to plant this cross in the future....maybe not if it doesn't produce. Tuesday, July 20 View Page Revier pumpkin is a nice round gourd. Now at an estimated 55 pounds, growing at 11 pounds a day. Tuesday, July 20 View Page Werner pumpkin is longer and growing faster. Now estimated at 66 pounds, growing at 12.5 pounds a day. Tuesday, July 20 View Page Stidwill pumpkin only pollinated 2 days ago...lets hope she takes. Everything got treated with Merit today along with 8 gallons of 12-4-8. Tuesday, July 27 View Page Great pic of my chickens. Unfortunately, I won't be able to keep them. Some personal problems have left me with no time to care for them. I'm giving them to someone at the office...they promised to give me the occaisional egg. I'll miss them. Tuesday, July 27 View Page Revier pumpkin. Has put on 25 pounds in the last day. Now over 200 pounds. Tuesday, July 27 View Page Werner pumpkin. Also over 200 pounds. Put on 22 pounds in the last 24 hours. Tuesday, July 27 View Page Stidwill pumpkin, just starting to swell. It looks like this pollination took, but it's 2 weeks behind. If we have a solid warm fall, it still could amount to something. I'll be spraying wih fungonil and mancozeb tomorrow. I'm holding off on any more liquid fertilizer for now, as everything looks good and I've over done the nitrogen in the past. Sunday, August 15 View Page I haven't posted for a while..hoping to get back to regular postings. Here's a pic of my Revier pumpkin. It has a deep stem split but is still growing at 20 plus pounds a day, now at 710 pounds on day 42. Sunday, August 15 View Page Werner pumpkin on day 43, now at an estimated 729 pounds. The tape peices are measuring markers for circumference. Sunday, August 15 View Page The Stidwill pumpkin has proven to be sterile. Each pollinated pumpkin so far has reached the size of a small melon and stops, turns white and rots. I've let about ten pumpkins open pollinate to see if any of them will take. I'd still like to see if I can get a 300-400 pounder for dispaly. If none of these take, I'm taking the plant out next week. Sunday, August 15 View Page A pic of the end result of each of my poolinations on the Stidwill plant. Sunday, August 15 View Page Sunflower. Gotta love 'em. They light up the day this time of year. Monday, August 23 View Page I lost my Revier pumpkin over the weekend to a deep stem split. It had been threatening to open for the last 2 weeks and went down on Saturday. It was growing nicely at 22-25 pounds a day and was close to 850 pounds. Had it held, I was hoping for a 1300 pounder. I'm left with the Werner 985 pumpkin, close to 850 pounds. It has shallow stem splits, but nothing threatening to open yet. I pulled the Stidwill plant over the weekend. All the open pumpkins were aborting...a great growing season and it's falling slowly apart for me.