Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 69 Entries. Wednesday, January 2 View Page This year I hope to grow two competition pumpkin plants in an attempt to grab the European title. Last year I finished 2nd and 3rd with a 1256 and 1234*. I also hope to grow three squash for a small genetics project I will be working on for a few years. I will also be growing two additional pumpkins, mainly for genetics as growing outside in Holland is pretty much impossible. Still no permit for the greenhouse, but I will find out in March if the community garden board will allow it without a permit. I haven't got all of the seeds I hope to plant yet, but this is the setup I have planned. I have 4 plots at the community garden: a double plot and two single plots. They are all relatively close together. I hope to use an additional adjacent vacant plot for my genetics plants, bringing the total number of plots up to five (about 7700 sq ft). COMPETITION PLANTS IN GREENHOUSE 1256 Wursten 07 (1093 Hunt x 1446 Eaton) 1093 Hunt 06 (1068 Wallace x 842 Eaton) GENETICS SQUASH 1234 Wursten 07* (1055.5 Pitura x self) 1129.5 Blalock 07* (633 Blalock x 218 Andrews) 792.9 Olsen 05* (471 Beachy x self) OUTSIDE PUMPKINS 1297 Ghaye 07 (998 Pukos x self) 893 Privitera 07 (998 Pukos x 1068 Wallace) BACKUPS 1297 Ghaye 07 (998 Pukos x self) 1256 Wursten 07 (1093 Hunt x 1446 Eaton) 1234 Wursten 07* (1055.5 Pitura x self) 893 Privitera 07 (998 Pukos x 1068 Wallace) 864 Van Hook 07 (842 Eaton x 1450 Wallace) FURTHER Giant corn, sunflowers, tomatoes, onions, marrow and long gourds. THANKS TO: Phil Hunt, Tom Privitera, John and James Van Hook, Jos Ghaye, Adam Blalock and Owen Olsen for the seeds. Saturday, March 8 View Page This year I also hope to grow the following giant veg: Onion - Kelsae (up and running but not looking too hot) Marrow - unknown English stock from ±95lb mother Long gourd - 104 Eaton 05 (grew 126.5 Jutras 06) Long gourd - 111.5 Lyons 07 Carrot - heavy weight English stock Corn - 249" Craven 06 Corn - Hala Marker Sunflower - 285" Craven/Heijms white strain 1998 Sunflower - Craven black strain (grew 305" Craven) Sunflower - Craven long wrap strain Tomato - 4.15 Lyons 05 Tomato - 3.4 Timm 06 (Delicious) Tomato - 4.59 Lyons 06 Tomato - 4.3 Craven 07 Parsnip - 12.9 Craven WR Tuesday, April 8 View Page On April 4 I was invited by Jos Ghaye and the Wildert Pumpkin Growers group in Belgium to pick up my green jacket. A special thanks to Jos for picking it up in Niagara for me and to the green jacket guys, especially Glenn Andrews, for making this possible. Tuesday, April 8 View Page A close-up of the badge. This year I will be going for the matching orange jacket. Wednesday, April 16 View Page Final line up has changed a little bit. Competition pumpkins in greenhouse: 1093 Hunt 06 (1068 Wallace x 842 Eaton) - started April 14, germinated April 16 1256 Wursten 07 (1093 Hunt x 1446 Eaton) - started April 14, germinated April 16 Semi-competition squash (stump in mini greenhouse): 1234 Wursten 07* (1055 Pitura x self) - planted April 16 Genetic squash: 792 Olsen 05* (471 Beachy x self) - to be planted April 21 633 Blalock 05* (625.5 Welty x 748.5 Koch) - to be planted April 21 Genetic pumpkins: 1297 Ghaye 07 (998 Pukos x self) - to be planted April 21 893 Privitera 07 (998 Pukos x 1068 Wallace) - to be planted April 21 1378 Pitura 07 (1039 Leonard x 1231 Pukos) - planted April 16* * Has only 350 sq ft. If it shows good characteristics this year I will consider growing this one seriously in the future. Started 5 competition tomatoes: 4.59 Lyons 4.30 Craven 4.15 Lyons 3.40 Timm 2.20 Craven Saturday, April 26 View Page The 633 Blalock 05* and the 792 Olsen 05* didn't germinate. I started the 824 Brunst 05* which grew the second biggest squash ever last year (1154.5). This will be my final line-up by the looks of it. 1093 Hunt - in greenhouse April 23 (500 sq ft) 1256 Wursten - in greenhouse April 23 (500 sq ft) 1378 Pitura - temporarily in greenhouse -will go outside (660 sq ft) 1297 Ghaye - planted April 21 - germinated April 22 (600 sq ft) 893 Privitera - planted April 21 - germinated April 22 (480 sq ft) 1234 Wursten* - outside April 28 (600 sq ft) 824 Brunst* - planted April 24 - germinated April 26 (400 sq ft) Monday, May 12 View Page All 8 plants outside now. Added a 1018 Van Hook to the line-up (1450 Wallace x self). I hope to cross it with the 1234 Wursten* for a 3rd generation selfed 1068 x 3rd generation selfed 848* cross. The squash are lagging behind a bit due to exceptionally warm weather the past two weeks. The pumpkins are all doing well. Both giant marrow seeds didn't germinate. Now trying to get a few lesser seeds going. Giant sunflowers and corn all outside as well. Liking the warm weather during the day but not the cool nights. Only got one LG to germinate. Got 4 more in pots but no germination yet. 111.5 Lyons is in the patch. 5 competition tomatoes doing well. Three competition heavy weight carrots seem to be doing well too. Tuesday, May 20 View Page Bad news in the greenhouse today. I lost the 1093 Hunt, my main competition plant. Last week the main stem under the cots split open. This week the main vine broke in two. I had to pull it this morning. Because this particular plant had no backup, I dug up the 1234 Wursten 07* and transplanted it into the greenhouse. It was still small enough to transplant. I transplanted the 1018 Van Hook (1450 Wallace x self) into the 1234* patch which is my best outside patch. The 1018 was the only pumpkin plant small enough to still transplant. Patch one: 1256 Wursten (greenhouse) 1234 Wursten* (greenhouse) 1018 Van Hook (mini greenhouse) 824 Brunst* (genetics) Patch two: 1378 Pitura (best plant) 1297 Ghaye Patch three: 893 Privitera Three nights of frost here. All of the plants are doing well, although the 1018 which was planted last is lagging behind. Hopefully in its new mini greenhouse it will catch up. Friday, May 23 View Page 1256 Wursten 07 - double vine terminated - biggest plant in patch Friday, May 23 View Page 1378 Pitura 07 - biggest outdoor plant Friday, May 23 View Page For the other European growers who are trying to beat me: Craven tall corn - 70 cm tall Friday, May 23 View Page Giant tomatoes From left to right: 4.59 Lyons, 3.4 Timm, 4.3 Craven, 2.2 Craven, 4.15 Lyons Saturday, May 31 View Page 824 Brunst* - planted April 24 - now outside in hoophouse Saturday, May 31 View Page 893 Privitera - planted April 21 - outside in open air Saturday, May 31 View Page 1018 Van Hook - planted April 28 - transplanted from outside to hoophouse Saturday, May 31 View Page 1234 Wursten* - planted April 16 - transplanted from hoophouse to greenhouse Saturday, May 31 View Page 1256 Wursten - planted April 14 - only competition pumpkin - in greenhouse Saturday, May 31 View Page 1297 Ghaye - planted April 21 - outside in open air (in background 1378 Pitura and way at the back the greenhouse) 1297 now has 900 sq ft to grow in since 1018 Van Hook got transplanted to another patch. Saturday, May 31 View Page 1378 Pitura - planted April 16 - outside in the open air Tallest sunflower - 228" Craven - 88 cm Tallest corn - Craven - 73 cm The past week very little sun - mainly cool and cloudy with a few drops of rain. Night temps a bit higher than average. Saturday, June 7 View Page 1256 Wursten Lots of females already on the 1256. Plant is about 8 ft long. First female on 824 Brunst* as well. Saturday, June 7 View Page 4.15 Lyons and 4.3 Craven tomato plants are leaving the rest behind. Plants are about 60 cm tall. I took off the first flowers on all of them. Tallest sunflower (228 Craven) is 135 cm. I have a few more over 120 cm. Corn is about 100 cm. Saturday, June 14 View Page 1256 Wursten Main vine is cracked in two places and another part of it is now going soft. Doesn't look good. Females lined up at about 13 and 15 ft. Weather has been poor. Cloudy, rainy and temperatures between 6°C and 15°C. Saturday, June 14 View Page 1378 Pitura - best outside plant - main is about 11-12 ft long. 1234 Wursten* is missing several secondaries which didn't develop. 1018 Van Hook has caught up in length to the other plants. 824 Brunst* doing well. 893 Privitera and 1297 Ghaye are the slowest two plants but looking healthy. Saturday, June 14 View Page Some of the giant veg patch. Corn is about 1.20 meters tall, long gourd is starting to climb. The sunflowers in the picture are not the tallest. The tallest sunflower is now 1.82 meters (6.0 ft) and is in another patch. In the box at the back are three giant carrots. At the back right hand corner is part of the tomato greenhouse with the 4.15 Lyons plant easily leading. Friday, June 20 View Page 228" Craven sunflower. Extremely cold nights this week stunted the growth of all outside plants. Frost in some places on June 17 while last frost date is usually around the middle of May here. Tallest sunflower: 210 cm (83" or 6 ft 11) Tallest corn: 132 cm (52" or 4 ft 4) Friday, June 20 View Page 824 Brunst* - main is 12 ft long Friday, June 20 View Page 1378 Pitura - main is 12 ft long. Still best outside plant. Beside it the 1297 Ghaye at 9 ft and the smallest of my plants. The 893 Privitera is at 10 ft, the 1018 Van Hook at 10 ft, the 1256 at 17ft. This morning I tried pollinating a female on the 1256 but its lobes were so messed up I took the pumpkin off. Friday, June 20 View Page The previous picture was the 1234 Wursten 07* which is missing the first few secondary vines on the left side. The main is 14 ft long. This is the 1378 Pitura with the 1297 Ghaye beside it. Monday, June 23 View Page A major storm hit our village Sunday. It seemed to be a kind of twister or mini tornado less than one km wide. It hit especially my survey and the community garden. This is the street behind my house. Monday, June 23 View Page This is the playground behind our house. Fortunately nobody got hurt. It wiped out a few cars and campers, windows, walls and greenhouses and especially trees and shrubs. Monday, June 23 View Page The storm only lasted a few minutes and had gusts of winds over 90 km/h. It ripped my wall greenhouse out of the wall (anchors and all) and the sides of the greenhouse sprung (polycarbonate, they didn't break). The garden table and chairs got picked up and dropped about 10 feet away as we watched from the window. Then we got hail so bad we couldn't see anything anymore out of the window. The first thing I did was take the few minutes walk to the community garden to assess the damage. Here is the 1297 Ghaye. This morning I pulled the plant. The main and almost all the secondaries were ripped apart (growing tips all gone) and there were hardly any leaves left that hadn't snapped. Monday, June 23 View Page 1378 Pitura - my best plant. This plant was buried very well which saved the vines but ripped off the leaves. The plants less well buried got thrown around a lot more but survived better. The 1378 will be ok. It lost about 6 secondaries and about 25% of the leaves. Monday, June 23 View Page 893 Privitera - this one got pulled out of the ground, thrown around but at the end of the day had the least damage. About 25% of the leaves are gone. It will be fine. Monday, June 23 View Page 1018 Van Hook - This one looks worse than it is. About 50% of the leaves were lost but only one secondary and I think it will be ok. My tomato greenhouse had a piece of flying wood puncture the back side but no damage inside. The plastic on the big greenhouse got ripped out of the ground and has slight damage. I fixed that this morning at 6 am. The attributes in the greenhouse got sucked out and were lying in an adjacent ditch. Only very minor damage to the inside plants. The main on the 1256 snapped 3 inches behind the pumpkin I hope to pollinate, but that had nothing to do with the storm. The long gourd got ripped in half. I am now training a secondary vine to take over. A second long gourd which I had just planted out survived. The corn got shredded but the growing tips seem to be fine. My tallest sunflower (almost 8 ft) got punctured but is still growing. I lost my third biggest sunflower completely. Monday, June 23 View Page The 824 Brunst* is a goner. The growing tip on the main got ripped off. This plant also got ripped out of the ground and thrashed about which saved most of the leaves. It lost about 25% of the leaves but no secondaries. I have a squash ready to pollinate just three inches in front of where the main broke off (not really far enough out) so I hope that one takes. I'll train a secondary to become the new main. A few giant cabbages also took a beating. About 50% of the leaves are gone on two of those. About 75% of the leaves on the sunflowers (including my tallest one) got ripped off. This is the third year in a row I more or less lost all of my outside plants. I wonder why I keep trying it? Monday, June 23 View Page I forgot to mention the marrows. The EGVGA marrow contest is still on for me. All three survived. Only a series of holes in the leaves where the hail hit. These are tough little plants. Looks like they almost enjoyed the 90 km/h breeze... Friday, June 27 View Page 1234 Wursten 07* Friday, June 27 View Page 1256 Wursten 07 - pollinated with 2 males from the 1378 Pitura on June 24 - 5 lobes - 15 ft out Here pictured on day 3 Tallest sunflower: 2.55 m (8 ft 4) Tallest corn: 1.55 m (5 ft 1) Friday, July 4 View Page 1378 Pitura - recovered well from the storm. Should pollinate one next week at 18 ft. Nice long pumpkin by the looks of it. 1256 Wursten - day 10 is very disappointing and I will have to cull it I think. I have pollinated one today on a side vine (with 1378 Pitura) seeing as the main vine snapped off right behind the last pumpkin. 1234 Wursten* - very good looking plant - by far the healthiest in the patch. Pollinated a 6 lober at 18 ft on July 3 using a 824 Brunst* male. Hope it takes. Only one more chance coming up as the plant has almost reached the end of the greenhouse. 1018 Van Hook - still severe damage from the storm. Should be pollinating one at about 15 ft by the end of next week. 893 Privitera - extremely slow plant. Pollinated one at 10 ft but it is growing on top of the main so will have to be culled. A second one will be pollinated next week. 824 Brunst* - pollinated one just in front of where the main got snapped off in the storm. A secondary has taken over now. Pollinated a 6 lober at 15 feet on June 30 using a male from the 1234*. Beautiful long stem. Tallest sunflower - 228 Craven - 3.00 meters (9 ft 10) Tallest cornstalk - Craven 2007 - 2.00 meters (6 ft 7) Giant tomatoes - got a few set on all plants Giant marrow - got 4 plants going - will pollinate first one within a few days Giant carrot - down to one plant - others rotted away Giant beetroot - got a few going still Long gourd - 111.5 Lyons about 5 ft up trellis, other 111.5 just starting to climb Friday, July 11 View Page 1234 Wursten - day 8 The squash has developed two splits which are slowly getting bigger as the squash grows. I am not sure how this is going to develop. Any suggestions are welcome. Friday, July 11 View Page 1378 Pitura - this plant has the least issues at the moment other than being outside. We have had quite a bit of rain, wind and cold temperatures this past week. In the back the long gourds, corn and smaller sunflowers. Corn: 2.30 m (7ft 6) Sunflower: 3.30 m (10ft 10) 111.5 Lyons LG has reached the top of the trellis (10ft) Got a pumpkin set on every plant now. Nothing to write home about though. 1234 Wursten* x 824 Brunst* (at 18 and 22ft) 1256 Wursten x 1378 Pitura (at 18 and 19ft on secondaries) 1378 Pitura x 1256 Wursten (at 18ft) 1018 Van Hook x 1234 Wursten* (at 17ft) 824 Brunst* x 1234 Wursten* (at 15ft - day 11) 893 Privitera x open (1378 Pitura but a bee got in between) Friday, July 18 View Page 1234 Wursten 07* - day 15 Not close to any benchmarks and I'm not too happy with the shape either. Weather has not been beneficial for growing the past two weeks. Daytime temps have been from 16-20°C now for two weeks at least. Night temps are mostly between 8 and 12°C. We have been averaging about 20% sun per day. Friday, July 18 View Page 1256 Wursten 07 - day 14 As with all of the fruit on the 1256, this one is also misshapen and will not grow. I guess I'll eventually have to cull this one too and pull the plant. The 893 Privitera is at day 7 as is the biggest day 7 of all my plants but the main got twisted and snapped (half way through) about a foot in front of the pumpkin. The 1018 is also at day 7 but is only the size of a golf ball. The fruit on the 824 Brunst* aborted at day 15. I set a new one. Friday, July 18 View Page 1378 Pitura 07 - day 11 Haven't even measured this one. Seeing as the weather has been so poor, this one hasn't had a chance. I like the shape and position though. Friday, July 18 View Page Seeing as there will be no big pumpkins coming from my patch this year, I've devoted more attention to other giant veg. This is my giant beet. The leaves measure 115 x 100 cm (45 x 39"). I have a second, smaller beet going which I hope to use for seed. These two were the only ones to germinate from the 36 seeds I planted. They go back to the 2001 WR beet grown by Ian Neale of the UK. Friday, July 18 View Page In other giant veg news: My tallest four sunflowers are 370 cm (12 ft 1), 330 cm (10 ft 10), and two at 255 cm (8 ft 4). The tallest three corn stalks (to where the top leaves bend) are 260 (8 ft 7), 255 and 230 cm. I have four marrows set on two plants. I am waiting for warmer weather to set marrows on the remaining two plants. The giant tomatoes got infected with pytophtora and I had to cut off all of the tomatoes. I have sprayed them and have set new ones on a few of the plants. Friday, July 25 View Page 1234 Wursten 07* - day 22 Been a tough week weatherwise. Once again cold, and very little sun. Monday's temp reached a max of 15°C for example. Sunflowers are flowering. Way too early. Tallest is now about 405 cm. Corn more or less stopped growing because of the cold. Friday, July 25 View Page 1234 Wursten 07* I don't care for the shape on this one. We had one day of warm, sunny weather yesterday (the first since I set fruit on this plant) and the growth went up 150% compared to all the other days. This is probably my only chance at going over 1000lbs this year if the wrinkles around the stem hold out. Friday, July 25 View Page 1378 Pitura 07 This is the only pumpkin at the moment worth mentioning. After a very slow start due to extremely cold weather, this one has picked up considerably and is matching the daily growth of the squash in the greenhouse. The 893 is slowly coming around. The 1018 is very small. The 824* has been showing almost no growth and I might pull the plant. The 1256 got pulled so there is only the squash in the greenhouse now. Thursday, July 31 View Page The greenhouse is empty... First the 1093 Hunt gave the ghost when the main snapped early in the season. Then the 1256 Wursten got pulled when all fruit turned out to be deformed. Yesterday I noticed the weights drop drastically on the 1234 Wursten*. This morning they were even worse and I noticed a hole in the blossom end that went through to the cavity. I pulled the plant which officially ended my competitive season here. The 1234* was closing in on the 1200 lb benchmarks when it went down. The final weight was 224 lbs (102 kg). I still have a few outdoor plants of which only the 1378 is interesting enough to report on, but then more for pretty than for big. I'll start preparing the greenhouse soil for next year. Perhaps a year of rest will be good for the soil. On the short list for next year is the 842 Eaton, 1378 Pitura, 1055 Pitura* and the 275 Van Hook, two of which I'd like to grow in the greenhouse. Friday, August 1 View Page For the time being this will be my last post as there is nothing more to report. We had a week of pretty warm weather but we are back to cold, wet and cloudy again. Last night a storm took out my tallest corn stalk which was about 11 ft. This is a picture of one of the six marrows I have going. It looks big but unfortunately feels awful light for its size. Now measuring CC 180 cm (71") and about 7-12 days of growth left. Hope to pollinate a few LGs in the next few days. The 893 Privitera is still growing as is the 1378 Pitura. The 1378 is now doing well on the daily benchmarks but had such a slow start, I'm afraid it won't catch up. The 1018 Van Hook and 824 Brunst* aren't really growing. I might pull the 824* as it is waterlogged. Be back in a month or two. Saturday, August 9 View Page A marrow and a 1 litre carton of milk. Maybe its my biggest marrow, and maybe it isn't :) Monday, August 11 View Page First marrow harvested and weighed today. 68.2 lbs (28.5 kg). Open pollinated so no seeds will be kept. Four more marrows in the patch still. Monday, August 11 View Page That should have been 62.8 lbs. Weighed at Walstra's Metal Recycling on a certified scale. Fruit inspected by gardener Nico Drost sr. Friday, August 15 View Page Three little marrows having a chat on the bench. From left to right: 62.8 lbs (28.5 kg) - previously weighed 56.0 lbs (25.4 kg) - long and thin 46.3 lbs (21.0 kg) - short and fat The 62.8 and the 56.0 grew simultaneously on the same plant only about 2 feet apart. That is because the first one was open pollinated and I wanted seeds so I set a second one on the same plant. The long one was crossed with the short one and vice versa. Rumour has it there is a much bigger one in the patch still...but nobody can verify it. I do know that one of the remaining marrows is a looooooooong one and was crossed with the other long ones. Saturday, August 30 View Page The season is close to its end here at my patch. The marrow harvest is pretty much over. All the big ones have been weighed. On the left: 46.3 Wursten 08 (Glazebrook line) - previously weighed On the right: 76.7 Wursten 08 (44 Wursten 07 x self) - weighed today Saturday, August 30 View Page The last of the marrows. On the right: 62.8 Wursten 08 (Glazebrook line) - previously weighed On the left: 90.6 Wursten 08 (Glazebrook line) - weighed today The 90.6 was 47 inches long (120 cm) from tip to tip. CC: 105.5 EE: 62.6 SS: 29.9 OTT: 198" Currently leading EGVGA marrow contest by 40 lbs. In other patch news: 1018 Van Hook went down today to stem split. 350-400 lb range. 1378 Pitura lost entire stump and most of the plant. Just a few leaves left. Now 600-650 lbs and hardly growing. 893 Privitera - 400-450 lb range on 200 sq ft plant. Main vine is taped together after getting ripped apart by a storm. Tallest sunflower ended up at 442 cm (14 ft 6in.) Not a single long gourd on either plant. No females. Biggest tomato has to be harvested yet. Maybe 2 lbs. A few giant beets still going. Tallest corn stalk around 14 ft 6in. Very little sun the last month. One of the darkest summers ever recorded. Temperatures have been around normal (65-70 max). Friday, September 12 View Page 806.6 Wursten 08 UOW (1378 Pitura x 1256 Wursten) Taped 672 and weighed 806.6 = 20.0% heavy. 67 days old. If I had known it would have gone that heavy, I would have organized a certified scale. The pumpkin was in perfect shape but the plant had long been lost. Most of it had been lost before I had a fruit set when a twister visited my patch. Flooding, high winds, cold and dark weather did the rest. The stump rotted away and slowly the entire plant disintegrated. Because the pollinator only produced deformed pumpkins, I have kept no seeds. According to my stats this is the third biggest pumpkin ever grown outside in Holland till now. It would have ranked #6 in the all time top 10 had it been official. In other news: Biggest tomato: 1337 grams - 2.95 lbs - a new PB Both the 1018 (which is dmg) and the 893 are growing - estimated 500 lb+ on what's left of the plants. Corn should be around 15 ft. Two giant beets left to weigh. Saturday, September 13 View Page This year I did some distance coaching for a former high school student of mine. This is his first year of serious growing. Today I visited him and his two pumpkins. Here the 1022.5 Lyons 07 (1219 Colbert x 1370 Rose). Estimated weight 840 lbs (381 kg). It is probably 50-60 days old. He didn't keep track. The pumpkin has a serious soft spot on the blossom end. Fortunately it is the smaller pumpkin of the two he has. Saturday, September 13 View Page Here is the 907 Van Hook 07 (1231 x 998) Approximately day 50-60. Estimated weight 978 lbs (444 kg). This makes it by far the second biggest pumpkin ever grown in Holland with 30 days to go! The young felow's name is Bart van Raalte, a student of an agricultural college close to where I live. If the 907 stays in one piece, I am confident he will win the Dutch championship this year. Tuesday, September 16 View Page The season draws to a close. Today I harvested the two giant beets and the tallest corn stalk. This is the smaller of the two (table) beets. 18.0 lbs - Neale/Craven line Tuesday, September 16 View Page Both of the beets without foliage (weight is without foliage). Left - 18.0 lbs (8.15 kg) Neale/Craven line Right - 18.3 lbs (8.30 kg) Beta vulgaris, var. conditiva 'Mammouth' Tuesday, September 16 View Page Tall corn - Craven (Hala) 4.44 meters (14 ft 7 in) ------------------------ So at the end of the season I have to admit my pumpkins, squash and long gourds failed, but I had a new personal best for most of the other giant veg categories. Pumpkin: 806.6 lbs (PB 1256) Squash: 0.0 lbs (PB 1234) Long gourd: 0.0 in (PB 75.2) Tomato: 2.95 lbs (old PB 1.49) Marrow: 90.6 lbs (old PB 44.0) Corn: 14 ft 7 (old PB 12 ft 0) Sunflower: 14 ft 6 (old PB 14 ft 4) Beet: 18.3 lbs (first year) --------------------------- Next year I will focus on pumpkins, marrows and tomatoes, but will grow a wide range of other giant veg as well. If my world record squash holds, then I will grow two pumpkins in the greenhouse (842 Eaton and a second yet to be determined) and a squash (1055.5 Pitura) outside, together with 5 marrows (one inside) and 16 competition tomato plants (inside). If the WR falls, then I will likely grow the 842 Eaton and an 848 MacKenzie* inside and no outside plants. Thursday, September 18 View Page 930 Van Raalte 08 (1022.5 Lyons x open) Taped 884 lbs (401 kg) and weighed 5.2% heavy (422 kg) No seeds kept. Currently second biggest pumpkin ever weighed in Holland. Thursday, September 18 View Page Bart van Raalte's 907 Van Hook (about day 60-65) est. 1035 lbs (470 kg) Up 57 lbs in 5 days (average 11.4 lbs per day). Thursday, September 25 View Page I weighed the 1018 Van Hook today. I bought a certified scale and needed to try it out. The stem split wasn't even near going through, so it will be an official weight. The 1018 Van Hook (3rd generation selfed 1068) was crossed with the 1234 Wursten* (3rd generation selfed 848*) and taped 550. End weight was 607.7 lbs (275.7 kg). It went 10% heavy. The 607.7 Wursten 08 was grown in my genetics patch with minimum pruning, spraying or watering. I collected the seeds. Friday, September 26 View Page I measured Bartjan Van Raalte's 907 Van Hook again. Kind of disappointed but nights have been very cold here. est. 1072 lbs (486 kg) Saturday, September 27 View Page Weighed last pumpkin. 606 Wursten 08 (893 Privitera x open) - so seeds kept - 10% heavy. Pretty poor season, but 606 on a 200 sq ft plant isn't bad considering it got hit by a twister and the main vine was taped to keep it together. Saturday, October 11 View Page We weighed Bartjan Van Raalte's 907 Van Hook this morning. What a great disappointment. It measured 1120 lbs and weighed 935.5 lbs. That's 20% light. Still an excellent achievement for a first year grower. Bartjan is currently no.3 and 4 in the top 10 Dutch pumpkins. His 1022.5 Lyons weighed 930 lbs and was 5% heavy.