Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 48 Entries. Saturday, March 24 View Page We are finally expecting 60 degree weather here today. I finished my catalog of seed packs and will try to research 6 for the garden. I recently joined the GVGO, and am very happy I have done so. Just for my small membership fee, I am entitled to view a limited window of the AGGC, and they sent me 26 packs of pumpkin seeds, 2 packs of giant squash, 1 pack of tall corn, 1 pack of long gourds, and 1 pack of giant tomatoe. I am starting my garden tomatoes right now, and the giants from the GVGO. I will also plant the tall corn, but have no interest in the long gourds. Saturday, March 24 View Page Thanks in advance to everyone who has sent me seeds for my second year of growing the AG. Bill Foss, Eric Gerry, Joe Kurilich, Bruce Whittier, Anders Lilja, and the GVGO. You have been great, and to date I have over 50 packs to research and later choose from. I will spend some time listing them in this diary, and hopefully getting some advice from other growers. Saturday, March 24 View Page My winter in general was pretty dull. We had fantastic weather here in NE North Dakota, and my wife and I went to Ixtapa Mexico at the end of January. I'll post pictures later. Beautiful place. Wednesday, April 11 View Page Lots of seed packs to choose from this year. I joined the GVGO for $20, and Phil and the group sent me a great number of seeds. My thanks to the GVGO, Bill Foss, Eric Gerry, Joe Kurilich, Bruce Whittier, and Anders Lilja. Another thank you should go out to Bill Williton for sending me some extra seeds outside of the GVGO. Wednesday, April 11 View Page My selections for six seeds are: 1213 Foss 06 (1314 Beauchiem x 845 Bobier), 983 Whittier (1180 Daletas x self), 912.5 Gerry 06 (1370 Rose x 582 Hester), 505 Williton 06 (1068 Wallace x 1446 Eaton), 1355.5 Marion 06 (947 Hunt 05 dmg x self), and the 967 Kurilich 04 (1230 Daletas x 1076.5 Werner). Wednesday, April 11 View Page My backups are 818.5 Foss 06 (845 Bobier x 1314 Beauchiem), 1217 Whittier 05 dmg (994 Whittier x 1180 Daletas), 941.5 Mackenzie 06 (1163.5 Mackenzie x 1370 Rose), 1068 Foss 06 dmg (1101 Northrup x 845 Bobier), 616.5 Gerry 06 (842 Eaton x self), and the 884 Ornskov 06 (500 Northrup x 1233.5 Reiss). Wednesday, April 11 View Page Bruce Whittier was nice enough to send me some of his 2006 seeds, and I hid them so well that I cannot find them. Some day if we move, they will turn up. Weather is finally turning a little warmer, and hopefully the farmers in this area will start in the fields. I love springs work. There is nothing like a 100+ hour work week to make up for a dull winter. Saturday, May 5 View Page Started four seeds yesterday, filed edges, soaked for two hours and planted in peat pots. Planted two 983 Whittier and one 967 Kurilich. The 983 had some dried mildew on the outside of the seeds, so I planted the two I have. Also started the backup for the 983 which is the 1217 Whittier 05 damage. I am planning on staggering the seeds I start just in case something goes wrong. I should have plenty of extra plants to give out to friends. Sunday, May 20 View Page Haven't posted in a while, and have no pictures to show yet. Very busy at work, but, with the early spring, the farmers around here are only a few days from finishing their planting. Transplanted in the garden are 1217 Whittier 05 Damage, 967 Kurilich, and the 1355.5 Marion. There is a 505 Williton growing in my greenhouse which will go out next week, and one spot is still open. Lots of later seeds are poking through yet, and I will give them out to friends. Monday, June 18 View Page Wet, cool temps this spring have put my plants behind last year. They aren't running a vine out yet, and I am pretty sure there is some chemical damage to them. I used a commercial fungicide mixed too strong, and the leaves came out misshapen. But, all new growth now appears healthy. ' I estimate I am a week off of schedule for plant growth, but we will see if the summer will help me catch up. Rain every week up here. Monday, June 18 View Page My 505 Williton croaked a few weeks ago, but the Whittier, Kurilich, and Marion plants are still alive. In a bad spot in the garden is the 576 Foss, but it looks sick and is slow to grow. I will post pictures later when I make time. Thursday, July 19 View Page Pollinated my 1217 Whittier on 7-17. Things seem to be growing, but this weekend will be very hot and I will be on vacation. Double main vine 1217 was pollinated with a 1355.5 Marion on one end, and a 967 Kurilich on another. 1355.5 Marion and 967 will open either Friday morning before I leave, or shortly after. I'll train one of my neighbors on how to pollinate. My 576 Foss is lagging behind, but will donate some pollen and maybe produce a genetics cross for next year. Bad spot in the garden with lots of clay, and not far from a row of evergreen trees. Pictures to follow. Thursday, July 19 View Page About three weeks ago I fertilized with Alaska fish fertilizer that I bought at Wal-mart. Since many growers use fish, I tried it. NEVER AGAIN. At first it only smells like two day old, 95 degree outside temperature, 90% humidity DOG POO, but when you mix it with water, the whole yard smells like an old minnow bucket. It really made my Miracle Gro injector stink. I also ended up getting sprayed with the stuff. lol. Here is an advertisement for Alaska fish: "Alaska Fish Fertilizer...because vomit is good for an organic garden too." Maybe a few Lord Calverts will change my mind some night. But if anyone wants like two free quarts of this stuff, swing by my house and pick it up! Thursday, July 26 View Page Pollinated 1355.5 Marion with 1217 Whittier, and 967 Kurilich with 1355.5 Marion on 7-19. Everything opened up right before we left for vacation. Pictures soon I hope. 1217 Whittier x 967 and x 1355.5 are growing well. The Kurilich offspring seems to be growing more, but I will give it some time yet. A hard 2.25" of rain last night with some hail hit town late last night, all in just over an hour. No visible damage to my garden yet, but I'm sure things are a little bruised up. Friday, July 27 View Page Gave a shot of Alaska Fish and Alga Core kelp last night. They don't mix well in a Miracle Gro Injector. The fish still smells like hell...yuck. I did notice that the Whittier fruit grew close to four inches over night though. Friday, July 27 View Page This afternoon it appears that the Marion fruit is growing, but the Kurilich is faltering. I forgot to include that I pollinated my 576 Foss this morning with three 1355.5 Marion males. Should be nice and late for that one. Both fruits on the 1217 Whittier double main are around 24" cir this morning at around day 10. Is this good, bad, or normal? I may have to keep both. Wednesday, August 1 View Page Whittier x Kurilich 41" Cir, 32" ss, 32" bs for 105" Ott. Grew around 4" in circumfrence since yesterday. Whittier x Marion 38" cir, 30" ss, 30" bs for 98" OTT. Day 15 for both. I'll Wait until day 20 to cull one. I have pictures to post hopefully tonight. .75" of rain last night. Temperatures are mellowing into the 80's this week so hopefully the stress will be less. The 1355.5 Marion x 1217 Whittier is growing very very slow. I'll have to watch it, and my 967 Kurilich plant will be pulled out tonight. All fruits keep aborting, even though the plant looks healthy. Thursday, August 2 View Page Whittier x Kurilich 45 cir, 35ss, 34 bs for 114" OTT for 40 lbs est. Whittier x Marion 41 cir, 34 ss, 32 bs for 107" OTT for 34 lbs est. Thursday, August 2 View Page I tore out my 967 Kurilich last night. Plant was the healthiest and best groomed in the garden, but it would not hold onto a fruit. Everything I tried to pollinate was black and dead in a few days. Thursday, August 2 View Page Finally some pictures. Hope this works. The picture of the lightening was taken late in the evening at the end of July. Thursday, August 2 View Page Here is one of the two pumpkins on the 1217 Whittier. Both have nice shape so far, but this one is growing a little faster. This one is 1217 Whittier x 967 Kurilich. Getting a real blocky, misshapen look to it. Thursday, August 2 View Page Ooops, here is the 1217 Whittier x 967 Kurilich. Thursday, August 2 View Page 1217 Whittier x 1355.5 Marion. Both are around 16 days old, and I may keep both to them. If August holds out as a warm month, I could get a couple of large pumpkins from this plant. I'm hoping for 400 lbs due to my late start this year. Thursday, August 2 View Page For those of you who will notice, there will ALWAYS be a picture of an alcoholic beverage in my diary. Just the way it is. Beer makes me a jolly good fellow... Friday, August 3 View Page 1217 Whittier x 967 Kurilich 48" Cir, 37" bs, 38" ss for 123" Ott or 48.6 lbs est. 1217 Whittier x 1355.5 Marion 45" Cir, 34" bs, 36" ss for 115" OTT for 40.9 lbs est. Saturday, August 4 View Page Day 18 for the Whittier pumpkins. 1217 x 1355.5 47" cir, 35" bs, 38" ss for 120" ott for 45.6 lbs. 1217 x 967 51" cir, 40" ss, 39" bs for 130" ott for 56.1 lbs est. Saturday, August 4 View Page The pumpkin on my 1355.5 Marion plant is very slow growing, but I will let her do whatever it can. The 576 Foss fruit is also very slow growing. Sunday, August 5 View Page Day 19 Whittier x Marion 51" cir, 40" ss, 37" bs for 128" OTT. Whittier x Kurilich 55" cir, 40" bs, 42" ss for 137" ott. Monday, August 6 View Page Day 20 for the 1217 Whittier plant. 1217 x 1355.5 53" cir, 42" side to side, 38" blossem to stem end for 133" OTT for 59.5 lbs estimated weight. 1217 x 967 59" circumfrence, 41" bs, 44" ss for 144" ott for 73.3 lbs. I'm keeping both pumpkins. I have them positioned nice on the vines, and they are gaining weight. 1355.5 Marion x 1217 Whittier is growing but slow, haven't measured yet. 576 Foss is really slow, but I pollinated another female this weekend with the 1355.5 Marion. Tuesday, August 7 View Page Slow gains with the cool and rainy weather. 1217 x 967 Day 21 60" cir, 43" bs, 45" ss for 148" ott. 1217 x 1355.5 57" cir, 39" bs, 42" ss for 138" ott. They need some heat. Tuesday, August 7 View Page 1217 Whittier x 1355.5 Marion Day 21. Empty Miller Lite cans provide nice vine support. Tuesday, August 7 View Page 1217 Whittier x 967 Kurilich Day 21. Getting a real blocky look to it, just like the original 1217 Whittier. It has leaf scrapes that are really showing up, and some stretch marks on the blossom end. Once again, beer is offering support. Monday, August 13 View Page I need to recap my last couple of days. I had some friends from work come over to look over my garden. There is Tony..... Monday, August 13 View Page Steve... Monday, August 13 View Page and Travis. It was going to be a boys night out to have a few beers and some general BS. Monday, August 13 View Page I seen them drive up in a purple RV, but they would not come to my door. I went out to knock on the door to see if they were having trouble. Monday, August 13 View Page All I could hear was this cheesy disco music around the back of the vehicle. So I walked around and they were all dancing and singing..... Monday, August 13 View Page YMCA...IT"S FUN TO STAY AT THE YMCA... I ran away. Monday, August 13 View Page Today my season ended with a wicked hail storm. Ruined a lot of crops around the area that were almost ready to harvest. Everything in the country looked fantastic, and now there are many fields that will be tilled under. Here is a field of spring wheat not far from town. Monday, August 13 View Page Hail in my yard. Monday, August 13 View Page In a toy truck on our deck. Monday, August 13 View Page Garden shot. Monday, August 13 View Page HERE is a picture of the garden. Monday, August 13 View Page One of my largest pumpkins before... Monday, August 13 View Page And after. It looked like they were shot with a BB gun. Monday, August 13 View Page So the kids and I carved and salvaged some seeds from the bigger pumpkins. Monday, August 13 View Page Erika helped too. Monday, August 13 View Page I spent the evening picking damaged cukes, tomatoes, and watermelon for a friend to feed the deer near his stand. Hopefully they will help him get a trophy. The seeds I salvaged are 1217 Whittier x 967 Kurilich and 1217 Whittier x 1355.5 Marion. I was surprised that the seeds were mature at only 30 days. Both pumpkins were around 150 pounds, and yielded lots of seeds for anyone who is interested. I'll be back next year. Thanks again to everyone who gave me advice again this year. Thanks to Travis, Steve, and Tony for laughing at me for being a gardening nerd. I'll be sending this link to everyone at work. heh heh.