Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 123 Entries. Thursday, January 1 View Page Happy New year everyone! may everyone grow a personal best and a great year. It sure was cold last night setting fireworks off and all, wind chills at 0 degrees. Coldest yet this winter. Monday, January 5 View Page So finally my 98.75 long gourd began to dry and it has decent seeds in it that look normal. The 95 of mine for whatever reason the seeds were all white a few light brown but cant get any to sprout on 2 tests. Going to test the seeds from the 98 and will offer them up. So if anyone wants to try some long gourds stay tuned ill post when there ready. Friday, January 16 View Page 18 for todays high, 5 tonight. Tuesday, January 20 View Page Lots of ice out everywhere, we had some really cold weather for extended periods, IT hit like 5 degrees the other night which was coldest in 5 years here. Wednesday, February 11 View Page Really looking forward to this season, and spring especially, Today was 69 degrees and felt great to have a warm day for a change. Also looking forward to planting in two new locations this year as well as the other from before, I really did alot of ammending to the soil in the fall and throughout winter in those locations. Spring shouldnt be to far away now. Monday, April 6 View Page Getting ready for this years season, really looking forward to it. Just waiting for the time to come, havent finalized my lineup yet, but will very shortly. Wednesday, April 8 View Page Dumped about 2-3 wheelbarrows of manure. Plan on adding alot more, This is at my community garden plot, very little of that land is my plot, I need to add a lot more to it. Luckily a local farmer regularly dumps a pile down at the end of the community garden for anyone to access. Sunday, April 19 View Page Wont be long now till seed starting, Im probably shooting for the 25th to start seeds. 77 degrees yesturday I see 80 degrees in our forcast! Saturday, April 25 View Page This should be pretty smooth seed sprouting this year. Its 88 today and is supposed to stay that way the next 5 days. 90 for the next 2 days. crazy april warmth. The room temperature of my growing area is 83 degrees. Wednesday, April 29 View Page So the weather being in the upper 80's and lower 90s made it real easy for starting seed. Heres one that fully popped the soil. 1129 orleck (985 Werner x 1041 Mckie) Friday, May 1 View Page I plan to post my other pumpkins and such i am growing probably tomorow. stay tuned Sunday, May 3 View Page Well heres 3 of the Giants. They are ready to go in the ground now, the roots have hit the bottom of there gallon container. left is 1129 Orleck, center is 1157 Bhaskaran (826.5 Heyne x 1290 Poirier) uow and the right is the 1004 Mohr.( 772 Poirier x 1317.5 Rose) Sunday, May 3 View Page Heres 2 more just about 2 days behind the other 3. Left is the 895 Privitera (1096.5 Privitera x 1041 Mckie) And the right is the 766 Caron (1408.5 Daletas x 1502 Wallace) Sunday, May 3 View Page Should be about 2 more pumpkins added to those. Also growing a bunch of melons, 24 Moore cantaloupe, offspring of the 26 Schnicker as well as some watermelons . Some are up already and others should be up any time now. Will post more about them soon. This weather has been in the 50s and raining for the second day now and supposed to continue the next 3 days..... Monday, May 4 View Page So the rain continues, Cant even get the plants in, and the forcast predicts rain the next 3 days now. temperatures sitting around 50-55. Just a break in the rain would be nice, maybe for a hour, to get these plants in. The patch must be flooded. Wednesday, May 6 View Page The 1129 Orleck, 1004 Mohr and the 1157 Bhasharan UOW happily went into there patch today during our hour of so of sunlight. probably the first time this week the sun was out. Well more rain tonight. The others are going in very shortly they are just a day or two behind. Monday, May 11 View Page 1157 UOW Bhaskaran Monday, May 11 View Page 1004 Mohr. Monday, May 11 View Page 766 Caron Monday, May 11 View Page 1129 Orleck Monday, May 11 View Page Still have 2 pumpkin plants ready to go in. 895 Privetera, 900 Langevin and also have a 669.5 Miller '02'. Took this thing a while to pop. Its the 845 x 723 Bobier. Saturday, May 16 View Page Man the 1157 UOW Bhaskaran Just never sent up its first leaf when it should have, its growing some leaves but they look kinda mutated unfortunately, I might drop a backup next to it just in case. Monday, May 18 View Page jeez 42 degrees for tonights low. lets loose the cold weather for the summer already... Monday, May 18 View Page Not the greatest picture but i covered up all the pumpkins for the night forcast now saying 38 thats just ridiculous Tuesday, May 19 View Page 895 Privitera Growing in my backyard garden. Next to it were some volunteer fairytale pumpkins which have been moved as well as the cage removed off of the 895. Monday, May 25 View Page 1004 Mohr, all the pumpkins seemed to have a rough start, the weather i think had a good bit to do with it. Monday, May 25 View Page 1129 orleck lookin good Monday, May 25 View Page 766 Caron also doing well Saturday, May 30 View Page 1129 orleck about to touch down. Saturday, May 30 View Page 766 Caron Saturday, May 30 View Page 1004 Mohr Saturday, May 30 View Page the 1157 UOW bhaskaran started mutating a little so i planted the 669.5 Miller next to it. Saturday, May 30 View Page Also the 895.5 privitera stopped growing so i planted a 947 Lembke next to it. Saturday, May 30 View Page It seemed to be a rough start but things are coming together now. I sprayed well today and fed the pumpkins well also. I will be in miami beach for a week. My dad will be looking over and watering them during the week. Most of the pumpkins should be well vining by then. I also have some long gourds planted and some giant watermelons and cantaloupes. Will update when i get back. Tuesday, June 9 View Page Had a great time in miami. All the plants held up well, it rained alot and was cool while i was away, the plants really took off. Heres a pic of the 1129 Orleck Tuesday, June 9 View Page 669.5 Miller - It was planted a week or so after the others, its catching up. Tuesday, June 9 View Page 1004 Mohr- The cucumber beetles 2 weeks ago attacked the plants and this is the residue from that early damage, there not hanging around anymore. i will keep on the spray schedule. Tuesday, June 9 View Page 766 Caron Tuesday, June 9 View Page My melon rows. cantaloupes and watermelons, all different labeled varieties at my veggie plot Tuesday, June 9 View Page growing long gourds this year of coarse. this is the 93 bassett. I didnt have any luck sprouting the 124 eaton , the 106.25 eaton, also tried the 115.25 kline with unfortunatley no success. so i am growing the 93 bassett as well as seeds from my lg's from last year grown from the 93 bassett. I have 6 plants in the running in various growing locations. Tuesday, June 9 View Page Some of the giant watermelons, shown in the front is the 160 bhaskaran , behind it is the 157 james behind it i have the 120 bhaskaran ,i have 2- 180 bhaskarans and a 175 bhaskaran. They are all doing well and are beginning to take off. Friday, June 12 View Page sprayed aliette today. trying to prevent phytophthora this year from even starting. its done me in practically the last two years. The soil is pretty wet, we have been getting alot of rain, but the pumpkins are really taking off. We could use some more sun though. Tuesday, June 16 View Page 1004 mohr Tuesday, June 16 View Page So after a second or two of looking at the vine tip i noticed the double vine. so i removed the smaller of the two tips. Tuesday, June 16 View Page heres the 1129 orleck about 10 feet out Tuesday, June 16 View Page 766 Caron. the plant looks weird at the moment, it was slightly angled wrong so its being redirected. The secondaries were running in weird ways Tuesday, June 16 View Page 669.5 miller, had a late start, currently its main vine hasnt really touched down yet and seems to be a very thick stem for its size. Im going to watch and see what its going to do. Thursday, June 18 View Page And the cool wet conditions continue with more rain. Its been like this since early spring. Monday, June 22 View Page Got to the patch today, its about time it stopped raining for a day. The patch could almost be mistaken for a swamp. Spotted phytophthora on one of the 669.5 miller i attempted to treat as well as sprayed all the plants well with another dose of aliette, in hopes to prevent the others from getting it as well as it spreading. we should see how it goes. With all the rain it didnt surprise me the least to see it hit already. Tuesday, June 23 View Page The other plants are doing very well however, vines mostly at 10 feet or more, Females visable on all the mains and a bunch on some secondaries. Tuesday, June 23 View Page 1129 Orleck Tuesday, June 23 View Page 1129 Orleck first female would open tomorow morning. I removed it as its about 9 feet out, the second one apears to be to appear at about 14 feet which i will keep for starters. Tuesday, June 23 View Page 1004 Mohr. It seems to have minimal side vines at the moment, its just the way its been growing. It did have a double vine going but is now back to normal. Tuesday, June 23 View Page 1004 Mohr first female. Tuesday, June 23 View Page 766 Caron. Has some shreaded leaves from an earlier cucumber beetle attack, Its new growth is healty though. Tuesday, June 23 View Page Here is the problem in the patch, 669.5 Miller Did some surgery tonight, tomorow i will probably take out the main trunk, Its contaminated already, The main vine is buried so it will have to adapt on its own root and recover when i remove the trunk, its really its only hope at this point. Ive taken much caution when dealing with this plant as well as tools used on this plant, they all get sprayed with Lysol in which i bring out to the patch with me, Especially when dealing with the healthy plants in attempt to prevent spreading. Probably would be best to remove the plant all together and just bleach around where the plant would have been. Will see depending on how it goes. Tuesday, June 23 View Page Close up of the trunk area. Sorry for the blur Wednesday, June 24 View Page the uow 1157 bhaskaran which never seemed to vine out with the others turned out a ribbon vine. Its seen pictured along next to the 669.5 miller as i planted as a backup after noticing something wasnt right on it. It got pulled tonight as phytophthora also hit it. But it wasnt a surprise with it being so close to the 669.5 Saturday, June 27 View Page Well just when it began to dry out in the warmth of 90 degrees we got hit with a heavy downpour of over an inch of rain. The patch was puddles of water after checking it out after the storm had cleared. Monday, June 29 View Page 1129 Orleck. vine is 15 feet or more, massive plant already. Getting ready for set of a female in about 2 days Monday, June 29 View Page 1004 Mohr. second female getting ready to open Monday, June 29 View Page 776 Caron. Monday, June 29 View Page Just an above plant shot of the 1129 Orleck Monday, June 29 View Page The pumpkins are holding up well, i have been really been looseing up the soil to allow for better drainage. With all the rain we have been having the soil kept getting compacted. Ive been pruning mostly every other side vine,to allow more air circulation to help prevent phytophthora. Monday, June 29 View Page 1129 Orleck female opens tomorow morning, its the second female on the main so far at about 14 feet. This one i will attempt to keep. I will be out to polinate it tomorow morning. 1004 Mohr should bloom the following day. Monday, June 29 View Page 900 est langevin. This plant is growing in a different location at my moms back yard. Tuesday, June 30 View Page Female opened this morning on the 1129 Orleck (985 Werner x 1041 Mckie) I crossed it with the 1004 Mohr(772 Poirier x 1317.5 Rose) Tuesday, June 30 View Page Heres a overview of the 1129 Orleck this morning Tuesday, June 30 View Page 766 Caron Tuesday, June 30 View Page 1004 Mohr Tuesday, June 30 View Page 8 ball zucchini Tuesday, June 30 View Page Im rather concerned about what i seen today among the plants. i noticed 2-3 side vines wilting between the plants, and it was concerning as they most likely would be more phytophthora damage. I probably will remove those side vines completly Tuesday, June 30 View Page 1004 Mohr second female on the main opens tomorow. Wednesday, July 1 View Page 1004 Mohr female opens today. polinated with the 766 Caron 1004 Mohr(772 Poirier x 1317.5 Rose) x 766 Caron (1408.5 Daletas 1502 wallace) Wednesday, July 1 View Page So i got asked a random question while working in the pumpkin patch today. Someone asked if this was an experimental garden. lol. i was like hmm well i guess you could consider it one. Its really a patch of Giant pumpkins. I think it was because i have wood posts with a big pumpkin seed name tag including its two parents of its genetics. Wednesday, July 1 View Page So i go back to the patch this evening and as im walking in i see some wilting on the 1129. Sadly the main vine tip of the 1129 orleck had a phytophthora lesion right behind the newly pollinated pumpkin from yesturday. So off it went, and with that went my last polination from yesturday was on it. Oh well ill run the last secondary to continue the main. I think for future i wont take off the first female on the plant even though it may not be far enough out. you just never know Thursday, July 2 View Page last night the weather hit us with more excessive rains to flood the patch, when will it stop. With that phyto- continued about its buisness to kill even more vines. I now find no need to remove any more side vines or any pumpkins. Thursday, July 2 View Page that is as far as pruning healthy vines. Off coarse all infected vines get removed. Friday, July 3 View Page Would ya believe that. this field let me tell ya...... Friday, July 3 View Page 766 Caron hangin in there, just hoping it stays healthy Friday, July 3 View Page 1004 Mohr. This lost its main tip as well. Friday, July 3 View Page 1004 Mohr female i pollinated july-1. and figures that it would hit right under that pumpkin. So thats another one down. Friday, July 3 View Page Upon removal of this main vine section i figured id post a picture closeup of a typical damaged area. Friday, July 3 View Page Well the longgourds are doing well and their trellis is now up. The watermelons and cantaloupes are taking off now as well. We are getting sun for a change now, but the nightly flooding storms need to end, or itl end the pumpkins real soon. Theres just to much damage going on in short periods of time, I could be out there at noon or during heat of the day and the plants be healthy and look hydrated but just a few hours later in the afternoon have wilting and those lesions on the vines that werent there just a few hours ago. Ive been spraying daconil, aliette and ortho max disease control. Is it doing anything? it doesnt seem to control this problem. Anyone use anything that you think would work? any thoughts would be greatly appreciated, thanks. [email protected] Friday, July 3 View Page Well yesturday after work i stopped at the patch. Working for a big nursery garden center i talked with the greenhouse growers about phytophthora hoping to get an answer. I asked what they used to prevent as well as treat it. Well they showed me their small binder which was a breakdown listing of insects and diseases and under each was a number of what treated and prevented it. It was very helpfull. It listed subdue maxx, banrot and a few others. They had given me some Banrot enough to treat my 3 main plants using a drench solution. So in the afternoon i sprayed so i can just hope that it will save what remains of my plants. Friday, July 3 View Page My findings before spraying in the evening wasthat the 1004 mohr had lost its connection on the main at only 4 feet out. the vine was completly rotted out by phyto, however the rest down the line that was not connected to the stump anymore owas rather healthy and showed hardly any wilt, so it must have a good root going for itself. The 1129 had a similar problem spotted the day before except that it was found at about 8 feet out. The 766 Caron however, has still a pretty large plant intact, it lost just the main 3 feet of the tip the other day and that was it. Hopefully with spraying they will recover and growback. Saturday, July 4 View Page Happy 4th of july everyone! Tuesday, July 21 View Page Still fighting to keep my plants at my main patch alive. I put some black plastic down to cover the soil around the 2 stumps that i have left, all vines touching the soil died back to the trunk area and about a foot of the main left. The 1004 mohr continues pushing new growth from the trunk, really at this point im just seeing what they will do by allowing the new growth to grow off of the ground. Tuesday, July 21 View Page Long gourd wise im starting to set some lg's on the plant, i have 5 plants growing in various locations. Sunday, July 26 View Page So i was thinking about the problems with growing up at the community garden and the severe phytophthora problems. Being three years of losing my plants half way through the season . Im considering alternatives. Now you can prevent the outbreaks by proper drainage and others ways of prevention. For one the field doesnnt drain well and we always seem to get a time where it rains for days and leaves the field in an inch of water. Well it came to me a rather crazy idea, that is to grow the entire vine along pallets, basically cover the patch in pallets for the plant to grow on. this would sit the plants say 6 inches or so from touching the ground. The water can sit on the soil and flood for all i care itl all run under the pallets while the plant is safely above it. Off coarse i would mound the main trunk up as well. Ive noticed though that the main trunks continue to push new growth even if the whole vine died to the blight. Ive also noticed how toxic the soil is to the vine, the new growth from the trunk touches down back onto the soil, and gets those water soaked lesions on it within a day, and by the next that whole piece is dead. For whats left in this patch this season i may just give it a shot, with really the one plant still has some vines to it. the past two seasons i would bury the whole plant to get it all rooted out, but it seems like even though its such a benefit to the plant, in this condition itl have to do without. Thursday, July 30 View Page heres one set on the 900 est langevin plant growing in the yard, and not in my contaminated main patch. Sunday, August 2 View Page At my main plot im very surprised how the 766 Caron plant is growing back nicely, a good comeback and outlived the other 3 plants that died to phytophthora. It couldnt be any more of a perfect year for blights and diseases here in the garden, it hasnt stopped raining yet. im going to begin placing pallets under the new vines on the 766 caron plant to test out my idea. Wednesday, August 5 View Page 900 est langevin fruit growing well. slightly late but its been a struggle this year. Monday, August 10 View Page Day 18 for the 900 est langevin Wednesday, August 12 View Page Day 20 for the 900 langevin fruit (1689 Jutras x 1502 Wallace) Wednesday, August 12 View Page Also just set a fruit on the 895 Privitera. Day 2 for it. I know its late but what the heck ill take it. Thursday, August 13 View Page Set some lg's on my plants finally. I was hoping that longwood was having a lg's as a category but not again for this year. Saturday, August 15 View Page 900 langevin fruit Monday, August 17 View Page day 25 for the 900 langevin. Ott #139 Monday, August 17 View Page 93 degrees again today, tomorow is supposed to be the same. Wednesday, August 19 View Page 900 langevin 62-43-43 #148 ott est 78.8 lbs Wednesday, August 19 View Page one of my lg's ahead of the others. Wednesday, August 19 View Page Heres a top view of it today. If you notice in some of the pictures it has fencing around it, to keep the dog from running through the plant. Wednesday, August 19 View Page The 900 langevin fruit seems to take its grandparents color and shape(the 1502 wallace) as of now. Saturday, August 29 View Page ott # 173 est 120 lbs. for the 900 langevin Sunday, August 30 View Page 900 langevin Saturday, September 19 View Page 900 est langevin update. Didnt get to do an ott estimate recently but it seemed to slow down on its regular pace. Cant complain cause the plant size is really small and contained to a small area of my backyard. Saturday, September 19 View Page its got some interesting color patterns green orange mostly white at the moment. coated the stem with a daconil as i didnt want to take chances with all the rain , cool and damp weather this season. Friday, September 25 View Page 900 langevin Saturday, September 26 View Page the interesting color patterns Friday, October 16 View Page Hoping for a clear day for saturday for longwoods weigh off. The weather isnt looking to good right about now. Sunday, October 18 View Page Heres the langevin fruit before it was loaded for the weigh off. Sunday, October 18 View Page It ended up weighing 118. not as much as i thought it would but, it ended up in 10th place, i wouldnt of thought that would happen, only because there was 11 pumpkins and one was disqualified. Sunday, October 18 View Page forgot to add this pic to the last entry Sunday, October 18 View Page Jim Gerhardt's big n orange pumpkin hitting the scale. Sunday, October 18 View Page Hilstolsky's 1212.5 Sunday, October 18 View Page heaviest at longwoods weigh of the Stelts 1421.5. He also had the 1662.5 on the truck bed, What a huge pumpkin that was and great color too. Sunday, October 18 View Page A look from inside where everyone was keeping warm and dry. It was a rather cold and rainy day. Sunday, October 18 View Page A look from the back of the whole pumpkin lineup. Sunday, October 18 View Page and again Sunday, October 18 View Page me with my 118. Sunday, October 18 View Page The Harp's made an appearence Sunday, December 20 View Page So here was the result of the nor'easter which slammed us with 22" of snow! Its been long since we had a good snow.