Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 84 Entries. Saturday, March 13 View Page Well, it's the start of another exciting year of pumpkin madness! (not like it really ever ended) This year I attended the Niagara growers convention. What a weekend! Wednesday, March 24 View Page Last Christmas, I heard Santa lives in Pickering. He brought me the best present a pumpkin grower could ever wish for...A Stihl SR 420 mistblower. Thanks Chris!! Wednesday, March 24 View Page I've had this thing for almost 5 months stored away waiting for a day like today to start it up for the first time. Started beautifully...just a few adjustments... Wednesday, March 24 View Page We got MIST!!!! Wow what a machina. This is really going to make things easier this year. Wednesday, March 24 View Page As you can tell by the expression on my face... This thing is the shizznit!!! Wednesday, March 24 View Page Here's my starting line-up for 2010 I will be going with the 1180.5 Pukos. This seed has been underplanted. last year it popped a 1611lber in France same cross as the 1385. I expect to see some great results from it this year since it will see a lot more dirt...still have a few for next year. Wednesday, March 24 View Page The 901 Hunt I'm so excited to get the opportunity to grow this seed this year! I think we are going to all be shocked at what this seed can produce. Thanks Phil!!! Wednesday, March 24 View Page The 1161 Rodonis Bill's monster maker. This seeds track record speaks for itself. Also can't believe I'm getting the chance to grow this in my patch. Wednesday, March 24 View Page I think my soil is in great shape. I have a few years under my belt and some of the best seeds in the world. With the guys from the GVGO working together, I know going over a 1000lbs will be easy this year. I hope to make the following crosses and if everything goes swimmingly it would be an honor to have one of this years crosses be the GVGO 2011 Seed of The Year! (one of my goals) 901 Hunt X 1161 Rodonis 1161 Rodonis X 901 Hunt 1180 Pukos X 901 Hunt Sunday, May 30 View Page Going to hit the Plants with some Unobtanium before dark. The 901 Hunt, 1161 Rodonis and 1180 Pukos looking good...real good Sunday, July 4 View Page I've been covering the Pumpkin on the 1161 Rodonis and placing frozen bottles of water around it to try and keep it cooler. The temps have benn around 40 deg C with the Humidex. Wednesday, July 7 View Page Here's my first pollination of the year. 1161 Rodonis X 901 Hunt 5 Lobe July 4, 2010 Earliest pollination for me It's been crazy hot here the last while and I'm worried the pollination wont take. Wednesday, July 7 View Page Shot of the patch tonight with my sprinklers on Wednesday, July 7 View Page From bottom to top 1180 Pukos 1161 Rodonis 901 Hunt Wednesday, July 7 View Page I've been trying to keep it as cool as possible. Today it hit 43 with the Humidex. I've been watering 300 gallons per day Wednesday, July 7 View Page Here's a little lady ready to go for Tomorrow Morning on the 901 Hunt This pollination will be the second earliest pollination in my patch July 7, 2010 I really like the shape of this one! Wednesday, July 7 View Page These are a couple of boys on the 1161 Rodonis with their hats on. There's 3-4 that I zip-tied on the 1161 for the 901 tomorrow morning. I may try the styrofoam cooler with the ice bottles as we're supposed to see more of the extreme temperatures for at least a couple of days. Wednesday, July 7 View Page Here's the 901 Hunt X 1161 Rodonis this morning 4 males It's going to be a really HOT one today...I hope it takes!!! Wednesday, July 7 View Page Here she is after pollination. Great angle, length and shape I shaded it and put some ice bottles around to try and keep it cooler. 901 Hunt X 1161 Rodonis July 7, 2010 Friday, July 9 View Page This is the pumpkin on the 1180 Pukos this morning. It was raining like hell but I covered everything up last night and zip-tied all the males and females. Friday, July 9 View Page It was a beautiful 5 lobe 1180.5 Pukos X 901 Hunt Friday, July 9 View Page This was also this morning. 1161 Rodonis X self July 9, 2010 Friday, July 9 View Page Also this morning on the 1161. 1161 Rodonis X 1180 Pukos July 9,2010 It was kind of weird having 2 females ready on the same morning 1 node apart on the main vine. Friday, July 9 View Page The one on the left is 1161 X 1180 The one on the right is 1161 X self Friday, July 9 View Page This is the 1161 Rodonis It has three Pollinations on the main right now. The first one under the table is the 1161 X 901 and it appears to be definately growing. Friday, July 9 View Page Here's the 1180 Pukos this morning Under the table 1180 Pukos X 901 Hunt July 9, 2010 Friday, July 9 View Page Here's the 901 Hunt this morning Under the table is 901 Hunt X 1161 Rodonis The weather here has been 100+ deg the last week and I haven't been able to bury vines on any of the plants in a while. The 901 is the furthest behind. It looks like the heat has finally broken and I may be able to get caught up on the vine burying this weekend. Tuesday, July 20 View Page Trying to keep the garden consistently moist so we dont cause any surges in growth This is the 901 Hunt X 1161 Rodonis day 13 in the foreground. Friday, July 23 View Page Day 16 901 Hunt X 1161 Rodonis Put on 6" in circumference since yesterday. keeping up with benchmarks Friday, July 23 View Page Day 14 Here's the 1161 Rodonis X self This is the third pollination on this plant after a couple of aborts. It's starting to grow now but looks like it's going to be a wheel. Friday, July 23 View Page Day 14 1180 Pukos x 901 Hunt I'm really pleased with this plant, it's probably the healthiest looking out of the three. This pumpkin is catching up to the 901 Fruit with bigger day 10 and 14 numbers. Friday, July 23 View Page The patch is filling in nicely. The vines are about 75% deadheaded. Friday, July 23 View Page With the hellish record heat and Humidity it's been a real chore to keep up to the pruning and burying,but I finally have most of it done except for the secondarys that are growing forward past the fruit. I've been trying to stay on top of the spraying for the PM as the conditions have been just right for it. I have been applying Phortress and Actinovate. I will soon rotate in Pottassium Carbonate and Superman (foliar Manganese) into the the spray schedule. Friday, July 23 View Page Well, I expect to have all the vines dead headed and the patch to be completely filled in by the end of the month. The pumpkins all have their "beds" and shade structures up and I guess all we can do now is sit back and cross our fingers. Tuesday, July 27 View Page Here's the 1161 Rodonis X Self Day 18 Tuesday, July 27 View Page Here's the 1180 Pukos X 901 Hunt Day 18 Looks like it might turn a nice color. Tuesday, July 27 View Page Here's the 901 Hunt X 1161 Rodonis Day 20 71" CC All the plants look healthy. Early on a lot of the leaves looked terrible and I filled spots in with tertiary growth. Tuesday, July 27 View Page The other side of the 901 Hunt X 1161 Rodonis. I really love the shape of this pumpkin. I have been trying to keep the soil damp which I was not able to do in past years. However with all the watering, I know I ramp up disease pressure also. So I have been spraying Phortress + Seaweed and also Actinovate. Tuesday, August 3 View Page The fruit on the 1180 Pukos Day 25 214" Ott Tuesday, August 3 View Page Here's the Picture of the 1161 Rodonis Pumpkin. Tuesday, August 3 View Page This is the fruit on the 1161 Rodonis. Tuesday, August 3 View Page Here's the pumpkin on the 901 Hunt Day 27 241" Ott Tuesday, August 3 View Page The 901 Hunt. Tuesday, August 3 View Page The patch is filled in and ALL vines will be terminated by the end of the week. There's a few spots that are quite thick with growth. I let this extra growth happen in an attempt top have some newer leaves for a push in weight at the end of the season. If I continue my spraying I hope to keep the dreaded PM away. The fruit on the 901 Hunt X 1161 Rodonis is kicking it into high gear. I really like the shape of this one and I know it should go heavy if it makes it to the scales. I'll wait until the fruits are closer to day 40 to start spraying the potassium Carbonate 0-0-25 as well as some foliar Manganese. Wednesday, August 4 View Page Another one of the 1180 Pukos. Wednesday, August 4 View Page Here' the pumpkin on the 1161 Rodonis. Day 25 208" OTT Friday, August 6 View Page Day 30 for the 901 Hunt X 1161 Rodonis 264" OTT Starting to pack on 30+ Lbs/day Sunday, August 8 View Page Here's the 1161 Rodonis X Self Day 30 249" OTT I'm starting to really like this one. Sunday, August 8 View Page Here's the 1180 Pukos X 901 Hunt 30 Days 249" OTT The shape of this one makes it a little tricky to measure acurately. It looks like it will be a nice color...but the shape scares me. Sunday, August 8 View Page Tonight I sprayed CO2 for the first time in a long time. I figure now's a good as time as ever. I mixed it with a good helping of liquid seaweed. I've also been rotating sprays of Daconil, Actinovate and Phortress. Sunday, August 15 View Page Here's my friend Dave. He dropped by the patch for a visit tonight. I told him to go a few feet into the patch so there was something for size comparison, for the height of the leaves. The plants all still look healthy and in great shape. I will have a lot of newer growth that should give em a push right to the end. Sunday, August 15 View Page Here's my 901 Hunt. It will be 40 days tomorrow and I'll be 32 years. Can't wait to see what she tape's tomorrow!! Sprayed 0-0-30 tonight. Monday, August 16 View Page Here's the 1180 Pukos X 901 Hunt Day 38 500+ lbs This one started cantelouping early on and it's thumping nicely. Monday, August 16 View Page This is another angle of the 1180 Pukos X 901 Hunt. She's got nice wide back end. Monday, August 16 View Page Man, I'm just starting to love the looks of this pumpkin! 1161 Rodonis X Self Day 38 500++ Monday, August 16 View Page 901 Hunt X 1161 Rodonis Day 40 700lbs Hit the plants with pHortress and a lot of seaweed! Tuesday, August 24 View Page Went to the patch to check on things. HOLY CRAP!!! Whats that sitting on the stem of my 1180 Pukos? Tuesday, August 24 View Page It's Team Lunatic Elite Forces Patch Security! Tuesday, August 24 View Page 1161 Rodonis Day 47 Starting to turn out to be a really nice pumpkin. Tuesday, August 24 View Page 901 Hunt Day 49 I will measure it tomorrow for day 50 and then I swear I wont measure it again until harvest. Things have slowed down a bit now. Getting cold at night and I'm kicking myself for letting there be so many pop up terts. It's getting hard to get in there to get rid of them without doing too much damage. Went to Lee Valley to get a 10' long arm pruner last week. Just my luck, out of stock till the middle of September. I'm sure I could be getting better growth if it wasn't for all the tertiary growth. The plants still look great! Tuesday, August 24 View Page 901 Hunt Day 49 I will measure it tomorrow for day 50 and then I swear I wont measure it again until harvest. Things have slowed down a bit now. Getting cold at night and I'm kicking myself for letting there be so many pop up terts. It's getting hard to get in there to get rid of them without doing too much damage. Went to Lee Valley to get a 10' long arm pruner last week. Just my luck, out of stock till the middle of September. I'm sure I could be getting better growth if it wasn't for all the tertiary growth. The plants still look great! Wednesday, September 1 View Page Here's the 1180 Pukos Low flat and wide...looks heavy! Day 54 Wednesday, September 1 View Page The 1161 Rodonis This one has been really comming on strong. It's taping the same size as the 901 Hunt Day 54 Wednesday, September 1 View Page The 1161 Rodonis This one has been really comming on strong. It's taping the same size as the 901 Hunt Day 54 Wednesday, September 1 View Page This is the 901 Hunt. Day 56 It really thumps like concrete. Wednesday, September 1 View Page The patch is the healthiest I've had it at this time of year. With the weather cooperating this fall I hope to still see these things chugging right along right up to the weighoffs. Friday, September 24 View Page Here's my 1180 Pukos X 901 Hunt I was getting it ready to load up today for Pembroke tomorrow and I found a soft mush spot on the bottom. Friday, September 24 View Page Other side of the 1180 Pukos. Friday, September 24 View Page I cut the 1180 to pieces tonight and found that it had indeed split in the bottom where it was impossible to see. The blossom end had grown right over itself and the bottom was at least 6-8" concave. Real shame. Wednesday, September 29 View Page Here's the 901 Hunt this morning. I think it has all but stopped growing. This is a perfect pumpkin! Wednesday, September 29 View Page I know this beast has to go heavy! I know there's no scientific proof behind the thump test...but this pumpkin doesn't make a sound when you thump it! Wednesday, September 29 View Page Here's the 1161 Rodonis. This thing has been a steady grower. It tapes bigger than my 901 Hunt but I think I have a real dlemna on my hands. Which one weighs More??? Wednesday, September 29 View Page The 1161 in the foregraound, 901 Hunt in the back. You can see my plants are still looking great for Sept 29th. Wednesday, September 29 View Page Here's the patch from the other side with the 901 Hunt in the foreground. This is the healthiest my leaves have looked this late in the season. I had a much later start than most and I put the seedlings out on May 24th. I think it's a balancing act to find a good start date. Next year I will most likely start a week earlier than this year. Only three more days until my very first GPC weighoff in Port Elgin! Can't wait to see everyone and I wish everyone the best of luck! Saturday, October 2 View Page Here we are travelling to Port Elgin for my first GPC event. Saturday, October 2 View Page Here's my 1161 Rodonis X Self waiting to be unloaded. She really looks nice up on the trailer. Saturday, October 2 View Page Here we are inside the main tent. My pumpkin is about to hit the scales. Saturday, October 2 View Page WooHoo! 1197.6 lbs. Good enough to stay on the leaderboard for the day. I ended up in 7th place. What an unbelievable feeling! Saturday, October 2 View Page Here's my son and I celebrating after a long day at the scales. The 1197.6 Matesa 10 1161 Rodonis X Self This pumpkin was a steady grower right to the very end. It was about 85 days old when harvested and still had a lot of growth left in her. I'm glad I selfed it and cant wait to grow this seed next year to see it's full potential. Saturday, October 30 View Page Here's my 1012.5 Matesa 901 Hunt X 1161 Rodonis The pollinator grew my 1197.6 Matesa Saturday, October 30 View Page Sorry! That last picture is the 1197.6 Matesa 1161 Rodonis X Self It had an extremely low seed count and I will send out as many good seeds as I have available. I will definatley be planting this seed next year. Saturday, October 30 View Page This is the 1012.5 Matesa 901 Hunt X 1161 Rodonis Getting ready for halloween. Saturday, October 30 View Page HAPPY HALLOWEEN!! Saturday, October 30 View Page Seeds are almost ready this year! I had an extremely low seed count out of my 1197.6 Matesa The 1161 Rodonis X Self I will do a test germination on a few to make sure they are viable. but I have less than 20 left. I have an amazing seed count out of my 1012.5 Matesa 901 hunt X 1161 Rodonis If anyone is interested, just shoot me an email. It would be an honor to have them see dirt Both of these seeds will be seeing dirt in my garden next year.