Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 27 Entries. Sunday, April 17 View Page With Gordon coming out of retirement, Andrew's killer lineup, Foxes going crazy on soil prep, Dr Pumpkin's brain power, and Dave B's extreme dedication to the sport, I'm thinking my best bet is to not grow this year. I really should quit while I'm ahead and not set myself up for disappointment. Sunday, May 1 View Page Or should I swing for the fence and try to go bigger than ever? Be scared boys. Be very, very scared ;) I'm comin' for you. McConkie patch on the left, Quigs on the right. IT'S ON!!! Saturday, May 7 View Page "Double bag" technique AKA "greenhouse within a greenhouse" AKA "bring on the 25 degree night temps". Dave B, please don't mind the extension cords in the previous post. I don't even know what they're doing there really. They don't do anything to help the pumpkin plant. Wow...it's really not like me to talk so much... Sunday, May 8 View Page ...crap. Hope you guys know it's all in good fun. I think the UGPG is going to have a BIG year. Best of luck to all. Saturday, May 21 View Page Aerial view of McQuigley farms. Not a bad start for having such a cold spring. Sunday, July 24 View Page Buckle up! This is the time of year things really start to get fun. Best of luck to the UGPG members, and growers across the world. Friday, July 29 View Page Day 30 on the 1421 Stelts. Tall and wide pumpkin. Estimating at 429 # Saturday, July 30 View Page Day 30 on the 1544 Revier. This one has quite a bit of plant behind it and it looks healthy. Hopefully it kicks into high gear! Estimating 360#. Low and wide. Reminds me a lot of the pumpkin I grew last year off of the 1161 in a number of ways... Tuesday, August 2 View Page 991 Urena estimating 588 lbs day 33. Was tracking pretty good until... Tuesday, August 2 View Page ...a defect in the blossom end caused a split into the cavity today. Another pony out of the race :( Monday, August 8 View Page Mandatory "stump shot". 1421 Stelts. This plant is crazy. I'm scared to go into the patch because it may EAT ME!!! Monday, August 8 View Page Day 40--Pumpkin on the 1421.5 Stelts. Est at 840 # and chugging along at 40# per day . Hope this one holds together as it is my largest ever day 40. Thanks to those good folks who helped adjust the pumpkin and put more sand under the back to keep it from tipping. Tuesday, August 9 View Page Day 40 for the 1544 Revier. About 650#. Wide and low. This one was a slow starter got into its groove later on. Growing pretty well now. Thursday, August 18 View Page 1421.5 Stelts on day 50. I hope by some miracle this one makes it to the scales. The sand bags help keep it up. I should have adjusted it better when it was in the 200# range. Now estimating 1148#. Gains are tapering off now, but it did 40# a day for 18 straight days, something I've never even come close to doing before. Whether it blows, tips over or makes it, it's been fun for me to watch. Great seed. Friday, August 19 View Page Day 50 for the 1544. 930 #. Too bad late season growth in Utah is so tough...nights are starting to get colder. I hope it keeps going. Slow and steady. Sunday, August 28 View Page Day 60 for the 1421.5 Stelts. 405" OTT for an estimated weight of 1387#. Sandbags are holding the tilted "wheel" up but it's still growing. Monday, August 29 View Page Day 60 for the 1544 Revier. This thing has done some serious catching up to the 1200# benchmarks. Still doing 20# a day for the past 10 days. 378" OTT for an estimated weight of 1130#. Thursday, September 1 View Page Let down my guard a little and the aphids moved in. Cut off all the badly infected leaves and sprayed bifenthrin. It killed the bugs in no time, but many leaves were diseased, so I cut them off to prevent spreading. Wednesday, September 7 View Page Day 70 on the 1421.5 The good news is that when I pulled back the sandbags, the pumpkin didn't tip over. I've been fighting gravity on this one from the get go. Taping 416" OTT for an estimated weight of 1505#. Wednesday, September 7 View Page From the front, it looks pretty darned good. This one was set 13.5 feet out. Thursday, September 8 View Page 1544 on day 70. Estimated weight of 1251#. That's my UGPG hat on top. There are some big ones in Utah this year. Relatively cool and wet (for the desert) weather has helped many growers around here. Friday, September 23 View Page Full patch overview on harvest day. From left to right: 1421 Stelts 426" OTT,, 1544 Revier 397", and 1169 McConkie 357". Friday, September 23 View Page Frayne, my crane man, with the 1544 Revier in the harness. That thing makes loading a breeze. Put one on my wish list! Friday, September 23 View Page Lifted up the 1421 and what did I find? After swallowing back down my vomit, I decided to check the bottom for damage. Friday, September 23 View Page Fortunately, not even a nibble. The funny thing is I saw Tina and Frank's diary a few weeks ago and bought mouse traps and put them in front and back of every pumpkin. Never did catch a mouse. Man...it's warm out...I need some Speed Stick. Friday, September 23 View Page Tyler Quigley (Quigs) handled the live tv like a champ. You'll never meet a nicer guy. Great grower too. Friday, September 23 View Page I may be exceeding the maximum capacity on this load. The 'ole suburban can't handle much more. Notice the door magnets with the UGPG logo. We've got Quigs to thank for those. They were a big hit.