Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 142 Entries. Wednesday, February 11 View Page Today I finally got around to tilling (with mom's help)! I would have prepared the soil in the Fall, but location was an issue that needed to be settled (on my mom's property- more sunlight). I mixed in aged cow manure & compost...and 2 bags of leaves. Then I did a soil test for pH, N,P,& K. The pH is neutral AT 7.0, so it could stand to be a little lower in the 6.8-6.5 range. As for the Potash, its perfect. The Nitrogen is "ridiculously low" and the Phosphorus will need to be raised as well. Hopefully, I will have time to make adjustments to the soil and give it time to break down and do what it needs to do by planting time. There are so many mini-projects between now and then to make this season get off to a good start! Wednesday, February 11 View Page Next season I hope to have more land to work with!!!!! Monday, February 16 View Page Yesterday I added 8 lbs blood meal, 10 lbs bone meal, 15 lbs worm castings and 40 lbs gypsum. I'm waiting for the kelp to arrive. Sunday, February 22 View Page Yesterday I added 10 lbs. of Kelp Meal. I'm getting ready to haul in horse manure soon, possibly next Saturday. I also ordered a HUGE "Worm Hotel" lol. The lady who makes them also paints designs the outside. Of course I requested a pumpkin patch scene:-) She's based in Raleigh, NC. I saw her ad on Craigslist and she told me I am her 1st customer, so she's equally as excited! Wednesday, February 25 View Page I carved this 2 years ago from a big one...its a Maori warrior (New Zealand). I based my design on some of their cultural wood carvings. Friday, March 6 View Page Jenn Nodine is the artist who constructed/painted this Worm Hotel for me. I'm picking it up tomorrow. She's awesome to work with and will decorate it as you want. She sells worms as well. $18 for half pound (300-500 worms) and $35 for lb. (1000 worms). The Worm hotel itself costs $55. More info at... http://raleigh.craigslist.org/grd/1043383510.html This is her email address: [email protected] She's located off Creedmoor Rd. in Raleigh, NC. You can pick up or she can deliver to you. Check it out!!!!! I'm thrilled to be picking it up tomorrow. Wednesday, March 11 View Page I completed one of my cold frame greenhouses. Its big enough for me to get inside if I need too. Its about 3x3x4....rather large:-) I put hinges on the top so I can open it up. Sunday, March 29 View Page updated patch plan Sunday, March 29 View Page updated vine layout, thanks to info from the NCGVG meeting yesterday! Tuesday, April 21 View Page Seeds are soaking! Tuesday, April 21 View Page My 2009 Lineup! 665 Lovelace ‘08 (1207 Young X 1178 Lovelace) 904 Sperry ‘04 (Female: 1225.4 Jutras ’03 x Male: 1180 Daletas ‘03) 610 Holder ‘08 (1350 Starr x 1096 Privitera) 741 Lishness ‘06 (1333 Connolly ‘05 x Self) 728 Pugh ‘05 -UOW (Female: Daletas 1016 ‘01 x Male: Wallace 1068 ‘03) Sunday, April 26 View Page This weekend we tilled x 3 weeded x 3 and chopped a tree down (Bradford Pear tree had a history of getting struck by lightning and I wouldn't want it falling onto my patch). I'm waiting for the seeds to break the surface of the dirt. Lets go kids! Sunday, April 26 View Page My 3 amazing volunteers!!! Thanks mom for the letting me have this crazy patch in your yard and for your always awesome cooking. Thanks little Anne for your big muscles! ...and thanks Chris for your mad chainsaw skills! Sunday, April 26 View Page Grandma is game! Sunday, April 26 View Page 665 Lovelace, 728 Pugh, 741 Lishness, 610 Holder and 904 Sperry. I'm hoping they will break the surface in the next day or two. Monday, April 27 View Page 2 kids are up! 610 Holder and 665 Lovelace! These pics were at 6pm today. I'll take some more pics tonight to see how fast they grow. I had to pry the seed casing off the Lovelace with 2 tweezers..delicate surgery!!! Everything went fine:-) Monday, April 27 View Page 665 Lovelace after removing the seed casing. Tuesday, April 28 View Page 741 Lishness joined the others, 7am. Tuesday, April 28 View Page 2pm. My 728 Pugh is up too! Wednesday, April 29 View Page Last weekend I conducted another soil test. My Potassium was very low, so today I bought a bag of Potash 0-0-60. This coming Saturday before planting, I plan to use very little and till it into the soil well so to not harm the roots or foliage. Wednesday, April 29 View Page 2 days old my friends. I'm pretty certain my 904 Sperry seed is not viable, even though I did the infamous "clunk sound test" and it seemed to be good. Wednesday, April 29 View Page just a few hours later Friday, May 1 View Page Getting a little leggy now. Just hold out until tomorrow kids and you can really take off then. I never thought I'd tell my plants to slow down! LOL Sunday, May 10 View Page top Lishness, below Pugh Sunday, May 10 View Page top Holder, below Lovelace...Holder is still looking bigger and more vigorous than the other 3 plants. Sunday, May 17 View Page Its almost time for cold frames to be removed. Saturday, May 23 View Page The biggest plant has a split in the main stalk, but its still looking amazing as you can see. Saturday, May 23 View Page hand just for perspective Sunday, May 31 View Page weeding!!! ...carefully:-) Sunday, June 7 View Page 2 plants growing towards each other. will cull one in next few days. Sunday, June 7 View Page this is why I have no social life, LOL...and I'm just fine!!!! Sunday, June 7 View Page Lishness Sunday, June 7 View Page Pugh Sunday, June 7 View Page female will open soon! Wednesday, June 10 View Page Tonight I made my decision. I dug up the Pugh plant so now the Lishness will have the patch all to itself. Now its on!!!! Hopefully the sprinkler system I ordered off eBay will arrive in time to put it up Saturday...we shall see! Sunday, June 14 View Page Say hello to my little friend! Sunday, June 28 View Page new baby, the old one got too much rain everyday for a week and needed to be removed. Sunday, June 28 View Page I was forced to till more of the yard. The vines are about 5 feet outside of the original patch. 3 of the secondary vines are growing up the fence and there's nothing I can do about it, LOL. Also I had to till behind the storage building so that the main nine can curve around do do its thing. It won't get too much sunlight there, but at least it will have room to stretch on the ground and take up nutrients instead of growing up the back fence and getting nothing out of it. Wednesday, July 1 View Page Its about the size of a volley ball. I had to prune the secondary vines growing up the fence in hopes that the plant will concentrate its growth to other more open areas. Wednesday, July 1 View Page beautiful plant! Sunday, July 5 View Page I'm awaiting the mill fabric. I'll put a layer of sand and the mill fabric over that. Hopefully, it will be here in the next day or 2 because I'm running out of time...its growing so fast! Monday, July 6 View Page I'm quite excited about my new favorite place to shop for pumpkin supplies! Fifth Season in Carrboro! They had everything and then some of all the weird hard-to-find things I need. I'm switching over to more of a Potassium fertilizing regiment and I want to start adding in Calcium as well. I special ordered a 5 gallon bucket of Neptune's Harvest Fish/Seaweed for $115! YEAY BABY! It should be there in the next day or two because its in a nearby warehouse. I highly recommend shopping there... it was an all-round wonderful experience:-) Tuesday, July 7 View Page sand and mill fabric added tonight Tuesday, July 7 View Page amazed that its still a "baby" pumpkin Tuesday, July 7 View Page its likes disgusting night time snacks Tuesday, July 7 View Page Anne's head! Oh yeah and the pumpkin! Tuesday, July 7 View Page measurements tonight were 52 inches circumference and 40 inches over the top/ side to side. Saturday, July 11 View Page Powdery mildew...I cut off 2 leaves because they were just too bad to keep around. Then I sprayed the entire plant with Spectracide's Multi-Purpose Fungicide. I'll spray once a week until mildew is gone. If the leaves get rained on, I'll shake them. Pine needles don't help either! Saturday, July 11 View Page lots of slack in vines:-) Saturday, July 11 View Page cuz Carrie Saturday, July 11 View Page we added the canopy today...obviously it needs to be bigger and provide protection from the sun all day, that's the next project. Saturday, July 11 View Page 17 days old with a 67 inch circumference, 50 inches over the top. Tuesday, July 14 View Page me excited and terrified at the same time Tuesday, July 14 View Page looking good Tuesday, July 14 View Page just for prospective Tuesday, July 14 View Page its at the top of the leaves now Tuesday, July 14 View Page OTT 190= an estimated 155 lbs Saturday, July 18 View Page est. 214 lbs! Saturday, July 18 View Page 214 lbs Saturday, July 18 View Page new canopy, much better coverage! Sunday, July 26 View Page est. 325 lbs Sunday, July 26 View Page est. 325 lbs I'm battling stink bugs and daily heavy rains, but I am optimistic. Sunday, July 26 View Page 8'8 circumference/ 6'3 side to side/ 5'8 front to back. 247 OTT= 325 lbs! It grew more than 100 lbs in a week. Wednesday, July 29 View Page The pumpkin and I made the Durham News for "Best Shots." Thursday, July 30 View Page est 377 lbs, growing about 13 lbs/day. I'm having a lot of issues with too much rain and squash bugs. The rain prevents the insecticide from staying. I'm also very concerned about the stump. I see horrific "smelly white bubbling." Its in a small area, but I know that's how it starts. I soaked the area with Spectracide's multi-purpose fungicide. It has rained every single day hard. Saturday, August 1 View Page Here's a shot of the stump. I took paper towels afterwords and soaked up as much as possible. Its smelly. I also sprayed it with fungicide. Saturday, August 1 View Page est 386 lbs Saturday, August 1 View Page I built a tent for the stump to prevent the daily monsoons from furthering the disease issues. The plastic doesn't touch the ground (I don't want slugs) and it also allows for air to flow. So far, it seems to be doing what I intended. Tuesday, August 4 View Page I just finished with a 2 hour interview with the News & Observer, Raleigh!!! Fellow Durham grower, Marcia Chemelli came with me too. We all had a blast...lots of family came over. I'll post an update when I find out when it will be printed in the paper. Tuesday, August 4 View Page 425 lbs and truckin' along at about 13 lbs/day:-) I need more sunshine and less rain clouds. Saturday, August 8 View Page 458 lbs Saturday, August 8 View Page It likes to have storytelling, lol. Saturday, August 8 View Page 458 lbs so beautiful...its starting to get that "beast" look where its bulging from growth. Saturday, August 8 View Page 458 lbs, and I remember when you were just a little baby and couldn't talk yet! lol Saturday, August 8 View Page My mom, her boyfriend and my little sis had a fun surprise for me in the pumpkin utility building. Clean! Painted! Organized! My sister was so excited to paint the jack-o-lantern:-) Chris even wired the building to have a light on the inside and outside for my midnight gardening! YESSSS! Saturday, August 8 View Page Now this is what you call inspiration! The pumpkin wall:-) Saturday, August 8 View Page stump has dried out and is looking so much better. I had an ah-ha moment of from the coo-coo chamber of my brain. I kept visualizing a syringe and sucking the fungus out of the stump. Then I thought, yes! I took a shop vac and my mom held the stump...sucked it right out! Its definitely a 2 person task. Do not try by yourself. The plastic tent has also helped to keep it dry. Wednesday, August 12 View Page http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1643738.html Front page of the News & Observer in the Triangle section! Tuesday, August 18 View Page 528 lbs, beastly. The fruit has slowed down some but the plant is producing new vines. I guess that's a good for sustaining it until October, but I'm cutting down the Nitrogen for a while to encourage the fruit more than the foliage. Tuesday, August 18 View Page I'm getting a couple of surface splits so I added Captan to those areas. Are there any suggestions for moisturizing or cleaning the surface of pumpkins as a "preventative" of such splits? I certainly don't want to invite disease. Tuesday, August 18 View Page Check this out...the two sides finally met and its growing in a fold pattern on top of itself! I don't know if this is something to worry about, but the fruit will do what it wants to do, so all I can do is observe. Friday, August 21 View Page Excited about the NC Giant Vegetable Grower's pumpkin patch tour tomorrow! ...almost a 3-hour drive, but here we come. I can't think of a better way to spend a Saturday. Saturday, August 22 View Page NCGVG tour of Sam Lovelace's place. We had a wonderful time with everyone! Thanks Sam for inviting us out to see your babies:-) Sunday, August 23 View Page est 560 lbs Tuesday, August 25 View Page I think we all can agree! Saturday, August 29 View Page Its growing just a little bit because the stretch marks have changed, but not enough to move beyond the last reading of 577 lbs. Monday, August 31 View Page http://americanindiancenter.unc.edu/ The pumpkin and I are officially on the UNC-Chapel Hill American Indian Center homepage! This is where I work. Monday, September 14 View Page est. 629 lbs Wednesday, September 16 View Page Oh the drama! The skin is starting to split again! Its done this before and healed itself just fine, like a scar. With it being so late in the season, I don't now if it will heal the same way. I'm not sure if I should go ahead and cut it or leave it on the vine. My fear is that if I leave it on the vine it will continue to grow slightly and split. However, it also gives it the chance to heal. If I cut it now it will stop the splitting but will it be able to heal without being still connected to the plant? I've applied Captan to the splits since this picture was taken. Any suggestions are welcome! Sunday, September 20 View Page The splits are healing up very nicely! Thank you everyone for calming me down with kind helpful emails:-) 6 more days 'til Yadkin:-) Sunday, September 20 View Page Da Mama Sunday, September 20 View Page dog resistant fence Friday, September 25 View Page need more cushion Friday, September 25 View Page the bottom looks very flat and healthy Friday, September 25 View Page breathing...what's that? Friday, September 25 View Page THE TEAM!!!! Friday, September 25 View Page Reagan (little sis) and my mom, Jan Friday, September 25 View Page Anne and Reagan join me Friday, September 25 View Page Any little movement would make it start to wobble and roll, so we strapped it down for a safe trip to Elkin, NC. Saturday, September 26 View Page Yeay, happy to see Brian Apple and catch up:-) Saturday, September 26 View Page Today is the day...we made it in one piece! I had not slept for 48 hrs. Saturday, September 26 View Page Look at Brian's face! This is why we do what we do! Saturday, September 26 View Page Anne, the technical support wiz! Saturday, September 26 View Page from the bridge Saturday, September 26 View Page Top 3 at Yadkin Saturday, September 26 View Page Annette Burchette (Robert, her husband, sadly couldn't make it due to his job)...2nd place with their monster! Saturday, September 26 View Page Rick Holder 1258, new state record! I kept comparing it to the size of an old school Honda CRX. Add some wheels and climb in! Saturday, September 26 View Page What a year folks! Congrats to everyone! Saturday, September 26 View Page 3rd place winner afterglow! Saturday, September 26 View Page Anne Saturday, September 26 View Page Mom (aka pumpkin babysitter) Saturday, September 26 View Page My first ever parade ride, LOL! Saturday, September 26 View Page uno!.... dos!.... tres! Wednesday, October 7 View Page I think my next vehicle will be a truck, lol Friday, October 9 View Page So my mom calls me tonight to inform me that the dark spot on Peter is getting bigger and darker. Today she said it felt slimy and it didn't yesterday. Also, the stem broke off separating from the fruit and liquid came out. DRAMA. I'll go see it tomorrow morning and make some decisions. Saturday, October 10 View Page I'm here by the pumpkin *sighhhh*. Today is definitely the day. The stem has broken off and its dangling, exposing the outer wall of the fruit. I can't see the inside cavity though. Also, the blossom end has a small soft and wow very nasty awful smelly spot, sheeeew! On a positive note, I'll get to examine how thick the walls are and hopefully save the seeds. RIP "Peter." Last night I looked at his baby pictures with tears in my eyes, lol. I feel like I've carried a big baby for many months. He was a very needy boy. I am thankful for all the wonderful experiences this growing season and all the friends on BP.com and at Yadkin:-) Everyone has been so kind, helpful and supportive. Thank you so much:-) I'll take some pics and post them sometime tonight or tomorrow. Cheers to Peter:-) We had a good time together didn't we! Saturday, October 10 View Page 10/10/09 stem separating from fruit Saturday, October 10 View Page blossom end- one tiny spot is very smelly and soft, but not very deep. Saturday, October 10 View Page Anne's sad face Saturday, October 10 View Page this picture sums up how we've all felt for the past 2 days. I feel like I start singing a Boyz II Men Song, its so ha-a-ard to say goodby-y-ye to yesterda-eeeeee-ee-e-e-eee, LOL Saturday, October 10 View Page WHAT ATTACHMENT ISSUES? Saturday, October 10 View Page pretty thick- the wall, not my head Saturday, October 10 View Page rarrr! strong! LOL Saturday, October 10 View Page removing the stem, yuck... it was soft as baby food! Saturday, October 10 View Page inside the stem...it almost fell apart in my hand Saturday, October 10 View Page looks funny now Saturday, October 10 View Page surreal Saturday, October 10 View Page at last we see the inside Saturday, October 10 View Page wall Saturday, October 10 View Page about 10 inches thick Saturday, October 10 View Page deposits on the wall...any thoughts about what this is? calcium deposits perhaps? very hard like rock or wood Saturday, October 10 View Page tumorous mass behind the stem area inside the cavity...made up of this same hard deposit material and normal fibrous tissue...symbiotic twin perhaps? LOL Saturday, October 10 View Page more strange deposits, in a line... kinda cool soft fibers, then hard rock-like marbles, then solid firm walls Saturday, October 10 View Page one of these rock-like marbles up close Saturday, October 10 View Page Anne, my mom and I hunting for seeds (future Peter babies) Saturday, October 10 View Page say pumpkin! Saturday, October 10 View Page tumor removed Saturday, October 10 View Page look closely...the line of green is where those cracks on the back end of the pumpkin were healing...very hard and solid:-) they felt like wood Saturday, October 10 View Page my mom Jan chopping arrr! Saturday, October 10 View Page we will miss you:-) Sunday, October 11 View Page We just returned from helping fellow Durham, NC grower, Marcia Chemelli, lift her 2 remaining pumpkins. They are headed to the NC State Fair:-) Good luck Marcia...they are beautiful:-) Tuesday, October 13 View Page Bittersweet times... "Peter" makes the news again. This was filmed before he went down. When it opens, scroll to minute 2:30 to skip to the part about the pumpkin. mms://70.62.110.235/newsvideo/news.wmv