Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 193 Entries. Friday, January 1 View Page Happy New Year 2010! May we all get personal bests this year! I am declaring that my goal this year is to WIN the Puyallup Fair weigh-off in early September. Friday, January 1 View Page Here is the left side of my patch today. It's 32 x 102 feet. Friday, January 1 View Page And now the right side (it's L-shaped) is 87 x 30 feet. Friday, January 1 View Page My birthday present that I got last week: a 55 gallon compost tea brewer!!!!! Friday, January 1 View Page Inside view... Friday, January 1 View Page My manure pile is steadily building!!!! Go horses! Friday, January 1 View Page I am planting 4 pumpkins this year (one will be in my daughter's care). Here are the top 4 pics I have so far: 1467 Perham '08{ 1385 Jutras x 724 Perham}; 1236 Harp '09 {998 Pukos x 1385 Jutras}; 1449.5 Traylor '09 {1116 Traylor x 1385 Jutras}; 1164 Finders '09 {1041.5 McKie x 1255 VanKooten}. I anticipate getting some more seeds in the mail from my club seed distributions...so this is a preliminary line-up. Friday, January 1 View Page My husband wants to grow one plant this year: the Tobeck 633.5. Friday, January 1 View Page Here is me and my buddy Ron Barker on my '09 633.5. Friday, January 1 View Page So this is the one to beat for me this year, my personal best. I'm going to have to nearly double that weight to be a contender to win the Puyallup Fair. Friday, January 1 View Page Here is a picture of one of my manure-makers: my beautiful Arabian, Khajun Bey+++//. Friday, January 1 View Page Thanks to the generous growers who sent me seeds and kind words: Jason Traylor, Christy Harp, and Frank Finders. Thanks also to Brad Perham for letting me have another 1467! Thanks to Jack LaRue and Frank Finders for reading my soil report and offering advice. It's going to be a fun year! Sunday, January 10 View Page Spread 150 pounds of coffee grounds today and am going into town right now to pick up a bunch more! Sunday, January 10 View Page Today I HAD to tell someone about my secret patch ammendment! It's just TOO amazing to keep to myself...Only about 100 days until seed starting time. Sunday, January 10 View Page Ron will never tell!!! I'm predicting a revolution in pumpkin growing with our new secret weapon! Friday, January 15 View Page I just dropped a big wad of cash on soil heating cables, soluable kelp powder and mycorrhizae for the 2010 patch. Watch out! Tuesday, February 9 View Page Added about 10 yards of beautifully composted horse manure to the patch today. Going to get a little bit of chicken manure this weekend as well as some humic acid to spread around too. After that, I'll mix it all in and take a soil sample to send to the lab to compare to my fall one and tweak as needed. Tuesday, February 23 View Page My darned truck broke down last week and needed its transmission rebuilt. Tomorrow I get it back from the shop and this weekend I will finish adding my ammendments to the patch. I am very excited about my top-secret ammendment. I don't know of anyone else who has ever used it. When completing my masters degree at the University of Washington, I ran across some research on the effects of this ammendment on plant growth, and it was remarkable. I plan on using it in the planting hill as well as at each leaf node when burying vines. So this weekend, I'm going to be getting some manure for each planting site, some secret stuff, as well as some worm castings. Saturday, February 27 View Page Spread 50 pounds of humic acid throughout the garden today. Each planting site got 5 lbs. of kelp meal, 2 cu. feet of secret stuff, and 1 cu. foot of chicken manure (composted). Tomorrow is cow manure-spreading-day, then I'll get a soil sample. I have determined that my Puyallup Fair pumpkin plant will be the 1449.5 Traylor. I'm going to take a chance and set it out 1-2 weeks earlier than the rest, gambling my soil heating cables and cloche will keep it safe. Sunday, February 28 View Page The ammendments are in and tilled under. I collected soil for a sample. It's drying for a few days until I mail it to the lab. I am looking forward to our club's annual spring meeting! It's time to go shopping for re-bar, binder clips and plastic sheeting to make the cloches. I also need to get some extension cords to power up my heating cables. I've got to make my "patch shoes" and get my walk boards cut and laid out. Then I need to get the watering system figured out and in place. Lot's to do before planting time!!! Thursday, March 11 View Page Finally, I sent my soil sample off to the lab today. Saturday, March 13 View Page Look what I found hidden under some sheet metal behind the shop....cloche-making supplies! I took 4 16-foot 2x6's and gut them in half for my uprights, and 2 16-foot 2x4's (cut in half as well as ripped to make 1x2's) to span between the uprights. Saturday, March 13 View Page So, here are the starts of 2 16'x16' cloches. The one in the foreground will be for my Puyallup Fair plant. Saturday, March 13 View Page These two cloche uprights are for plants growing back-to-back. Next weekend I will buy the re-bar, then the following weekend I'll get the PVC and the 6 mil plastic sheeting. In the foreground is the corner of the patch where the husband is growing his pumpkin. Notice there is no cloche... Wednesday, March 17 View Page Angel, the pumpkin patch guard reporting for duty. Wednesday, March 17 View Page I got my soil report back this afternoon and am pleased with the results of my fall and winter ammending. But, there is still work to do to get it in balance. This weekend I'm going to the feedstore and loading up the truck with a bunch more amendments, namely calcium, as well as a few more things. Thanks to Frank Finders once again for helping with the soil report!!! You're awesome Frank!!! Wednesday, March 17 View Page Monster Grower...I think you're a little early to be planting pumpkins already... Thursday, March 25 View Page Things are steadily moving along in the patch. I have added a SMALL amount of lime, a couple hundred pounds of gypsum (both for calcium), some epsom salt, bloodmeal and bonemeal. It all got tilled in. I've got some calcium nitrate on order and will spread it along with a little bit of ground oyster shells next week. Thursday, March 25 View Page The rebar is pounded in, and the PVC is ordered and will be delivered on Tuesday. I'll get my plastic sheeting maybe on Sunday so I can cut it and put it over the cloches. Then, I'll get things cooking by burying the soil heating cables and installing my heat lamps. The plan is to plant two plants early, and one will be for the Puyallup Fair. Thursday, March 25 View Page It's one of my dreams in life to win the Puyallup Fair. Friday, September 10th, 2010 is the date of the weigh-off. That's only about 5 months away!!! Here is my last year's attempt...kind of small...but I still had fun talking with all of the other growers. Saturday, March 27 View Page Today I attended my clubs' spring seminar, jointly hosted by the PGVG and the PNWGPG. I bought a raffle ticket and WON A 1502 06' WALLACE SEED!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now I've got some decision-making to do.... Saturday, March 27 View Page Today I met a ton of super nice people like Nick and Christy Harp, Geneva Emmons, and Jake Van Kooten. Wow! It was nice to see the other growers that I probably won't see again until the fall. I took 3 pages of notes and tried to ask as many questions as I could. It was a good seminar with a lot of good people, good information and GOOD food! Thank you to all the people who helped put the seminar together. Monday, March 29 View Page I'm hoping some of Christy Harp's good luck rubbed off on me! It was great meeting her and hearing all about last year's season. Friday, April 2 View Page I made some patch shoes and tested them out tonight. I LOVE them!!! I made some for my daughter too and we snowshoe around the patch now without a dent in the soil. What a great idea! Friday, April 2 View Page I added 100 lbs. of calcium nitrate tonight using my new patch shoes. I've got to add a little bit of Borax this weekend, then I'm DONE ammending. Jim, you can stop shaking your head and rolling your eyes. I'm on a mission! Friday, April 2 View Page My patch shoes... Friday, April 2 View Page Yeah....I know....I'm cool. Actually, they helped me putt around the patch today to put up all of my PVC. As soon as I got home I saw it in the driveway, delivered from the hardware store. It was like Christmas! So, out into the gale-force winds, rain and hail.... Friday, April 2 View Page Here's me, packing my PVC...I slid them over 3' rebar sections pounded into the ground. There are 6 on each side. Friday, April 2 View Page 2 done! Friday, April 2 View Page And then the last 2 finished! Friday, April 2 View Page My patch helper and official photographer, Rosalyn. She found some hazelnut shells in the forest. Friday, April 2 View Page The season has now officially begun for me. I am soaking the 1449.5 Traylor in some kelp-water right now after filing its edges. I just got back from the lumber store and came home with a 40x200 piece of 6 mil. plastic sheeting (very expensive -I hope it'll last for a few growing seasons). Tomorrow I will lay down my heating cable, suspend the heat lamp and cut a 25x40 piece of plastic to cover the hoop house. I've got to go into town and get some binder clips to hold it all together. I've also got to pick up a little more "top-secret ammendment" for my planting hill. I'll get things warmed-up for a couple of days before transplanting. Monday, April 5 View Page Monster Grower, I hope your surgery is going well; you'll need your hand feeling better so we can shake hands on Sept. 10th for congratulations when we both are the top 2 finishers at the Puyallup Fair! Pumpkin Jedi, I need to borrow some extension cords and have you come out and put an outlet on the side of the house. We can potluck!!! Tuesday, April 6 View Page I don't know why, but the date is wrong on the seed soaking: it should have read 4-5-10. This morning I took the seed out of the wet paper towel (it was in the oven with the light on to stay warm) and planted it in a big pot. I cut the pot in half lengthwise and taped it back together then filled it with potting soil and mycorr. root innoculant. Tuesday, April 6 View Page Into the oven it went! Tuesday, April 6 View Page It's a really cool oven.... Tuesday, April 6 View Page ...because it has this mode called "proofing cycle" where it keeps the temp just right to proof bread (make the dough rise) or to germinate seeds. Tuesday, April 6 View Page It was a busy day in the pumpkin patch. Look what I made! Tuesday, April 6 View Page Here I am inside of the Puyallup Fair Pumpkin Palace. Notice the patch shoes: I only attached them at the toes so I can bend down and do stuff without falling over. Tuesday, April 6 View Page Here's a picture of my new telescoping sprinkler and my chick brooder lamp. This will keep the 1449.5 warm at night along with the soil heating cable I layed down. I put down a bunch of worm castings and 2 Cu. feet of "secret stuff" in the planting site. Tuesday, April 6 View Page Thanks to the Pumpkin Jedi (John) of TNT Electric for puting some new outlets on the side of my house for the patch! John wired our whole house when we built it and did an AWESOME job!! If you need some wiring done for your patch, and you're here in the Washington area, be sure to e-mail TNT Electric - just click on the diary for Pumpkin Jedi to get hold of him. Friday, April 9 View Page The 1449.5 Traylor is up!!! I just got home from a horse show and went straight to the oven and it's pushing up the soil. I can just barely see it peeking out, so by tomorrow it should be up all the way. Whew! The hoop house is ready and waiting...Sunday is transplant day. Do the Puyallup! Sunday, April 11 View Page I transplanted the 1449.5 outside yesterday afternoon. I checked on it this morning, and it's looking bigger. It's snug as a bug in a rug under it's heat lamp. I turned off the lamp this morning, and am thinking I'll only need it at night because the greenhouse is holding it the heat nicely. Wednesday, April 14 View Page Here is the Traylor plant. It's looking good! On the 15th, the second leaf came out. Thursday, April 15 View Page I re-made my patch shoes, and they're better than ever thanks to Ron Barker! Ron mailed me some of these rubber giant sandals that are big enough to accomodate any of my shoes/boots. So, I nailed them down to my boards at each toe, and now I can keep them outside at the patch - no more slowly chugging from the garage, across the lawn, clear out to the garden anymore! Thanks Ron. :) Friday, April 16 View Page I CAN'T WAIT ANY LONGER! I AM GOING TO FILE AND SOAK RIGHT NOW!!! A special thanks to my 2 friends John (Pumpkin Jedi)& Erin. On Sunday they called saying they were in the neighborhood and wanted to see my hoop house for ideas. Beings how I'm a teacher, and I know the best way to learn is by "doing", I figured they'd benefit from building a hoop house! So, we got to work and made one and it looks great! If anyone else wants a lesson in hoop house construction, give me a call, I'll be glad to put you to work! :) Sunday, April 18 View Page Rosalyn and I built hoop house #3 today. Then I hooked up all of my hoses to a 4-way splitter and ran hoses to each hoop house with a telescoping sprinkler. One more to build, maybe tomorrow. I also bought some "secret stuff" for each planting site that I'll mix in tomorrow. The 1449.5 is looking great and has the start of a vine I can see bundled up near the 2nd leaf. I was like a kid who couldn't wait for Christmas today, sneaking a peek at a seed in my oven. I didn't do any test germs, so I was doubting myself. I can see what looks like a root getting ready to leave the seed coat. I put it back in the dirt and gently covered it back up. Tuesday, April 20 View Page I AM FREAKING OUT!!! Nothing has come up yet and I planted on the 16th. I am sick to my stomach that I did something wrong with some VERY good seeds. The soaking in the paper towel technique is new for me, and without doing test germinations, I'm second-guessing myself wondering if I soaked too long...too much liquid....not long enough....ARGHHH! I'm starting some back up plants right now. But I'm going to be sick if my 1467, 1725, and 1502 don't germinate. Tuesday, April 20 View Page The only thing from keeping me from crying right now is my 1449.5 looks GREAT. Tuesday, April 20 View Page Correction: I planted the 1236, not 1725... Wednesday, April 21 View Page OK, the season is not lost...Ron B. is procuring a 1467 plant and starting a 1502 for me, and then I'll just look at my back-ups to find a suitable 4th plant. I breathed a HUGE sigh of relief after getting Ron's e-mail! I was SO sad that I lost my 1502! And the 1467 is an awesome plant that was so easy to grow. My husband literally ran it over with the truck and the tractor during a harvest last year, and it still kept on chugging along, making 2 400+ pounders on the same vine. Wednesday, April 21 View Page My new patch shoes... Thursday, April 22 View Page They're big enough to accomodate even my big rubber boots! Thursday, April 22 View Page 1449.5 Traylor on Wed. 4-21-10 Thursday, April 22 View Page Another view of the 1449.5 Thursday, April 22 View Page I gave it some of this fertilizer. It's an all-organic fish/kelp concentrate that I'm trying out this year. First fertilization today 4-21-10. Thursday, April 22 View Page A special thanks to Ron Barker and Brad Perham for helping me get back in the big game by starting me a new 1467 and 1502!!!! I hope you guys get extra karma pounds for all of your pumpkins this year!!!! Monday, April 26 View Page Well, I just got back from a big horse show down in Oregon and came home and immediately lookied into my oven to find all of my back-up plants had germinated! Yahoo! I don't know what went wrong before, but I guess I just wasn't meant to grow those previous seeds. So, I'll make my final preparations in the next few days and choose the nicest plant to be my 4th plant then find nice homes for the rest. I probably ought to keep at least a couple around just in case something catastrophic happens... Monday, April 26 View Page All of the back-ups got some kelp water today. Some are looking a little more aggressive than others, so narrowing them down, the best ones are the 1164, 1280, 1210 then the 1191 in that order. The husband's 633.5 is up and ready to be transplanted to another pot this week, since he's not planning on building a hoop house and setting it out early. Tuesday, April 27 View Page I covered the 4th hoop house tonight. Then I repotted the back-ups and the 633.5 (husband's plant)and placed them in the heated hoop house near the 1449.5. The 1449.5 is HUGE and very stout. Rosalyn went in there tonight and couldn't believe how much it had grown since she had seen it last (5 days ago). I had to raise the heat lamp because it's getting so large that I was worried the leaves would get too hot. It's a really beautiful plant. I'll try to get some pics of it this week. The weeds are all popping up outside the cloches, and I'm considering tilling the perimeter of the patch one last time now that the hoop houses are finished. Rosalyn says she wants to grow a world record. I love her! I hope she does! Tuesday, April 27 View Page Here is my other manure-maker, my beautiful mare, Annie Get YourGun (Annie). Wednesday, April 28 View Page Planted the Barker 1191 tonight and made a mini cloche over it. I put it in an empty spot in the middle corner of the patch between the other hoop houses, so it will grow towards the husband's plant. Also gave all pumpkins some liquid bone meal, liquid kelp/potash and some of my 4-3-3 organic fertilizer. Next, I weeded inside of the Puyallup Fair Pumpkin Palace. Finally, I used my pitch fork to turn the soil all around the "Palace" before the tiny weeds took hold. The soil is still fluffy, since I've been fairly religious about using my patch shoes and walk boards, that I shouldn't have to rototill again if I do a little bit every night. I hope the worms are happy; they'll live to see another day. I hear that my 1467 Perham is looking fine, as well as my 1502 Wallace. I'll get them on Saturday when Ron and I meet after my horse show. It's looking like the 4th plant may be the 1164 Finders; it's the biggest and most aggressive of the back up plants I started. I'm happy to grow it, because Frank has been quite helpful reading my soil reports and offering advice. Sunday, May 2 View Page Yesterday I went to a horse show and then took my horse and daughter down the highway to Ron Barker's and Stan Pugh's places to pick up my 1502 Wallace (thanks Brad!) and my 1467 Perham (thanks Ron!). I was a little nervous driving around with my horse trailer, but all went well and I came home and planted the last of the line-up. So I have 5 plants in all, also including the 1164 Finders, the 1191 Barker, and of course, my great orange hope, the 1449.5 Traylor. It was a great day: pumpkins, horse showing, and the Kentucky Derby. Sunday, May 2 View Page My 1448.5 Traylor is a BEAST!!! It is vining now and has little tiny male flowers. It's about 2 feet high and 2 feet across. I wanted to take a picture of it, but I need new batteries in my camera. It is really stout, and other than a spot on a leaf where it got a bit sunburned my the heat lamp, is quite healthy. It seems to really like the secret mulch I'm putting around it, and is rooting-out all through the mulch. Monday, May 3 View Page Today high winds rocked Littlerock, WA. I knew it was going to be bad when I came home from work and a huge pine tree had just fallen down in my front pasture and limbs were scattered along the driveway. I immediately went to the patch and started putting hoop houses back together. The fronts had all blown off with binder clips scattered everywhere and plastic flapping. It wasn't until about 7 PM that things settled down. I went back out then and re-fixed everything. Happy to report the Puyallup Fair Pumpkin Palace remained intact the whole time. Despite the open-ended hoop houses today, all pumpkins looked fine and were unaffected, probably because they're pretty small and close to the ground at this point. If the wind had gotten into the Palace however, it could've been catastrophic since that pumpkin is so huge. It looks like the storm is over, and tomorrow will bring partly sunny skies. Thursday, May 6 View Page Today is a sad, sad day. I went out to the hoop this morning to check on my 1449, and it had fallen over and snapped at the base. I told Ron how gigantic it was and he warned me to put something around it to prevent it from crashing, so I did, on the 2 sides it looked like it would lay down, but, it decided to lay the other way. Lesson learned the hard way. I didn't cry, so I was pretty proud of myself about that. I yanked it out and planted a back-up in it's spot, took the vine into the house and vented to my husband for a couple minutes before rushing off to my big horse show. I am really sad. It was absolutely huge. I definately want to grow that seed again next year. Now, I've got 5 little plants in the ground, and it's hard for me to get too excited about any of them at the moment. I hope one of them will be able to help me get a big one to the Puyallup Fair in 4 months.... Friday, May 7 View Page It's a new day, and the week's forecast is calling for sunny skies. So, it's time I cheer up, and do the best I can with my plants. All plants look healthy, and are on a good normal timeline for around here, so I'm going to be just fine. It was just so exciting to have a gigantic plant so early in the season. I wish I had a picture of it, because it was pretty remarkable. I need to get some camera batteries...Thanks for the kind words and condolences. I'm not going to let it get me down. I was out in the patch late last night and early this morning checking on all the plants, and I've got a good line-up that should bring me some big results if I keep my rookie mistakes to a minimum. Saturday, May 8 View Page All plants got some 4-3-3 fertilizer as well as some liquid bone meal. Sunday, May 9 View Page Happy mother's day to all moms out there! I got back from a horse show at 1:30 this morning, and Rosalyn was serving me breakfast in bed at 7 AM; She never has been one to sleep in unfortunately. It's a beautiful day with highs in the upper 60's, so I decided to go right outside and weed all hoop houses while it was still cool. All plants are looking fine. The one I planted in the 1449's former spot is the 1280 Popp. It is starting to take off, and is already my biggest plant. It might have something to do with the heat lamp in that hoop...I think I'll add one to the 1164 Finders plant since it's also near an outlet for tonight. Saturday, May 15 View Page I'm not a beer drinker, but I found this old Oly can in my uncle's shop for my "pumpkin size perspective" pictures. Littlerock is just south of Olympia, and my husband worked at the Olympia Brewery until it shut down in 2003. Saturday, May 15 View Page Here is a bit of a virtual patch tour. (5-14)From left to right is the 1164 Finders hoop, the 1280 Popp hoop, and in the foreground is where my husband is supposed to plant, but it looks like he's growing a good crop of weeds... Saturday, May 15 View Page Panning slightly to the right you'll see the spot where the 1191 Barker is located. It's going to grow toward my husband's spot. I'm thinking of taking it over, because he's not doing so well with his weeding. If I take it over, I've got a nice looking 1210 Sherwood to put here. We'll see... Saturday, May 15 View Page Panning more to the right are the other 2 hoops housing from front to back the 1467 Perham, and the 1502 Wallace. Saturday, May 15 View Page 1164 Finders as of Friday. Saturday, May 15 View Page 1164 from the top. Saturday, May 15 View Page 1280 Popp Saturday, May 15 View Page 1280 Popp from the top. Saturday, May 15 View Page 633.5 Tobeck (kept in a pot in the greenhouse until my husband decides what he's going to do.) Saturday, May 15 View Page 1210 Sherwood. (Sitting in a pot in the greenhouse in case I have any more catastrophes). Saturday, May 15 View Page The 1191 Barker. Saturday, May 15 View Page 1467 Perham. This one started off with a bit of leaf curl, but now it seems to be growing out of that, and it's newer leaves are looking fine. Saturday, May 15 View Page 1502 Wallace. Sunday, May 16 View Page All plants got some 4-3-3 as well as some liquid bonemeal and liquid lime. I weeded the 1467 and 1502 cloches. The other 2 I will try to do tomorrow. Weeding in the hoops was like partaking in an Indian sweat lodge ceremony. I decided to make my friend's day by giving her the 1210 Sherwood. She lives down the road, just past Harbor Gorwer's dad's place and has a big, beautiful patch with the Sherwood, a Biss, a Ewing (Monster Grower) and some other plant that I can't remember....Anyway, I helped her set out her walk boards and planted all of her starts, so she's all ready to grow a big one now! The husband is going to do some weeding tomorrow and plant the 633.5 Tobeck. It's a good looking, stout plant, but I'm wondering if it may have a double vine. It's hard to tell at this point. There may be some surgery in order in the coming days. I haven't thrown away the 1449.5 Trailor. It's been sitting on my back patio. Clearly, I am overinvested...anyway, I was looking at it today and noticed that there were a couple of leaf bundles on it that were still quite alive! So, I've got a chunk of it soaking in a glass of water to see if it will root out. If I can get it to root, then I'll plant it as a pollinator. Tuesday, May 18 View Page All pumpkins are growing steadily. The 1280 Popp is the frontrunner with gigantic full-sized leaves now. I weeded it's cloche. Tomorrow I'll weed the 1164 Finders cloche. I notice that the 1280 and 1164 are the biggest and tallest plants, which I attribute to the heat lamps. Although both plants look amazing, I worry that they are growing taller and may crash like my 1449.5 did (may it rest in peace...). So, to help encourage them to vine out, I placed the heat lamps ahead of each plant instead of overhead. Also, I used some thin gauge wire to make anchors that secure the plant around the base (like tent stakes) to keep it from toppling over and busting. I also buried the 1449.5 in some dirt today to see what will happen. Wednesday, May 19 View Page We've got a high wind warning issued through the evening here in Puget Sound. So, I've closed my cloches for the night and will hope that all plants stay safe during the gusts. Friday, May 21 View Page Weeded the 1164's cloche and propped up the 1280 with some wood shims. It's the same size now as the 1449.5 that busted, so it has me pretty nervous. The 1280 wants to grow upward, and looks to have a tendency to want to vine in the wrong direction. This one's going to keep me up at night until it finally lays down. Saturday, May 22 View Page Here is the weekend update for the plants. All plants got some 4-3-3 and liquid bonemeal. First is the 1164 Finders. Here is its biggest leaf. Saturday, May 22 View Page Here is the 1164 from the side. Saturday, May 22 View Page Here is the 1280 Popp's big leaf. Saturday, May 22 View Page Her is the 1280 from the side. It's making the Oly can look pretty tiny! Saturday, May 22 View Page Another shot of the 1280. Nice big vine, but it wants to go the wrong direction! Up and backwards! Saturday, May 22 View Page 1467 Perham's big leaf. Saturday, May 22 View Page 1467 from the front. Saturday, May 22 View Page 1502 Wallace's big leaf. Saturday, May 22 View Page 1502 from the front. Saturday, May 22 View Page The little 1191 Barker. It's the youngest plant, and has to live outside in the less-than-cooperative spring weather. Saturday, May 22 View Page I buried a hunk of vine from my 1449.5. Nothing has happened yet.... Tuesday, May 25 View Page Last night I performed a little surgery: The 1280 Popp had a ribbon vine (it was like 2 vines fused together), so near the meristem bundle I tried to snip it into a single. It was looking a bit unhappy this evening when I looked at it, but it may perk up in the next day or two. This is my hugest plant, so I'd like to keep it. Don Young told me to pull it, but I saw on one of Joel Holland's video footage of a plant that had the same type of vine. He set a pumpkin on it then terminated the main vine at the pumpkin, and grew a 1000+ pounder. So, I don't know what to do...any advice would be appreciated. In the meantime, I'll just watch it to see how the main further develops to see if my surgery was a success. Another option would be to grow a seconday as a new main. The final option would be to pull the plant and transplant the 1191 Barker into the spot. I now see the value of planting 2 starts together, then culling the weaker of the two. Next year I'll go with that plan. Tuesday, May 25 View Page Well, I pulled the 1280 Popp. It was a hard decision because the plant was so aggressive and huge, but ultimately, I don't have time this year to be growing a plant that may give me problems. I've got 2 horses to try to get to the national championships in September and need easy plants that aren't going to hassle me. So, I carefully transplanted the 1191 Barker into the cloche I call the Puyallup Fair Pumpkin Palace. It's my primo spot in the garden, with double the amount of "secret ammendment" and a heat lamp. So, my goal is to get the 1191 up to speed with the other plants in the coming days. It got some 4-3-3, liquid lime and liquid bonemeal as well as a handful of micorr. when transplanting. I think it ought to take off, because both the 1280 and the 1449.5 grew 2x faster than the others. I'm thinking its the secret stuff...I'd better get some more on payday. Anyway, all other plants are looking great and tonight I mounded dirt around their bases to prevent any crashing and breaking. I'm thinking of drying my leaves on the 1280 and sending them with my 1449.5's leaves to the lab for analysis. It may be a good thing to do early in the season in case I need to add any ammendments. Thursday, May 27 View Page Things grow big in the Pacific Northwest....not just pumpkins. Thursday, May 27 View Page Here's my truck for a size comparison. Actually, I didn't catch this, I'm taking it to school tomorrow for my annual "Salmon Fest". We raise salmon in my 3rd grade classroom, and my students hold an annual fair to teach all of the other kids about salmon. I rented this guy (named "Fin") for our big event. You can go up inside of him, and there are some really cool paintings inside. Hopefully I'll need a trailer like this to haul my pumpkins later in the fall! Thursday, May 27 View Page All plants are looking good. The 1191 is very happy in its cloche and enjoying it's heat lamp. It's looking very perky, with no signs of transplant shock. I'm wondering if I need to be doing some pruning or something yet...Ron might stop by this weekend so his daughter can ride a horse, so maybe he'll give me some pruning advice. Saturday, May 29 View Page Ron Barker came over today to see his grandchild, the 1191. I found him in the hoop house doing a little pruning! I took a pic of him and his antics, but for some reason it's not on my camera anymore. Something tells me though that it's not the last time I'll see Ron snooping around my pumpkin patch! I've got a light on it day and night to keep it warm in this dreary spring weather we're having. Sunday, May 30 View Page All pumpkins got some 4-3-3 and some kelp. I buried the vine on the 1164 Finders and the 1467 Perham. The vine is going the wrong direction on the 1164, so I'm using a stake to bend it around. It seems to be growing 2-3 inches a day right now. Tuesday, June 1 View Page The husband decided it was time to weed his section of the patch and busted out the tractor and tiller. I figured he may as well go around my hoop houses while he was at it, so the patch is looking lovely. I've got to weed the hoops again, but have a big regional championship horse show this week/weekend so the pumpkins will have to wait. It'll be exciting to see how big they get after a long weekend of not looking at them! Monday, June 7 View Page Something is eating my leaves! I sprayed all plants with neem oil to combat the problem. Also foliar/soil drenced with some soluable nitrogen. Monday, June 7 View Page When I'm not growing pumpkins, this is what I do. Monday, June 7 View Page At the Regional Championships... Monday, June 7 View Page One more. Monday, June 7 View Page I need to bury some vines in a bad way! Everything is getting nice, long vines. I've gotten a bit behind with the horse showing and work, so I think what I'll do is mound some secret mulch over the tops of them instead of trenching so that I don't disturb the roots. I don't know what's eating my leaves, but I'll try putting out some slug bait...haven't seen any signs of slugs in the patch, but it's worth a try. Whatever it is, it's only affecting my plants in the hoops; the husband's plant that is outside looks totally fine. Wednesday, June 9 View Page The weather was cool and rainy (again!) so instead of complaining about it, I decided to weed 3 hoop houses: the 1164, 1191/1449.5 (yes - it's ALIVE!), and the 1467. I would've liked to weed the 1502, but it's back-breaking work...tomorrow. The plants responded favorably to the neem oil treatment as well as the nitrogen fertilization last weekend. The vines are growing like crazy now, and I purchased some top-secret ammendment and am using it to bury the vines with. I have been pruning tertiary buds off my secondaries, and the plants are looking like "Christmas trees" now. This weekend I will take pictures and measure all vines. Considering our weather, I am pleased with the growth. My hoop houses are 16 feet in length, and 14' wide, so if I'm behind any other Pacific NW growers, I hope to close the gap by extending the time my plants stay in their hoops since I built fairly large ones. Friday, June 11 View Page While weeding in the 1502's hoop last night, I noticed numerous tiny little bugs hopping around the soil everywhere. I am wondering if they're spider mites. I just did some research on spider mites and will continue my neem oil appications since that seems to be an effective treatment. Tonight I will try to collect some of these bugs and look at them under my microscope to confirm my suspicions. I will also reapply my neem oil treatment tonight as well as a kelp foliar/drench. Saturday, June 12 View Page The 1164 from the front. The main vine is coming from behind, around the side. I have to prune off inside laterals until I get past the base. Saturday, June 12 View Page Here is the 1164's growing tip. The lenght of vine is 8 feet. It got some soulable nitrogen this morning. Saturday, June 12 View Page The 1191 is at 2 feet in length. Saturday, June 12 View Page Here is the 1449.5 I salvaged. It's in the back of the hoop with the 1191. Maybe I can get some pollen from it. Saturday, June 12 View Page Here is some damage to a leaf on the 1467. Saturday, June 12 View Page Here is the most heavily damaged leaf on the 1467. I don't know what is causing it...those bugs weren't spider mites...they were little flies. I did find some other small black bugs that looked like a cross between a small black ant and a fly with underdeveloped wings. The abdomem was long and articulated. The damage seems so stop after I apply neem oil, so I guess I'll just keep applying it. Any ideas? Saturday, June 12 View Page Here is the growing tip of the 1467. The vine is at 7 feet 8 inches. Saturday, June 12 View Page Here is looking back toward the base on the 1467. Most of the leaves are in good shape. Saturday, June 12 View Page Here is the 1502. It's 7 feet 5 inches long from stump to tip. Sunday, June 13 View Page Today I will foliar feed some kelp with some 4-3-3. I also need to haul out the weed piles at the ends of each hoop house. I've been piling them up and have quite an accumulation. Monday, June 14 View Page Do you remember, about 10 or so years ago all of the news footage when that guy hit the ice skater Nancy Kerrigan across the knee? Remember how she sat down on the ground in sheer agony yelling out, "WHYYYYYYY? WHYYYYYYY? WHHHHYYYYY?!?" Those were my exact words and tone of voice as well as facial expression this afternoon when I busted the main vine clean off my 1164 about 2 feet in from the growing tip. The 1164 is my biggest plant, but it has a mind of it's own: It wants to grow backwards and straight up. I have been training the vine successfully around itself, but when it came time to *gently* apply a bit of pressure to do some burying, it snapped crisply off. I guess all I can do at this point with it is to train the lateral right next to the break as the new main. It was sad because I was just admiring the tiny baby female flower on the meristem bundle, my first of the year. Darn it. Darn it. Darn it. Wednesday, June 16 View Page Today I buried vines on the 1467 and the 1502. The 1st side vines are against the side of the hoop nearly, and the main tips are getting within 3 feet of the ends. With all of the cold, wind, rain and hail we've been having around here, I'm inclined to keep the hoops over them and lift up the sides where needed to let a few vines out. I also sprayed some Ortho Max on all leaves. The 1191 is getting longer every day and looking good. The 1164's new main vine wants to grow upward just like the old main. I'm afraid to touch it unless the hoop house is 90+ degrees for fear of it snapping again! Yesterday, my husband needed an extention cord, so I gave him one that powered the soil heating cables on the 1502 and 1467. It was very noticable when weeding those cloches how much cooler the soil was. I promptly plugged them back in. Thursday, June 17 View Page Well, today was the last day of school, so I can wholly dedicate my time to the barn and the patch. Today the temp was 58 degrees outside; I left my hoops closed all day, and got the temp up to the upper 80's inside. When I got home in the evening, I was able to get that 1164 vine tip down and buried. I used a couple of stakes to keep it from popping back up. I also buried the main on the 1191. It's looking good! Even the 1449.5 has laid down and is ready to be buried. Tomorrow I want to get all needed supplies to make my first batch of compost tea. Friday, June 18 View Page I'm brewing my first batch of compost tea tonight. Here is my setup. I've got about 45 gallons going right now. I've got water, 12 oz molasses, some soluable kelp powder, and in the paint strainer tea-bag I've gove 11 cups alfalfa pellets and 11 cups of worm castings. Within minutes it got a nice froth going. Friday, June 18 View Page I'm brewing my first batch of compost tea tonight. Here is my setup. I've got about 45 gallons going right now. I've got water, 12 oz molasses, some soluable kelp powder, and in the paint strainer tea-bag I've got 11 cups alfalfa pellets and 11 cups of worm castings. Within minutes it got a nice froth going. Friday, June 18 View Page Here is my little air compressor to keep it bubbling all night long. I'm going to keep it going about 24 hours. Friday, June 18 View Page A peek inside of the brewer after 1 hour. Saturday, June 19 View Page First open male blossom today: 1467 Perham. I had to let the 1st secondaries out of the sides of the hoop house tonight; they're each over 7 feet long. The main vines on the 1467 and 1502 are close to the ends. Pics and measurements coming soon! Monday, June 21 View Page The 1467's hoop sides were lifted up so the many side vines wanting out can escape. The front is also off since the main vine has reached the end. It has a 13' main right now and is looking strong and healthy. I put a little basket over the main's tip, which has a little female on it. The 1502's hoop will get the same treatment tomorrow. It's only a couple of inches shorter than the 1467. The 1191 is at 6'7" in length; a good gain for the week! The 1164 is so incredibly stout-vined; once again, it's growing upward, and with the cool temps, I didn't want to take any chances with burying its main vine today. All other vines are buried on all plants. All plants got some soluable nitrogen foliar/drench as well as some Ortho Max sprayed on leaves. Tomorrow I have to get the patch totally ready for a week-long absence. I have trained my patch helper in pollination and watering. I am hoping that no pollination needs to happen until I return on the 30th. The baby females on the 1502 and 1467 are super tiny and on the tips of the meristem bundle, so I'm hoping they'll hold on for a week or so. It will be exciting to see how much the plants have grown when I get back. Thursday, July 1 View Page I just got back from Hawaii! What a nice trip! Of course, as soon as I got home, I went out to the patch with a flashlight to look at everything. The 1164 looks like it has something to pollinate tomorrow at about 10' out. The 1191 has reached the end of the hoop house and looks to be about nearly 13' long. The 1449.5 has about 4' of vine. The 1467 is 16 feet long and may have something to pollinate by the weekend. The 1502 looks to be running neck and neck with the 1467. Tomorrow I will fertilize and then check my schedule to see if compost tea brewing is in order. I also have A LOT of vine burying to do. I am so happy that I completely weeded the patch before I left; it looks weed-free and fantastic upon my return. It's good to be home in time for pollination! Friday, July 2 View Page Burried all vines and took down all hoop house plastic. That was an incredibly messy job; I was thankful nobody stopped by for a visit today because I was looking pretty rough...Pollinated three 5 lobe flowers on the 1164 with the 1467. One on the main, then the other two on secondaries. I noticed a crack in the main 12" before the flower that has me worried. It's an interesting plant: everything about it is BIG. Big leaves and stems, big vines, big tendrils (they're really freaky looking), but the main vine continues to give me problems. Maybe one of the secondaries will be luckier. I also pollinated a 3 lobe flower on the 1502 with the 1164. It's at 16 feet out. I'm not too enthusiastic about a 3-lober, but there is another one at the growing tip that'll be ready pretty soon. I fertilized with the 4-3-3 and did a foliar/drench of kelp today. Sunday, July 4 View Page Today I fertilized with some Alaska More-Bloom 0-10-10 and am making a batch of tea. Monday, July 5 View Page Drenched with compost tea; same recipe as before. Also pruned all vines. Should have some pollinating to do tomorrow on the 1164. Day after tomorrow on the 1467. The 1191 looks to be about a week away with it's first female, and the 1502 has a little one that'll be ready in 3-4 days. Plants are looking great; the 1191, although not the biggest is the healthiest looking! Tuesday, July 6 View Page Pollinated a 6-lobe flower on a long secondary on the 1164 with the 1467 this morning. Because the plant's main vine wanted to run backward, I trained back around itself, so the shape of the plant is a swirl with the main and 2 main secondaries all of equal length. It's a pruning pattern I'll call "the hurricane", because it looks like the meteorlogical sign you'd see on the news indicating a hurricane. It'll be interesting what I get off this plant. Thursday, July 8 View Page Pollinated two 1164 secondaries with the 1467. Very high temps today: 95 degrees. Friday, July 9 View Page Finally! The 1467's first flower opened up at 16 feet. It was a 4 1/2 lober and got pollinated with the 1164. Looks like it will be another hot day. Saturday, July 10 View Page Pollinated the 1502 Wallace with the 1467 Perham at 16' - 4 lober. I don't think the 1502's previous 3-lober set. Gave all pumpkins some liquid calcium foliar/drench. Looks like in the morning I'll have to pollinate a 4 lobe flower on the 1467 (I peeked inside already). The 1191's vines are growing fast! To avoid disturbing roots by trenching/burying, I think I'll purchase some top-secret mulch and cover them tomorrow. The 1164's main vine pumpkin is growing large, and is cantaloupe sized now, but I may go with a secondary since there's a good sized crack in the vine ahead of the fruit. Sunday, July 11 View Page Pollinated the 4-lobe 1467 at 17.5 feet with the 1449.5 Trailor. Aggressive x aggressive!!! Also pollinated a 5 lobe on the Tobeck 633.5 with the 1191 at 7 feet out. Finally, pollinated a 5 lobe flower on a secondary of the 1164 with the 1467. Sunday, July 11 View Page Mulched over all vines on the 1191 and the 1449.5. Tomorrow I aim to bury vines on the 1467 and 1502. Burying vines is a pain. It looks like the 1191's 1st flower will open up tomorrow at 13 feet out. Monday, July 12 View Page Tonight the 1467 and 1502 got all weeds pulled and vines buried. Did I mention I dislike burying vines? Tomorrow the 1191's first flower will open (it's a 4 1/2-lobe - I peeked)and I'll pollinate it with the 1164. Tuesday, July 13 View Page Pollinated the 1191 with the 1164. Also fertilized with 4-3-3 and some kelp along with some liquid lime. Tuesday, July 13 View Page Also pollinated a 3rd flower on the 1467's main with the 1449.5. Wednesday, July 14 View Page Weeded, pruned and buried a couple of vines on the 1164 tonight. I'm trying my best to train it. Noticed the stump on the 1467 is split. It's an old split, originating from its infancy, but I think I'd better keep it dry just in case. All plants have good sets except the 1449.5; perhaps tomorrow. It's more of an experiment than anything, to see what I can grow off a cutting/clone. Thursday, July 15 View Page Pollinated the 633 with the 1191; Pollinated a second flower of the 1502 with the 1467. Both were 5 lobes. Friday, July 16 View Page I'm done pollinating now; Finally the 1449.5 opened up with a 3 lobe flower. I was hoping for 4+, but at this point, I'll take what I can get since it's getting late. I hope it takes, because the 3-lober on the 1502 shriveled up, so I'm not too optimistic about 3 lobe flowers anymore. I also pollinated two 5-lobers on the 1164 on the 2 secondaries with the 1502. So now I guess I need to start measuring the pumpkins to make some culling decisions in the next few days. Saturday, July 17 View Page Got back from a horse show and found an opened female blossom of the main of the 1191, so I did one last pollination using the 1164. Sunday, July 18 View Page Foliar/drenched with soluable kelp this morning. Tuesday, July 20 View Page I didn't keep that 1467 stump dry enough and while weeding/burying vines on it tonight I noticed some foam coming from it. I've heard of the dreaded "foaming stump", and knew it has been a season-ender for many growers, so I ran into the house to call the LaRue's. They haven't had experience with it, but Sherry told me how to do a site search on BP, and I was able to find some good advice from Pap. So, I drilled several holes in it to release all of the water. I then wiped it down inside and out with a bleach solution before drying it with paper towels. Next I hung a lightbulb right over the top of the stump and created a tent over it to keep out any moisture and to lock in the heat tonight. Tomorrow I will get a little fan for the area and look into some fungicide. It looks like I caught it early enough. I hope so, because I have 2 really nice pumpkins on that plant. Saturday, July 24 View Page Still have a little foamy stump goinmg on. I've got a fan on it as well as a water-proof cover. I drilled into it again last night. There is no standing water inside, but it continues to foam slightly. It's not anywhere near like it was before, but I still need to figure out a way to completely dry it out. All pumpkins have their white sheets and are growing nicely. The biggest in the patch is the 1502. Next is the 1467 and 633.5, then the 1164 and 1191. Last is the 1449.5. I'll try to get some camera batteries today for some pumpkin pics. Sunday, July 25 View Page Hooray! The foamy stump is no more! I decided to get my husband's hunting knife and carved out all rot, just like the dentist working on a cavity. Then I put a lightbulb in the cavity to coterize (sp?) the wound for awhile. Now I've got the fan on it and it's just fine. I've still got half of the stump left. So that's good that I didn't have to remove it. Monday, July 26 View Page I worked hard today to tame the 1164 and bury some more vines. It's a non-conformist pumpkin, but I've got it under control for now. I terminated the vine at the pumpkin because it has such a short stubby stem and I don't want to risk stem stress. All pumpkins got some calcium, fish fert., and soluable kelp this morning. Friday, July 30 View Page Here are my final pumpkins growing for 2010: 1164 Finders X 1467 Perham growing on a very stout secondary on July 9th. 1191 Barker x 1164 Finders July 17th. 1449.5 Traylor (clone plant) x 1467 Perham July 16th - It's not going to be a huge poumpkin, because of the plant's circumstances, but it'll be a genetic giant with great seeds for next year from two very aggressive plants. Tobeck 633.5 x 1191 Barker July 15th. 1467 Perham x 1164 Finders July 9th. 1502 Wallace x 1467 Perham July 9th. Sunday, August 1 View Page 1164 Circum=46" @23 days old. 1191 C=30" @ 13 days 1467 C=60" @ days 1502 C=56" @22 days Thursday, August 5 View Page 1164 Circ. = 61" @ 27 days 1191 C = 44" @ 17 days 1467 C = 72" @ 26 days 1502 C = 73" @26 days Monday, August 9 View Page 1164 Circ. = 75" @ 31 days 1191 C = 58" @ 21 days 1467 C = 87" @ 30 days 1502 C = 87" @ 30 days Wednesday, August 18 View Page 1164 OTT = 230.5 = 267 lbs day 40 1191 OTT = 204 = 189 lbs day 30 1467 OTT = 238 = 293 lbs day 39 1502 OTT 249 = 333 lbs day 39 Thursday, August 19 View Page OK Monster grower. You've guilted me into posting, although I honestly still don't have any camera batteries yet, so no pics. I've posted some measurements for different dates in August. The 1502 Wallace gained 46 pounds last night; that was pretty exciting! 1164 OTT = 237 = 289 lbs (gained 22 overnight) 1194 OTT = 210 = 205 lbs (gained 16 overnight) 1467 OTT = 243.5 = 312 lbs (gained 19 lbs overnight) 1502 OTT = 260.5 = 379 lbs (+ 46 pounds overnight) 633.5 (husband's neglected plant) OTT=215.5 1449.5 (came from cutting off dead plant)OTT=185 = 144 lbs Thursday, August 19 View Page I'm not growing an 1194; That should've read the 1191 (Barker). PS, Ron, I didn't cut the 1467 off for the Southwest Wash. Fair. I'm glad you reminded me of the thicker blossom-ends they typically have. Thursday, August 19 View Page All plants are looking great. I've been applying compost tea every Thursday, calcium weekly, 0-10-10 or 4-3-3 weekly along with liquid lime. I've started adding humic acid to my compost tea the last couple of weeks too. The plants are all growing slow and steady. The blossom end of the 1467 got a y-shaped crack that worried me week before last, but it healed over nicely. Saturday, August 21 View Page Here I am looking very dirty with the 1502 Wallace a couple days ago. Saturday, September 4 View Page The 1191 got a step split, so I cut it off the vine today and had it officially weighed with Ron's certified inline scale. It measured 131.5-73-75 for a total of 279.5 with an estimated weight of 465. It's official weight was 508.5. Saturday, September 4 View Page It's ready for lift-off. Saturday, September 4 View Page Here is the 1164 Finders with an OTT of 277.5 for a weight of 455 pounds. Saturday, September 4 View Page Here is the 1467 with an OTT of 279.5 for a weight of 465 pounds. Saturday, September 4 View Page Here is the 1449.5 Traylor with an OTT (from Aug 31st.) of 228 for a weight of 259 pounds. Saturday, September 4 View Page This is the 1502 Wallace, known as "Jabba" with an OTT of 303 for a weight of 588 pounds. I'm hoping this will be a new PB for me, so I'll keep it on the vine and take one of the smaller ones to the fair. Saturday, September 4 View Page 1502 looking from the front. Monday, September 6 View Page Ron forgot to mention in his last post that Rosalyn's turtle is a giant tortoise that weighs about 150 pounds. It was kind of hard heaving her up on top of that pumpkin, but now you may have a better idea of the perspective....PS, thanks for the camera batteries Ron! :) PPS,I look like a dork in that picture you took of me. Monday, September 6 View Page 1164's OTT is 282.5 for a weight of 480; gaining 12.5/day. 1467's OTT is 281.5 for a weight of 475; gaining 5/day 1502's OTT is 306 for a weight of 606; gaining 9/day 633's OTT is 257.5 for a weight of 367; gaining 7/day 1449.5's OTT is 236.5 weighing 287; gaining 7/day Monday, September 6 View Page I think I m going to clear out the plant on the 1191 today so I can get the tractor back to the 1467. That's the one I'll take to the Puyallup Fair. It's not growing much anymore. I know I'm not going to win, or even get a podium finish, but hopefully I can beat my last year's Puyallup Fair weight of 411 pounds (I'm sure that's no problem since the 1467 ALWAYS weighs heavy) and make the Top 15 to get $100. Tuesday, September 7 View Page 1164 OTT 288 = 507 pounds +27 lbs today 1467 OTT 286 = 497 pounds + 22 lbs today 1502 OTT 312.5= 644 pounds + 38 lbs today 1449.5 OTT 242 = 307 pounds + 20 pounds today Hurray! It looks like I beat my PB as long as I can keep the 1502 chugging along and intact until a weigh-off in October. Saturday, September 11 View Page I didn't win the Puyallup Fair this year...but I did a lot better than last year's first attempt. In 2009 I got 16th place with a 411 pounder. In 2010 I got 8th place with a 605 pounder. Not too shabby! Tobeck 605.5 (1467 Perham x 1164 Finders) Saturday, September 11 View Page The pumpkin's OTT was 289 for an estimated weight of 512 lbs, so it weighed in 18% heavy. You can always count on the 1467 Perham to weigh heavy. Monday, September 27 View Page http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.onlinepictureproof.com%2Fdonstine%2Falbums%2Fhorse_shows%2F111529_30463%2Fbrowse%2F62%2F%3Fw%3D625%26h%3D525&h=d8a6e Just got back from the National Championship Horse Show! Check out our cool picture taking our victory pass! After a week of being gone, I came home to a ginormous 1502 Wallace....I can't wait to measure it's OTT tomorrow! Sunday, October 3 View Page Here is a picture of me and the two pumpkins I took to the Schulz Farm GPC weigh-off. Thanks to Jeff and Shane for coming over and helping me load them up! The one on the right is the new C. Tobeck 621.5 (1164 Finders x 1467 Perham); The one on the left is the D. Tobeck 621.5 (633.5 Tobeck x 1191 Barker). Yes, they weighed EXACTLY the same! I can't believe it! Donovan didn't do ANYTHING all season, and he actually grew a decent pumpkin. Sunday, October 3 View Page Here I am with the new Tobeck 621.5 (1163 Finders x 1467 Perham). Saturday, October 9 View Page Guess what!?! I have a new PERSONAL BEST!!!! I went to the Central Market GPC weigh-off today and got 9th place outta 27 pumpkins with the new Tobeck 951!!! (1502 Wallace x 1467 Perham). You would've thought I won the lottery for how excited I was! Sunday, October 10 View Page I was so excited that I hopped up on the stage to give my pumpkin a big hug and a kiss! I was so nervous; when I taped it, it was measuring just under 800 lbs., so I was HOPING to hit 800#...and when it went over 900#, I screamed and jumped up and down! What an exciting day! Monday, October 18 View Page In my quest to win the Puyallup Fair next year, this week I have applied to my patch: 10 yards of chicken manure; 15 yards of horse manure; and 20 yards of cow manure. My daughter says it stinks around here; I prefer to think of it as the sweet smell of future success! Thursday, October 28 View Page The cover crop is sprouting! Also, for PGVG and PNWGPG members, look for info in the next newsletter for a joint club Christmas party at my house that I'm hosting. Save the date: December 11th. Sunday, November 21 View Page It's snowing like crazy here! Monster Grower, thanks for the seed scattering; I'll be sure to scatter some top-secret ammendment along the freeway so I can grow a big one there.