Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 297 Entries. Thursday, January 27 View Page trying out a few test seeds. Filed the edges and put em in the 'magic' seed soaker Thursday, January 27 View Page set em beside last years lucky gnome and wait..... Saturday, January 29 View Page Been working on a germ chamber set up. The soil is 84 degrees, air temp is 79. I put in 3 sacrificial seeds, the poor souls. Lets see how they do. Sunday, January 30 View Page a watched seed never sprouts..... waiting trying not to peek (more than a dozen times a day LOL) Monday, January 31 View Page the first glimmer of life... all three seeds are showing some green :) Monday, February 7 View Page looking forward to the seminar in KY this weekend and hoping the weather cooperates :) Thursday, February 10 View Page Well I guess the season has officially started for me. Last night I had the first 'pumpkin' dream/nightmare of the year! I dreamed Malissa and I made it to a weigh off with HUGE pumpkins, Malissa had the biggest and we were jumping, yelling and cheering, she had broken the TN record. Woohoo!! Then a man came racing in out of no where with a bigger pumpkin! We were devasted and praying he was from TN! lol Im a little worried. Ive been reading through last years diary and Im afraid Ive forgotten half of what I learned last year. I took a lot of notes but I think I should have taken a lot more! Friday, February 11 View Page TYPO .. in the dream we were praying he was NOT from TN!!! LOL Monday, February 14 View Page Had a wonderful time at the KY seminar and met some awesome people. I learned a lot and all that pumpkin talk got me all pumped up and ready for the new season. Its supossed to be 60 degrees all week, I can hardly wait to get started. Wednesday, February 16 View Page My wonderful hubby is going here... http://www.compostfarm.com/ for me tomorrow. Wednesday, February 16 View Page I totally take back the 'wonderful husband' part of my last post!! I just heard him tell my daughter "I hope your mama grows a pumpkin the size of an elephant, Ive heard pumpkin talk allllll day" How rude!! LOL guess I'll have to try harder to keep my obession to myself. haha Thursday, February 17 View Page just heavenly :) Thursday, February 17 View Page If I dont grow a giant pumpkin after all this trouble he'll kill me for sure!! Did I mention we got lost trying to find the compost place cause the GPS died and we had to go buy another one? Whatta day! Friday, February 18 View Page What an awesome day. Its 71 degrees outside, cloudy but still really really nice. I spent the whole day outside, even had lunch out there. I sat on the porch swing and played 'eenie meenie miney moe' in my head, trying to decide which seeds to grow. I only sent out two bubbles and both came back stuffed to the gills with awesome genetics. Thank you John and Tim :) (My Santa Clauses, cause I literally felt like a kid on Christmas morning when I got their bubbles) haha <BR> Im planning to grow an early fair pumpkin and a fall pumpkin for either Bear Wallow or Allardt. My main goal for this year is to have a fruit to take to a real weigh off (even if I have to wear the skunk hat) LOL ...is it spring yet?!?!? Sunday, February 20 View Page Im trying to decide on a lineup for the 2011 season. I believe this is what Im going with for my early fair pumpkin, Im shooting for flaming orange color. I dont know anything about genetics but Im hoping this cross will give me a big orange beauty :) Now I gotta decide on a fall pumpkin...... Tuesday, February 22 View Page Im trying to get the most amount of pumpkin vines for the limited amount of space that I have. Would this work or is it too crowded?? I thought about trying to add a 4th plant and pruning it in a flag pattern but Im not sure. I'd love to hear ya'lls opinion on this layout :) Sunday, February 27 View Page I thought I had my mind made up until John threw a curve ball about the 1063. LOL now theres a change of plan and line up. I only have room for 3 plants. I know Im growing a 1063 Vanhook and a Id really like to grow a 275. That leaves the 1210 Vanhook and the 1131 Gansert. I cant decide :( Monday, March 7 View Page its been a whirlwind of crazyness around here. I dont know if Im gonna be able to grow pumpkins this year or not :( Mom (80) fell and has been in the hospital for the past 14 days, she may have to move in with us and we have some people interested in buying our house. Things are more than a little unsteady right now :( Saturday, March 19 View Page in spite of everything IM GROWING PUMPKINS!! well Im gonna try anyway haha Mama is home and doing well and our house didnt sell soooo.. yesterday I did the first till of the new patch. Today I added 2 yds of compost and tilled it again. The patch is still kinda rough and my arms feel like jello lol but Im happy to have gotten started :) Saturday, March 26 View Page Last year I started my seed on March 19th but looking back there wasnt much growth the first couple weeks. I wonder would it be smarter to wait a little longer? With all the rain we've had I really havent had much choice but to wait, heck its raining right now! Ive set up my version of a germination chamber and Im working on getting the temps right. Im sooooo ready to start filing and soaking seeds! Monday, March 28 View Page Hoop house is up, heat lamps are hung and Waldo is waiting Monday, March 28 View Page ready to be filed and soaked..... Monday, March 28 View Page and the seed hits the dirt! Why do I feel like I just got on a VERY long roller coaster? lol wooohooo here we gooooo...... Thursday, March 31 View Page I see movement! :) Friday, April 1 View Page hmmm looks mighty yellow to me. My others weren't this yellow. Could it be the genetics of the seed or a result of the starting soil? Maybe its playing an April fool joke on me and will be emerald green tomorrow! lol Friday, April 1 View Page It really WAS an April fool! lol I guess it just needed the grow light, the seed coat had literally just come off and it started turning green as soon as the light hit it. I feel MUCH better about it now :) Saturday, April 2 View Page should I mound some dirt around the stem? Am I not planting the seed deep enough? It grew 2 inches today. If I raise the light wont that just encourage it to grow even taller? Why cant I just have a short fat sprout? grrr Sunday, April 3 View Page a breath of fresh air and a bit of real sun light :) Friday, April 8 View Page Having a problem posting, maybe its the pic so I'll try posting without a pic and see if it works. I set out the 1131.5 Gansert in the hoop today :) built another hoop and have a 3rd one about 75% ready. I already had to roll up the sides, its been HOT today! Saturday, April 9 View Page readyyyyy, settttt...... GROW! This pic was taken yesterday right after I set it out. It looks good this morning :) Saturday, April 9 View Page first two hoop houses are finished and a 3rd is about 75%. The center hoop is occupied! lol Saturday, April 9 View Page hmmm looks a lil yellow around the edges :( Saturday, April 9 View Page finished the hoop houses, tilled again, picked weeds and rocks and layed out some walk boards. Pity there isnt a competition for growing crab grass, Id be a world record holder for sure! LOL Wednesday, April 13 View Page my lil plant is looking very sad. I had a plant that started out like this last year and it never recovered, Im more than a little worried right now. :( Friday, April 15 View Page looks pretty rough this morning, but its still growing... Im a little discouraged but Im trying to be patient and not give up on it just yet. Sunday, April 17 View Page the last pic was taken at night with a red heat light on. It is more yellow than it should be but not quite as much as it looks in the pic. Tuesday, April 19 View Page Just realized I put the wrong date on one of the previous pics. It takes real skill to post a pic taken on the 18th when its only the 17th! LOL Anyway heres a pic of the 1131 Gansert on the 17th and the 19th, its chugging right along inspite of the heat damage. We are expecting some storms tonight, I hope the hoop house holds up. Tuesday, April 19 View Page whew I forgot to add the pic, can ya'll tell this year is a bit more stress filled than last year was? Bear with me, hopefully I'll get better organized ;) Friday, April 22 View Page in the hoop this morning :) Friday, April 22 View Page 1131.5 Gansert Saturday, April 23 View Page keeping my fingers crossed that this will help with the heat problem and still provide some protection from the sun and wind. I wonder if that white remay cloth would be better? Im gonna look for it at TSC today Monday, April 25 View Page the 1131 Gansert this morning :) Tuesday, April 26 View Page Im trying really hard NOT to have the up and over bend at the stump that I had last year. Im thinking about cutting off the 'kick stand' leaf at the bottom. Its a little damaged anyway from when I let the hoop get too hot. Would I be doing more harm than good by cutting it off? Friday, April 29 View Page 1131 Gansert :) Friday, April 29 View Page another view of the 1131 Gansert. The kick stand leaf is gone and Captan powder was dusted on the cut. Im working on getting it to lay down. Friday, April 29 View Page these bad boys hit dirt today, wish us luck :) Tuesday, May 3 View Page the 1210 Vanhook is up as well as an 1145 Vanhook. No movement from the 275 (yet). The 1131 Gansert is doing well in spite of the weather. Rain, rain and more rain :( Tuesday, May 3 View Page 1131 Gansert is snug as a bug in a rug.. in spite of the horrible weather Tuesday, May 3 View Page The Vanhooks fresh out of their seed coats and under the light. The 1210 has one cot thats smaller than the other but I dont think it'll be an big issue. Tuesday, May 3 View Page Waiting on the 275 Vanhook. Ive had 100% germ success with this set up, Im hoping the 275 doesnt change that Tuesday, May 3 View Page starting a 1266 Vanhook just in case the 275 doesnt pop Tuesday, May 3 View Page I gently, gently moved some soil away from the 275 seed. The seed coat had popped and low and behold there was creamy yellow cots!! I'll admit its kinda sickly looking right now, but Im hoping the grow light will perk it up.... fingers crossed X Tuesday, May 3 View Page Im heart broken, I didnt even touch the vine today but this is what I found in the hoop. Could excessive rain cause the vine to snap easier?? Tuesday, May 3 View Page close up pic of the break :( is it over? Can the vine recover? Tuesday, May 3 View Page tried to get a side view, its blurry, but you can see how far the break goes into the vine. Wednesday, May 4 View Page I wont dwell on the bad, I'll focus on what these lil beauties might become :) Wednesday, May 4 View Page the 275 Vanhook Wednesday, May 4 View Page the 1210 Vanhook Wednesday, May 4 View Page the 1145 Vanhook Wednesday, May 4 View Page just so Im absolutely clear, because I certainly cant afford another mishap .. does this look right?? Friday, May 6 View Page my plans for today are... mix up some captan paste and perform surgery on the 1131, give the patch a quick till, spray round-up around the edges of the patch, and if I have enough time, put up the silt fence. The other seedlings should be ready to go out in a few days and I want to have everything ready. The 275 is coming along slowly and looks good, inspite of some small COT imperfections. The 1210 has a stockier stem than the others, it also has some COT issues but nothing major. The 1145 is shooting up like crazy with big perfect COT's As Im typing my son (17) just called and has locked the keys in his truck! Ugh.. kids ya gotta love em! LOL Guess I'll start on the patch a little later than I had planned. Friday, May 6 View Page It literally hurt to cut off 2 ft of new growth but it had to be done Friday, May 6 View Page looking closer I noticed what would have been the first female on the vine I cut off.... ok now Im REALLY hurt!! ugh Friday, May 6 View Page mixed up a thick captan paste and applied it to the cut. I'll keep a close eye on it and hope the secondary takes off and does well. Its my only hope of having a fair pumpkin. Cross your fingers for me :) Saturday, May 7 View Page Im freaking out a little bit. I was outside working in the patch when I heard my neighbors talking about spraying their lawn with 2-4D. A week ago I wouldnt have even known what that was but I read a thread about it on BP just yesterday. I asked him about it and told him about my concerns with my pumpkin patch being so close. He said he wasnt planning on using it til June and not to worry he wouldnt spray when the wind was blowing. UGH!!! Im soooo aggravated but theres absolutely I can do :( I asked him to please please let me know before he sprays so I can try to cover my plants. I could tell he thought I was being silly so I doubt he'll even warn me. His lawn is maybe 30 ft from my pumpkin patch. Saturday, May 7 View Page setting the boys outside for a bit today.... the 1266 was started on May 3rd, all the others on April 29th Monday, May 9 View Page Ive never seen a double or ribbon vine but Im worried that may be what my 1210 is. The COT leaves have looked funny from the beginning. Its like their edges were fused together and torn apart as they grew. They are very thick and stiff. The 1st true leaf hasnt completely poked its head out yet but so far it doesnt look like others Ive seen, its not a single peak at the top like others, it has 3 peaks. The stem is thicker than my other seedlings, its not perfectly round its more oval shaped and has a inverted notch running down the center of it from the leaves about half way down to the soil. The 275 doesnt seem to be growing anymore, Im not sure what to think about that. On the upside the 1145 and the 1266 are doing great and look perfect. My 1131 has 2 ft sides with a 2 ft (new) main that seems to be doing ok. Tuesday, May 10 View Page its 102 in the shade. Im having a hard time believing my thermometers, one of them said 120! Tuesday, May 10 View Page the race is on, the 1266 v/s the 275, may the best vine win (notice the temp) I know its in full sun and it was 91 today but that just cant be right! Tuesday, May 10 View Page awwwww Tuesday, May 10 View Page Im holding on to the faintest glimmer of hope, for a July 25th pumpkin Thursday, May 12 View Page letting the kiddos get a bit of sunlight this morning. The 1266 is 4 days younger but has already out grown the 275 Thursday, May 12 View Page the 1145 seems to be doing well, the 1210 is a funky lil thing. Ive never seen a seedling like it. The 2nd true leaf is not growing opposite of the 1st one, its growing directly next to it. The leaf is oddly shaped. I just dont know what to make of it. Thursday, May 12 View Page set out some sunflowers yesterday. Vanhook, Dyer and Shymanski seed. Im hoping I can win a ribbon at my local fair for the biggest sunflower head :) Saturday, May 14 View Page I need some advice. Im having a lot of 3rd stage growth sprouting off at almost every leaf joint. I dont remember having this much this early last year. Could it be because the real main broke and Im training a secondary into a new 'main'? I AM supposed to pinch these off right? It just seems like Im pinching off a lot of growth. Monday, May 16 View Page waiting for the rain to stop long enough to take down the hoop house. Its bursting at the seams! Tuesday, May 17 View Page I heard someone else say their beginners luck had run out, I feel like Im in the same boat. Nothing has worked out the way I planned. My secret plant (1063) didnt make it, no sandbagging at Bear Wallow for me. The 2 seeds I wanted to grow the most (1210 & 275) arent doing well at all. Oh and lets not forget that I snapped the main on the 1131. Thats ok, Im not crying in my Myco! lol This year is gonna be a battle but Im up for it! The harder the struggle the sweeter the reward :) Wednesday, May 18 View Page I think (hope) the weather is gonna cooperate long enough for me to move the hoop house today. YEA! I have part of my black silt fence up but Im gonna try to find some orange snow fence today. The black silt fence gets SO unbelieveably hot that I think snow fence might be better in my area. Wednesday, May 18 View Page Hubby heard me talking about orange snow fence yesterday, and he brought this home today. It was so sweet, who needs diamonds? THIS is what keeps a woman happy!! lol The spaces are larger than snow fence but I wonder... if I doubled it would it block more wind? Wednesday, May 18 View Page the hoop is gone, I hope itll be ok, the weather is still cool but the vines were literally pushing against the plastic and I was afraid they'd snap. Im turning the side vines back toward the edge of the patch then I'll straighten them out. The (new) main is 5ft and the first two side vines are also around 5 ft so its not christmas tree shape (yet) Wednesday, May 18 View Page side view of the 1131, the (new) main is growing and doing well Wednesday, May 18 View Page this is the 1210. It looked different from day one but Im not sure it can bounce back from this! I thought at first something had eaten the stem then when I looked closer I saw it had collapsed in on itself. Wednesday, May 18 View Page a closer look Wednesday, May 18 View Page last one Wednesday, May 18 View Page 1210 on the left and 1145 on the right Wednesday, May 18 View Page Vanhooks Wednesday, May 18 View Page Vanhooks Wednesday, May 18 View Page the hoop house is down and a wind break is up, lets pray Mother Nature is kind :) I took down the silt fence around the patch and put up some construction fence. Im hoping if I double it, it will provide some wind protection. Wednesday, May 18 View Page the hoop house is down and a wind break is up, lets pray Mother Nature is kind :) I took down the silt fence around the patch and put up construction fence. The holes are bigger than snow fence but Im hoping if I double it, it will provide some wind protection. Sunday, May 22 View Page whew, I cant win for losing :( at least this is on a side vine. It HAS to be the weather making the vines so brittle, I refuse to believe Im that bad! lol Oh this is the 1131 Gansert Sunday, May 22 View Page Cant keep em all Monday, May 23 View Page Holy cow!!! I just saw a crazy lady running around in a pumpkin patch in the middle of a storm, wearing her husbands rain suit, at 4:00 in the morning trying to cover pumpkins. I guess what they say is true, you really DO have to be a lil bit crazy to grow AG's! lol Monday, May 23 View Page Saw the very first squash bug today, ugly lil bugger. Also found some eggs on a leaf stem. Did a very close inspection of the vine and didnt find anymore eggs or bugs. Sprayed cyonara when the sun went down. *Most of my sunflowers are up* Wednesday, May 25 View Page keeping my fingers crossed. The plant is about half the size of last years plant, but concidering the weather and the snapped main Im still hopeful :) Wednesday, May 25 View Page doing well (*knock on wood*) I believe they are about to lay down and run :) Wednesday, May 25 View Page I threw together a thingamajig to help protect the 1131 Gansert vine from hard rain and hail. It looks like an igloo lol The patch is a mud pit but we're still hanging on! More storms are predicted for tonight, but if the wind break and the igloo hold up we may have a fighting chance!! Wednesday, May 25 View Page we are in the 'moderate risk' area. Scary Monday, May 30 View Page I have some type of leaf damage Ive never seen before. Part of the leaf is brittle, dried out and paper thin. Some of the leaves are also developing yellow tips on the leaves, not sure if thats related to this or a whole other issue. Monday, May 30 View Page this is the back side of the damaged leaf. On my way to do some reasearch to see if I can figure out what it is and what (if anything) I can do about it. Monday, May 30 View Page On the up side I attempted pollination on the 1131 today. Its just for practice though cause its only about 6ft out. Isnt it funny how that lil bitty shiny yellow female can make ya smile :) Tuesday, May 31 View Page great balls of fire but its HOT!!! 95 in the shade and expecting the same all week. Even after the sun goes down its still sweltering. Yesterday I sprayed Cal Mag Max and Neptunes fish and seaweed. Today I did a Bayer T&S drench and sprayed cyonara. Other than some heat damage on a few leaves all is well :) Theres a female on the 1131 Gansert at about 10 ft and another at 12 ft that I'll try to pollinate. Im hoping one of them will be my fair pumpkin :) Wednesday, June 1 View Page an old swiffer, a car wash sponge, a couple rubber bands, a bucket and some weed killer. This combined with my action hoe should take care of the weed problem. Wish me luck! :) Thursday, June 2 View Page the 1131 Gansert this morning. Its 12 ft long, gonna try to pollinate a 'keeper' in the next couple days. I have a softball sized pumpkin set but its only about 6 ft out and will be cut as soon as I get a keeper in a better position. Thursday, June 2 View Page saw a strange bug today, it was shaped JUST like a squash bug but it was jet black and the tips of its legs were red. It didnt really look like a squash vine borer but now Im wondering if that could have been what it was. It got away before I could get a better look. I hope the insecticides I used the other day will take care of him! Anyway, I rebuilt the wind break around the 1131 it had out grown what I had. I finally had to just do it and choose my fall plants. Im going with the back ups on both fall plants. I pulled some weeds, hoed some more and cleaned up around the stump area. Im watching for male buds that might bloom at the same time as a female I want to pollinate. I may try to refridgerate some ahead of time just in case. Not having enough blooms is something I didnt concider about only having one early plant. Ok I guess thats all for now :) Friday, June 3 View Page First time trying to refridgerate blooms for pollen. I put a damp paper towel around the stems, put the whole bouquet in a plastic bag and put it in the bottom drawer of the fridge Will this work? Somebody please help me out here :) The female will probably be ready in the next 2 days. Saturday, June 4 View Page Hmmmm?!?! Saturday, June 4 View Page hillbilly air conditioning lol trying to set a pumpkin in 96* weather. Saturday, June 4 View Page my daughter and I used some of our Halloween stuff to make a scare crow. I must admit hes a pretty creepy guy! lol Saturday, June 4 View Page However the birds dont seem to be scared at all.. notice the bird on the fence! That little turd was running around under the leaf canopy! Grrr Monday, June 6 View Page found more of that slimey mold crap, this time it was on a side vine. I scraped it off and it was black underneath. The vine doesnt seem to be damaged, we'll just have to wait and see. I dont really know what to do about it or how to treat it. I cleaned it off the best I could and sprayed daconil on it... thats the only thing I could think of that might help. Saw the very first cucumber beetle today. Saw a couple squash bugs yesterday and was planning to spray then, but we had a horrendous storm blow through so I had to wait. Tonight I hit all the vines with a healthy dose of cyonara. Hopefully that will take care of both the lil buggers. My scarecrow is a total wimp, the birds are not intimidated by him at all... threw down a couple rubber snakes and havent seen a bird since! Wednesday, June 8 View Page we leave tomorrow for camping and our local blue grass festival. Im more than a little worried about leaving my plants but what can ya do? Im sure I'll be sneaking home to check on them. See ya'll on Monday :) Tuesday, June 14 View Page this is the collapsable wind break I rigged up this year. So far its worked pretty well. I can put it up or down in less than 10 minutes. Good for those pop up thunderstorms we've been having :) Tuesday, June 14 View Page Im amazed at how fast the stump grows. Tuesday, June 14 View Page fruit on the 1131 Gansert, 11 days old. Im hoping this will be my local fair pumpkin. We call her Myrtle lol Wednesday, June 15 View Page last night I sprayed fish & seaweed and cal mag max. This morning I sprayed Bayer T&S (directly on the soil) cause rain is on the way. Tonight I'll spray cyonara. Ive seen a few squash bugs and a couple eggs. I wanna knock them out before they get out of control. I also saw a few dead cuke beetles, yep I smiled :) Dead bugs make me happy lol Wednesday, June 15 View Page Im aggravated to death! I walked out on the porch and saw a groundhog sitting about 50 ft from the patch, a big fat sucker too! I couldnt get in the gun safe fast enough so I grabbed the first thing I could think of.... an air horn!! My like of thought was, if I cant kill him Im gonna scare the sh*t out of him! I ran across the yard, yelling and screaming and blaring the air horn. I didnt stop to concider what my neighbors would think lol. Fortunately we have great neighbors (except the weed killer one) who came running outside to see what was going on. They just laughed and said theyd be on ground hog watch and would shoot him if they got a chance. I gotta feeling Im gonna be spending more time sitting on the porch with easier access to my shot gun! Thats typical TN hilly billy behaviour isnt it? LOL Wednesday, June 15 View Page storm blew threw, good news the wind break held up wonderfully... the bad news, it doesnt block hail :( Wednesday, June 15 View Page the leaves took a beating, they'll probably live, but I dont know if theyll be healthy enough to push a big pumpkin. Wednesday, June 15 View Page more hail Wednesday, June 15 View Page sunflowers before the storm, actually they came through it pretty well with hardly any damage. Shymanski on the left and Dyer on the right. Im hoping for a big seed heads for the local fair. Wednesday, June 15 View Page fruit on the 1131 Gansert, est. 24 lbs this morning, basketball for size comparison :) Wednesday, June 15 View Page stem end Wednesday, June 15 View Page found the ground hogs den under the burned house next door. Hubby took a shot at it but Im not sure if he got it. Friday, June 17 View Page Fruit on the 1131 Gansert, 14 days old, 39 lbs by the older chart. Thats the chart I have so thats the one I use lol I am digging the shape of this pumpkin. Thanks again for this awesome seed Barbeetoo :) Friday, June 17 View Page looking back on my diary I realized that entry #114 has the wrong pic, thats a mighty tiny pumpkin to be 11 days old! lol Monday, June 20 View Page Im 99% sure I have yellow vine disease on the 1131 and I believe its spread to the 1145. The fruit on the 1131 has slowed down after barely getting started. The OTT was 73 lbs this morning. Is there any way I can prevent the disease from spreading to the 1266 plant? Monday, June 20 View Page this is on the first secondary vine on the 1131 Gansert plant. The holes are hail damage. Monday, June 20 View Page this is the 1145 Vanhook, its not looking good. Im thinking my chances of having a fall pumpkin are slim to none :( Wednesday, June 22 View Page found this guy flying around the patch today... he didnt fly for long... SWAT!! squished him bare handed, I was so happy to kill him it didnt even gross me out (much) lol That was an SVB right? Wednesday, June 22 View Page ahhhh thats MUCH better :) Wednesday, June 22 View Page ""Are you crying? ARE YOU CRYING? There's no crying! THERE'S NO CRYING IN BASEBALL!"" Well what about pumpkin growing? Is crying allowed in pumpkin growing?!?! I saw a smidge of creeping yellow ugliness on my last healthy plant. My only hope for a decent sized pumpkin this year. Guess I'll just be a spectator at the weigh offs AGAIN. D*mn it all to h*ll and back!! Thursday, June 23 View Page got a pep talk from a really good pumpkin buddy who suggested I call the county extension agent. I didnt even know we had one lol, hes at 4H camp this week, but will be here on Monday. Hopefully he can help me out. It may be too late for this year but maybe itll improve my chances next season. Saturday, June 25 View Page fruit on the 1131 Gansert, hoping this will be my local county fair pumpkin. The fair is July 25th, not much time left. Monday, June 27 View Page well the extension agent came out today. He took a leaf for testing and said hes pretty sure its alternaria. He suggested I cut off the worst leaves, spray a fugicide and boost the nitrogen. He also said not to leave the cut leaves there because it could affect me next year if I do. Well that was scary! Now Im wondering if I should just pull the whole thing and haul it off. The pumpkin on it isnt growing anymore, it stopped at ott 153 almost a week ago. Good news... There are no gnats or smells so I assume its solid. Also, he doesnt think its spread the my last plant (yet) so theres still hope for this season. I cant decide what to do. If I cut the pumpkin could it last 29 days til the fair? HELP!!!! Monday, June 27 View Page sprayed daconil last night. Tonight I sprayed TKO, Bayer T&S, and Neptunes fish&seaweed. I cut the 1131 back pretty hard, hoping itll survive til the 25th of next month but if it doesnt oh well, I forgot a big fair fruit wasnt my goal ... I remembered my last diary entry last season... http://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=146214 Tuesday, June 28 View Page not one but two splits, is this just a diaster waiting to happen? Or nothing to worry about? Tuesday, June 28 View Page I have another set about a foot farther down the vine, right before the main snapped, you can see it to the right. I like the position, the stem length and the shape BUT its only a 3 lobe, is a 3 lobe worth keeping? I dont see another female on the closest secondary but I guess I should wait and see if one pops up soon. Any advice appreciated :) Wednesday, June 29 View Page Im a little worried that Im pollinating too early. If I keep the 4 lobe pumpkin I have set it would be 88 days old for Bear Wallow or 102 days for Allardt. The 3 lobe set is only 3 days younger. 90 days is the maximum grow time, right? Wednesday, June 29 View Page Had a couple female culls so I checked the lobes. 3 and 4 lobes are pretty common, havent seen any 5 lobes yet. Wednesday, June 29 View Page my sunflowers are getting taller :) Thursday, June 30 View Page I have been everywhere looking for bonide infuse. Ive found a lot of bonide products but no infuse. The super helpful lady at the co-op is gonna order it for me and should have it in the morning. THANK YOU!! While I was at the local co-op I saw this on the shelf .... funny since 2 yrs ago I was in there asking for fish fert. and they practically laughed at me! Whos laughing now?!? HAHAHA Is this new or has 'Atlantis' been around a while? Ive never seen or heard of it before. Friday, July 1 View Page splits on the 4 lobe are getting worse.. gonna cull it, Im scared of it. Friday, July 1 View Page This is the 3 lobe on the 1266 Vanhook pollinated on June 24th with the 1131 Gansert. Its the last female on the main, the main snapped just past it. If I try for another set it will have to be on a secondary vine. Im really digging this pumpkin! my only worry is that the leaf I had to cut off was under the vine, I worry that it'll become a weak spot later on. Whew, there sure is alotta worrying in pumpkin growing! lol Friday, July 1 View Page theres another female on the 'new' main thats still a few days away. I keep thinking I'll get a bloom with more lobes but so far all Ive gotten are 3 & 4 lobes with the majority being 3. I'll pollinate it but unless its a 5 or 6 lobe I'll probably stick with what I have. I do like that the leaf is above the vine instead of below it like the other one. Question, since I only have one vine left wheres the best place to put the 'oh shit' pumpkin? Friday, July 1 View Page the split is bigger and spreading down the stem.... Friday, July 1 View Page OUCH!!! that hurt!! 4 lobe, Day 10, OTT 83, 1266 Vanhook and 1131 Gansert cross Monday, July 4 View Page On vacation this week, but still close enough to home that I can check on my plant. So far (knock on wood) the plant seems to be doing well. I set another one on a side vine, hoping it takes but it didnt get much TLC. The 10 day measurments on the 3 lobe are ok, not as good as the one I culled tho that cull will give me "what if" night mares! lol All sets are on the 1266 Vanhook and pollinated with the 1131 Gansert... crossing my fingers that I'll have a fall fruit this year!! Tuesday, July 5 View Page sprayed bayer T&S, watered it in, let dry, then sprayed daconil... all is well so far :) Wednesday, July 6 View Page Miss Myrtle is not gonna make it to the fair, shes got a soft spot :( Wednesday, July 6 View Page found a hidden female bloom this morning, the bees were working it over LOL. Thursday, July 7 View Page A thunderstorm blew through yesterday causing lots of broken leaf stalks. I spent the morning clearing out damaged leaves and cleaning up some third stage growth. I ended up with a pretty big pile :( I hope this doesnt affect the pumpkin too much. Friday, July 8 View Page Im a little worried about the stem angle, should I ramp up the blossom end or just leave it alone? Friday, July 8 View Page I was hoping to keep the secondary directly beside the pumpkin but I think Im gonna have to cut it Sunday, July 10 View Page made a bigger 'house' for the 1266 fruit today... gotta get more sand and pull some weeds. So far so good. Lord please let this pumpkin make it to the weigh off. Sunday, July 10 View Page I may have a fair pumpkin after all! With only 15 days left it certainly wont be a giant, but at least I'll have an entry (hopefully) Sunday, July 10 View Page sunflowers are still climbing :) Monday, July 11 View Page our weather forcast ... can ya grow a pumpkin in Hades? This Afternoon: Hot, Isolated shower/storm High: 98 Heat Index 105-110 Winds: SW 3-8 Tuesday, July 12 View Page more bad weather. Yesterday it was a heat index of 110, today its thunderstorms. Yesterday the leaves were wilted from heat, today they are laying over side ways from the wind. Tuesday, July 12 View Page spent a couple hours in the patch, had a lot of broken leaf stems. Cut the leaves that couldnt be saved and sprayed cyonara. I hate losing leaves :( Wednesday, July 13 View Page Is this normal? Last year I had some blossom end rot so Im not sure if this is normal or not. It doesnt seem to be rot, its dry but its shriveling up. Is it supossed to do that?? Thursday, July 14 View Page really really really worried about the blossom end. I dont know what to do. Friday, July 15 View Page well this looks familiar. Same story, different year. From now on the minute I pull off the bloom Im slapping captan on it! Friday, July 15 View Page Shymanski sunflower is up to the roof Friday, July 15 View Page looking up, you can barely see the seed head at the top Saturday, July 16 View Page more problems... Saturday, July 16 View Page off to do some research to see if I can figure out whats going on. I noticed one leaf like this last night, today I found 6. Whatever it is its fast moving. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions please email me :) Saturday, July 16 View Page Hubby came home from TSC with a 2 gallon pump sprayer, a heavy duty garden hose, a couple splitters, and a tripod sprinkler. We had a spat this morning and I believe this was his idea of a peace offering. Some women get flowers, I get a tripod sprinkler, and I like it that way! LOL Tuesday, July 19 View Page not much to update, the vine is getting bald spots from losing leaves for one reason or another. Im trying to let some 3rd stage growth fill up the bald spots. Im afraid the vine and pumpkin will peak too soon and wont make it to the weigh off. Keeping my fingers crossed, wish me luck! :) Tuesday, July 19 View Page sunflowers are still on the move, probably not gonna be ready in time for the fair though, next year I'll start them earlier Tuesday, July 19 View Page so far so good... Wednesday, July 20 View Page stem/vine angle just keeps getting worse no matter what I do... theres a stress point that I was keeping a close eye on and a kink developing too Wednesday, July 20 View Page heres a little gem right here, well thats it, I gotta cut the main to relieve some stress..... The main snapped about a foot past the pumpkin anyway but I had about a 6 ft secondary on it past the break that I was training into a new main. Hate to lose it but its gotta go Wednesday, July 20 View Page scraped out the brown ickyness and packed it full of captan paste, also put the paste on the cut vine. Im praying this works. Wednesday, July 20 View Page scraped out the brown ickyness and packed it full of captan paste, also put the paste on the cut vine. Im praying this works. Wednesday, July 20 View Page So I now have captan paste and a fan on BOTH ends of the pumpkin with 59 days to go. The rest of this season is gonna be an edge of your seat, nail biter! Oh, I was doing some reading and saw a phrase I havent heard before "if you aint blowin em, you aint growin em" what does that mean?? I should get a whopper blowing em at both ends, right? LOL Thursday, July 21 View Page Local county fair fruit. 90% of the 1145 vine died, but I found this growing and decided to see what it would do. It hasnt had any love, I just threw a shade over it and let it go. Its est 97 lbs today, the fair starts monday. It wont be the 740 lbs I had last year but at least I'll have something to enter. Thursday, July 21 View Page this is Trip! Trip is a 3 lober (get it 3-triple-trip haha) on the 1266 Vanhook :) 58 days to go, hang on Trip, hang on!! I was going to keep Trip a secret but I have absolutely NO sandbagging skills! lol I dont know how you guys do it, I guess Im just a blabber mouth haha Thursday, July 21 View Page trying to get another set just in case Trip's stem issue becomes fatal. 98 degrees today with 105 heat index, if it takes itll be a miracle but if it doesnt I havent lost anything by trying :) Thursday, July 21 View Page starting to get a little color Thursday, July 21 View Page another thunderstorm came through, a few more broken leaf stalks and one rolled vine. It doesnt seem too bad but when it happens over and over in a short amount of time the leaf loss starts to add up. Cut a couple (more) leaves and sprayed TKO and CO2. Still hanging in there :) Friday, July 22 View Page so today I have wrinkles, creases or something on my pumpkin. They are in a couple different spots but all are in the 'valleys' Im not sure what they are or if I should treat them with something. I also noticed a spot that is trying to lay over on itself as it grows. Should that be treated in any special way?? Saturday, July 23 View Page time to check the wounds and do a little first aid Saturday, July 23 View Page I dusted off the captan paste and blossom end looks good, its clean, dry and no dark spots. I didnt spray bleach cause I didnt want to wet it, I just dusted it with sulfur powder and left it alone. Saturday, July 23 View Page I cant say the same for the stem end. When I brushed away the captan paste there was brown ickyness in there.. this cant be good Saturday, July 23 View Page I scraped away as much as I dared, applied sulfur powder and adjusted the fan. I'll check it again tomorrow... fingers and toes crossed!!! Sunday, July 24 View Page and the hits just keep coming...cut off a pile of leaves this morning.. Im afraid its downy mildew Sunday, July 24 View Page the leaves were already damaged from hail a while back, now they look damaged AND diseased. Not taking any chances, I cut em off. Sunday, July 24 View Page oh and I forgot to mention the gains on my pumpkin have dropped, only gained 8 lbs last night :( Today is day 30. Sunday, July 24 View Page checked the stem split this morning, its dry without any dark spots. Im taking that as a good sign, BUT there wasnt much gain last night actually the least gain Ive had in 2 weeks. I noticed what I thought was downy mildew on some of the leaves. Then someone mentioned that my stem issues could be gummy stem blight. I hadnt even concidered that. Im feeling a bit over whelmed this morning :( Im not giving up but its looking pretty bleak around here. Monday, July 25 View Page took my back up pumpkin to the fair this morning. It weighed 152 lbs, a huge let down after the 740 lbs last year. I pulled the vine and cleared out that side of the patch. Only he 1266 Vanhook is left. The vine is huge but its starting to show its age. Im losing a lot of leaves, theres a big bald spot in the middle. The pumpkin met the 30 day benchmark but just barely. Weight gains have dropped, Im thinking about throwing some ferts to it today. Oh a happy note my sunflowers are BEAUTIFUL! They didnt bloom in time for the fair but Im kinda glad they didnt. This way I get to enjoy them longer :) Tuesday, July 26 View Page weight gains are really random. The last week I got 14-21-12-23-8-16-8.... shouldnt I be getting 20+ lbs everyday now? Im on day 32. Tuesday, July 26 View Page sprayed a light mixture of Jacks classic 20-20-20. Used a gallon and a half of water to 1 TBS and sprayed it over a 60x25ft area. I dont wanna give it a kick start, just a little nudge to hopefully get him going again ;)... Lets go Trip ole buddy, youve snoozed long enough, time to get your lumpy butt in gear!! lol Wednesday, July 27 View Page sunflowers are blooming :) Wednesday, July 27 View Page no sandbagging here, this was taken yesterday. Wednesday, July 27 View Page I think Ive been measuring wrong. Ive been taping from stem to blossom and about middle of the pumpkin, (red lines)I was just re-reading the how to on OTT. I think it should be measured on the blue lines. Is that right? I would put the tape below the stem but above the blossom?? Im confused can someone clarify this for me please. Wednesday, July 27 View Page deep groove and getting deeper. Im hoping this doesnt become a problem Wednesday, July 27 View Page the paint brush is for brushing sulfur powder off the stem split (its doing well) but I confess, I also use it to dust out the pumpkin crack! LOL is there anything special I should be doing for it? I thought about spraying it with 10% bleach but then I worried about it not drying fast enough and causing more harm than good. I did give it a very very light dust of sulfur powder. Anything else I should do to maybe prevent future problems?? Friday, July 29 View Page getting a little more color Friday, July 29 View Page theres a cave forming under my pumpkin, do I pile sand up to the overhang or leave it alone? Friday, July 29 View Page sprayed TKO, fish and CO2 Saturday, July 30 View Page I put Bentley, our 3 yr old terrier mix in the county fair dog show this morning. He won 2nd place in his division and 2nd place for best dressed. Our very first dog show, I was so proud of him I could just bust lol We had a ball, we are definately gonna enter again next year! Saturday, July 30 View Page This is Bennys costume. We call him our little pound puppy because we got him from a shelter so we decided an escaped jail bird costume would fit him perfectly lol He was a big hit at the dog show and won 2nd place :) Saturday, July 30 View Page clearing out some 3rd stage growth and found twins! lol Monday, August 1 View Page stem split today, its completely dry no weeping at all but there are a few new teeny tiny fizzures.. not sure what to think about that Monday, August 1 View Page Im still trying to get an 'oh shit' pumpkin. It wouldnt make the weigh off but maybe I could get a nice jack o lantern for halloween if disaster strikes :) Monday, August 1 View Page blossom end rot spot looks good, but Im keeping the fan on it just in case. The valley is turning into the grand canyon lol Monday, August 1 View Page Im not likely to make the 40 day marks but thats ok. Im still getting slow and steady gains and Im happy with that. Its been so dry and hot Im afraid to push it. The color is getting more orange and theres a little bit of cantalouping showing up in spots. Monday, August 1 View Page When do I cut the sunflower head? How do I save the seeds? Id appreciate any advice :) Monday, August 1 View Page getting bigger Monday, August 1 View Page Im hoping this is daconil residue on the leaves, but Im really really afraid its PM. I sprayed infuse last night. Monday, August 1 View Page well its happened AGAIN, I have powdery mildew :( I thought I was spraying often enough but I guess I wasnt. All I can do now is try to keep it from spreading too fast. Grrr I just wanna kick something and curse!!! Tuesday, August 2 View Page Just when you think everythings gonna be ok and you can breathe, for a minute, something comes along and knocks ya down again. I saw a leaf with some yellowing... upon further inspection I find this...ewwww, this is baaaaad, no way anything good can come of this Tuesday, August 2 View Page and I was right, its U-G-L-Y Tuesday, August 2 View Page and its not alone...several leaf nodes down the vine showed damage Tuesday, August 2 View Page varying degrees of damage, not sure I can fight a whole vine full of this mess! Tuesday, August 2 View Page I made a difficult decision and cut it. yep that hurt :( of course it HAD to be the secondary I was trying to set a back up pumpkin on. Dont think it took anyway, at least I'll tell myself that. Im praying this doesnt affect my pumpkin too much. This was vine that I had let run out onto the grass. Tuesday, August 2 View Page I found more ickyness beginning on another vine. I dont think I'll let anymore vine run out onto the grass. Im fairly certain thats what caused the problem. Grass holding water caused rot. If Im wrong someone PLEASE correct me. This spot wasnt too bad so I scraped it, sprayed it with bleach and hit it with sulfur. No more growing on grass for me, when the patch ends so does the vine! My hubby will be happy about that. Wednesday, August 3 View Page its day 40, didnt make the benchmark numbers and only had a 5 lb gain, only 1 inch, heck that could have been a slip of the tape. I may have shot myself in the foot by cutting half a secondary off. No since worrying over spilled milk, if I killed it I'll just have to put on my big girl panties and deal with it :( Thursday, August 4 View Page getting some grey/green color Thursday, August 4 View Page the crater is closing in on itself. Im gonna keep a close close eye on it for moisture. Should I hit it with bleach solution every few days? Thursday, August 4 View Page blossom end looks good, no sign of the rot that was there before Thursday, August 4 View Page still keeping fans blowing on both ends. Thursday, August 4 View Page just couldnt pull the twins lol Im sure they'll abort but itll be fun to see if they do grow Thursday, August 4 View Page well thats one way to keep bees from stealing pollen lol Friday, August 5 View Page another 5 lb day, think I'll hit it with a light dose of 20-20-20 tonight Saturday, August 6 View Page new measurements, I was taping it wrong before. I didnt make the 1000 lb benchmark numbers but its still possible to get a new personal best :) Wish me luck!! Saturday, August 6 View Page noticed a few skin splits this morning, doesnt seem like anything major but there was a drop of ooze. I sprayed the splits with bleach solution and added sulfur powder. We havent had any rain in weeks but we just got a down pour. I know sometimes a lot of rain will cause a pumpkin to blow. Im afraid the rain in combination with the 20-20-20 I added yesterday will cause it to blow. *worried as usual* Saturday, August 6 View Page wind took out my sunflower today.... it was about ready to be cut anyway Saturday, August 6 View Page dont know the proper way to measure them Saturday, August 6 View Page They look ready to me :) I cant decide whether to leave the seeds on the flower or pick them off and dry them like pumpkin seeds. Saturday, August 6 View Page big stem Saturday, August 6 View Page 2 for the price of one lol I wonder if it'll bloom? Saturday, August 6 View Page having a teenage son comes in handy :) hehe Sunday, August 7 View Page small gains but hey at least its gaining. Sometimes I get distracted by the numbers and forget to stand back and look at the beast growing in my back yard. Holy Sh*t! Theres a 500+ lb pumpkin! Why am I pouting over 5 lb gains?? Its getting greener by the day, how green does it have to be before its concidered a gourd? lol Monday, August 8 View Page getting green stripes on the booty. Minimal gains only 5 lbs last night. At this point Im just praying it'll hold on until the weigh off, 40 days to go..... Monday, August 8 View Page turning green Monday, August 8 View Page never had a pumpkin with green before, but this is only my 2nd pumpkin lol Tuesday, August 9 View Page Trip was outgrowing his tarp house so he got a new shelter today, well new to him anyway haha I believe this will allow better air flow and still keep him shaded, I dont think it will get as hot as the tarp either. I concidered just using a sheet but man that makes me nervous and since I do my watering with over head sprinklers I decided to go this route. I tied each corner to a concrete block, I hope thats enough to weigh it down. Ive never used a canopy in the patch before so if ya'll see something I need to change PLEASE email me :) Thursday, August 11 View Page a minor skin split this morning, I hope it stays minor! Sprayed with bleach solution and hit it with sulfur powder. Thursday, August 11 View Page Found these lil suckers hidden in the grass and in the fence row. Could this have been contributing to the slow growth of my pumpkin? Friday, August 12 View Page 12 lb gain last night. 35 days til the weigh off. Hang on Trip hang on!!! Saturday, August 13 View Page weekly average gains for the past month have been 17-13-12 and this week only averaged 9 lbs a day. Theres still 5 weeks to go.. uh oh Sunday, August 14 View Page in the patch stressing about the slow gains but I literally laughed out loud when I caught myself humming this song.. heck Id sing it and dance on the roof top if I thought it would help!! LOL http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQqJTIAGuYc&feature=related Monday, August 15 View Page left side of the 1266 Vanhook vine Monday, August 15 View Page right side of the vine Tuesday, August 16 View Page very minimal gains, an inch or two at most. Tuesday, August 16 View Page the blossom button is disappearing. More cantalouping and more lovely green stripes Tuesday, August 16 View Page the lumpy bumpy stem end. The color looks a lil lighter than it actually is because its covered in sulfur dust. Tuesday, August 16 View Page side view, Thursday, August 18 View Page is it possible for a pumpkin to stay the same size but change shape? It seems like my pumpkin is flattening out but the measurements dont change much. Maybe its my imagination. I wish the weigh off would hurry up! Im scared to death some disaster will happen before I get it there. Monday, August 22 View Page gonna have to cut this one soon, the birds found it. Notice the picked out seeds in the upper left corner of the pic. Tuesday, August 23 View Page one of the deep ribs closed up but left a 2" deep hole. Im keeping it as dry as possible. Is there anything else I should do to it to prevent it becoming a problem? Tuesday, August 23 View Page please ignore the patch puppy's booty in the pic lol ***I hope Im taping correctly*** Tuesday, August 23 View Page I think a new personal best is still possible.... 24 days to go. Hang on Trip! Tuesday, August 23 View Page with this method it measured 17 inches Tuesday, August 23 View Page with this method (laying it face down and marking the outter edges) it measured 16 inches Tuesday, August 23 View Page i think I'll pick out the seeds and lay them on a screen to dry, leaving them on the flower didnt work for me last time Thursday, August 25 View Page this vine keeps me running. Its growing terts like crazy and still throwing females right and left. Its a MONSTER of a vine! Im pinching, pulling and pruning constantly. I found this female yesterday, looks like its growing on a leaf stem, weird. Saturday, August 27 View Page uh oh, this cant be good. This is how 'the end' started for me last year... the really news is this isnt the worst part.... Saturday, August 27 View Page this is what concerns me most.. the rust colored mush. I brushed away the goo, sprayed with a bleach solution, applied sulfur powder and put a fan on it. I dont think this will hold another 21 days until the Bear Wallow weigh off. Would this be a disqualification? Maybe I could make it until the TN state fair, thats only 10 days away. I dont know what to do, Im aggravated and EXTREMELY disappointed. Saturday, August 27 View Page my pumpkin surgery kit... Saturday, August 27 View Page before surgery... Saturday, August 27 View Page during... Saturday, August 27 View Page and after.... Lord please let this work. I will be keeping a VERY close eye on it. Wednesday, August 31 View Page For those of you that believe in prayer please keep my family in your prayers. We are going through some big changes. Im hoping and praying it will go well and be whats best for everyone, especially the kids involved. Friday, September 2 View Page the stem surgery is ok, not great but ok. The poor stem is nearly all white now. Its covered in lumpy bumpy crackles with just a few spots of green here and there. There are some minor splits popping up around the stem, I hope they stay minor! Friday, September 2 View Page im worried (nothing new there) about all these lil cracks/splits that have popped up. I sprayed them with bleach and dusted with sulfur. There are a couple areas on the pumpkin with splits like these. They seem to pop up almost in clusters. I think its a sign of age/maturity. I knew when I set it as early as I did that I was pushing the time limits, especially concidering my lack of experience. Hopefully I can keep it limping along until the weigh off.... State Fair 5 days.. Bear Wallow 15 days Friday, September 2 View Page a closer look... Friday, September 2 View Page a better pic of the problem Friday, September 2 View Page day 70 Saturday, September 3 View Page its days like thats that I just want to literally kick, curse, scream and rip something apart!! ARGGGG!!!!!!!!! I found a brown spot on top of the stem, I already have issues on the bottom and on one side. There are crackles popping up all over the place, they look like open wounds just asking for bacteria to jump on in and have a party! Theres a big storm on the way that promises to dump oodles of rib splitting rain that I DONT need!! and now the Pièce de résistance... a frigging *&%$)#$**! mole or ground hog has dug tunnels in the patch and a one of them goes RIGHT up to my pumpkin!! I could just PUKE!!! The *&^% tunnel ends directly under the stem, now does that mean the lil *&^% turned around and went back the way it came in? Or *gulp* that he dug deeper and went UNDER my pumpkin?? Im gonna have a flippin heart attack!! Forget the beer, somebody pass the shine!!! Im just gonna sit in the patch hillbilly style with my shot gun and moon shine and dare anybody or anything to so much as LOOK AT IT!!! I would seriously appreciate any advice. Saturday, September 3 View Page I smushed down the varmit tunnels closest to my pumpkin but when I went back a couple hrs later they were puffed back up again. It had returned!! GRRR. I had a small fan sitting on bricks to keep the stem dry. I moved the fan directly onto the ground, stuck a thin piece of plastic in the blades just far enough to make noise. I also stuck a metal rod into the ground making sure it touched the fan housing. Maybe the vibrations will scare him if the noise doesnt. Great balls of fire what a roller coaster of a season this is!!! Saturday, September 3 View Page link to a video of my noisy fan ... the plastic is a piece of a milk jug haha http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y248/crzyJJfan/?action=view&current=MVI_0418.mp4 Sunday, September 4 View Page fan didnt work... this is a video before I started digging further..pics to follow http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y248/crzyJJfan/?action=view&current=MVI_0420.mp4 Sunday, September 4 View Page heres one hole. I dont know how deep it goes but I can stick my arm in past my wrist Sunday, September 4 View Page heres the other hole.. what are the chances that whatever vermin made the holes didnt eat into the pumpkin? I stuck my hand in as far as I could and didnt feel any damage but I know that doesnt really mean anything Tuesday, September 6 View Page 40 straight hours of non stop rain.... Friday, September 9 View Page last night I dreamed I took my lil pumpkin to the Bear Wallow Farms weigh off, it was small in size compared to the other monsters that were there but I was just happy to be there with an entry. It was finally my turn on the scale and the pumpkin weighed WAY over the OTT estimate. The officials wanted to cut it to make sure it was legal. They did, and inside there was another pumpkin!! It was perfectly shaped with a beautiful shiny orange color, it even had a curly green stem. What a weird dream! Friday, September 9 View Page Just thought I would share with ya'll what a typical Friday night at the our house is like. Im not happy without a house full lol Left to right... My 17 yr old son, My 14 yr old daughter trying unsuccesfully to hug him lol My 12 yr old nephew, My 13 yr old niece, my 16 yr old cousin, my 17 yr old neighbor and my 14 yr old neighbor in the floor. Oh oh and I cant forget Mr Benny the patch puppy! Saturday, September 10 View Page the green goblin soakin' up some sunshine.... 7 days to go....wish us luck :) Thursday, September 15 View Page the stem sprung a leak (again) Im praying itll hold on a couple more days. My imaginations is running wild, I keep having horrible thoughts... that we'll lift it up and the bottom will fall out of it, that pressure from the lifing ring straps will squeeze it and cause it to crack like an egg or that hubby wont drive carefully enough and itll split before we get there. If I manage to get this blessed pumpkin to BWF Im gonna need a nap when I get there!! LOL Friday, September 16 View Page ready for Bear Wallow Farms, my first weigh off WOO HOO!! Friday, September 16 View Page got all the fungicide gook cleaned off the stem, there are a few brown spots, the stem may have to come off but Im not sure, Im hoping someone at BWF will help me out :) Friday, September 16 View Page video, lifting the green goblin.... I didnt look at the bottom very closely but it looked solid to me http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y248/crzyJJfan/Bear%20Wallow%202011/?action=view&current=MVI_0464.mp4 Friday, September 16 View Page video, loading the green goblin. Its probably not the best way but its loaded http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y248/crzyJJfan/Bear%20Wallow%202011/?action=view&current=MVI_0467.mp4 Sunday, September 18 View Page I smiled all the way home from the Bear Wallow weigh off and woke up this morning still smiling! :) Wanted to send HUGE thanks and big hugs to everyone who worked so hard at the weigh off! Yes even the ones who yanked my chain a bit! LOL I cant remember the last time I had that much fun. I guess my sewing machine threading days are done until next season haha I'll have pics up soon :) Sunday, September 18 View Page final weights Sunday, September 18 View Page me and my very dear pumpkin buddy Stevann :) Sunday, September 18 View Page my hubby Timbo and I. Bless him, he doesnt know a pumpkin from a squash but he'll do what ever he can to help me in this odd hobby. Including spending his 41st birthday at a pumpkin weigh off, hes a keeper! :) Sunday, September 18 View Page 1st place was Frank Mudd with 1146.5 awesome pumpkin, congratulations Frank Sunday, September 18 View Page 2nd place was John Brammer with 1059.5 great looking pumpkin congrats John :) Sunday, September 18 View Page 3rd place was James & John Vanhook with 951.5 a big heavy green beast! Congrats guys :) Sunday, September 18 View Page 3rd place was James & John Vanhook with 951.5 a big heavy green beast! Congrats guys :) Sunday, September 18 View Page 4th place was yours truly with 889 lbs I just cant tell ya'll how excited and happy I was. Thanks again for the seed John Vanhook! Sunday, September 18 View Page the skunk cap crowning lol Sunday, September 18 View Page all in good fun :) Sunday, September 18 View Page cant wait til next year!!! lol more weigh off photos are in my album here..... http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y248/crzyJJfan/Bear%20Wallow%202011/