Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 38 Entries. Wednesday, January 11 View Page This is my lineup for this year. The 1409 Miller has grown three pumpkins; all over 1500 pounds. The 1634 Werner grew the 1723 Marshall and the 1059 Vincent-McGill will hopefully grow a beautiful orange one. The weather this winter has been incredible so far; nothing but sunny days. Last winter my patch was covered with snow from fall to spring. This year I've been able to haul in several pickup loads of manure and compost. Thursday, February 9 View Page Feb. 2011 patch. Three feet of snow Thursday, February 9 View Page Feb. 2012 patch. Snow almost gone and clothes drying on the line. Sunday, February 26 View Page What happens in Vegas--- Sunday, March 4 View Page Got these nice seeds at Elk Grove yesterday. Leonardo handed me a 1032 which is the reverse cross of the 991. The 1504 from Russ has great potential but I only have room for one of these and think I'll have to go with the 1704 Urena that Auston was gracious enough to let me have. Sunday, March 18 View Page Yesterday my first crocus of the year bloomed and I took that as a sign that Spring was on the way. Sunday, March 18 View Page Woke up this morning to find the new crocus covered with snow. Saturday, March 31 View Page Hardly any snow all winter but now that spring is here and I'm dying to get into the patch-- Friday, April 13 View Page Another six inches of snow last night and still coming down. Winter Storm Warning until 8PM tonight. Guess I won't be working in the patch this weekend but still hope to start my seeds in a week. Saturday, April 21 View Page What a difference a week makes. Eight inches of snow a week ago and today it hit 80 degrees for the first time in probably six months. Started ten seeds in the hope of growing three plants. Will also start a fourth plant to be an orange pollinator for my 1059 Vince/McGill. Sunday, April 29 View Page One of my patches was turning into a bog and my water meter was spinning wildly so I dug down and found a pipe with a hole in it. It's old and rusty but I need to get my plants in the ground soon so don't have time to replace it. Going to try to put a temporary fix on it until after harvest time in the fall. Sunday, April 29 View Page Meanwhile this is my Urena 1704 ten days after soaking the seed. It's growing like a weed and is my big hope for this year since my 1409 Miller never germinated. I had high hopes for that one. Saturday, May 5 View Page Got my 1704 in the ground yesterday and of course it went down to 28 degrees last night. I was ready for it though with a small 200 watt heater and a sleeping bag over the top of the dome. Last year I lost my 1401 Urena to frost on May 30 and I'm not going to let that happen again. I prepared the planting spot by broadforking a ten foot diameter circle and adding humic acid, azomite, kelp meal, bat guano, greensand, seabird guano, and some alfalfa pellets. Hope I didn't over fertilize it. Wednesday, May 9 View Page Decided the dome wasn't going to get the job done so I built a real hoop house and put a 400 watt metal halide light on the Urena 1704. I have a timer turn it on before dusk and off at 10 PM. Then it comes back on at 4 AM until after dawn. The Miller 1409 got off to a slow start germinating but now is catching up fast. It should go in the ground soon. Monday, May 21 View Page Hard to get a good picture with a small digital camera and two pieces of welding glass in front of it. Tuesday, June 5 View Page Yesterday at 3PM it was 84 degrees. Today at 3PM it was 49 degrees; 35 degrees cooler in one day. Good chance of frost in the morning so I covered all my plants with plastic. Saturday, June 9 View Page This is the top of my car this morning where I scratched the frost with my fingernails. Luckily the pumpkins all survived uncovered last night but this will probably slow down the growth. No female buds yet and my 1704 is out almost eight feet. Thursday, July 19 View Page Aagghhhh. The aphids are back early this year. Bought some ladybugs yesterday and scattered them last night. So far only one plant out of my four is infested. Thursday, July 19 View Page So many aphids; so little time. Thursday, July 19 View Page Adopted Spike, an older cat, from the local shelter and put him to work on gopher patrol. Here he is happily prowling the 1409 Miller. Tuesday, July 24 View Page Apparently it's mating season for ladybugs. I wish they would spend some more time eating aphids and less time fooling around. Here are some amorous ladies enjoying a morning threesome. Wednesday, August 8 View Page Had to leave for a week to visit my mother-in-law and was worried about leaving my plants to sprinklers on timers. However the 1409 Miller went from 142 to 357 pounds for an average daily gain of 24 pounds. On the down side, the aphids are starting to invade the Miller and I guess I'll have to try something other than ladybugs. Tuesday, August 14 View Page I started worrying when these bugs began showing up on my plants but after a little research, I think they're ladybug larvae. Which is a good thing because they eat aphids too and I need all the help I can get. Wednesday, August 29 View Page This is the top of my pickup where I scratched the frost with my fingernails this morning. First frost since June 9 but the pumpkins seemed to have survived again. Wednesday, August 29 View Page Finally gave up on the 1704 Urena. Not sure why it grew so slow but I think I'll get a soil sample today. It's the only Urena seed that didn't do really well for me. Wednesday, August 29 View Page Meanwhile the 1409 Miller is closing in on 800 pounds and barring some catastrophe, should be my first over 1,000. Friday, September 14 View Page The 1409 Miller next to a garbage can for size comparison. Over 900 pounds but slowing down. Still have hopes for it being my first over a thousand. Friday, September 14 View Page Growing this 225 Williamson for orange this year. It wasn't pollinated til July 19 and was basically ignored after wind pulled all of the side vine roots out but it's still over 400. I think the 225 came from a 993 VM that was selfed. Can't remember where I even got the seed. It was a backup for my 1059 that didn't germinate. Sunday, September 16 View Page Had to do a baby pic on the 1409 with my friend's ten month old daughter. She refused to recreate the Anne Geddes pose. Tuesday, September 25 View Page My son's cat standing guard over my potential HD winner. Has a few blemishes but is a nice orange and tapes at 463 lbs. My smallest pumpkin. Thursday, September 27 View Page Only ten days until Elk Grove and I still have a chance of going over 1,000. Right now it's taping at 358 which is 1004 on the new chart but a lot of pumpkins have been coming in light this year so I'm a little worried. Daily gains have just about stopped but maybe it's adding weight internally. Thursday, October 4 View Page If you take a picture near sunset, the orange really comes out. This is my Williamson which keeps getting more orange every day. It's too late to get it into Half Moon Bay so I'm thinking about entering it at Uesugi Farms on the 13th. Sunday, October 7 View Page A great day at Elk Grove and a new personal best. Congratulations to Rob Globus for the win. Thursday, October 11 View Page Everyone in my family really likes this picture of me and my giant. The new 2012 1115.5 Hinrichs grown from the 1409 Miller. Thursday, October 11 View Page Even with my big pumpkin gone, I'm still getting field trips from the local elementary school visiting my Patch. This is the sixth class to visit. Thursday, October 11 View Page There is a kid in this picture with a bright highway orange sweatshirt that was almost the same color as my potential Howard Dill. The digital camera couldn't quite catch the exact hue. Sunday, October 14 View Page What a great season; a Howard Dill at Uesugi Farms, a personal best at Elk Grove but the best part may have been watching all of the kids enjoying my patch. Saturday, November 10 View Page Took this picture of a honeybee on my poppies five days ago. Today the poppies are under snow.