Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 189 Entries. Tuesday, January 4 View Page well Happy New Year to all. nice little sign we found while riding around in the truck (no snow to ride on) Tuesday, January 4 View Page ice jamb Monday, January 31 View Page Well spring is getting closer.... Thursday, February 3 View Page So if you look very close you will see the top of the fence at the airport.Now thats alot of snow. Wednesday, March 2 View Page well some shots of our most recent sleddin trip Wednesday, March 2 View Page Timmy all balled up Thursday, March 3 View Page the wife gettin her carve on. Thursday, March 3 View Page OK OK. I know its big pumpkin.... now that the sleddin season is done its time to get ready for kin season. Tuesday, March 22 View Page may showers bring april flowers... :) Tuesday, March 29 View Page This years seed line up; 1579 Revier, 1556.5 Werner, 1378.5 Ellenbecker, 1209 Kuhn, 1448 Barlow, 814 Hathaway, 1154 Gantner, 755 Gantner, 699 Gantner, 790 Maston, 682 Niewenhoff, 225 Wolf, 1143 Wolf, 275 Vanhook, 913 Vanhook 07, 863 Kopp and then the squash; 386 uow Cantrell, 1236 Vincent/Mcgill, 943.5 Jacobus, 521 Andrews. Tuesday, April 12 View Page well i was working in the garden and broke another fork yesterday. got to love the hard pan. Monday, April 18 View Page Well i finally got the deep forking done and some final amendments added just in time for some more white nitrogen to cover the patch. No activity in the germ chamber yet..... the 1579 didnt look so good after the soak but we will have to wait and see what happens. Thursday, April 21 View Page Well the first batch of seeds have sprouted. The 1579 revier is on fire the 1556.5 werner is next and bringing up the rear is the 275 van hook. Now only if mother nature can make up her mind is it winter or is it spring. Sunday, April 24 View Page Just a shot of me and the first batch of plants. So now let the games begin... Sunday, April 24 View Page and another view. Monday, April 25 View Page Such a nice day today... I almost forgot what the sun looked like but at least I was able to cut out of work and get the tiller fired up to do a quick till in the patch. Tuesday, May 3 View Page So after talking this years plant selection over with my aunt we came to the realize that our plan has a big flaw... Tuesday, May 3 View Page that I only have 3 plants and that means we forgot #4. So my seed starting trials are on hold till my #4 plant sprouts Tuesday, May 3 View Page Well do you see it..... Joe this one is for you... Tuesday, May 3 View Page All filed and soaked and ready to grow Tuesday, May 3 View Page The germ chamber Tuesday, May 3 View Page and a panoramic view of my aunts grow shed. She sure is a busy lady. Friday, May 6 View Page well after 3 days we have growth... Friday, May 6 View Page another angle..... looking good so far. I think i see a new personal best growing in this group. Monday, May 9 View Page still growing good repoted on sunday to larger pots. Monday, May 9 View Page one last pass of tiller in the patch. Tuesday, May 10 View Page a picture of the 1556.5 werner Tuesday, May 10 View Page and a shot of the 1579 revier. Monday, May 16 View Page well after a very cold night and alot of triped breakers most of the plants look good but there were a couple who will probably not make it :( Thursday, May 19 View Page a nice shot of the nursery i think there is about 20 plants in there. all they need is a good home! Thursday, May 19 View Page a shot of the 1579 revier its just starting to lay down... there is some sun burned leafs but what doesnt kill ya makes ya stronger...lol Thursday, May 19 View Page so the 1161 is doing very well no picts of that plant yet. the 1248 swarts doing very very very well this might be the monster of the patch only time will tell no picts of that plant yet either and then the 275 Van Hook.... well she is starting to look like a pumpkin plant again she must not have liked the car ride to the big city. Monday, May 23 View Page Help... in need of a bigger hoop house... 6 feet is not long enough. :) Monday, May 23 View Page Got Water.... My water issue is now resolved. Friday, May 27 View Page is this the start of a double vine any input would be greatly appreciated Friday, May 27 View Page another view Friday, May 27 View Page and just one more picture Tuesday, May 31 View Page A day of high winds and heavy rains has brought some damage but the up side to the weather is that growth is realy moving now been burying side vines and the mains. ;) Thursday, June 2 View Page this picture is a little dark but do you see the little yellow orb there on the main vine... the first female of the 2011 growing season. Monday, June 6 View Page I was doing so good until Tuesday, June 7 View Page Hail Thursday, June 9 View Page well i havent posted any pictures for a while so here we go.This is a picture of the 1556.5 werner i had to get out a lader to fit it all in the picture main about 12ft Thursday, June 9 View Page This is a shot of the 1579 revier i also had to use a ladder to fit it all in the shot the main on this plant is also around the 12 ft mark and i hope to be pollenating this plant by weeks end Thursday, June 9 View Page this is a picture of the 1161 rodonis i started it a couple of weeks late but it is starting to catch up now. Thursday, June 9 View Page a shot of the little pumpkin plants that started to grow in the patch. these plants came from last years pumpkins and there sure is a lot of them. Saturday, June 11 View Page first pollenation today F 1579 revier X M 1556.5 werner i only had 1 male so we will see if it takes Tuesday, June 14 View Page just a photo of the new long gourd trellis its a little over 16 ft. Tuesday, June 14 View Page another angle Tuesday, June 14 View Page its so big i had to get my buddies rotator truck out. A BIG THANK YOU TO HOMERS TOWING. he is also a pumpkin grower Tuesday, June 14 View Page a side view of the rig Tuesday, June 14 View Page and one with it siting in its growing area Tuesday, June 14 View Page some advertising Tuesday, June 21 View Page i pollenated a big 6 lobe female on the 1579 revier today i did use 5 males just to make sure i had it all covered Thursday, June 23 View Page i think the pollenation took she has doubled in size. :) Thursday, June 23 View Page I pollenated 2 more females today another big 6 lober F= 1579 X M=1556.5 and the most beautiful 5 lober F= 1556.5 X M=1579. The 1161 might be ready early next week its about 14 ft out. its males have been opening on the wrong days dang mother nature.lol Monday, June 27 View Page it has been a while since i posted some kin pictures. so this is the 1579 revier Monday, June 27 View Page a shot of the 1556.5 werner Monday, June 27 View Page the 521 andrews squash its small but it did get planted way late so we will see how it turns out Monday, June 27 View Page a shot of the 1161 rodonis.I had to remove about 75% of the plant due to a rabbit wanting to make a home under the main vine. i only have about 3-4 feet of main left and i have started to train the seconds to take over so i hope for another pollenation to come very soon on this plant Wednesday, June 29 View Page i pollenated another 6 lober on the 1579 this morning i actually got to use some 1161 pollen this time Thursday, June 30 View Page i pollenated a 4.5 lobe female on the 1161 this am. i selfed it Friday, July 1 View Page today 2 more 1161 females opened this morning so i selfed 1 and crossed the other with the 1579 both were 5 lobers Tuesday, July 5 View Page this 1 did not make the cut. had a lot of stem stress and a crack was starting on the stem in to the fruit Tuesday, July 5 View Page a shot of the long gourds Tuesday, July 5 View Page a shot of 1 of the stumps Tuesday, July 5 View Page oh look there already is some sand bagging going on. Friday, July 8 View Page So i busted out my pumpkin tape and did some taping of the fruits this morning. 1579 revier D 14 109"OTT, 1556 D 11 76" OTT. ;) Tuesday, July 12 View Page kaboom.... thats the sound of a 1579 revier blowing up :( Sunday, July 17 View Page got home from florida to a blown up 1161. all of the squash pollenations have aborted and alot of squash vine borrers in the traps. the 1556.5 werner is going to be needing a hair cut and the 1579 revier well im going to have to pull out the tape and post a picture ;) Sunday, July 17 View Page 1579 revier d23 231 inches OTT been doing 30 plus pounds a day. 1556.5 werner d20 185 inches OTT been doing about 18 a day 1161 x self d13 29" cir 1161 x 1579 d10 23" cir 1161 x 1556 d 9 23" 1161 x 1579 blown up. i counted the svb traps and i had 76 in 2 buckets. it has been a good last 5 days Monday, July 18 View Page the 1556 before i went to florida Monday, July 18 View Page 1579 before florida Tuesday, July 19 View Page here we grow again Wednesday, July 20 View Page a shot with the covers off Wednesday, July 20 View Page and another shot of the 1556 she's growzin good too. Monday, July 25 View Page look at that hat Monday, July 25 View Page another nice looking hat. Monday, July 25 View Page now that i have my tank all hooked up and actually working i figured i would post a picture of it. i can empty the tank in about 45 min. but it takes 3 hrs to fill. Tuesday, July 26 View Page a shot of the long gourds who woulda thought 16 ft 8 inches wasnt high enough Tuesday, July 26 View Page a picture of the squash plant Tuesday, July 26 View Page a shot of the 1248 swarts the old doubler has an interesting shape Tuesday, July 26 View Page Yanked out another squash plant today Thursday, July 28 View Page 4.4 inches of rain Friday, July 29 View Page a stem shot Saturday, July 30 View Page 1556.5 werner day 32 299 OTT..mid 40s a day Saturday, July 30 View Page 1579 revier day 35 315 OTT ... doing ? its taping a new PB so its all good from here :) Saturday, July 30 View Page a stump shot of the 1579 Saturday, July 30 View Page a stump shot of the 1579 Thursday, August 4 View Page the 1579 Thursday, August 4 View Page a side view of the 1579 Thursday, August 4 View Page the 1556 Thursday, August 4 View Page a side view of the 1556 Thursday, August 4 View Page a shot of the 1161 x self Thursday, August 4 View Page a shot of the 1161 x 1556 Tuesday, August 9 View Page a shot of the long gourds there is a few growing this is the biggest one only a few days old Wednesday, August 10 View Page gave a 400 ghallon drench. crazy ha Thursday, August 11 View Page gave another 400 gallons. it was dry Thursday, August 11 View Page lokk at this hat it is amazing.... old pic Thursday, August 11 View Page a shot with the cover on. its dual purpose. Thursday, August 11 View Page a side view of the 521 andrews squash Thursday, August 11 View Page same squash Thursday, August 11 View Page same.... Thursday, August 11 View Page ok now on to some kins. this is what im calling 1579 revier b as i have more than 1 plant growing but they are just starting to crank hard. real hard. this seed rocks Thursday, August 11 View Page this a shot of another 1579 revier A it too is just starting to crank. once again this seed also rocks these plants have been hit hard by svb's and cuke beatles but we got a few to stick and the plant has healed so far. Thursday, August 11 View Page OK.. now to the long gourd trellis. they seem to be growing good. Thursday, August 11 View Page just 1 more picture these will probably get cut off but it sure is fun to watch them grow Thursday, August 11 View Page oh ya i forgot about the 1248 swarts D 3$ 285 OTT this thing is moving. Sunday, August 14 View Page KABOOM Monday, August 15 View Page well the face says it all Monday, August 15 View Page well i will start with the good side. look at those perfectly laid vines Monday, August 15 View Page a blossom end split took me out at day 50 she taped 372"OTT or 1078 pounds. and yes these numbers are with no sand added.. Monday, August 15 View Page a side view Monday, August 15 View Page the other side Monday, August 15 View Page a final stump shot. Friday, August 19 View Page 1161 x self 282" OTT shes just on the up swing of growth, 1161 x 1556 268" OTT still just puting along, 1556 x 1579 372" OTT she's passing were the revier left off and she is still doing some good numbers a day but these cold nights are not helping at all. 1400 pounds here we come about 6 weeks to go. grow baby grow... Friday, August 19 View Page ooopppss forgot to post the picture Monday, August 22 View Page some pictures of the other stuff we grow: this is a picture of the 63 lorson field pumpkin A Monday, August 22 View Page and B Monday, August 22 View Page the 175 van hook watermelon Monday, August 22 View Page the 521 andrews squash Monday, August 22 View Page the long gourds on 8/15/11 Monday, August 22 View Page a few days later 8/19/11 Monday, August 22 View Page just had to put this picture up 1 more time good ole bertha died at the young old age of 50 days Wednesday, August 24 View Page 1556 werner d 58 somthing like 38% OTT. wez getting closer to da 1400 mark Friday, August 26 View Page We went to our other grow spot to find a person drove there truck into our water tank, hit one of the telephone poles then got stuck in the volleyball court and sent the tote 30 ft plus off of its base. will post pictures soon. Tuesday, August 30 View Page the tote Tuesday, August 30 View Page da pole Tuesday, August 30 View Page were the pole hit the truck Tuesday, August 30 View Page the metal base to the tote Tuesday, August 30 View Page this is what the tote used to sit on Tuesday, August 30 View Page the front of the truck Tuesday, August 30 View Page an overview. the tote in the background used to be located by the metal pole on the right habd side of the picture Tuesday, August 30 View Page a few feet the other way and the pumpkin might not have made it Wednesday, August 31 View Page the long gourd update 1 over 105" 1 over 100" 2 late sets cranking crazy hard under day 15 almost 88" plus 2 in the mid 90's. Wednesday, August 31 View Page I measured the 1248 swarts today taping around 700 pounds. Thursday, September 1 View Page oh ya i forgot a picture of the 1248 swarts Tuesday, September 6 View Page i figured i would post some pictures of our cheech and chong patch Tuesday, September 6 View Page do you see it Tuesday, September 6 View Page oh look there is a hoop house up yet. Tuesday, September 6 View Page another angle Tuesday, September 6 View Page ok back to this picture. if you look close you will see a kin lurking in the weeds... could it be a 400 pounder... time will tell. Tuesday, September 6 View Page oh ya an update on the 1556 werner. she has slowed down to a crawl :( the plant is beat up real bad, lost a bunch of leafs from the high winds this weekend. day 70- 388" OTT not to shabby if i do say so myself only 12 more inches to go to meet my goal for the year. Sunday, September 18 View Page Fran with her 91.5 inch gourd and her 93.5 inch gourd. Sunday, September 18 View Page the 521 anrews X 386 uow cantrell now is the 370 gantner 2011 she was 19% heavy Sunday, September 18 View Page the 1579 revier X open is now the 458 gantner 2011 she went 11% heavy Sunday, September 18 View Page and the 1161 rodonis X 1556.5 werner is now the 525 gantner 2011 she also went 11% heavy this pumpkin is from my rabbit damage plant i still have another pumpkin growing on that plant i hope she goes heavy too. Monday, September 19 View Page well after a long week away from home and a crazy weekend i was walking in the patch this morning only to find...a very soft secondary vine that was mush for a few feet so i busted out the knife and chopped it off. i lost almost 25 ft of vine but who cares i saved the fruit Monday, September 19 View Page oh ya its on the 1556.5 werner who is still chugging along at a slow pace but its still chugging. glug glug Wednesday, September 21 View Page its getting closer Sunday, September 25 View Page my field pumpkin 65.10 pounds she took first place Sunday, September 25 View Page my 1161 x self went 12% light so now its the 586.5 gantner 11 this was also grown on my rabbit damage plant. Sunday, September 25 View Page a shot of joe with his 1258.5 Sunday, September 25 View Page johns 1146.5 Sunday, September 25 View Page todd and sequoia with there 1041 Sunday, September 25 View Page the martins with there 1st place 540.5 pound squash Sunday, September 25 View Page josh yates with his howard dill winner 755.5 pounds Sunday, September 25 View Page the martins with there 3.28 pound mater Sunday, September 25 View Page the martins with there 117.34 watermelon Sunday, September 25 View Page my giant watermelon... 16.46 pounds... yes 16.46 pounds i wont tell you what seed but i just suck at growing these things. Sunday, September 25 View Page joe with his 26.96 pound cantalope. Sunday, September 25 View Page yup 16.46 pounds.. my new personal best. i guess there is always next year..lol Monday, September 26 View Page 6 more days untill nekoosa... chug chug.... Tuesday, September 27 View Page 5 more days untill the big show..... Wednesday, September 28 View Page 4 more days Thursday, September 29 View Page 3 days to go Friday, September 30 View Page opps my fingers were off 1 more day. i think the rains have stopped somewere around 6.3 inches plus heavy winds last night flattened my patch and all of the corn is also down looks like a barron land with 1 big kin gleaming with the sunshine. Monday, October 3 View Page ok so lets try this again....5 days untill the big show.. ya you know what show im talking about... Tuesday, October 4 View Page only 4 more days untill the REALY BIG SHOW... Wednesday, October 5 View Page 3 more days.. nice and sunny.. chug chug Thursday, October 6 View Page only 2 more days..... this an old picture but.. day 101 today.. grow baby grow... Friday, October 7 View Page so now we are down to the last 24 hours untill we realy know what my 1556.5 werner is going to weigh... she has been growing, i almost want to let her for another week and see how big she could get. Sunday, October 9 View Page a picture of my 70.5 field pumpkin.. a new personal best and big enough for 1st place field pumpkin. This was also grown on the 63 lorson. Thanks Justin for the seeds Sunday, October 9 View Page this is before the weigh off. Sunday, October 9 View Page I think this picture says it all... a new personal best and seventh place to boot. what a good day. the cross... female: 1556.5 werner X male: 1579 revier. it will now be know as the: 1244 Gantner 2011. a big thank you to the stillwater event staff great job. Tuesday, October 11 View Page let the patch prep begin.. 2012 should be fun Monday, October 17 View Page the pumpkin hauler express rides again... off to state fair to pick up 1 that decided to start to leak out da juice...yummy Wednesday, October 19 View Page So i have this picture of a chicken. He sure was a purty lil fella. I hope the owner sees this and says hay I think thats my chicken and how did he get that picture... lol Wednesday, October 26 View Page this is a cross section of joe mentings 1258.5 i will post pictures of all of the kins i cut up this fall. or should i say in the next few days Sunday, November 6 View Page a shot of the front yard after the weigh offs. Thursday, November 10 View Page let it snow, let it snow, let it snow, Monday, November 14 View Page a look inside of the 1244 Gantner 2011 she had good mass all around her even in that dill ring. I think she will see some dirt in my yard in 2012. Monday, November 14 View Page a close up of the blossom end Monday, November 14 View Page a picture of the stem end. Monday, November 14 View Page a close up of that dill ring. she had about 4 inches of meat here. all of these pictures are after sitting out side cut open for a few weeks also i had to cut the bottom of the pumpkin so it had a flat area for our pop up demon which was inside of her for halloween. Wednesday, November 16 View Page this a picture of my pop up grave riser in my 1244 Wednesday, November 16 View Page My wife was able to catch me in an awkward position. The up side i think i got every seed. Monday, November 28 View Page i forgot this picture... this is a picture of the blossom end hole in my 1244 i could fit a few fingers in it and it was almost 7 inches deep crazy how these things look on the inside.. Sunday, December 11 View Page another shot of the 1078 uow dmg 11 Sunday, December 11 View Page This will probably be my last patch entry for the year.. spread another 160# of gypsom and some other random amendments. With the unseasonably warm temps today i pulled out the tiller and gave the patch one last till how funny who would have thought i would have been able to till on December 11 2011.