Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 207 Entries. Saturday, February 2 View Page Last years best the 405 Radach (DMG) Lost her to a split when she was about 200 pounds. Managed to keep her growing on life support for another month and a half using silicone to plug the split. This year I am going for 800 Pounds. Saturday, February 2 View Page Got the Cover Crop going on the second and third sites under the apple trees. I mixed in two yards of manure in the fall with my other amendments. Saturday, February 2 View Page Cover Crop on the main patch. Saturday, February 2 View Page Some of my seeds that I have collected so far. Hopefully I have a 1775 Star a 1623 Wallace and a 1655 Ford on the way. This is the time of year I really wish I had enough space for 10 plants. Saturday, February 2 View Page Built my self a germination chamber using a cooler and a heat mat. cut a hole in the lid and put some plexiglass on it so I could see inside. Saturday, February 2 View Page The soil temperature is holding at about 82 degrees. I put a test germination in there a couple of days ago. I am going to see if I can master the art of germination before the season starts. Thursday, February 7 View Page My first trial with the new germination chamber is a success. It took six days for it to poke through the dirt. Friday, February 15 View Page Holy Cow. I have a 2009! I didn't even ask for it. I asked Pap for a 1623 and they threw this one in as well. What great guys the Wallace's are!! Friday, February 22 View Page Built my own 5 gallon compost tea brewer. An air pump from petco, a 5 gallon bucket and some pvc. the pump had 4 output nozzles so I had to jerry rig a manifold to get all four lines into the same piece of pvc. Friday, February 22 View Page I set it up with the main supply going down the edge of the bucket to leave the center area free for the bag. Then I branched it out with three legs with hloes in them to allow the bubbles to come up under an around the paint strainer bag. Friday, February 22 View Page Seems to be putting out a good amount of bubbles. Saturday, February 23 View Page Another Successful germination. This one took 4.5 days the seed is from my 177.5 pounder from last year. I put the seed in flat to see if it helped shed the coat. That seemed to do the trick. I Still have a 405 and a second 177.5 that went in the chamber at the same time as this one. Monday, March 4 View Page I posted this last week but it never showed up. Anyway this was my first batch of compost tea. I was a little surprised not to see more foam like I have seen in example videos on line. Monday, March 4 View Page Two more successful test germination's. I kept the first one going in a 5 gallon bucket. It doesn't seem to be growing to quickly. I don't think the soil is warm enough. Saturday, March 16 View Page Last week I went down to Olympia for a seminar given by our the Pacific Northwest Giant Pumpkin Growers Club. Steve Deletas gave a presentation on watering and John Taberna from Western Labs in Idaho talked about Soils. Saturday, March 16 View Page I tilled my main patch for the first time today. First I hand turned it with a shovel..... Saturday, March 16 View Page Then I tilled it with the tiller. Then I spread some steer manure over the top and tilled it again. Saturday, March 16 View Page This is the main patch. It continues to grow a little bit every year. I am using it for my Puyallup Fair plant this year. Saturday, March 16 View Page This is Stan Pugh's 1461 pound pumpkin from the central market weigh off last year. It was the second largest Pumpkin Grown in Washington last year behind Joel Hollands 1462 at the same weigh off. I have four seeds from this pumpkin and I plan on growing this for my Puyallup Fair plant. Saturday, March 16 View Page I left the cover crop growing on the secondary patch. I will start these plants a couple weeks later for the later weigh offs. Tuesday, March 26 View Page Got My Soil Tests back. PH is looking good. Need to add dome Nitrogen, a bit of phosphorus, some sulfer and boron to patch 1. Patch two needs the same plus a little manganese. Saturday, March 30 View Page Got the cover crop tilled under on the second patch. Tilled in some Bone Meal for Phosphorus, Some Blood Meal for Nitrogen, Some Sulfer, Some Dolopril for Magnesium and a tiny bit of borax for Boron. Everything is tilled in except for the Manganese Sulfate which is in the mail. Saturday, March 30 View Page The main patch got all of the same stuff except for no Dolopril. It also doesn't need any Manganese so its ready to roll! Saturday, March 30 View Page Got the soil heating cable in. I put it in more of an oval pattern this year because my intent is to plant two seeds from the same pumpkin and which ever one starts out most aggressive will be kept and the other one pulled. Saturday, March 30 View Page The cable is all buried and plugged in the two bamboo sticks mark the spot where the plants will be planted. Next up build a green house. The seeds go into the peat pots on Friday! Sunday, April 7 View Page Here we go This is for real. Puyallup Fair Here I come. Sunday, April 7 View Page These are my four 1461 Pugh seeds from Stan Pugh. I am going to germ them all and narrow it down to the best plant. Sunday, April 7 View Page filing the edges Sunday, April 7 View Page After a 4 hour soak in warm water the seeds are in peat pots in my incubation chamber. I was 17-20 on my practice germinations. That's almost as good as my softball batting average so I am pretty confident that I have this thing mastered. Sunday, April 7 View Page Starting work on the Puyallup Pumpkin Pavilion. Sunday, April 7 View Page I am going much larger than I have ever gone before in terms of square footage but I am trying a new strategy which keeps the pavilion fairly low with the top on a hinge. Sunday, April 7 View Page The edges are low enough that I can lift the lid and step over the wall to get in and work. BTW my dirt is looking really good! Sunday, April 7 View Page This should also make venting very easy. Sunday, April 7 View Page The Pumpkin Pavilion with plastic on it. Wednesday, April 10 View Page All four 1461 Pugh seeds have germinated successfully! Building a germ chamber was definitely a good move. Saturday, April 13 View Page Got the frames up for the hoop houses for plants 2 and 3. I am going to plant them back to back both in a flag pattern with the side vines moving toward the apple trees. Saturday, April 13 View Page The 1461 Pughs are progressing nicely. First true leafs are out a couple of more days and It will be time for them to move to the patch. Monday, April 15 View Page Two 1461 Pughs in the patch, protected by the Puyallup Pumpkin Pavillion Monday, April 15 View Page I will let them grow till they start to crowd each other and then cut out the least healthy specimen. Monday, April 15 View Page got the time lapse camera set up in the greenhouse to record the entire lifespan of the plant. Friday, April 19 View Page Now that's more like it. Brewed this batch in the garage and let it run for a full 48 hours. Monday, April 22 View Page The 1461 Pughs. So far the one on the right is looking better. Monday, April 22 View Page Got the plastic put up on the hoop houses. Built a hot box inside the greenhouse like I have done in the last couple of years. Monday, April 22 View Page The 1037 Dixon will go in the closest hoop house. Monday, April 22 View Page Three 1037 Dixons are in the germination chamber. getting ready for plant 2 Wednesday, April 24 View Page All three 1037 Dixons have Germinated sucessfully. Wednesday, April 24 View Page I put in elevated walking boards to access the two hoop houses. This should help to keep the soil from getting compacted by my feet. Wednesday, April 24 View Page Started Three 827 Gerhardts for my third plant. This is the one that I am growing for looks. It should be round and very orange. Wednesday, April 24 View Page Here is the 827 Gerhardt that produced the seeds in the previous photo. Thanks to Jim Gerhardt for the seeds. � in Camano Island. Monday, April 29 View Page All three 827 Gerhardts have germinated successfully. Makes me 10 for 10 with the seeds that count using the new chamber. The 1037 Dixons are in the background doing well. Should get them in the patch this coming week. Wednesday, May 1 View Page The 1037 Dixon is in the dirt in the big hoop house. Wednesday, May 1 View Page Built a box inside of the Hoop house for extra insulation. Wednesday, May 1 View Page The 1461 Pugh inside the Puyallup Pumpkin Pavilion. Wednesday, May 1 View Page The other two 1037 Dixons and the three Gerhardt 827s still inside under the lights Saturday, May 4 View Page Two 827 Gerhardts in the small hoop house. I wanted to leave them inside longer but I am leaving town for a week and I had to get them in the ground before I left. Saturday, May 4 View Page The 1037 Dixon. The second true leaf has some hardening at the edges. This is a problem I seem to get alot with my seedlings. Not sure what is causing it. Saturday, May 4 View Page The 1461 Pugh is starting to vine. This is not a very good time to go on vacation. I should be here to help train the vine down to the ground. It should be down by the time I get home hopefully it doesn't break itself or kink under its own weight. Monday, May 13 View Page I was out of town for a week. We had great weather and the 1461 Pugh really took off. its about 4 feet long already and putting out side vines. Monday, May 13 View Page The 1037 Dixon looks like it got a little heat stroke. It should pull out of it though. Monday, May 13 View Page The 827 Gerhardts. The one on the right is looking pretty bad. Looks like the one on the left will be the keeper. Wednesday, May 15 View Page Somehow the 1461 main vine turned itself upside down over night. not sure how it managed to do that Its in the greenhouse so it wasn't wind. Guess I shouldn't have pruned off those tendrils. Saturday, May 18 View Page The 1461 Pugh. Main Vine is 6.5 feet long. started burying the main vine and the first side vines today. Saturday, May 18 View Page The 1037 Dixon has recovered a bit from the heat damage. Looks like the Vine is about ready to take off. Saturday, May 18 View Page The 827 Gerhardt is looking good so far. Wednesday, May 22 View Page The Ladies have joined the party! First female flower on the 1461 Pugh. its about 7.5 feet out on the main vine. Saturday, May 25 View Page The 1461 Pugh. Main vine right at 9 feet. Saturday, May 25 View Page 1461 from another angle. A couple of the leaves have some yellow spots but other than that the plant is flawless. Best plant I have ever grown in my short 3 years of experience. Saturday, May 25 View Page The 827 Gerhardt. It was a pretty cold sunless week so not much growth on this one. Saturday, May 25 View Page The 1037 Dixon. The vine is almost down to the ground. A couple of the leaves got catywampus with the older leaf underneath the younger leaf. I am trying to use the stakes to straiten them out. Monday, May 27 View Page Crap! I think I am double vining. Monday, May 27 View Page 2 leaves, 2 flowers and 2 vines on the last 3 nodes. Monday, May 27 View Page double vine? Monday, May 27 View Page The tip is a mass of leaves. Saturday, June 1 View Page I pulled the plug on the main vine of the 1461. It had mutated into a double vine AKA Flat vine at about the 7 foot mark. Saturday, June 1 View Page It had started growing two leaves, two vines and two flowers at each node. Saturday, June 1 View Page I tried over watering to force the plant to grow out of it, but it actually got worse and was starting to put out 3 leaves per node. Saturday, June 1 View Page I Left the Female flower on at the 7.5 foot mark. This was the first node that had two leaves. I will pollinate this as a fallback plan in case there are further problems with the plant. Saturday, June 1 View Page This is the last side vine before the double vine started. I will retrain this to be the new main vine. Saturday, June 1 View Page Here is a female that was at about the 11 foot mark on the main. It would have been right in the golden zone for growing a big one but it had to be pruned off. Saturday, June 1 View Page One more female at the tip of the pruned off double vine portion. Saturday, June 1 View Page The 1461 Pugh after emergency surgery. The Vine that I am retraining as the new main has a Female out at the tip so hopefully there won't be too much of a setback. Saturday, June 1 View Page The 1037 Dixon is about 4 feet long. The secondaries haven't really taken off yet. waiting for that before I start burying vines. Saturday, June 1 View Page The 827 Gerhardt is just starting to vine. The weather has been terrible but we are supposed to have a string of good weather coming so hopefully I can get some good growth this week. Monday, June 3 View Page The first female on the 1461 bloomed this morning. It has a nice long stem and an elongated shape. Monday, June 3 View Page It was a nice looking flower but unfortunately I have no pollen for it so it will not be growing. It was on the double vine portion right where I pruned it and it is a bit too close in on the vine so I am not too concerned about it. I was only going to pollinate it as a back up plan in case others aborted. Still after the problems I had last year getting a pumpkin to set, It still bugs me to have this one go too waste. Wednesday, June 5 View Page First male bloomed this morning on the 1461. The female bloomed 2 days ago. I am not sure if its possible for it to take this late but I pollinated it anyway. We shall see what happens. Wednesday, June 5 View Page First male bloomed this morning on the 1461. The female bloomed 2 days ago. I am not sure if its possible for it to take this late but I pollinated it anyway. We shall see what happens. Thursday, June 6 View Page Two more males bloomed this morning so Hopefully I should be good from here on out as far as pollination goes. I am guessing it will be about a week til the next one is ready for to pollinate. Saturday, June 8 View Page The 827 Gerhardt. Its about 4.5 feet long buried a few nodes on the main vine today. Saturday, June 8 View Page The 1037 Dixon. Its reached the end of the hoop house about 6.5 feet or so. This plant is very unruly. Its got vines going the wrong way, up in the air etc. I had to cut one off because I kinked it when I was watering. It was about 3.5 feet long and was growing paralell to the main vine directly above it in the air. I buried a bunch of nodes on the main and a few side vines as well. Saturday, June 8 View Page The 1461 Pugh Has reached the end of the Puyallup Pumpkin Pavilion. Saturday, June 8 View Page Got vines coming out the sides everywhere. I will give her 1 more week before I take the plastic down. I am really happy with how well the new greenhouse design worked. It makes it so easy to get in from the top rather than having to crawl around on my hands and knees in a hoop house. Saturday, June 8 View Page This is the first one on the 1461. I didn't have any male flowers when it bloomed but I pollinated it two days later when the Males finally opened up. I have no idea if a pumpkin can be successfully pollinated 2 days after it blooms but it seems to be growing so we shall see. look at that nice long stem! Saturday, June 8 View Page This is the Female on the secondary that I am turning into the new main vine. Its at right about 11 feet or so right where the vine is coming through the end of the green house. I am using the bamboo stakes to try and get a bit of an s-curve in the vine. This one also looks like it is going to have a nice long stem on it. I am guessing Tuesday or Wednesday for a pollination. Wednesday, June 12 View Page The First on the new main of the 1461 Pugh will be opening tomorrow. I picked a few males this morning and stuck them in the fridge to save in case there aren't any fresh males tomorrow. Thursday, June 13 View Page Pollination day on the 1461 Pugh. Beautiful 5 lobe flower. Thursday, June 13 View Page Nice long Stem on her. 86 Days until the Puyallup Fair. Just about the perfect amount of time for a nice mature Pumpkin to grow. Thursday, June 13 View Page Used two males that opened yesterday which I stored in the fridge and one male that opened this morning to pollinate. Sunday, June 16 View Page The 1037 Dixon is about 9 feet long and rapidly filling up the hoop house. I am thinking that the plastic will come off next Saturday. It has a female out on the tip. Starting to put a bend in the vine for it. Sunday, June 16 View Page The 827 Gerhardt is growing well but I had some setbacks with the secondaries and had to prune one off because i Split it trying to re direct it. I need to pay more attention to where they are going early on before the get too long to manipulate. Sunday, June 16 View Page The 1461 Pugh has about maxed out the Puyallup Pumpkin Pavilion Sunday, June 16 View Page I have three vines running down this side bed to get me some extra square footage on the plant. Sunday, June 16 View Page Got the time lapse camera moved to a new position to record the growth of the fruit. Sunday, June 16 View Page I have the compost tea brewer going non stop. Put a new batch on the plants every other day. Monday, June 24 View Page Pollination day for the 1037 Dixon. Monday, June 24 View Page First female on the 1037 Dixon about 10 feet out on the main vine. Monday, June 24 View Page I am self pollinating all of my Pumpkins this year, just in case I hit the genetics lottery. Wednesday, June 26 View Page Wow! In the time that I have been growing, I don't think we have had a stretch of weather as good as we are about to get this early in the year. With Two Plants pollinated and just about ready to start taking off, the timing couldn't be better for me. I'm downright giddy! Thursday, June 27 View Page Polinated the second one on the new main on the 1461 Pugh. Its a nice 6 lober about 16 feet out from the stump. This is a backup because the first one at about 12 feet is coming along nicely and is likely the keeper. Friday, June 28 View Page Culled this one off of the 3rd secondary on the 1461 Pugh. Its was 23.5" in circumference on day 17. It grew 2.5 inches since yesterday so I figured I would cut it off so it wouldn't suck juice that should be going to my keeper. Friday, June 28 View Page This is the Keeper on the 1461 Pugh. Its at 17" circumference on day 14. Friday, June 28 View Page Things sure have been awfully quiet from the Northwest growers this year on the BP Diaries. Its seems like we have had decent temperatures for most of the spring and with this string of weather coming up here I am expecting some big things out of Western Washington. I think this is the year the State record will fall. Monday, July 1 View Page These Pics are from Yesterday. The 1461 Pugh put on another 3.75" since then. Monday, July 1 View Page The 1461 Pugh Plant With the keeper set on it. Monday, July 1 View Page The keeper on the 1461 pugh. It is at 21.75 inches circumference. The sand is there to keep the bottom of the pumpkin dry and to make it easier to maneuver the pumpkin as necessary. I will need to rotate the Pumpkin gradually toward the pepsi can as it grows so that the shoulders of the pumpkin don't grow against the vine. Monday, July 1 View Page Culled another one off of a side vine today. This one was at 22 inches circumference Monday, July 1 View Page This is the 1037 Dixon plant. Its hard to get a full picture because of the apple tree that it is growing under. Monday, July 1 View Page Another view of the 1037 Dixon from the end of the vine tip. Monday, July 1 View Page The 1037 Dixon, already up to 10" Circumference after just 5 days. Monday, July 1 View Page The 827 Gerhardt. Putting a nice curve in the vine for the future pumpkin. Monday, July 1 View Page The first on the 827 Gerhardt. This one is football shaped. I have never grown a football so this should be interesting. Wednesday, July 3 View Page The 1461 has put on 10.25 Inches in 3 Days. Wednesday, July 3 View Page I keep forgetting to take a photo of this one. This is my 405 Radach that I just planted to see what it would do. No fertilizer no soil prep just stick it the ground and see what happens. Wednesday, July 3 View Page Pollinated the second on the 1037 Dixon this morning. about 16 feet out on the main. Wednesday, July 3 View Page Pollinated the first on the 827 Gerhardt today at lunch. The flower wasn't open this morning but when I got home at lunch it was open up a little bit about 1/2" or so. I pollinated it hoping it takes. There is another out a couple more feet if it fails. Saturday, July 6 View Page The 1461 Pugh is at 43.75" circumference on day 23. Estimating at about 35 pounds on the chart. Saturday, July 6 View Page The 1037 Dixon is at 28" on day17. Saturday, July 6 View Page This is the first on the 827 Gerhardt pollinated on 7-3. I really am not to sure about the shape on this one. Seems awfully long all of the other blossoms on this plant have a similar shape so I guess I will go with it. Sunday, July 14 View Page I left the green house armature up and am using it to support a sunshade to protect the pumpkins skin. Sunday, July 14 View Page The 1461 Pugh. Day 30. 62.25" in circumference. 157 OTT. The old circumference chart says its 86 pounds. The old OTT chart says its 91 and the Pumpkin tracker app on my phone says is 99 pounds. I am guessing its somewhere around 90 pounds. Sure is ugly. Kind of ooks like a bell pepper. Sunday, July 14 View Page I am a little worried by this. The center part of the plant is starting to die back way sooner than it should. Probably should have been more aggressive with my spray program. Sunday, July 14 View Page The 1037 Dixon is at 52" circumference, 130 OTT. Somewhere between 55-65 pounds. This one is growing better than the bigger one. Put on another 4" today. Its only 19 days old. Sunday, July 14 View Page The 827 Gerhardt is growing well but it still has its weird shape. I don't even really know how to measure it. I think its around 17" circumference but their are shoulders to really grab the tape. Sunday, July 14 View Page I think the Morning glory likes the Mychorizae and extra ferts this leaf is about 4 times the size they usually are. Sunday, July 14 View Page The 1037 Dixon on the Left and the 827 Gerhardt on the right. Saturday, July 20 View Page 7-1: I am having a problem on the 827 Gerhardt.All of the leaves stalks on the newr growth are developing in a twisting fasion oand the leaves are turning themselves upside down.on the newer growth Saturday, July 20 View Page 7-19: The leaves themselves look health but its almost as if the stalks dont have enough rigidity to hold the weight of the leaf and it twists as it grows. Any ideas. Saturday, July 20 View Page The 1461 Pugh. 35 days old 77" circumference 59" side to side, 44" stem to blossom for a total OTT Measurement of 182" and an estimated weight of 144 pounds. I am worried about the plant on this one I had to cut off about 20 leaves out of the middle of the plant because they were dieing and withering. I think its Downy Mildew. I have started a rotation of fungicide sprays but it may be too little too late. I hope there's enough plant left to keep it growing until the Puyalup Fair Saturday, July 20 View Page The 1037 Dixon. This is the fastest growing Pumpkin I have ever had. 25 Days Old, 68" circumference, 49" side to side, 48" Stem to Blossom for a total OTT Measurement of 165 and an estimated weight of 112 pounds. Saturday, July 20 View Page The 827 Gerhardt. 16 Days old Circumference 35" side to side 25" stem to blossom 27" for a total OTT measurement of 78" and an estimated weight of 32 pounds. I think this is going to be a beauty. You can already see the color starting to develop even at this young age. I am keeping her covered all of the time with a white sheet to protect the skin. Sunday, July 28 View Page The 1461 Pugh. 44 days old. 89" circ. 217" OTT. Estimated weight 233 pounds. Sunday, July 28 View Page The 1037 Dixon. 33 days old. 82" Circ. 200" OTT. Estimated Weight 185 pounds. Sunday, July 28 View Page The 827 Gerhardt. 24 days old. 60" circ. 144" OTT. Estimated weight 82 pounds. Friday, August 2 View Page The 1461 Pugh on day 50. circumference 97" ott 238". Estimated weight 304 pounds. Friday, August 2 View Page The 1461 Pugh from the street. I have come to grips with the fact that I am not going to make my 800 pound goal this year. Just not getting those 20-30 pound days that other growers get. Friday, August 2 View Page The 1037 Dixon on day 39. circumference 91" ott 218" estimated weight 237 pounds. Friday, August 2 View Page The 1037 Dixon in the patch. I really need to find myself a patch where I have room to grow. Growing in my driveway and under my apple trees is just not cutting it. Friday, August 2 View Page the 827 Gerhardt on Day 30. circumference 75" ott 174" estimated weight 129 pounds. Friday, August 2 View Page The 827 Gerhardt is going to draw some attention as it gets more orange. I may not make my goal but all 3 pumpkins are on pace to break my personal best of 441 Pounds. Tuesday, August 13 View Page the 1461 pugh. The gnarliest looking pumpkin in the pacific northwest. Its starting to swallow the blossom end. Hope that doesn't end up being a problem. Today is day 60 and its at 106" circumference and 260" OTT for an estimated weight of 395 pounds. Its putting on just a hair under 10 pounds a day pounds a day It is only 2" OTT away from being my largest pumpin ever by OTT measurement. I think it might go light to the chart though because of the indented end. Tuesday, August 13 View Page The 1037 Dixon on day 49. 102.5" Circumference, 244" ott for an estimated weight of 327 pounds. Its putting on just over 11 pounds per day and is well ahead of where the 1461 pugh was on day 50. Tuesday, August 13 View Page The 827 Gerhardt has really widened out and is starting to get more of a pancake shape. I was hoping it would be rounder like its mother but at least the color looks like it is going to be there. Today is Day 40 and it is at 95" Circumference and 217" OTT for an estimated weight of 232 Pounds. Its putting on just a hair over 10 pounds a day. Tuesday, August 20 View Page These next 3 Pictures and associated measurements are actually from Saturday. been a little busy the past few days and haven't had a chance to post them yet.... The 1461 Pugh is now the largest pumpkin I have ever had by tape measurements. It is at 112" circumference and 269" OTT for an estimated weight of 437 pounds. My 441 from 2011 was only 262" OTT but went 20% over the chart estimation. This is day 65 for the pumpkin and there are 19 days left until the Puyallup fair. Its been growing about 8.5 pounds a day I am hoping it can gain another 150 and be pushing 600 pounds when it hits the scales. Tuesday, August 20 View Page The 1037 Dixon on Day 54. It is at 108" Circumference and 255" OTT for an estimated weight of 373 pounds. Its a little over 50 pounds bigger than the Pugh was on day 54. Tuesday, August 20 View Page The key to making your pumpkin look bigger in pictures is to kneel down about 3 feet behind it and hold your arm in a way so that it appears to be resting on the pumpkin. . The 827 Gerhardt is at 104" circumference and 233 OTT for an estimated weight of 287 pounds on day 45. Saturday, August 24 View Page The 1461 Pugh on day 72. 118" Circumference, 279" OTT estimated weight 487 pounds. put on 15 pounds in the last two days. 13 days until the Puyallup fair 550 should be doable. Saturday, August 24 View Page The 1037 Dixon on day 61. 114" circ 266" OTT for an estimated weight of 423 pounds. Saturday, August 24 View Page The 827 Gerhardt on day 52. 111" Circ, 249" OTT for an estimated weight of 347 pounds. Its starting to get nice and orange. Saturday, August 24 View Page My afterthought plant. Got one going on the 405 Radach. I have no idea how old it is its an open pollination. Its 34" in circumference and has a nice barrel shape to it. Looks like it is going to be orange like its mother. Saturday, August 24 View Page No more messing around got tow loads of aged manure and two loads of Sandy Loam soil to add to the patch. I am going to try and add about 7" of depth over all to the driveway patch. I cant really increase the square footage of soil so I am going to try and increase the volume. I am told that the roots can go as deep as two feet and I currently only have 10-12" of soil in the driveway patch. Monday, September 9 View Page The pumpkin is in the air and swinging free. Next step is to get her up and in the truck. Monday, September 9 View Page Loading up. Monday, September 9 View Page Almost There. Monday, September 9 View Page Backing the truck under the pumpkin. Monday, September 9 View Page Lowering it back down. Monday, September 9 View Page Loaded up. Monday, September 9 View Page The Pumpkin looks a lot better from this side Monday, September 9 View Page cruising down the freeway. Monday, September 9 View Page At the Puyallup Fair. My 1461 Pugh is in the foreground Monday, September 9 View Page The 1461 Pugh is now the 636 Radach. 6th place at the fair. Came in 89 pounds over the chart! Friday, September 13 View Page The 827 Gerhardt is still growing 9 pounds a day. She should go over 500 pounds today. The weather is about to take a change for the worse but if it could average 5 pounds a day for the next 30 days it could be taping around 650 for the Central Market weighoff. That would be awesome! Friday, September 13 View Page The 1037 Dixon is taping at about 530 pounds. The Skagit Weigh off is 2 weeks from tomorrow and she is growing about 4 pounds a day. It should end up with a larger OTT than my 636 but I don't know if she will go that heavy over the chart. Monday, September 16 View Page The 1037 Dixon is at 290" OTT for an estimated weight of 547 pounds on day 84. This is the exact same measurement that My 636 had when it was weighed. There are 12 days to go until weigh off and its growing just under 3 pounds a day. This will end up being my biggest pumpkin ever by measurement but it will have to go really heavy to beat the 636 on the scale. Monday, September 16 View Page The 405 Radach Plant should be measured in linear feet instead of square feet. It has no side vines. The Pumpkin is only about 75 pounds. It will be lucky to make 100. Monday, September 16 View Page Did some serious work on the driveway patch. Monday, September 16 View Page I dug out all of the existing soil down to hard pan. I Tilled the Hard pan with my new tiller, then I added the dirt back in with alternating layers of sandy Loam Compost and Manure. The Patch soil is a good 7" higher than it was and the total depth of good dirt is probably more than doubled. Saturday, September 21 View Page The 1037 Dixon on day 89. 127" circumference 293" OTT for an estimated weight of 565 pounds. Its putting on just over 3 pounds a day with one week until weigh off. It should be taping somewhere around 580 when I harvest it. Saturday, September 21 View Page The 827 Gerhardt on day 80. 133" circumference 285" OTT for an estimated weight of 520 pounds. Its putting on a hair over 4 pounds a day with 3 weeks left til weigh off. Saturday, September 28 View Page Loading up the 1037 Dixon. Saturday, September 28 View Page I think my scaffold worked pretty well. Saturday, September 28 View Page Cleaning off the bottom Saturday, September 28 View Page Checking out the bottom. Saturday, September 28 View Page Truck backed under Saturday, September 28 View Page Lowering back down. Saturday, September 28 View Page All loaded up. Saturday, September 28 View Page At the Skagit Valley Pumpkin Festival. Pretty good participation numbers way better than last year. Saturday, September 28 View Page No super huge pumpkins but lots in the 800-1000 range. Saturday, September 28 View Page Mary Jo Sanders with her pumpkin. Great improvement MOJO! Saturday, September 28 View Page I was on the loading crew. Loading up my own pumpkin onto the scale. Saturday, September 28 View Page 593.5 Pounds. Pretty much dead on the chart for a 298 OTT Pumpkin. Saturday, September 28 View Page Congrats to Ron K Barker with the winning Pumpkin. Saturday, September 28 View Page Finished 10th place. Won a Ribbon, a bag of compost and a $25 check. Friday, October 11 View Page Today is day 100 for the 827 Gerhardt. It is at 293" OTT for an estimated weight of 564 pounds. It hasn't grown at all in the last week. Tomorrow I will take it to The Central Market weighoff in Shoreline. It never quite got as orange as I was hoping and it got kind of lumpy on the blossom end. Its not bad looking from this end. Hopefully I can bring out the shine by polishing it with a cloth. Friday, October 11 View Page With the 1037 plant removed you can see just how small the 827 plant actually was. Not to mention how it gets shaded out by the apple tree and the big Rhodedendron Saturday, October 12 View Page My Goodness. You could live in that thing. Mine is two pallets over from Joel Hollands on the other side of the Marrow Saturday, October 12 View Page All the Pumpkins lined up at Central Market in Shoreline. I think its pretty obvious which one is going to win. Saturday, October 12 View Page Bob Rissi comes through with another beautiful pumpkin and wins the Howard Dill award. Saturday, October 12 View Page Ross Haddow's 122.5 pound Marrow. This is a new United States record for largest Marrow. Saturday, October 12 View Page My 827 Gerhardt surprised me and went 12% heavy. Introducing the (631.5 Radach 2013). I took 12th place out of 17 Pumpkins at the weigh off. I just missed 11th place by 1/2 pound. Saturday, October 12 View Page The Blume Brothers AKA (Pilot & Pumpkin Grower) with their Pumpkin. Saturday, October 12 View Page The crowd Waiting in anticipation as the crew tries to figure out how to get Joel Hollands pumpkin up on the scale. Saturday, October 12 View Page Joel Holland wins it with 1666 Pounds. 2nd biggest pumpkin ever grown in Washington and the biggest ever weighed in Washington. Saturday, October 12 View Page All in all I had an excellent Year. I didn't make my preseason goal of 800 pounds but I beat my previous best easily with all three pumpkins. Its going to tough with my limited space and my cold weather but I think I can get 1000 out of my patch next year. Thursday, October 17 View Page My 631 was kind of a pancake but it has a pretty impressive profile when its set up in its end. Normal Pumpkins run when they see the 631 a commin. Monday, October 21 View Page with all three pumpkins breaking my personal best I thought I would take some time to reflect on what I did different this year that may have led to my relative success. This will be good to look back on as I start next year. 1.Built germ chamber and got a 100% germ rate for the first time ever. This is a big help because in the past Using the light bulb in the stove method, I have had seeds that I wanted to grow not germ. This takes a lot of stress out of the equation and allows much more certain planning for the season. 2.Built a bigger cold frame. In the past I used a small hoop house using 10'foot pvc. that only resulted in about an 8' x 5' shelter. This meant that the plant usually outgrew it by the beginning of June while the temperatures around here are still in the upper 50s and low 60s. This year my main plant was entirely covered until well after pollination which I felt helped a lot. 3.Switched from RTI to Biogrow for Mycho. Previously I got the Mychos from a hydroponics store and who knows how long it had been sitting around there. I really have no way of knowing scientifically how much this helped. I do know that the best grower around these parts uses Biogrow though and I was certainly happy with the results. 4. Used Cal Carb for the first time. Supposedly this helps the plant process CO2 better similar to the mychos I am not sure what if anything this did but I will probably use again next year. 5.Used Cal Mag for the first time. See Above Monday, October 21 View Page 6.Used fungicides and insecticides for the first time. I have never used them before and have never really had much of a problem with disease. I got some Downy Mildew in early July and ordered some Agrifos and Daconil. It stopped it in its tracks and the plants stayed healthy the rest of the year. I will be doing a preventative rotation next year for sure. 7.Added a drip irrigation system about half way through the year. I have always watered overhead wth a hand sprayer with the ferts mixed in. I think that always having the leaves wet may have contributed to the Mildew problem and so I added a drip system to two of my plants in the middle of July. This makes things so much easier. I will be doing it on all plants next year. I need to find a better way to inject ferts though. the syphon injector I bought was basically worthless and wouldn�t draw the ferts into the line. 8. Started foliar feeding with a hand sprayer. This has its benefits and its drawbacks. In the past I just used my hose sprayer with the fert bottle and tried to get low as i watered and get the bottom of the leaves as best as I could. I think that the coverage was pretty poor. Using the hand pup sprayer allowed me to get the fertilizers focused exactly where they needed to go and really cut down on the amount of fertilizer I needed to use. The down side is that it takes forever to do. Next year my focus is going to be on improving the soil and keeping the plants healthier. I have already started in on this. I am also going to grow some heavy hitter seeds. Saturday, November 16 View Page Cover Crop is doing tremendous. Planted it around the first of October with a dose of mycho.