Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 49 Entries. Thursday, March 1 View Page Time to start thinking about pumpkins again! This will be my second year trying to grow a big pumpkin (all I want is one). The photo shows my largest pumpkin from last year. Not very impressive; it weighed in at 200 lbs (which I only know because I put it on a fulcrum, laid on the other side, and it balanced my weight). I figured out after the fact that my main problem in 2011 was paying too much attention to the pumpkins. I don't have a lot of space (about 350 square feet) but that should be enough to grow something several hundred pounds at least. I watered too much (I watered in the morning and at night, and grew powdery mildew as a result) and I fertilized way too much. Most of my young pumpkins aborted. The one I managed to grow to 200 lbs was on a secondary vine, about 20 ft out from the plant. It was a learning experience. This year I am armed with seeds from Howard Dill - two 1057 Brysons, and three 1084 Reids - as well as a lot more knowledge. I am not shooting for a champion pumpkin, just something 500 lbs or more. We'll see come October! Thursday, March 1 View Page Here is my pumpkin growing space, the elevated area behind the dogs. It's not much compared to many others but in the San Diego area we generally don't have a lot of backyard space. In addition to this I have a hillside and I might try one plant there too. I am going to work on the space in the pic over the next few weeks, expanding it to 400 square feet and replacing the ugly railroad ties. I'll be adding a lot of compost and manure. In the meantime I'll soon be starting the seeds in peat pots indoors. We don't get frost here so I could actually put the plants out any time, but I am shooting for getting them in the ground in late March or early April. Monday, April 2 View Page Now that April has come I decided it was time to get seeds in soil. My helper and I planted 5 seeds in peat pots. Meanwhile, I've been improving the growing space on the side of the yard. Monday, April 2 View Page In addition to improving the look of the space by replacing RR ties with cottage stones, I brought a yard of compost down from the Escondido mountains (bought from a great place called Red Worm Fertilizing Products; I should have taken a pic of the truck loaded down with the yard of compost) and tilled it into the soil, along with 10 bags of manure for good measure. My neighbor told me his rototiller hadn't started in 6 years, but a little WD40 and new gas got it going right away. Monday, April 2 View Page The peat pots went right into my "custom" growing chamber. I'm trying to keep them at 80 degrees but it varies from mid 70s to mid 80s. The bulb at the top is a 125 watt heat lamp. My biggest worry is drying out the soil too much, but I also worry about adding too much water to compensate. The seeds were filed but not soaked before going into the pots. I was nervous about soaking seeds but hopefully the filing will improve my germination time this year compared to last year (which was at least 10 days). Saturday, April 7 View Page The pumpkins all sprouted on day 4. This is the 1054 Bryson on day 6. Wednesday, April 11 View Page Here is the renovated garden. I replaced the railroad ties, laid down compost, weeded and rototilled. Ready for planting. Wednesday, April 11 View Page The plants are looking great on day 6. They could be planted in a few days but we have rare cold and rainy weather forecast for the next several days. I may leave them in warmer indoor temps until the weekend. Thursday, April 12 View Page Though the weather is turning a little cooler for the next few days, I felt it was time to get the plants in the ground. This is the 1057 Bryson on the first day in the ground, April 11. These plants are so tiny when they start out! It's hard to imagine this soon will fill my whole space. Thursday, April 12 View Page Here is the 1084 Reid on the first day in the ground, April 11. The two plants are at opposite ends of the garden. I am thinking of pruning in a flag configuration (page 154 in Don Langevin's book) for both plants and hoping to fit the two into my small space. But if one plant really outgrows the other I'll cull one to allow the stronger plant to use the whole space. Thursday, April 19 View Page This is the 1057 Bryson after one week in the ground. It's first few days were rainy, but since then it's been great growing weather. In the 80s during the day and sunny, and not that cold at night. Thursday, April 19 View Page The 1084 Reid on day 7 in the garden. Thursday, April 26 View Page I went to the patch the other day and saw that the 1057 Bryson had a split in the stem. The split is lengthwise and the plant still seems to be doing well. Nonetheless I put my backup 1084 Reid in the ground a few feet away in case the Bryson doesn't make it. If both plants keep growing well I'll cull one down the road or try to prune to keep them both. I know I should only have one given the space I have but it's hard to eliminate a nice, growing plant! Saturday, May 5 View Page I put in some cucumber seeds in the corner of the garden and they have just sprouted. Sunday, May 6 View Page This is the Bryson after 3.5 weeks in the ground. Starting to put down roots from vine and still doing well despite the split stem. I reinforced the stem with extra soil to help stabilize the plant. Also yesterday I gave all three plants their first dose of phosphate-heavy Happy Frog fertilizer to promote flowering. Sunday, May 6 View Page This is the 1084 Reid after 3.5 weeks. Growing more slowly than the Bryson. The Bryson occupies the best spot in my garden, but I think this is genetics. I gave my neighbor one of my Bryson seedlings and his plant has grown as fast as mine. Sunday, May 6 View Page Trying to keep up with this guy leaves less time for pumpkins! Wednesday, May 23 View Page Plants have been growing great. This is the 1057 Bryson on May 23 - lots of vines emerging and a first flower too. I'm doing the "flag" pruning pattern where vines are only allowed to grow on one side. Thursday, May 24 View Page A surprise, the Bryson put out its first fruit really early! I've been adding high phosphorous fertilizer and the flowering seems to be happening much earlier than last year. I don't know if this one will actually be pollinated but I'm encouraged by the progress of the plant. Wednesday, June 6 View Page Here is the Bryson on June 6, 2012. Doing great, and no sign of trouble from the stem split. Lots of side vines. I diagnosed my discolored leaves as a sign of imbalanced nutrients and last week I added phosphorous-enriched fertilizer. That seems to have improved leaf health dramatically. I think the remaining holes in some of the older leaves are a combination of wind damage and birds, which I sometimes see hanging out on my leaves. Wednesday, June 6 View Page This is the second fruit I've seen on the main vine on the Bryson. It is about 10 or 12 feet out on the vine and 2 feet beyond the first fruit. I pollinated the first fruit last week, but it has not grown at all and I expect it to fall off. Maybe this new fruit will be a grower and it's at a good distance from the roots to yield a nice pumpkin. Wednesday, June 6 View Page Planted some tomatoes last weekend next to the cucumbers in the corner where they can't interfere with the pumpkins. Growing well so far. Saturday, June 9 View Page The second female flower on the Bryson opened this morning. I pollinated it with pollen from a male flower on the Bryson and a paint brush. I hope this one takes (the first one didn't but I think I got to it too late) as it is an ideal distance out on the main vine. Tuesday, June 12 View Page The second Bryson fruit that I pollinated is growing. There's a smaller fruit about another foot out on the main vine that I don't want to cull until I have confidence that this pollinated fruit will keep growing. Keeping fingers crossed. Tuesday, June 12 View Page I have to admit I've been ignoring the Reid mostly due to lack of time (new baby in the house). But this fruit has been growing even though I didn't pollinate it. A helpful bee I assume. We'll see it if takes. If not, there are a number of smaller fruits becoming established I could work with. I thought about culling this plant entirely but now I think I will leave it but restrict it to a small area. Maybe I can get a decent pumpkin out of it though I don't expect a large one because it's a bit too shady in this corner of the garden. Got to get rid of a tree or two... Thursday, June 14 View Page Three flowers on secondary vines opened on the Bryson today and even though I am hoping for big things from the 2nd fruit on the main vine, I decided to pollinate these flowers to see what happens. I will probably cull one or even all at some point but maybe one will be a grower. I pollinated two with Bryson pollen and one with Reid pollen. Saturday, June 16 View Page The 2nd fruit is growing well on the Bryson. There are three other fruits on secondary vines that I am letting grow for now to see what happens. If and when I cull one or more of those, I hope this 2nd fruit speeds its growth. Saturday, June 16 View Page Here is the full Bryson which has filled out nicely and by all appearances is pretty healthy. Knock on wood, no signs of disease so far. Tonight its getting a foliar feeding and drench with fish and kelp fertilizer. Sometimes I cave and let my son Will play with trucks in the garden... Saturday, June 16 View Page Sometimes plants compete with other interests in the garden... Saturday, June 16 View Page Here's the Reid's first fruit, which unfortunately was not pollinated by me, so I don't know the parentage. It's growing... Saturday, June 16 View Page The Reid in mid-June. I have not been paying as much attention to this plant as the Bryson, but even though it's been slower, it may produce a nice pumpkin by the end of summer. Saturday, June 23 View Page The Bryson was pollinated two weeks ago so it is time for the first measurements! OTT = 93.25 inches, which translates to about 21 lbs. I downloaded Andy Wolf's updated OTT-to-weight conversion table, based on 2011 and 2012 measurements, but the table begins at an OTT of 166, so it will be a little while before I can compare the old equation to the new. I could create my own regression based on the new measurements, but work beckons... Saturday, June 30 View Page Here is the Bryson 21 days after pollination. OTT = 161.5 and estimated weight = 100lbs. It gained 80 lbs over the last week and 11 lbs per day. Thanks to a few nice folks who noticed I had not elevated the stem and main vine enough and sent me some messages. Saturday, June 30 View Page Here is the Reid three weeks after pollination. Growing more slowly than the Bryson but the Reid is more in the shade. It put on 32 lbs last week and is growing at 4.5 lbs per day. I am hoping that this plant generates a nice pumpkin but don't expect anything as big as the Bryson. It's also a good backup in case the Bryson fails. Sunday, July 1 View Page You can see my custom sun shade and PVC tees to elevate the vine. It already outgrew my first sunshade and probably (hopefully) will outgrow this one soon! Sunday, July 1 View Page Pumpkin looks smaller next to my son Will (who seems to be growing just as fast as the pumpkin... ;). Because I ran my main vine along the edge of my garden, the pumpkin is pretty close to the edge which is making it difficult to get good pictures and support the pumpkin. I'll keep using lots of sand as a cushion. I've made a decision to go with fertilizer that is light on nitrogen and heavy on potash. I know that Langevin's "How to grow world class..." suggests evenly balanced N-P-K at this stage of growth but I worry that I am already heavy on N. I don't want to overdo it and am taking advice I found in his book that slow and steady is best and less N can be good, and that K is the essential nutrient for fruit growth. I also am using fish and kelp fertilizer every week too as a drench and a foliar feed. Sunday, July 1 View Page I went into the patch to cull this smaller fruit on a side vine on the Bryson and when I went to cut, I noticed it was rotting anyway. I left it on as a backup and to see whether it would grow. Now I am really committed to one fruit on the Bryson and I really hope nothing goes wrong... Tuesday, July 3 View Page Couldn't resist taking a few minutes to make some more measurements today on the Bryson. According to OTT it gained 28 lbs in 2 days, 14 lbs per day which is faster growth than the previous week. Hoping this rate persists as long as possible! Saturday, July 7 View Page The Bryson on day 28. Saturday, July 7 View Page Don't know what happened to the last entry, something went wrong. To repeat... Bryson on day 28 OTT = 213 and estimated weight = 224 lbs. Weight gain per day has accelerated to 18 lbs per day. Thursday, July 12 View Page Couldn't resist posting this cute pic of my newest Sammy with his mom and my pumpkin. This was taken on July 8th (last Sunday) and the pumpkin has grown significantly since this pic... will be doing measurements and pictures again in a few days. Saturday, July 14 View Page Five weeks since pollination and we're still going strong. Estimated weight is 343 lbs with an OTT of 247. Our neighbor Sydney came over for some play time with Will and this picture. Saturday, July 14 View Page A little better shot of the Bryson which shows the "fatness" of this pumpkin a little better. It's been growing out more than up. I had to remove the main vine beyond the pumpkin the other day because I couldn't bend it any more to accommodate the growth of the fruit. Monday, July 23 View Page A lot to report. First, I've been away on vacation for 5 days, and just got back to take this picture of my son and his cousin who visiting San Diego for several days. But before I left, on the 19th, I did an OTT and was sad to learn that my pumpkin's growth had really slowed. I knew this would happen naturally but I was down just below 10 lbs a day and I was hoping to sustain 5 - 10 lbs higher for a while longer, in order to reach that 500 lb mark (my goal for this season). So before I left I did a drench and a foliar feed and I also sprayed again for powdery mildew, hoping these things my reinvigorate some growth but not holding out a lot of hope. I was pleasantly surprised to get home today (Monday) and do an OTT and find out that growth has increased! Not spectacular growth (13 lbs per day) but higher than last week so things have turned around, at least a little bit. I don't expect to go back up to high growth rates of a few weeks ago but this is better than finding growth down even more. Today's OTT was 269.5 inches for an estimated weight of 441 lbs. I've been graphing weight gain and weight per day and will post those next. Monday, July 23 View Page The Bryson's growth since pollination (left), and its growth per day (right). Monday, July 30 View Page Exciting news, as of yesterday I've made my first goal: 500 pounds!! The pumpkin's growth has slowed a little, only putting on about 11 lbs per day right now, but at least I've made it to 500. My ultimate goal for this year is 600 lbs - to match what another town resident grew a few years ago. With a few months left to go, even though the growth has slowed, I might make it. One thing I am battling is powdery mildew, and I have noticed some other regional growers battling this too. I am also limited by the size of my patch... my leaves look pretty bad, and they're just not pumping out the sugar like healthy leaves would. As another grower (from Team Faith) noted in his diary entry today, with a small patch, when the leaves get ragged and old, it really does in the growth rate, and a larger patch can help solve this problem. I've already got plans to make a larger patch on the hillside behind my house where there is more room, though my first step would be creating access to it since it is at the bottom of a steep hill. Anyway, that is for next year... Monday, July 30 View Page And by the way, if you saw the pic in my last post, the baby is being held by my wife hiding behind the pumpkin. He is NOT balanced up there by himself! So don't call CPS... Tuesday, July 31 View Page One question I have had for months is, what is this light brown encrusting stuff on the skin of my pumpkin? (see picture). Is this some sort of parasite or the natural oozings of the pumpkin!? It covers about 5 - 10% of my pumpkin. Any help is appreciated (especially about what can be done to get rid of it, if anything). Monday, August 13 View Page No diary entries for a while. I measured OTT last week and was dismayed to learn that the pumpkin was only putting on 3 lbs a day. Then again, it is about 60 days old, so it should be slowing down. But, I measured again Sunday the 12th and growth has picked up a bit to 5 - 6 lbs per day for a total OTT of 292 and an estimated weight of 556 lbs! I had given up on my goal of 600 lbs, but, maybe I won't give up quite yet. There's still a good few months in which to try to put on a few dozen more pounds. In the corner of the garden I've been growing tomatoes and cucumbers. The tomatoes have done incredibly and I have several dozen huge green tomatoes just waiting to turn red. But, every time I get a red one, some animal is beating me to the tomato. After walking out in the garden this evening, my theory is that these are birds! They've been tearing the edges of my pumpkin leaves all summer and now I think they're stealing my other fruits. I'll have to think about how to deter them for next year... maybe I'll try the plastic owl, though they will probably get used to it...