Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 97 Entries. Saturday, April 27 View Page I am starting my diary a little late , so I am going to try to catch up to date. These were the seeds I attempted to germinate Saturday, April 27 View Page This was my first attempt to grow a big pumpkin last year at the Bear wallow weigh off in Nancy Ky, 123 pounds Saturday, April 27 View Page It won me the coveted skunk capp, but it was a fun day and I was hooked on growing . This year I plan on taking it back and giving it to someone else for having the smallest pumpkin . Saturday, April 27 View Page his is my harbor freight greenhouse ,its been up over 2 years and has took a lot of wind , If you put in up like the directions say it will blow away the first big wind storm , but there are a lot of mods on that you can do to it and its as sturdy as a house. Saturday, April 27 View Page I germanated the seeds in the house in a big cooler and then brought them out to the greenhouse Saturday, April 27 View Page Here is a picture of the seeds under some grow lights to try to keep them warm. After I took them outside the weather turned off cold, I also have my tomato plants growing with the pumpkins Saturday, April 27 View Page The greenhouse looked like a shinning beacon with the grow lights on. Saturday, April 27 View Page Here they are after about a week. Saturday, April 27 View Page I tryed to move these by picking them up with the Styrofoam and it broke of corse and dumped the girls right on there heads , I hope they will be ok. Saturday, April 27 View Page All the seeds i tryed to germinate didnt come up , but most did .I did learn one thing , I need to rig up a shop light next year and something to control my heat better. I do have heat mats under the seed domes but i need something better . Saturday, April 27 View Page one of Dave's watermelons peaking it's head through the mix. This will be my first year to grow a mellon Saturday, April 27 View Page These are my tomato plants for the garden , they are doing really well ,But i do need to thin them out in a few days. Saturday, April 27 View Page Avery confusing video of me trying to plan how to get the most out of my patch , I had string running everywere , looked like a spider web. finally just took the string up and tryed to mark it off with a tiller and some pvc . I was so confussed but i think have it worked out now http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TgV2NXAGJc Tuesday, April 30 View Page The best looking plant i have so far. Tuesday, April 30 View Page Black seeded simpson lettuce, and green onions, Tuesday, April 30 View Page Pumpkins taking up the sunshine that we have been lacking the last few days. Tuesday, April 30 View Page Petunia's that lived though the cold Kentucky winter we had. I went out in January and seen that they was still alive so i watered them down real good and noticed yesterday that they were starting to bloom , I didnt know they would live more than a year but i guess they do . Tuesday, April 30 View Page Some late seeds i just started for backups. Tuesday, April 30 View Page Tomatos are really doing well. Tuesday, April 30 View Page Backup tomato plants, looking good also Wednesday, May 1 View Page Hardening off the Pumpkins and tomato plants from the green house. A very nice day here in Kentucky 77 degrees and partly cloudy, but the pollen off the trees are not good at all for my allergies. Friday, May 3 View Page I built 2 small hoop houses to protect my pumpkin's till they get a little bigger , there are 2 plants in each house. I might plant one more a little later on to make a total of 5 pumpkins and one watermelon's Friday, May 3 View Page 380 Cantrell, one of the seeds that came from this pumpkin grew Dave Cantrell's 1051 at Bear Wallow farm in Nancy Kentucky, A very pretty orange pumpkin. Friday, May 3 View Page 743 Cantrell 11 Friday, May 3 View Page 1333 Young 09 Does anyone have a picture of this pumpkin? I can't seem to fine one. Friday, May 3 View Page 1,085.5 Vanhook this plant really wants to grow. If anybody has a pic of the pumpkin this came out of I would like to see it also. All of these plants were germanated on April 15 at 9:00 pm Sunday, May 12 View Page Temp's going down into the low 30's tonight and frost expected , everything covered up and bundled up , put candles in the hoop houses . I hope this is the last night of these record breaking low temps...... Thursday, May 16 View Page Found out today that the 1333 Young 09 has a split vine, iI have some backups but this was one of my better plants , cananybody tell me if I am going to have problems with this? I can use one of the backups but i would sure hate to pull this plant if it was necessary . email [email protected] thank you Friday, May 17 View Page Pumpkin and water melon patch in the bottom part of the garden, everything looking good Friday, May 17 View Page Planted the 1436 Liggett 2011 yesterday , the transplant went well. Friday, May 17 View Page 1333 young on the left and 829.4 whitacre on the right . the 1333 young came down with a split stem probably from the strong winds we was having and it had a long stem .I tryed to protect it in the hoop house and wind barriers and skew stakes but it split . I want to think Jason from CT for some rally good advice on the sufur and covering it to keep it dry. The 829.4 whitacre is a couple weeks behind the 1333 so it is smaller ,I am going to give it a week or so and if everything goes ok with it i will probaly pull the 1333 as bad as i hate to. But I am afraid it might cause problems on down the road and cut back on the growth of the pumpkin and i did promise my friend Fred that I would grow one of his pumpkins and he has been very helpful to me. Thanks Fred Friday, May 17 View Page 743 cantrell looking good and has layed down to start growing. Friday, May 17 View Page Her is another tough decision, I really wanted to grow the 380 cantrell because one of its sibbs made such a beautiful pumpkin and did win at bear wallow but the backup 1,077 vanhook has really been trying to get my attention. I sure do hate to have to choose between the two and have to pull one. Friday, May 17 View Page 207 cantrell water melon planted yesterday and looking good. Friday, May 17 View Page 249 brammer planted yesterday, looking good also. Friday, May 17 View Page 1,085.5 vanhook looking really good all layed down and wanting to grow Sunday, May 19 View Page I really dodged the bullit today , a freak thunderstorm popped up with quarter inch hail over 50 miles an hour winds and over a inch of rain in a total of about 15 min. First came the rain and then the hail but the wind was the worse. Sunday, May 19 View Page The 1436.5 Liggett got the worst of it , i had a wind barrier up but it pretty well got washed out of the ground.I have since cleaned it up and filled some potting mix in around the hole ,one of the leave's got some damage also . I guess its a wait and see on this one. Sunday, May 19 View Page One of the hoop houses after the storm . I was watching it out the window and it was almost horizonal with the ground with the wind. It amazed me that it's still standing Sunday, May 19 View Page Thank God for the hoop houses , I believe these made it threw ok , just a lot of mud , I cleaned them up and they are looking better . Sunday, May 19 View Page I believe i can turn the drip lines off on the melons now. Sunday, May 19 View Page I Was thinking about pulling the 380 cantrell because the 1,077 van hook was out doing it but the wind about took it out for me , its looking better now , i really hate to pull it but i have a 743 cantrell growing on the other side and its doing great. Sunday, May 19 View Page I Was thinking about pulling the 380 cantrell because the 1,077 van hook was out doing it but the wind about took it out for me , its looking better now , i really hate to pull it but i have a 743 cantrell growing on the other side and its doing great. Sunday, May 19 View Page One thing that I learned today was that your patch cn get took out in just a few min , I need to put up better wind barriers up for when the plant gets bigger and watching that hail scared the crap out of me , I guess thee is not much you can do about that unless you had some shade netting up , but with the winds I had today the nets would be in the next county . I am very thankful that i didn't have anymore damage than i did. I will try to get everything straighten up as soon as i can get in the patch to work. Sunday, May 19 View Page Had 55 mile per hour winds , inch and half rain in 15 min, and hail the size of quarters , but was very lucky and thank full it didnt end my season.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfGZFtCeChU Wednesday, May 22 View Page Worked hard on the patch today ,fixed the hoop houses after the wind hail and inch and half rain we had the other day , we have had one more inch of rain and wind again but everything is looking good. Not complaining about the rain at all after last years drought. Wednesday, May 22 View Page 743 cantrell looking good Wednesday, May 22 View Page 1436.5 Liggett looking a lot better after the flood Wednesday, May 22 View Page 829.4 whitacre strugling along Wednesday, May 22 View Page 380 Cantrell really started to kick into gear Wednesday, May 22 View Page My Hillbilly old elecrtic Cushman pumpkin cart. I really dont know what i would do without it. Wednesday, May 22 View Page Notice in the top right hand corner of this picture behind the fence something was eyeing my lettuce patch or very interested in me! The 1333 Young 09 with split stem, I was gonna pull it but it was such a pretty plant I just couldnt do it, decided to relocate the other plant and treat the stem with sulpher and keep it coverd and see what it does. Monday, June 3 View Page 743 cantrell has really kicked into high gear. The most aggressive plant i have. Monday, June 3 View Page 1,077 vanhook really growing also Monday, June 3 View Page 1333 young also doing good . had to put up a silt fence to try to fight the wind. Left the east end open because we usually dont get any wuind from the east but since i put the fence up it has blew from that direction about every day. Monday, June 3 View Page 1436.5 Liggett starting to pull out of the shock of getting washed out of the ground a fews ago .Sprayed everything with eagle20 merit 75 and Bifen IT today and drenched everything with some sea weed yesterday . Also trained and buried some vines with Mycorrhiza Symbios Pumpkin Pro . Friday, June 7 View Page 743 Cantrell 11 pollinated a pumpkin today with 1,085.5 Vanhook the only males I had avalable . A couple more females ahead of it waiting to bloom. Thought i would go ahead and pollinate as many as i could to make sure i get one to sit and keep the fastest growing one. Friday, June 7 View Page 1,085.5 Vanhook Friday, June 7 View Page 1333 young Friday, June 7 View Page 1,077 vanhook Friday, June 7 View Page Patch guard and good mole catcher Saturday, June 8 View Page Getting washed out of the ground didnt seem to affect the 1436.5 Liggett. It was started later and has been through alot. Saturday, June 8 View Page 829.4 whitacre was also stated later and been through alot but is catching up fast. Saturday, June 8 View Page 380 Cantrell I moved this plant because i didnt want to pull it. One of the vanhooks I had planted beside it for a backup was growing much faster. Its not in the best place in the patch but it did put a dark green striped pumpkin on and Dave said it would probaly turn into a bright orange so I kinda wish now i had left it were it was at. Wednesday, June 26 View Page I had not posted for awhile and it supose to storm with high winds and hail tonight so I thought I would post what the patch looks like as now. This is the 1,077 Vanhook. Wednesday, June 26 View Page I pollenated this on june 24 ,it's been close to 90 so I hope it takes Wednesday, June 26 View Page Dave's 207 cantrell water melon Wednesday, June 26 View Page 1,085 Vanhook Wednesday, June 26 View Page 1,085 just a few days old Wednesday, June 26 View Page 380 Cantrell not in the best place in the patch , I just tryed to squeeze it in . Wednesday, June 26 View Page 380 Cantrell self pollenated 3 days ago Wednesday, June 26 View Page Shot of the patch and garden Wednesday, June 26 View Page 1333 young Wednesday, June 26 View Page Pumpkin on 1333 young, self Wednesday, June 26 View Page 1436.5 Liggett Wednesday, June 26 View Page 743 cantrell , The main vine got broke and it made me sick, I am not sure if the wind broke it or I had to much of a bend in it but when i went to the patch a couple of days ago it was broke , I have 2 pumpkins set on it and i am just going to let it grow. Wednesday, June 26 View Page Pumpkin where the stem broke on the 743 cantrell Wednesday, June 26 View Page Forgot to attach the pic. Pumpkin where the stem broke on the 743 cantrell Wednesday, June 26 View Page Pumpkin about 5 foot out on the 780 with cell phone on top for refrence Wednesday, July 24 View Page This is the 743 cantrell 606 inches in circumference and still growing, I was really excited about this kin but with all the rain we have had I found the stump was wet and had some rot on it , I had it covered and checked it Sunday night and it seemed ok and then last night i checked it and it was wet and had some rot in it , I cut the rot out and have fan's blowing on it and pored hydroproxcide all over it, I will put some sulfur on it tomorrow and see what happens I have not thrown the towel in yet. Wednesday, July 24 View Page screwded up on the circumfrence on the 743 cantrell, 606 was the estimated weight the circumfrence is 139 , I have not done a ott on it yet Wednesday, July 24 View Page This is the 1333 young, doing very well the circumference on it is 115 est weight 370 pounds and still growing , Its about 2 weeks behind the 743 cantrell but futher out on the vine. Wednesday, July 24 View Page 1,085 Vanhook circumfrence 119 but very hard to measure since she has her belly sucked in but growing very fast . tall and skinny Thursday, August 15 View Page 743 Cantrell 11 ..I really had a lot of fun with this plant ..and learned a lot.This is my second year of growing, last year i grew a 123 pounder .I believe if i had more experence i could have grown this pumpkin much bigger.I just had it set 4 ft from the stump, because when i got the vine out to about 16 ft i put to much of a bend in the vine and it was windy and I ended up breaking the main. Thursday, August 15 View Page Then it started raining and it rain and rained and rained some more , just a couple of weeks ago i found i had a wet rotting stump, I tryed fans ,blowers , sulpher, alchole,bleach, and proxide and it seems the more i tryed the more it was going to rot on me , I noticed the vine had some rot so i just cut the vine and was hoping the rest of the vine would support it ,but the vine kept getting soft so i just cut it loose from the vine. Then I statred to have problems with the stem and appled the same methods i did on the stump and vine and have it just about dryed out but there is very little stem left and it will problay go down real soon , the mesuremnets on it is 141cc 86ee 94ss ott 321 732 pounds est. I want to thank Brother Dave for the fantasic seed and hopefully I will do better nexy=t year . Thursday, August 15 View Page This is the only hope i have to making it to the weigh off at bear wallow in nancy ky. It is the 1333 young and its doing very well , putting on 10 to 20 pounds a day for a few weeks now .Is there anyone know when the weigh offs will be at bear wallow I heard it was allways the third Saterday in SEPT , if anyone knows or can confirm this , please email me at [email protected] .thanks Friday, September 20 View Page Loaded up for Bear Wallow tomorrow. I want to think my pumpkin lifting team. Thanks guys!! Here is a funny time laspe video i made just for fun. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1BtIbBnyeI Monday, September 23 View Page Loaded up and headed to Bear Wallow up on rainy Saterday morning Monday, September 23 View Page Really good turn out , and was really good to see every one Monday, September 23 View Page Frank Mudd did a really great job reading the scales with his new glasses this year. Monday, September 23 View Page Me really excited that my 1333 young now is the 923.5 Adams. I never dreamed it would go that heavy. I got the seed from a raffel at the Kentucky Gaint Pumpkin Growrs Seminar. Monday, September 23 View Page Final score board Monday, September 23 View Page I came in third ,but felt like I was the winner by the smile on my face. Thank you everyone for working so hard to put this event on, and all the people that helped me out through the season. A lot of great people in this hobbie I have to say. Thank You!!! Monday, October 21 View Page 923.5 Makes a pretty good fall display. Tuesday, November 12 View Page I need some help on trying to figure out what my soil needs , I have two soil test , the first one is from western labs and the other one is just a basic one from the local university, I understand the one from westerlabs, as it measured in pounds per 1000 square feet and the other one is per acre. I do understand the nitrogen , phosphorus, and potassium , but on the magnesium , sulfur, zinc ,copper and boron I am a little confused on were I would buy this stuff ,I did buy a bag of powdered sulfur as a fungicide to use on my stems and stump but I am not sure it is the same thing. I am not even sure our local southern states coop would have zinc and cooper, I believe you can buy boron at walmart but not really sure about that , could someone please look at these test and recommend to me what I need to do and were I can get it , I have 3 pages of soil test and recompilations . thanks Tuesday, November 12 View Page western labs suggestions Tuesday, November 12 View Page Local university test