Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 58 Entries. Friday, February 8 View Page The new patch. Friday, February 8 View Page Problem in the new patch.He won last year...this year TBD Sunday, March 10 View Page progress on the patch Sunday, March 10 View Page Our garden. I'm going to put 2 or 3 of the beasts up here. Monday, April 8 View Page The water tower is up. With all the rainy weather we have had it was hard to get motivated to build but I know there will be no time to spare in the very near future. Tuesday, May 14 View Page Here is the 1843 30 days old. Sunday, May 26 View Page 1775 Starr. It got hit with hail only a few days in the garden. Sunday, June 2 View Page The garden is liking the warmer weather. Monday, June 10 View Page 1843 getting close to 12'. The reason it looks like 2 plants is because the groundhog ate the missing part in the middle 4 days ago. About 25% of the leaves I guess. Luckily he did not eat the main tip and the plant is coming back. He costs me about 8 hours of work and time I could have used on other things like staking tomatoes. Monday, June 10 View Page 1775 is getting going after an amazing 2 days in a row of sun. The forecast is not looking good though. Tuesday, June 11 View Page This is whats left of a 1554 Rose that was a tremendous seedling. It had the fattest cots and first leaves that I had ever seen. We have had 5.85 inches of rain here in the last calender week on top of a wet spring. Most of the plants in the new patch are struggling except the 1843 and the rising star 1084 Debacco. Thursday, June 13 View Page Here is the 1084. It's a 5/7 seeded plant. If you look close you can see some hail damage that happened minutes earlier. MORE RAIN. A bad storm dumped 1.6 " in 20 minutes. Thursday, June 13 View Page Wind blown, half eaten, hail poked and drowned 1843 Geddes. Now it has a small foamer that I think it is due to the groundhog's huge dinner last week along with all the rain. The females aborted near the eaten spot and there are a couple hopefully coming to pollinate soon. Wednesday, June 19 View Page The garden is doing well this year. Thursday, June 20 View Page This is my 1064 DeBacco. Sorry Matt for the earlier picture saying it was a 1084. I'm not doing very well this year. I've lost the 1775 and 1365. I had tremendous bug pressure all spring. I purchased Bifen IT for the first time and used it @ 1oz. / gallon. No more bugs...or plants. I reread the booklet and I think I should have used .25 oz/gallon. Thursday, June 20 View Page 1843 Geddes hatin life a little. Still rainy and cloudy here. Thursday, June 20 View Page 1843 Monday, June 24 View Page Another bad week for me.I lost all three 5/7 plants in my upper garden. I can't blame the cold weather for these plants not making it. This 1843 grew upright and had just laid down. I had an 1811 at 5'drop dead. Every day it seems I don't look forward to go look at the plants. I feel now that I have each pumpkin site too hot and should not have added any calcium nitrate at planting. Monday, June 24 View Page I thank god for my garden this year. It is keeping me from feeling to bad about my AGs problems. I planted some field pumpkins and 2 hills of a 44lb Witter cantelope I look forward to seeing grow. Friday, June 28 View Page I have started to replant the empty sites. This is a 1386 Checkon thats been in the garden 2 weeks Saturday, June 29 View Page 1649 Lancaster. My last try for 2013. Seeded 6/15 and hit the #1 patch spot on 6/23 where the 1554 bit the dust. I felt I had to make some adjustment to improve so I am now using 70% aluminet to replace the feed bags for wind break. I had cut the bags some but feel they just don't breath enough. Thursday, July 4 View Page Lacey helped me clean up the vacant kin spots. We are still wet here and the garden loves it. I have used 0 fertilizers. I put a little drip system in and can't use it, so maybe thats why it been raining.lol Thursday, July 4 View Page Two hills of 44 lb Witter lope. We put up 23 qts of green beans this past week.Some friends came by today and picked and put up 21 for themselves. The pickles are next(in the picture also). Thursday, July 4 View Page So far the 1649 is handling the pressure of my amendments except for a ribbon stem. She's sure going to have to be tough to put up with me. The 1843's main rotted at 3' and I am sure it is done. I have a slim hope of just getting one on for a seed pumpkin. The 1386 ribboned and split as did the 1630.Is this too much nitrogen? The 1064's stump rotted 2 days ago. It's done. I never liked the #13! Bad luck for me that for sure. Monday, July 8 View Page I put a fan and a small cover over the 1649's stump in an effort to keep it dry. I wish I had thought of this earlier.duh Thursday, July 11 View Page She's still going despite this crazy wet season we are having.Another 6 more inches of rain in the last 7 days. Thursday, July 11 View Page This is a closeup of the stump. I'm not sure what my chances are with a ribbon like this but we ain't heard no fat lady singing yet! Saturday, July 13 View Page My 1050 Liggett. I think I hear her warming up. This is one tough little plant. I have props sticks everywhere to keep her from rotating. Saturday, July 13 View Page Another view of the 1050 Liggett. The 1843 has a pollinated female about 3 days old on a secondary. The plant is weak so I'm not getting my hopes up but I would love to have a 1843selfed seed for next year. Saturday, July 13 View Page I put some shade over Thelma and Louise's pen. Friday, July 19 View Page 1050 Liggett(663 Liggett03 X 1775 Harp09) She touched down and is getting going. Friday, July 19 View Page 1649 Lancaster (1554 Rose X 1789 Wallace) Seeded 6-15 and hit the patch on 6-23. My last chance plant. It is 10 feet long and so far handling this heat wave fine. Sprayed Bifen and Daconil on my 3 plants this AM.I made the mix a little weak because its hot here. It was 90 degrees at 10:30 when I finished. Tuesday, July 23 View Page I'm very pleased with the progress and overall health of her. Proof that even a blind hog finds an acorn as the saying goes. This was my 14th plant to hit the patch this year, not that I'm bragging or anything...lol Saturday, July 27 View Page I ran through drip 1 cup mycos wp and 1 cup Azos wp in 50 gallons water.Flushed with 15 gallons. It irrigated 3 smallish(young) plant sites, or about 1000 sq. ft. We are still to wet here to need much irrigation. A thunderstorm hit as soon as I was finished. Sunday, July 28 View Page The 1050 Liggett. We just had another thunderstorm this evening but she made it through just fine. Sunday, July 28 View Page 1649 Lancaster Tuesday, July 30 View Page I set the hook on the 1st 1649 female to bloom at 9' yesterday.Looks like it doubled in size today. Yeah! The plant has skipped the next 6 secondaries to start another female. That stinks when you are already way behind...not complaining....or am I?, but I'm just glad to be growing. The plant is doing tremendous (knock on wood) Someone upstairs is looking out for me because I only had 1 male flower to use.It was the second male to bloom on the 1050 Liggett. Also,the 1050 has 2 nice orange looking females, one of which should bloom by the weekend. Tuesday, August 6 View Page We have been so busy its been hard to keep this diary up to date. We have had such a bounty of fruits and vegetables to eat, put up and give away it has been such a blessing. Not to mention......TRYING to tame the beasts Tuesday, August 6 View Page 1649 Lancaster. I have fans on the stump because the wet weather hasn't given up just yet.I also pull wind breaks one day and then put them back up hurriedly as we have storms coming. I put a large fan on the 1050(when needed) which really dries out a good section and I'm sure makes it harder for those bugs as well. The patch is wet, green on the surface....etc., but nothing a day or 2 of sun wouldn't fix. Tuesday, August 6 View Page Day 8 on the little one. I fell very lucky Tuesday, August 6 View Page I pollinated the 1050 Liggett with the 1649 this am. Tuesday, August 6 View Page Here is the entire plant. wet wet wet... but I put a fan on the stump and one side and will switch it to the other side in the am when I leave for work. even if it storms tonight it dries the ground quicker. Tuesday, August 6 View Page My 3rd plant is the 1630 Checkon. It really has taken off in the last week. I have had to spray this one a lot more for everything and had about given up on it. Saturday, August 10 View Page Well... the 1649 pumpkin aborted. Back to square one. All I have is one big salad now. This plant doesn't produce very many females and like a fool I had pruned the 4 or 5 others. In the past week.... We had a huge weather swing in temps and it has rained at least once every day to keep the ground rotten. I sprayed twice with Bifen & Daconil. There are loads of the little cuc bettles. I finally put up shade cloth after trying to save some $ this year with my house screen setup. The screens were a load of work and in the end failed because the plant outgrew all the screens I could steal from the house. At least I will have the shade cloth ready for easy install next year. I need to set a couple of 10' posts in the fall to install it properly. Monday, August 12 View Page I chopped 10' off the main on the 1649 Lancaster in an effort to spur some females on some secondaries. Both females on the main had turned brown way before flowering. Still crappy wet weather here. Tuesday, August 13 View Page 1630 Checkon Open pollination 2 days ago. Missed this one because of the rain and my motivation level. Its been a tiring past week both at work and here on the farm. Tuesday, August 13 View Page 12.6 lb Lope being gaurded by Lacey Jane. A big thank you to George Witter for the seed. We dug most of our potatoes because of the persistant wet weather. We didn't want to risk loosing them to rot. We planted 1 bushel and dug 4. The garden has been great this year. Sharon and I have been canning when we have time. Sunday, we put up some tomato sauce and tomatoes. The Roma's are producing tremendous amounts while the big boy and brandywine won't turn ripe. They must NEED the sun. I am so lucky this was the year I decided to try Roma's. I'll bet we have gotten 15 bushels off the 25 Roma plants. I haven't picked more than 2 dozen total off the 15 other tomato plants.....Almost forgot pollinated the 3rd 1050Liggett with the 1649 this am. Sunday, August 25 View Page We have had a crazy wet year but in the past week the weather has improved. Thanks to that, the plants are healthy and bug numbers are way down right now. This is the 1050 Liggett with an Aug 6th set at 11'. That gives her 53 total grow days until Yadkin Yalley or the Va State Fair.....add 7 more for the PA club weighoff Oct 6th. I think I can I think I can.. Monday, August 26 View Page The 1630 Checkon. This plant is growing very fast. I have 4 sets on her right now. It has tons of blooms, both male and female. I have terminated most of the secondaries at this point. I am way behind so I am going to try some different things to gain experience. I am too chicken to stop the main on both plants right now so I started pruning most of the new secondaries. Tuesday, September 3 View Page We might make a weigh-off yet! Tuesday, September 3 View Page 1050 Liggett(664Liggett03 x 1725Harp09) pollinated with 1649Lancaster12(1554Rose10 x 1789 Wallace) on August 6th. Thursday, September 12 View Page I finally got him! This guy and I have been at it for 2 years. Long story...but the short version is these past few weeks there were plenty of break-in's (again)in the patch. I caught 1 rabbit in the box trap and fixed small holes in the fence numerous times. Come to find out it wasn't the rabbits this groundhog was climbing over my 4' tall fence! Sunday, September 15 View Page Patch photo. I have 2 plants left in my sophomore season. The 1630 averaged 18 lbs/day last week. These 2 plants are fairly young and just starting to show the first burnt leaf. Va State Fair in 2 weeks... Monday, September 16 View Page Um Um Good Friday, September 27 View Page The big day is here. I've been worried all day about dropping the thing. But we got it on the truck successfully! Saturday, September 28 View Page At VA State Fair heading to the scales! Saturday, September 28 View Page Here are the eleven VA State Fair giant pumpkin entries Saturday, September 28 View Page 4th place with 426 lbs sorry this post is a week late, computer problems :( It was nice to meet some of the growers from VA and we had a great time at the weigh-off Already planning for next year!