Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 132 Entries. Tuesday, April 12 View Page Here is a nice shot of the weigh-off in North Vancouver in 2004. A 718 lb. fruit from Jake van Kooten took first place. We expect to have many more pumpkins in 2005 and the weights to go up as the prize money does. Have started a few early plants that include: 310 Marining (689.5 Sandercock X self) 411 Perrault (800 Companion X self) 511 and 577.5 Dixon (761 Corkum X self) 718 van Kooten (1005 Mombert X 1367.5 Rose) 748 Van Kooten (1005 Mombert X 1367.5 Rose) 826.5 Shymanski (1016 Daletas X 1385 Daletas) 958 van Kooten (1066 Vezzola X 1367.5 Rose) 960 Perras (1088 van Kooten X 1367.5 Rose) 1033 van Kooten (1367.5 Rose X 1066 Vezzola) 1005 Mombert ( 723 Bobier X 846 Calai) 1142 van Kooten (1006 Vezzola X 1367.5 Rose) More to come soon!! Glenn   Friday, April 29 View Page The 1005 Mombert that was to be my main plant, did not germinated for me so in its place is the 1142 van Kooten which was going to be my second plant anyways. Now comes the hard part of choosing a second plant. I've got some really nice 826.5 Shymanski, loads more of great van Kooten seedlings, a couple really strong 621 Pley seedlings, 689.5 Sandercock and a bunch others. Right now the 1142 van Kooten is settled into the hoophouse nicely and will be kept warm on those cool nights with a nice little heater - great tip, thanks Jake!! I'll decide in the next few days but am pretty sure I will go with the 826.5, 621 or the 689.5 as my second plant. Glenn   Monday, May 2 View Page At the end of the tunnel sits the 1142 van Kooten planted in its spot and the 826.5 Shymanski that is hardening off a little in the hoophouse before it gets planted at the other end of the garden. I will be planting a back up plant in the opposite end of the hoophouse growing towards the 1142 just in case something wierd happens and needs to be replaced. I hope not but want to have backup that I did not have last year. Glenn   Monday, May 2 View Page More of a closeup of the 1142. This plant has some of the biggest cots that I have ever seen. It is starting its 2nd true leaf now and seems to just love its environment at the moment. Delivered a couple of 826.5 Shymanski plants to be grown by my buddy Tom and my Uncle Chris. Tom is a second year grower and knows what to expect while U. Chris is a first year grower with almost no clue at all....should be a fun ride!! Also delivered some 718, 748, 958 and 1003 van Kooten seedlings to worthy growers. There will also be a couple of 689.5 Sandercock plants being grown and I started a 919 Holland, 803 Sandercock and a 900 Sandvik. So many great seedlings to giveaway, am I going to give away the wrong one? I hope not!! Glenn   Friday, May 6 View Page I transplanted the 826.5 Shymanski (1016 Daletas X 1385 Daletas) into the glass coldframe/greenhouse today. There will be 4 patches testing out the 826.5 this year. I suspect that it will produce nice orange fruit....time will tell.   Friday, May 6 View Page Just wanted to show a shot of some of our rhododendron bushes that line the back edge of the patch. My wife has been very patient and the patch now sits at about 850 sq. ft. and the rhodos are going to stay. I've got about 15 feet on either side to grow secondaries and can allow each main to grow well over 20 feet long. With 850 sq. ft. and 2 plants, there is some fancy pruning but it is all worth while in the long run. Like last year, one plant will get more room than the other but will be determined later on.   Saturday, May 7 View Page Here is a shot of Steve's patch with his new cold frame. Picked it up for him at Lee Valley for $20 when they had a clearing out sale - what a bargain! Steve is growing the 958 van Kooten which was grown on the same plant as Jake's new British Columbia record 1142 van Kooten that will be grown in my home patch. I also planted another 826.5 Shymanski at Maplewood Farm where I am using the greenhouse to germinate the seeds for the North Shore News Weigh-Off contest. They had a great area all set up for a pumpkin growing display and have the soil fortified with all the various manures available on the farm. I also assisted my buddy Tom with digging in manure and compost and planting his 826.5 Shymanski and then proceeded over to my Uncle Chris's house to check out the progress on his 826.5. With my 12 year old daughter as my witness, we were able to encourage and talk my uncle into expanding his growing area considerably, he will now have several hundred sq. ft. in which to allow the secondaries to grow and a good 25 feet or more for the main....good luck Uncle C. My brother took a bunch of nice seedlings down to the local Thoroughbred Racetrack where he works and handed them out. There was such a keen interest that I needed to start some more seeds for him to give away. They are going to have a homegrown contest at the racetrack and everyone really seems to be into it. Giant Pumpkin Fever is hitting Vancouver in a big way....I love it!! More news from other satelite patches soon. Glenn   Wednesday, May 11 View Page Here is my neighbour Brian's expanded patch. He will be growing the 1033 van Kooten in the far patch and will be growing the 621 Pley in the foreground. Should be interesting and I'm glad that the plants are right next door. Brian grew a nice fruit last year and should move up from there with these two nice plants.   Wednesday, May 11 View Page Well, since Lawman has decided to try and grow the 621 Pley this year, I thought it to be fair to have it grown by someone else in a head to head competition. I could not bear to beat James again, especially with the same seed that was supplied to us both from Dave Pley. I think that Brian will be giving Lawman a run for his money with this plant. Both of the 621 Pley seedlings look good right now. More to follow....   Wednesday, May 11 View Page Here is a seedling from Jake's 1033 from 2004. So far it looks great and is in a very sunny spot that has been amended with compost and manure. This plant is also next door in my neighbour Brian's patch and has a great chance at success.   Thursday, May 12 View Page Went to Maplewood Farm (home of the North Shore News Giant Pumpkin Weigh-Off) to check on the seeds that I have germinating in the greenhouse. With so much interest last year, I needed alot more space than I have at home to germinate seeds and grow the seedlings for the give-away. I was a little surprised to see the 577.5 and 511 Dixon '03 and the 411 Perrault '03 seeds were the first to pop up but the 310 Marining '04 seeds are also now showing some life. The majority of the give-away seedlings will be from the 310 Marining (a selfed 689.5 Sandercock)which should throw nice large orange fruit for all the first time growers.   Thursday, May 12 View Page Yes Lawman, not only has the gauntlet been thrown, but it has been tossed in your general direction! Better grow em big buddy!! Here is the 826.5 Shymanski that will be growing in a great sunny spot at Maplewood Farm. It will most likely be grown jungle style as I don't know how often I will get down there to tend to things with all the other satelite patches that have popped up on the North Shore of Vancouver. I do know that the gardeners at the farm will water it, but that will be about it. Watch this one grow huge.....   Friday, May 27 View Page Has been very hot lately in B.C. and the 1142 got a little sunburned on a couple of leaves. No big deal as this plant has vined out now and is really picking up the growth pace. There are so many new growers that have joined the North Shore Boyz and I will have the pleasure of watching the following nice seeds grow this year. 1142 van Kooten, 958 van Kooten, 718 van Kooten, 748 van Kooten, 1033 van Kooten, 621 Pley, 919 Holland, 826.5 Shymanski, 803 Sandercock, 689.5 Sandercock, 310 Marining, a bunch of my 577.5 and 511 Dixon and the 411 Perrault. I will be updating from other patches soon....more to come.   Sunday, May 29 View Page Records being set in B.C. right now and weather is hot and nice as the Lawman pointed out. Have pulled back the hoophouse now after toasting a leaf or two and have some yellowing on an early leaf that I'll most likely trim off anyways. Everything seems cool so far! Our weather can turn and change in a moment so I am not taking the protection away just yet. The 826.5 is growing nicely too and will also vine out soon. I will be doing a patch tour soon and will post the others progress.   Sunday, May 29 View Page Here is Steve's 958 van Kooten that will lay down a vine in the next day or two. I'm doing my patch tour during the next week and will post all the other noteable pictures as soon as I can. From what I have heard, there are many gardens with established and expanding plants right now!! Will be interesting to see what the other Pacific Northwest growers have growing right now!! Glenn   Tuesday, June 7 View Page Here is the 1142 van Kooten that is puzzling me somewhat. Growth has been great except for a few yellowing leaves and has vined out nice to about 6 feet now with 2 and 3 foot secondaries. I am concerned about the thin leaves that then result in holes. I think that there must be some kind of disease/fungus with this plant and will post a question on the board for some input.   Tuesday, June 7 View Page This is the 803 Sandercock that is growing in the other end of the hoophouse. Very healthy, nice and green and has layed down its vine now. If the 1142 falters or has major issues, the 803 will fill the space instead. I almost pulled the 803 in favour of the 1142 untill I noticed something wrong with it.   Tuesday, June 7 View Page This is the 826.5 Shymanski that I have in the far corner of my home patch. It has grown out of its glass greenhouse and has also almost completed laying down its vine. Secondaries are started and this plant appears to be trouble free and very tolerant of our strange weather right now. I like this one and hope to get a nice large orange one this year.   Tuesday, June 7 View Page Here is where I need help with one of my plants. You can see the holes that develop in areas that start out thin and almost transparent. There is also a good deal of yellowing too. I'm posting a question on the discussion board and am hoping that some of you have seen this before and can offer advice. I don't want to pull the 1142 so any remedy would be great.   Tuesday, June 7 View Page Here is one of the older leaves that has the holes and yellowing that is disturbing me. What to do?   Tuesday, June 7 View Page Final pic of my plant with "issues" This shot shows a couple of the first true leaves that appear to older than they really are. Notice the brown spots and yellowing? Any help would be great. Glenn   Friday, June 10 View Page Did a mini patch tour this morning and will have to visit alot more back yards soon to update progess on all the great seedlings that I gave away. Here is my buddy Steve's 958 van Kooten that has settled down nicely and is starting to send off secondaries. He will be removing the coldframe soon if our weather starts to cooperate.   Friday, June 10 View Page This is Adam's 826.5 Shymanski that has also layed down its vine and going in the right direction. He had one leaf burn awhile ago when we actually had some sunlight. The 826.5 has a very thick and healthy stump area and the vine is very impressive so far.   Friday, June 10 View Page Here is our 826.5 Shymanski that is also reaching for more ground. Like Adam's plant, this one has a very thick main vine and I expect good things from it. My Uncle Chris and my buddy Tom are also growing the 826.5 but live about 45 minutes by car from where I live so we don't get there that often. Will have to get my Uncle to do a patch tour and send me pics to post soon.   Friday, June 10 View Page This is the 803 Sandercock that also suffered a burn of some kind on a couple of early leaves but is bouncing back nicely now.   Friday, June 10 View Page And here is our 1142 van Kooten that had me puzzled earlier in the week. I have buried some secondaries and now have taken note that all the new leaves are healthy and green. I just can't (and won't yet) give up on this plant. It is at about 8 feet so far and picking up the pace and growing quickly now. If all the secondaries continue to be healthy, this plant will stay in its spot. More to come.....   Monday, June 20 View Page My main plant continues to exhibit yellowing leaves and oddly shaped growth. My other 2 plants are growing nicely and starting to really vine out now too.   Monday, June 20 View Page Here is a closer view of the problem that I'm having with my 1142. Since all the other 1142 plants are growing great, I have to assume that it was something I did or my planting area was ill prepared.   Monday, June 20 View Page Here is a shot of the 826.5 Shymanski that will be grown in a modified christmas tree pattern. I will be able to let the main only grow about 18 feet out and secondaries can be 12 to 15 feet as well so I will have to set on the main from 12 to 15 feet out.   Monday, June 20 View Page Previous picture showed the 826.5 in the corner under the water barrel and the 803 Sandercock closer up. This is the 803 that will have about 20 feet for the main and will be grown in the christmas pattern with loads of room for secondaries now. I'm hoping to do a patch tour soon and will post pictures from several other gardens soon. Glenn   Monday, June 27 View Page Here is a shot of my buddy Tom's 826.5 that he has growing in a great spot. We will be out in his neighbourhood this weekend and I can see that I will be weeding his patch. Tom was a first year grower last year and grew some very decent sized fruit....go figure, this year he wants bigger!!   Monday, June 27 View Page This is a shot of my Uncle Chris's 826.5 that is already throwing out females. A little early and not far enough out on the vine but he can always cull it later on. The 826.5 plants are very nice so far and I like the looks of this fruit. I'm also going to visit my Uncles patch this weekend as he is considering taking off secondaries as the plant continues to grow. I'm going to try and convince him to let many more secondaries grow even if Aunt Marion gives him a little grief.   Monday, June 27 View Page This is our 826.5 that has been really throwing off the secondaries now. I've been busy with vine placement and will be digging trenches to bury the secondaries. Our weather is still bad....cool and damp. When we have had a few straight days of sun, you can really see the growth difference.   Monday, June 27 View Page This is the 803 at our home patch. It too has really started to send off secondaries and is showing some pretty decent growth in the past week or two. This plant has lots of room to grow so I hope our weather picks up the pace in the near future. More pics from other patches soon.   Monday, June 27 View Page This is a shot of my neighbour Brian's 1033 van Kooten plant. Very healthy and growing nicely but I guess he has not had time to do much weeding.   Monday, June 27 View Page This is also Brian's 621 Pley that had a slow start but has really picked up the pace in the last week or two. With some decent weather, we might see pollination starting in the first or second week of July.   Monday, June 27 View Page Here is my buddy Steve's 958 plant. Has really started to take off and sits at around eight feet with lots of secondaries forming. He is going to grow a modified pattern and will need to trim secondaries on one side and can allow the other secondaries to grow pretty much as long as is needed.   Monday, July 4 View Page Here is Steve's 958 plant that he is training accordingly. He makes great use of space and always has a nice plant. Starting to spread out but we are all a couple of weeks behind this year.   Monday, July 4 View Page A great time was had at my buddy Tom's house this weekend at our daughter's ball tournament and I snapped this shot of his 826.5. I'm not sure, but I believe Tom is ahead of my Uncle Chris with his 826.5 plant. Looks good so far.   Monday, July 4 View Page Our 826.5 that is starting to expand out. Very large leaves and pretty decent growth in the past 3 days.   Monday, July 4 View Page This is our 803 that is pleasing me more now as it starts to stretch out.   Monday, July 4 View Page The 826.5 in the corner will grow up to the start of the 803 and curve back into the other far corner. The 803 will be allowed to grow straight ahead. Happy 4th of July to everyone!!   Tuesday, July 5 View Page Here is a shot of my Chris's 826.5 Shymanski pollinated with the 627 Hampton just a few days ago. Our friend Adam pollinated his 826.5 with the 958 van Kooten and I will be sibb pollinating my 826.5 with males from Adam's as that was all that is available for collection tonight for use tomorrow morning.   Wednesday, July 6 View Page The 826.5 that I pollinated this morning with Adam's 826.5. I'm lucky that there are so many growers in my neighbourhood now as I did not have any ready males, neither did Steve, nor did my neighbour Brian. That's OK as this will reinforce those great Daletas genes right back into this fruit. I have a few others further out that will be pollinated too. I'm not as far behind as I thought and the plants are really starting to take off now.   Monday, July 11 View Page The 826.5 expanding now that we have some nice weather.   Monday, July 11 View Page A shot of the first fruit in its squirrel cage at 7', next one open tomorrow at 9' and one other waiting at 11' on the 826.5.   Monday, July 11 View Page Ned, here is the 803 a few days ago. It is really picking up the pace now and I've been busy burying vines.   Monday, July 11 View Page Here is the nicely placed 803 flower at about 11' out. Not taking any chances with this one.   Monday, July 11 View Page Another shot of the 803 with it's protective hut. Last year I lost so many to squirrels that I vowed to not let it happen again. I also wanted to buy a pellet gun, but got over-ruled in a family vote of 2-1. Will be visiting other homes and will post progress soon.   Saturday, July 16 View Page Here is Brian's 1033 that is growing next door. He has about 5 fruit set on it right now and will need to begin pruning tertiary growth and cull down his fruit.   Saturday, July 16 View Page Now this is odd!! Here is a double fruit on the 1033 that has one on the main vine and then a second fruit growing on what appears to be a flat vine about 1 foot long with a fruit attached with no stem at all. Hopefully the secondary with the fruit attached can be cut off and will allow the other on the main to grow.   Saturday, July 16 View Page Here is the 621 Pley in Brian's garden. Starting to stretch out now and there is a nice flower to pollinate on the main in the next day or 2. I will be pollinating one on the 803 tomorrow morning (with the 826.5)and a couple more on the 826.5 (sibbing again with Adam's flowers) in a day or two. After that, I will begin the process of selection and final vine training. Hoping for more good weather/Glenn   Sunday, July 17 View Page Ned, here is the flower that I pollinated on your 803 Sandercock this morning with the 826.5 Shymanski. I think the cross you did on the 803 is outstanding and the plant is a beauty that is easy to work with. I really hope this one takes cause it is perfectly situated on the vine and in a great spot in our patch for working on it. Pollinated another on the 826.5 and used the 621 Pley for that one. I will most likely pollinate another 1 or 2 on the 803 and the 826.5 in the next few days and then decide which are my contenders. Weather is great and growth has really picked up the pace.   Tuesday, July 19 View Page Mark, here is the first fruit on our 826.5 that is expanding out nicely now. This one is at 20" at day 12 so is a little behind but that worries me not. I have another one set at 10' and yet another at 12' but unfortunately that one had a couple of seeds in the blossum. Too bad as it was perfectly situated. I will monitor the two that I have set on the main and will decide soon. Great plant!!   Tuesday, July 19 View Page And here is a shot of Uncle Chris's 826.5 that he has growing in an interesting first year grower pattern. He has a fruit set that looks like it has set....now if he can just resist the temptation to fertilize every day, he might have something that he can take to our weigh-off. I expect to be able to take a few more shots of his patch soon as I am sure that I will get a phone call to go salmon fishing on his new boat soon!! More to come soon from other gardens.   Wednesday, July 20 View Page I went over to pollinate a flower on Steve's 1033 but unfortunately it had seeds in its blossum. He has another one already set at about 14' pollinated with the 826.5. Here is a shot of his plant really starting to branch out.   Wednesday, July 20 View Page I then went over to Brian's house and self pollinated this huge 621 Pley flower with 5 males. Hopefully it will set as it is in a good spot to grow with plenty of plant behind it. Brian's 1033 is growing good and has a couple set with 2 more good ones further out on the main. We did surgery to the double fruit and the one on the main looks good. Going out to see my Uncle and will also check out Tom's 826.5 while I am in their neighbourhood. Will post pics when I get home later.   Wednesday, July 20 View Page Here is Steve's 958 plant post pollination. He has a nice one at about 14' on the main and used the 826.5. Hope it takes for him.   Wednesday, July 20 View Page Did a mini patch tour today and the most impressive is my Uncle Chris's 826.5. This picture only shows one side of the plant, it has equal or greater growth on the other side as well. He has a couple that might be set but will be pollinating another on the main at least 14' out or greater. We went over some of the finer points of pollination and harvested a bunch of ready males to use in the morning. Once that one is set, he will cull down to one or 2 fruit and go from there.   Friday, July 22 View Page This is the first fruit pollinated on the 826.5. I have started the culling process as this one appears to be growing the quickest and has been the easiest to work with. I've starting adjusting the position to get the desired 90 degrees and have propped up the main vine slightly. I'm considering construction a shade structure but for now am just using a white sheet during the heat of the day.   Wednesday, July 27 View Page A shot of the 826.5 and the remaining space for the secondaries to fill ou to support the rapidly growing fruit. My shade structure this year will just be an umbrella and an old white table cloth over the fruit. Seems to work.   Wednesday, July 27 View Page Here is the 803 that I've begun secondary vine termination as they reach the edge of the patch. The first fruit at 11' did not take and I have started pollinating on strong secondaries just in case. This plant was a backup so it is about 2 weeks behind normal schedule. There is another fruit on the main to be pollinated in a day or 2 that is at the 18' mark and the plant engine behind it will be huge. If the fruit on the main vine sets, there will be 11 secondaries on each side to push it along....wish me luck!!   Wednesday, July 27 View Page Mark, this is the fruit on the 826.5 that is at 7' on the main. I have pollinated another on a strong secondary as a shock absorber and have another pollinated on the main at 15' that looks like it has taken and is growing nicely. I've culled everything else and will make my final cuts soon. The main fruit is growing at 3-4" in circumference every day and looks like a keeper. Time will tell!! I will be visiting other patches this week and will update soon. There are nice pollinations on the 1033 and 958 van Kooten plants, a couple good ones on the 621 Pley as well as the various other 826.5 plants.   Wednesday, August 3 View Page After 5 days at Banks Lake (Grand Coulee Dam) came back to find that the 826.5 has more than doubled in size. Is gaining steadily, has good vine position and is now officially a keeper. I'm going to cull everything else off in the next day or two but continue to let the secondaries grow to have as much growth after the fruit as possible since it is closer to the stump than I would usually like.   Wednesday, August 3 View Page Day 6 for the side vine fruit on the 803. It is growing nicely and also looks like a keeper. I have completed pollination now and will let the fruit grow till day 20 before making the final cut.   Wednesday, August 3 View Page Day 3 for the main fruit on the 803. Pollinated with our 826.5 by my buddy Steve while we were away on vacation. There were a few seeds in the blossum but I have no other alternative on the main vine. I will let the side vine fruit and the main vine fruit grow until I have the guts to make my final cut.   Saturday, August 6 View Page This is Brian's 1033 that is growing nicely despite minor vine issues that will be dealt with shortly.   Saturday, August 6 View Page Also Brian's 621 fruit that was savaged by some animal lately. It will heal!!   Saturday, August 6 View Page Ned, this plant has changed gears now and we have 2 fruit that are gaining rapidly. My high hopes, are high again!!   Saturday, August 6 View Page Alan, I had a good swig on this beer before I took the picture, just for you! The 826.5 continues to pack the pounds on at a moderate rate. Looks good and the plant is healthy and happy so far. Going salmon fishing with my Uncle Chris tomorrow (now known as just Chris or perhaps UC) and am looking forward to seeing his and Tom's 826.5 plants.   Saturday, August 6 View Page Had a great time out on Chris's boat at Point Roberts in Washington State just across the our border were he keeps his beauty boat. This is a picture of Tom's 826.5 main vine fruit that is growing on top of a bush in a very awkward spot. He will need to provide some support but this is the same spot he grew his big one last year....great job Tom!!   Saturday, August 6 View Page Every year, my buddy Tom does something in his patch just to bug/bother/irritate me. This year he has a side vine fruit wrapped around a 4X4 post and it has broken the fence board behind it. By some miracle, it is continuing to grow and fatten out on either side of the post.   Saturday, August 6 View Page This is Chris's 826.5 side vine fruit that has grown quickly to 49" in circ. in just 19 days. This one is growing great but the one on his main vine has faltered somewhat. There is another fruit on one of the last secondaries and it is growing at a quick pace too. These 826.5 plants are nice growers and seem to set fruit really easy....can't wait to see how the colour turns out. Glenn   Friday, August 12 View Page The 826.5 is steadily gaining 10 lbs per day with little effort on my part right now. I've tried over-watering, under-watering and a few other tricks but all to no avail....this fruit just wants to gain 10 lbs per day. That is basically the same pace that I got with my PB and if it wants to gain like that till the end of September, then it will be all good!! My 803 fruit is taking off like mad and is growing 9" OTT each day now. It is a couple of weeks behind schedule but with this growth, it will catch up soon. I will post 20 day pics in a few days.   Sunday, August 14 View Page Ned, here one fruit on the 803 that will reach day 20 this wednesday. It is right on track to be 50" plus in circumference so I'm pleased with that. I'm chasing Lawman with this plant and he has about a 1 week jump on me. Thats OK, I can feel myself just reeling him in slowly over time!!   Sunday, August 14 View Page Here is the 14 day old fruit on the main of the 803. It is also gaining about 8" OTT each day. Both fruit on this plant were pollinated in late July and have some catching up to do. Fortunately, I gave this plant the lions share of my patch so its engine should push it along nicely.   Tuesday, August 16 View Page Bad news for my neighbour Brian. Last night he was working in his yard and said to me "one of my pumpkins blew up" so I said "well maybe we can fix it" to which he replied "I think it is a bit late, I can fit my whole arm inside the pumpkin." Well no kidding....at least he has another one on the main vine.   Tuesday, August 16 View Page Better news for my buddy Steve with his 958 plant. This fruit is growing at a pretty good pace right now and is gaining 10-12 lbs per day. He is away for a week and I am tending for him. I'm tempted to do some trimming for him but there were no instructions left so I better not!!   Tuesday, August 16 View Page And here is one of 2 fruit on Uncle Chris's 826.5 plant. He is also getting some pretty decent daily gains and is now well over 100 lbs with this one. I'm pretty sure that he will be pleased with growth in the next few weeks too.   Wednesday, August 17 View Page Ned, here is our 803 on the secondary at 20 days with a 53" circ. The main vine fruit is 3 days behind and is already at 46" circ. They are both growing at a nice pace and our weather could not be more perfect.   Wednesday, August 17 View Page This pic shows the main vine fruit on the 803 and also an empty beer that was chugged down in memory of Alan's (saxomaphone) backyard fruit on the 716 Makarchuk that split on him. It is a shame cause he was on his way to 1000 lbs or better. At least you have the farm satelite patch and will still have something to look forward to. Cheers Alan/Glenn   Saturday, August 20 View Page Went out to Uncle Chris's house again today to do some pumpkining, but mainly to go fishing. This is the haul that we saw brought in. So many fish that they had to hand unload the net before the winch and pulley system would allow the weight to be brought onboard. Truely an amazing sight!! This was in Point Roberts in Washington State, go buy fresh fish in the morning if you live in the area, or better yet, go drop a line or two in the water. Thanks UC, a great day!! (oh ya, and his pumpkin grew too)   Thursday, August 25 View Page Here is Steve's fruit on his 958 van Kooten. Looks like we have a good old horserace ahead of us with Lawman leading the pack, Glenn in a good solid spot and Steve starting to close in on us down the home stretch. It is day 30 in a few days on my rapidly growing fruit on the 803 plant. I will be chasing them both and hopefully pack on a bunch of inches and pounds throughout September when their fruits start to slow down. I wish I was able to set a fruit on the 803 plant earlier than I did as this pumpkin is the fastest growing fruit I have ever had. Will update from my patch in a day or 2.   Saturday, August 27 View Page Ned, here is the 803 at day 30. It is gaining steadily and maintaining the great round shape that it started with and is still smooth and shiny. Hopefully our Pacific Northwest Weather will cooperate and this fruit will continue on the pace that it has set for another 30 days. The 826.5 Shymanski continues to pack on the pounds and has picked up the pace over the past few days. It is on track to be a great porch pumpkin and at its current pace will not break any records but should be in the 400-500 lb range. Great shape and really nice orange colour and that is what I was going for with this plant. The fruit is at about 50 days so I have expected the gains to level out and go down slightly. Time will tell. Look out Lawman and Steve, here comes Glenn's 803.   Saturday, August 27 View Page Alan, I raised a beer for you before this pic. This is the 826.5 that continues to grow at about 7-9 lbs per day. The fruit is at day 53 today and the plant is in rough shape due to what I think is a nutrient deficiency but it is yet to be determined. Never the less, it continues to grow outwards and upwards so I'm pleased about that. Sitting at about 240 lbs right now. Not the fastest horse in the race but has staying power. I think that this seed has great potential. I really like the pulp mill belting that I am using this year....thanks to Craig for that!! I was able to share with some buddies too and they thank you as well.   Wednesday, August 31 View Page I've been nursing this stem split on the 826.5 for a couple of weeks and now after a few days of heavy rains, it appears to go into the cavity. It all but stopped growing over the past few days and I fear it is toast!! I've packed it the best I can and will monitor it for a few days before deciding what to do. The 803 continues to pack it on a a pretty good rate and I'm very pleased with its progress.   Friday, September 2 View Page This is a shot of my Uncle's fruit that is also growing at a steady rate. He has 2 pumpkins on this plant that will be decent carvers and he has had a very successuful rookie season. Plans are in the works to expand the patch area, looking at bigger and better for next year already!!   Friday, September 2 View Page Squirrel!! I'm back to asking for a family vote of trap or pellet gun....this can go no further! I've got at least 2 of them that are tormenting me.   Friday, September 2 View Page One of my 2 girls out in the patch helping out. Our 803 is at 35 days now and growing. The 958 in Steve's patch is gaining very quickly while he is away yet again with family at the lake. He will be very pleasantly surprised with the gains that his white/pinkish pumpkin has put on.   Saturday, September 3 View Page Your right Lawman, this is no beauty contest!! Here is Steve's fruit on the 958. It is gaining steadily and he is on pace to improve on his PB from 2003!! So in our 3 way horserace, we have Lawman narrowly hanging onto his early lead, Steve chasing him and closing the gap day by day and Glenn waiting for the home-stretch to ask his plant for a little more. Should be a great race to the scales.   Tuesday, September 6 View Page A nice day in BC! We've had some heavy rain, cold, and now back to real nice in the day and chilly in the evening. The 826.5 is still growing despite the stem split and is ribbing more and the orange is getting deeper. Our 803 is gaining nicely still and the plant has many healthy vines that the squirrels have not gotten to yet.   Tuesday, September 6 View Page First day of school for my daughter and a beauty day to have a beer for Alan in my patch in full sun! 826.5 getting some needed rays.   Thursday, September 8 View Page Uncle Chris was visiting his daughter Shannon and family, and what did he find?? A very nice spot indeed!! Here are a few pumpkins enjoying the great view.   Thursday, September 8 View Page Main vine squirrel damage. I managed to trap and "relocate" one of the rodents but there are lots lined up to take its place. I've grown pumpkins in this patch for 5 years and never had any squirrel damage before. I guess they have aquired a taste for something in the stems/vines. I've placed water dishes, there is plenty of food available, they just have learned this new trick. Its not just 1 of them, but a bunch that are doing this now. Off to Canadian Tire to buy a CO2 powered pellet gun with scope and lazer aim. The plant and vines have have received so much damage that I fear my pumpkins won't put on the weight I was hoping for this month...........I hate squirrels now!!   Thursday, September 8 View Page On a more positive note, here is one of the 2 pumpkins growing on Uncle Chris's 826.5. Still gaining moderately and currently sits at about 200 lbs while his second fruit is around 155 lbs. Can't wait to help him rototill and build his new patch for next year!!   Saturday, September 10 View Page This is my neighbour, Brian's pumpkin on his 1033 plant. He had a couple of fruit split on him and this one is a late pollination. Looks alot like a pear and is around 175-200 lbs right now.   Saturday, September 10 View Page OK Lawman, I noticed that your past few posts have mysteriously been missing measurements. In cop lingo I think that is "withholding information" or in pumpkin talk you are "sandbagging". Here is Steve's 958 fruit that is still growing and sits at 249 OTT or 333 lbs. Looks like the horserace is now, Steve taken over from the Lawman, Glenn turning for home and giving his fruit the juice and Lawman fading back to his righfull spot behind the top two.   Saturday, September 10 View Page The 803 still growing but oddly not turning orange like Ned's. That's OK, I like how this one is starting to fatten out now and is ribbing up. My brother reports in that he has a nice pumpkin on his 1033 plant in Point Roberts at his partner Leslie's house. I can't confirm it at this point but fear that my bro might have a pumpkin to challenge us all with. Expecting a picture from him soon. Growing at a fast pace and is somewhere around day 40.   Sunday, September 11 View Page Wish I had started this sooner! Glenn 7, Squirrels 0. Took a family vote (always the rule in our home) and once again I got out voted by the girls. I was advocating some "deep water" swimming leasons but the girls made sure we went with the "relocation program". Caught 7 since friday. It means driving these buggers over the bridge, into scary East Vancouver and dropping off near the Lawman's house.   Sunday, September 11 View Page This is the leaf problem that has plagued our patch this year. It started early in July and only effected one of my 2 plants. It has now spread to the other plant and I fear it to be soil related. I completed stopped foliar feeding fearing that I was burning them so I don't think it is anything that I am or have been using. I'm going to post a question and hope for some insight. Thanks in advance/Glenn   Monday, September 12 View Page Here is my brother's pumpkin that was pollinated on August 6th. This is from the 1033 van Kooten and has been a very quick grower for being so late pollinated. Being grown in a beauty waterfront spot just across the border in from us in Point Roberts, Washington State.   Wednesday, September 14 View Page Here is Steve with his 958 van Kooten fruit that now sits at 256 OTT. Still gaining a bit each day and we are having our typically nice September weather. Hope this continues to pack it on as Steve has worked hard to improve his personal best this year. I hope he does it!!   Wednesday, September 14 View Page Ned, here is Pancake Jr. The 803 fruit also continues to chug along at a decent pace and is getting ever wider each day. Now sitting at 240 OTT and chasing the Lawman. So I guess our little 3 way horserace now sits with Steve assuming the lead as we swing for home, the Lawman biting his nails somewhat as his charge starts to weaken and Glenn slowly chipping away at the Lawman and it could only be a matter of time!!   Wednesday, September 14 View Page Here are my 2 best friends and the greatest patch helpers a guy couuld ask for. The 826.5 Shymanski X sibb that has stopped growing and sits at an estimated 300 lbs. Off to a certified scale. After being weighed, I'm going to loan this pumpkin on a rotating basis to some of our weigh-off sponsors. A couple more local businesses have joined our team and we actually have some prize money to give out at the weigh-off this year. As the businesses gear up for the Halloween season, this will provide a nice centre piece for them. I'm please with how the shape and colour turned out and will try this seed again for sure.   Sunday, September 18 View Page Here is one of Chris's 826.5 fruit that has kept him interested in pumpkin growing this year. There is another one further out on the plant doing very well too. I may to arrange for transportation to the weigh-off for my Uncle as apparently he has plans for Singapore. Lawman, dude with the space you have, we give you full credit for growing something that will go in the 400-500 lb range at weigh off time. This year, we will see your name much higher on the list at the North Shore News Pumpkin Weigh-off, that is a given. More to come....   Sunday, September 18 View Page Next door at Brian's house is his 1033. Man, there are going to be alot of white-ish/yellow fruit at our weigh-off this year. Hope there are lots of other growers that bring some nice orange ones this year too. Looks like our weigh-off plans are coming together and sponsors have ponied up with some cash and more prizes this year. Nothing huge to offer but it is a start in the right direction for this 3 year old weigh-off. Took our 826.5 fruit to the Harvest Festival in Edgemont Village where we live in North Vancouver for display. A nice day in the sun with music and food, and of course, everone loves the giant pumpkins!!   Thursday, September 22 View Page Borrowed my good neighbour's truck and with help from the Boyz, we loaded up the 826.5 to be weighed at Greg's place of business on an official scale. Measured in at 98-69-71 or 238 OTT and est. of 293 lbs.   Thursday, September 22 View Page And here is the official 321 Dixon '05. This fruit came in at 9.6% over the 2005 estimate tables so I'm not displeased with that. I would have liked to keep it healthy and on the vine for a longer period of time but had obligations to sponsors. It is bringing in alot of customers to Gardenworks, and they are having a guess the weight contest with the winner winning a gift certificate for in-store products and proceeds going to a local charity....its all good!!   Thursday, September 22 View Page Here is the fruit on the main of the 803. It is over 200 lbs now and still gaining at a modest pace. Will be a nice carver, I just could not cull this one and glad I didn't.   Thursday, September 22 View Page And, the larger fruit on a secondary of the 803 plant. This fruit was gaining at a great rate and then the squirrel issue basically cut the growth rate by 75% per day. With the amount of damage on the vine leading to the fruit and the damage on the main vine before the fruit, I'm amazed that it is still growing at all. I trapped and re-located a total of 9 squirrels in 4 days. Just recently a new one showed up so out went the trap. I will not wait so long next year.....these things are dumb as cows (no offence to any dairy or cattle farmers)and really easy to catch. Each year there has been a learning curve, I just may get it right again some year soon!!   Wednesday, September 28 View Page This is a pumpkin on one of my brothers friend's 1033 van Kooten plant. For a first year grower, I would say he did a nice job.   Wednesday, September 28 View Page And here is my brother's 1033 fruit that he has growing at his girlfriend's home. Looking good and sits at about 300 lbs on day 50. This was planted in an unprepared, very small garden area and was late pollinated. This 1033 van Kooten seed obviously has great size potential with some more attention to detail. I'd say my bro and Leslie have done a fine job!!   Wednesday, September 28 View Page Just wanted to show the small growing area that is supporting this 1033 fruit. Pretty amazing that so little plant can support such a large fruit!   Friday, October 14 View Page This is the smaller of the 2 fruit on the 803 plant. Have now cut it from the vine and it is in the back of our jeep in preparation for going to the Nanaimo Pumpkin Festival on Vancouver Island. This pumpkin is 222 OTT and est. of 240 lbs. We are looking forward to; 1) nice weather for the day 2) meeting a great bunch of growers 3) seeing all the nice Island grown giants 4) not being the smallest fruit there 5) weighing slightly over the charts See you there/Glenn   Sunday, October 16 View Page The Nanaimo weigh-off was fantastic. Here is Craig with his 1068 Wallace X 645 Bobier (foreground) and the 898 Knauss X 845 Bobier with us in the back. Which one is bigger?   Sunday, October 16 View Page This was the 898 from Craig. It thumped when it hit the scale!!   Sunday, October 16 View Page Here is the winner with the cash in his hand. Also won a nice gold ring and the big honours!! Nice to meet Craig and Darlene and had fun on the sidelines while all the work was done.   Sunday, October 16 View Page Jake, Dave, and the entire loading crew were having troubles harnessing the 803 fruit brought from North Vancouver. I think the lifting ring was not calibrated for such a diameter.   Sunday, October 16 View Page Here is Jake pointing out that the Dixon 279 '05, is actually 16.25% over the 2005 charts. So we; 1) managed to have great weather, the Island is awesome 2) met too many nice growers and family to mention now 3) the Island fruit were outstanding 4) was not the smallest fruit there 5) over the charts significantly Most of all had a great time and will go next year for sure!!   Sunday, October 16 View Page A partial view of the line-up from the the Island. Apparently a couple of "Islanders" are going to come over the the North Vancouver Weigh-off to try and keep the Isand reign alive. Bring it on....Lawman is just waitin' for ya!!   Monday, October 17 View Page OK Lawman, here is my pumpkin (still plugged into the soil right now)and it too is not growing. Don't know why you would go and harvest yours but rookie mistakes do happen. Make sure you store that pumpkin in your heated garage until the weigh-off!! Steve's 958 van Kooten sits at 267" OTT, the Lawman's 621 Pley has been harvested and sits at 255" OTT and Glenn's 803 Sandercock is at 251" OTT. My first 803 fruit that we weighed in Nanaimo was 16.25% heavy to the charts so I am hoping that this one will carry on that tradition for me. Should be fun at the scales. Don't worry Lawman, all the big Island fruit were weighed last weekend so there will be only a few secondary fruit making the trip unless Art Carefoot has a surprise for us.   Saturday, October 22 View Page Just one week till the weigh-off so this one will get harvested and lifted from the patch soon. Going to be harvesting a bunch of pumpkins next week in various back yards in preparation for the weigh-off next weekend.   Saturday, October 29 View Page From left to right is Steve, Lawman, Chad and myself. It looks like we are all laughing at my 373 but in actual fact we are ribbing the Lawman cause his pumpkin was next on the scale. I guess by now I don't have to tell you that not only did James get a personal best this year, but surpassed me by a full 13 lbs. More to follow...   Saturday, October 29 View Page James and I both pass the torch to Steve with his nice 470 lb fruit from the van Kooten seed. James beat me, Steve beat James for me....what a good buddy...thanks Steve!!   Sunday, October 30 View Page Here is my brother Ron's fruit from the 1033 van Kooten. The 1033 seed grew the most consistant large, round, big, orange fruit of any seeds that our group grew this year. I just love this picture....Happy Halloween!!   Saturday, November 5 View Page Here is a partial shot of some of the fruit at the weigh-off. We really got lucky with the weather.   Saturday, November 5 View Page Here is the carved 386 Lawman. Pretty amazing how orange this fruit turned after James started giving it daily rubs with olive oil. I would have paid money to see the Lawman rubbing down a pumpkin....the boyz at the station would laugh for days. Good job Lawman!!   Saturday, November 5 View Page And then there is our buddy Steve basking in the glory of beating the Lawman and myself at the scales. Too bad Steve is unable germinate seeds for himself and relies on his buddy Glenn for quality seeds and seedlings every year. Steve makes our local newspaper with his 470 Perrault on the scale. Good job Steve, next year will be different.   Saturday, November 5 View Page Here is Uncle Chris's pumpkin all carved up. Funny the carving job we did looks amazing like the look on his face most of the time!! Chris did a great job as a first year grower and is in the process of expanding his patch, collecting seaweed and kelp and adding compost to his soil. Great job Chris!!   Saturday, November 5 View Page And here is my 373 and 279 Dixon fruit from the 803 Sandercock. Once again we have had an amazing amount of traffic at the house and a number of people knocking on my door and asking for seeds. I'm always happy to give out seeds and enjoy all the questions that are asked. Boy some people have wacky ideas about how we grow these plants...pretty funny!!   Saturday, November 19 View Page Some great weather in southern British Columbia so I had to take advantage while I could. Manure and compost has been spread and to that I am tilling in 200 lbs of "Turface" calcined clay, 50 lbs gypsum, 25 lbs kelp meal, greensand and a product called Genica SC-100 from International Bio Recovery right here in North Vancouver. Interesting product with a patented digestion technology (enhanced autogenous thermophilic aerobic digestion) which turns organic wastes into high quality soil fertility products.   Saturday, November 19 View Page This garden area is the area that I tilled for my wife to grow veggies in. After much discussion and negotiating, I have re-claimed this area for the Lawman to use to grow a pumpkin in if he so chooses. It has got approximately 300 sq. ft. of soil area and a plant can be grown in a modified flag pattern and some secondaries over the grass. I am building another raised bed for my wife which will be more manageable in size for her to take care of. My wife rocks!! Giving up her growing area so that the Lawman has somewhere to grow. If James decides not to use this area, I will be using it myself to grow a plant myself.