Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 138 Entries. Monday, January 1 View Page Oh the winter is going to take too long. I can't wait until next season. Here is a picture of the patch before any pre-fall preparations.   Monday, January 1 View Page Due to some space issues that I experienced in last years patch, I have decided to expand, after some convincing of my fiance. I asked pretty much right after I proposed to her with a big ring. Here you can see the area is still grass, but not for long. I also put up a more sturdy fence to keep the new puppy out.   Monday, January 1 View Page After four hours of tilling, the patch is ready for the winter. Come spring I will take some soil samples and till it again.   Monday, January 1 View Page Good luck to all.   Monday, February 26 View Page I am now trying to figure out which seeds I will be growing next year. I have alot of good plants (from Steve Bhaskaran and Don Chambers, thanks guys) to choose from so I should have no problem finding a couple promising seedlings next spring. Next seasons possibilities include 1193, 725, 1068, 790, and 974.5 Bhaskarans, a 1097 Beachy, a 924 Sherwood, and 1081 Wentzell. I cant wait until spring. In the meantime, I have to build cold frames, buy soil heating cables and controls, and keep bugging a couple labs to take my soil for analysis. Nobody wants to reply.   Tuesday, February 27 View Page As you can see, spring is still a little ways around the corner in our neck of the woods.   Tuesday, April 17 View Page Could it be? Is spring finally here? Judging by the looks of the patch, it may be so. My excitement for planting in the next couple weeks is growing.   Tuesday, April 17 View Page I have my pumpkin pallets ready to go. Covered in landscape fabric, they allow me to use sand to support the pumkins during growth, but also allow the water to drain through preventing rot.   Tuesday, April 17 View Page To avoid a late start this year, a friend of mine who works for Tyco Thermal Products shipped me 50ft of underground heating cable to ensure the seedlings stay nice and warm. I am also going to build a couple hoop houses to ensure the seedlings are protected from the wind and pesky hail.   Thursday, April 19 View Page I completed one of two necessary hoop houses today. 7 pieces of 1/4" cpvc, 5'l x 5'w x 4'h. Total roughly $50 with fittings, glue and plastic (to be fitted shortly). Should provide plenty of room for three weeks growth as well as protection from any nasty frosts which may show up. Who knows with this weather we have been having....snow in April, and 70 degrees in March.   Thursday, April 19 View Page Let there be power...and water...and fertilizer...and why not a network connection for a webcam. Got it all installed today. No worries about power/water problems, got it on a GFCI and set it up so a rubber boot sits on the top of the power post and ensures it is waterproof. The power is needed for the undergroup heating cables. Fertilizer is injected directly into the drip irrigation system. The watering system has an inline filter, backflow preventer, fertilizer injection chamber, and splitter with shutoffs (one for each plant).   Friday, April 20 View Page Did my spring tilling today. I also dug both pits for my plants.   Friday, April 20 View Page What are the secret ingredients of my pits??? Sheep manure anyone? Three layers which equate to 120lbs per pit. This is in addition to the 10 yards of composted cow manure I brought in last fall.   Friday, April 20 View Page Here is the finished view of my patch prep. I have one of two hoop houses done too. Just need to build the last one and lay out the irrigation system. Plants should be going in next weekend. I will be preparing the seedlings tonight.   Friday, April 20 View Page Here is a nice view of pit 1 with its hoop house and mound.   Friday, April 20 View Page Don't you just love it when the wife (left) and her friend help you out with the patch. Gardening is difficult work and I need all the supervision I can get.   Friday, April 20 View Page Here is the first set of stepping stones layed out in the garden. From now on, no feet will step in the soil, except for the very outside edge. The remaining stones will go between vines as the grow.   Friday, April 20 View Page I got my soil analysis in my email today. Looks like I need to add 5lbs of nitrogen and 3lbs of phosphorus. Other than that, things are looking good. Ph may me a little high at 7.4, though I think it will be ok. I will try to lower it a bit this upcoming fall.   Tuesday, April 24 View Page Completed my soild ammendments today. Here is 20lbs of bloodmeal over 300 square feet. Only 10 feet from the plant, so there isnt too much N during flowering.   Tuesday, April 24 View Page Here is 20lbs of bonemeal over the entire patch. I didn't need any greensand or potash. The only thing now that is a little off is my pH at 7.4.   Tuesday, April 24 View Page Here is a completed hoop house. 6 mil vapor barrier and some nice dollar store clips. So now the total cost is roughly $60 but it will likely have a very long lifetime.   Tuesday, April 24 View Page Here is the back of the hoop house. I can remove a clip or two to provide some ventilation, or I can open the whole end up if it gets real warm (the other side is completely removable as well). I put a digital thermometer that can record max and min of both inside and outside so I will see what effect it has. Tonight it it supposed to go down to 40F. Should be interesting to see how warm it stays in there.   Thursday, April 26 View Page This is my second attempt with my Bhaskaran 1193 (my number one choice). The first one went slimy very quickly. Doesn't matter, this one is good. Went into the soil today.   Thursday, April 26 View Page I began germinating all of my lineup in individual plastic beer cups inside damp paper towels. It worked great last year, but not as good this year. Maybe it isnt warm enough. I have only had three germinate so far in 6 days (last year all were done by then). I selected 3 seeds (in order preference, all from David Bhaskaran, 1193 06, 1068 06, and 790 06) and my fiance selected 3 as well (974.5 Bhaskaran 06, 924 Lori Sherwood 03, 1097 Beachy 03). Finally, there was one for both of us (725 Bhaskaran 06). The three which have germinated so far are the 1068 (broke the surface today), the 974, and the 1193.   Thursday, April 26 View Page So, as I forgot to mention in the last entry, I have decided to try the cd case method. I have a heating blanket which I sit the pots on during sprouting and I slipped the case in between some folds. Anyhow, I never trusted peat pots to let roots through, and since there is a big cost if I trust them and I am wrong I decided to try something new. The idea of transplating sounds even worse to me with the possibility of set back. I have decided to take some peat pots and make many slots on the sides and bottom. Then I cover the entire thing with plastic wrap. It keeps the dirt in, and lets you look for any roots. When you are ready to plant, remove the wrap and set in the ground. Perfect!!!   Thursday, April 26 View Page As we all know, the proper moisture levels are crucial to the seedlings. This meter allows you to quickly check if you do indeed need to water. Just stay towards the outside edge so as not to damage any roots. I suppose some root damage is still possible, but if some occurs, it will likely only be one of many small hairlike roots.   Thursday, April 26 View Page Here is my "sprouting case". A tupperware contained with a heating blanket on the bottom. Some nice folds to stick cd cases in for yet to germinate seeds and a large center area to place pots. I peeked into the soil last night because I was beginning to worry about one of my seeds (in dirt and nothing in 4 days). It seems the seed was still very deep (1.5"), but had at least turned sideways so I was making its way. I decided then to put the heating blanket into action. I wish I have done so earlier, as by morning the seedling broke dirt. That amazed me.   Thursday, April 26 View Page Ahhhh, the first to break soil. Such a load of my shoulders. Unfortunately this was planted prior to my custom peat pots, so I will have to transplant this one carefully. This is the 1068 Bhaskaran 06. Time from filing/wetting to emergence was 6 days (5 with no bottom heat, my bad).   Thursday, April 26 View Page Once any seeds sprout, they get removed from the heat and are put downstairs in the grow room. I have fans running and I water with a little no damp added to prevent that kind of headache.   Sunday, April 29 View Page Here is a nice stack of one dozen right yellow buckets. This will be part of a complete attack against the pesky SVB. I ordered a pheremone lure and a bucket trap to detect when they are present. The buckets will be throughout the patch with a bit of water in each. Further, I will be making alternating sprayings of Conquer CS (esfenvaler) and Demand CS (lambda cyhalothrin). This should ensure my success.   Sunday, April 29 View Page Here is the 1068 Bhaskaran looking ready for the patch. I have the heater on, and it is ready for plants.   Sunday, April 29 View Page The second attemp at my number one choice, the 1193 Bhaskaran. The first seed went soft. This one broke the surface less than a week after filing/soaking. I cant wait to see how it does.   Monday, April 30 View Page Here is the 974 Bhaskaran. Was the first to go out. It looks as though the 1068 is a little ahead of it though.   Monday, April 30 View Page Here is the 1068 Bhaskaran. Best looking so far. This is day 10 in the grand scheme of things.   Monday, April 30 View Page Here are all three plants of plot two. I have had some back luck with germination so far. In round one, I am 3 for 8. Many rotted, so I should re-evaluate my techniques. I am not sure what is wrong. I file the seeds, soak for one hour, use the damp paper towel method, using no damp, and put in pots when I see a root. Should be straightforward. Will keep you up to date with new attempts.   Tuesday, May 1 View Page Here is the Bhaskaran 1068 at day 12. Looks like it is doing well.   Tuesday, May 1 View Page This is my fiances first choice. Its the Bhaskaran 974. It is 12 days old.   Tuesday, May 1 View Page This is my #1. The 1193 Bhaskaran. This one is 9 days old.   Tuesday, May 1 View Page I fed the beasts for the first time today. I hope this will kick them into high gear. A little 15-30-15 never hurt anything.   Tuesday, May 1 View Page Aha, mother nature is turning on the hate. Today was the first hail, which I might add, rudely woke me from a nice afternoon nap. I knew the sound as soon as I heard it. Last year, some hail damaged my seedlings. This year, the 6 mil plastic of the greenhouse ensured that no hail reached the plants. There was not even a mark on the plastic.   Thursday, May 3 View Page I finally got the webcam, sorry, the pumpkin cam setup and focused on the patch. It is not meant to be used for something so far away so it is quite blurry, but it still works enough to see whats going on. To view the pumpkin cam: http://anubis.pointclark.net:8090 Feel free to visit as much as you like. The more the merrier.   Friday, May 4 View Page I got the irrigation system (temporary) setup for the seedlings in plot 2 today. I ordered a bunch of stuff from drip works for the new system this year. I will be using T-Tape (like a soaker) alongside all of the vines. Should be a good setup. Last year, I ran 1/4" drops of a 1/2" mainline and it took forever cutting the proper length drop to each node, plus putting in the emitter, plus the transfer barb. Now, I just run the tape with a transfer barb next to each vine of the main 1/2" and put a little soil on each node. I will also run a length of t-tape next to the main vine. I had to do what you see in this picture for each node last year (800 of them). No more. I have the timer set for twice a day, for 5 minutes each. There are 10 1GPH emitters. This means a total of 1.67 gallons a day for these seedlings. In the end, the patch will get 1000 gallons a week, so roughly 140 gallons a day.   Friday, May 4 View Page Here is a picture of plot 2 with all three seedlings, the greenhouse, the heater, and the irrigiation system.   Friday, May 4 View Page Here is our champion 1068 Bhaskaran so far on day 15. Far ahead of the others.   Friday, May 4 View Page Here is Kristins first pick, the 974 Bhaskaran on day 15. Not too bad.   Friday, May 4 View Page Getting the greenhouse for plot #1 ready. Ordered a cheapy heater last night. Started the seeds last night. Nothing yet. The plants should be in here by next weekend, or shortly thereafter, I hope. So far this season is going pretty smoothly, knock on wood. The only minor issues so far have involved the germination. We shall see how this second round ends up (hopefully better than 3 for 8).   Sunday, May 6 View Page Here is our champ (1068) on day 17. Looking good.   Sunday, May 6 View Page Another line in the SVB defense. Though it doesn't look like it, this pot is 2 feet across. Inside are 8 green hubbard seeds, which will likely be reduced to 3, to attract the borers. This is supposed to be the most susceptible and attractive to the borers. I put it into a pot so that if any grubs make it into the hubbard vine (no for consumption, it will be sprayed too) they will burrow into the soil in the pot. Once the season is over, I will bring the soil elsewhere, search, and destroy. I will get new soil for this type of thing each year. I think it will work well.   Tuesday, May 8 View Page Our best is still the 1068 Bhaskaran. This is day 19.   Tuesday, May 8 View Page I got the second greenhouse setup today. The heater will be going in on the weekend. Then the plants will follow. I also put the sunflower stakes in. You can see them along the back.   Thursday, May 10 View Page Here is the 1068, still browing strong. We got alot of rain last night, but the hoop house prevented everything from getting completely soaked. I want to do everything I can to prevent and fungii from becoming established. Has a bad powdery problem, and unfortunately must use the same plot again. I will have to be prventative and keep an eye on everything.   Thursday, May 10 View Page Man, my typing is horrid in the last post. I should read everything before I submit. Anyhow, this is Kristin's first selection for patch 2. Unfortunately she will have to kill it since the 1068 is doing much better on the same day. Last night I had Kristin select 3 seeds to start in patch 1. These are some of the seeds that Steve Z helped me to scrape up in a hurry (thanks). I will be starting a couple others from the other generous growers, and will be putting in a seedling or two that I will be picking up tonight from Sav Spada. I may have to add another plant to the first set since I have quite a selection to pick through now. Thanks to everyone for helping get back on track. So, back to Kristin's choices. They are (in order of preference): 1. 1040 PLATTE 2006 (1273 HOWARD X 1029 KURILICH) 2. 868.5 SWARTS 2006 (1420 LARUE X 1022 SWARTS) 3. 1008 HOWARD 2006 (1054 HOWARD X 1273.5 HOWARD) I also selected 3 seeds to start in the second patch (in order of preference): 1. 691 EDWARDS (1370 ROSE X 1068 WALLACE) 2. 1302 ZUHLKE (1370 ROSE X 810 DILL) 3. 1209 WELLS (1370 ROSE X 1225 JUTRAS) Onfortunately, only 3 of these will go into the patch, but it will ensure that the 3 that go in will be the best.   Thursday, May 10 View Page Here is a pic of the hoop house wide open in patch 2. So far so good. I hope we can keep this nice weather coming.   Tuesday, May 15 View Page I got this little guy from Sav. Its one of the plants involved in the GVGO endorsed seed program. The winner gets $600 for the largest of 1. 941.5 MacKenzie, 2. 901.5 Leonard 06 or 3. 1058.5 Timm 06. We shall see. Its pretty small now, but it should pick up in a day or two.   Tuesday, May 15 View Page The 941.5 MacKenzie is really picking up pace. It just wanted to be in the ground.   Tuesday, May 15 View Page Here is the 1068, still the number candidate in plot #2. I think the vine will start running pretty soon. Does it get any better than this?   Thursday, May 17 View Page I think since it got colder in the last day or two, the heater ran non stop. I think I left it too close to one plants. Only one leaf is affected and the rest seems fine. The edge of the leaf crumbles in my hand. ARRRGGGHHHH!!!   Thursday, May 17 View Page Here is another picture of my heater + my stupidity.   Thursday, May 17 View Page ...and another.   Thursday, May 17 View Page Here is a general pic of the Bhaskaran 1068. Growing like mad. I hope this heater thing doesnt take it out.   Thursday, May 17 View Page The hubbard trap crop is up and growing. This is the year that the SVB regrets showing up in my neighborhood.   Thursday, May 17 View Page The green house in plot #2 is getting quite full. The plants have been outsite for over two weeks now and are growing strong. Pretty soon I will have to remove the other two to make room.   Thursday, May 17 View Page This is Kristins pick for plot #1. The only plant out there now is the 941.5 MacKenzie and it is not growing very much. This is only day 8. I cant believe how fast it is growing.   Wednesday, May 30 View Page Ahhhh, the patch is overrun with weeds. This is not going to be fun.   Wednesday, May 30 View Page Here are the new enclosures for the plants. No more heating, but still wind and hail protection.   Wednesday, May 30 View Page Here is the Bhaskaran 1068 on day 41. Looking great. It has a 2.5' primary. Going to start burying it tomorrow.   Wednesday, May 30 View Page Here are plants in plot 1. The MacKenzie 941.5 and the 1008 Platte. The 1008 will be staying here. Am also growing the 1302 Zuhlke.   Tuesday, June 5 View Page Here is the 1068 Bhaskaran on day 47. It has a main vine length of 8 feet. Several secondaries are in but under the main leaves. Not sure why the secondaries are not so long yet. They should show soon. This plant is growing almost 12" a day on the main. Pinched off the first baby already at 4 feet.   Tuesday, June 5 View Page The leaves on the 1068 are huge. I cant wait to see how this season progresses.   Wednesday, June 6 View Page More weeds, I need to get these under control.   Wednesday, June 13 View Page Here is one of the GVGO potential prizewinners, the MacKenzie 951.5.   Wednesday, June 13 View Page This is Kristin's choice in plot #1, the 1040 Platte 2006.   Wednesday, June 13 View Page Ah, the 1302 zuhlke, was only going to use if for pollen, but thats a crime. Will give it 400 sq feet to grow a big one.   Wednesday, June 13 View Page Long shot of plot #1, still lots of growing to do.   Wednesday, June 13 View Page These are the sunflowers which I hope to train the secondaries up to essentially create a wall of pumpkins leaves to pick up the late afternoon sun.   Wednesday, June 13 View Page This was the first plant in the ground. Seeded on April 20. This is day 55 and we have a 12 foot main with a total of 70 leaves.   Wednesday, June 13 View Page Its a regular sausage fest on the 1068. I clipped to ladies off since they were to close to the stump. The real ladies should start showing up in a couple more feet.   Wednesday, June 13 View Page Its a regular sausage fest on the 1068. I clipped two ladies off since they were to close to the stump. The real ladies should start showing up in a couple more feet.   Wednesday, June 13 View Page Does anyone know what this problem is? I have a severe case of this last year, and if it is something I can control, I would like to spray tonight. I sprayed isotox 7 days ago (June 8) and I started my regular bifenthrin sprayings last night (June 12). No other leaves look like this. I have daconil (contact) and chlorothalonil (systemic) just waiting to be put into the game. Any suggestions are welcome.   Thursday, June 21 View Page This is the Bhaskaran 1068. Doing very well. Growing almost 1' per day on the main vine. Here you can see that I am running T-Tape along every vine to provide the water and fertilizer drip. Haven't caught any SVB females in the yellow buckets yet, but I am thinking I will soon.   Thursday, June 21 View Page Here is a side view of the 1068. Better to see the watering system. This plant is growing like a monster.   Thursday, June 21 View Page The stump area of the Bhaskaran 1068 and 974 is getting very crowded. I need to clear it out and get those stumps covered with dirt and plastic to keep away SVBs and rain. Last thing I need is to lose any stumps.   Thursday, June 21 View Page Looky what we have here. The first female to be pollinated. This is on the 974 and has 5 lobes. Looking very good.   Thursday, June 21 View Page The aftermath of this type of encounter is never pretty. LOL.   Thursday, June 21 View Page This is the 974 which had the first female pollinated. This plant was going to be culled, but it was growing nice and my fiance chose it, so it was kept. It will only be a main vine and only has roughly 12 feet to grow.   Thursday, June 21 View Page Well, I think I should start paying attention more. The last 7 entries I made were from JUNE 15-19, not the 21. The entries from now on, are from the 21st. Dang. This is the 974 female, still getting bigger. This was pollinated on the 19th, so this is day 2. So excited!!!   Thursday, June 21 View Page Its a very windy day today. The 1008 Howard, which will be a great pollen parent, got knocked completely over. No sever damage though.   Thursday, June 21 View Page Here is Kristin's 1040 Platte. Her #1. She is getting excited too. It now has a main vine length of 7 feet. I clipped on small female at 5'.   Thursday, June 21 View Page Well I finally cleared out the stump areas in plot #2. Both are under dirt, greenhouse plastic and a bucket to ensure they stay dry and free of SBV and stump rot. This was done yesterday and the plant has definitely NOT shown any signs of slowing.   Thursday, June 21 View Page Here is my baby, the 1068. Its a maniac. Still one foot per day. Its at 16' on the main now. Has on female ready to pollinate tomorrow at 14' and one unfurling at the tip at 16'. One of these two will be the magic pumpkin, I know it.   Thursday, June 21 View Page This will be the first female to be pollinated on the 1068. ITs at 14' on the main. There are a ton of females being produced on secondaries. In fact, there is 1 or 2 females on all of the 7 secondaries so far. I dont think I will be pollinating any of them though.   Thursday, June 21 View Page Here is the 1302 Zuhlke. Looking pretty good. Vine is off and running.   Thursday, June 21 View Page Here is one of those bastards. A male. Third one caught in my bucket trap. No females sighted yet in my patch. Sav Spada has made positive contact with females in his though and its not far from my house.   Thursday, June 21 View Page Here is the plant growing at my buddies house. Its a 940 Hayward. This is day 37 for it. This plant will go the natural way. No node burying, no pesticides, no fungicides, very little attention. An experiment to see what is worth doing. I will be feeding it with 6-6-6 fish emulsion and spraying with 3-1-4 seaweed as a natural fungicide. We shall see.   Thursday, June 21 View Page The hubbard trap crop is doing well to. Not much of a crop I guess, but 2 plants will do. I search it with a fine toothed comb every day, and have yet to find any eggs. I use it as an indicator. There is no guarantee, but if I don't find eggs on it, there are not likely eggs on the pumpkins. Of course, the pumpkins are sparyed anyhow, and this is not sprayed at all. I do find many dead bugs throughout the patch, so I know the bifenthrin is doing its job nicely.   Thursday, June 21 View Page I have shifted into the organic fertilizers now. Using both a 3-1-4 seaweed from Canadian Tire, and a 6-6-6 fish emulsion.   Friday, June 22 View Page Here is the first female on the Bhaskaran 1068. It was self-pollinated on the 22nd of June, at 14' on the main. The first female on the Bhaskaran 974 was at 6'. There is only a main on this plant as it was intended only for pollen. It was cross-pollinated with the 1068.   Monday, June 25 View Page I am catching females now. You can see the proposcis(well you cant) but I can. I found one laying on a leaf during the brighest and hottest part of the day. Moved towards it and it almost let walk right up. It fly, but only one leaf over. I dont think it was feeling very good. Went to get the swatter and it was gone. I looked under a bunch of leaves for a carcas but found nothing. I am still not seeing any eggs on the hubbard squash and I check every leaf/vine every day. I think this is a good sign. I also found the first dead SVB in the yellow buckets (female) so I know they work too.   Monday, June 25 View Page Here is the 1040 Platte. It is really ramping up its growth now. It went 1ft on the main in the last 24 hours. The first female showed up to at roughly 8 feet on the main. Will clip it off.   Monday, June 25 View Page Here is the 1008 Howard. I already pruned the main, but new runners are popping out and are over a foot long now. This will make a great pollen parent. Flowers should be blooming in 5-7 days.   Monday, June 25 View Page Here is the first female pollinated on the 1068. Its at roughly 13 feet on the main. It was pollinated on the 22nd of June. Looking like it has taken so far. Crossing my finger.   Monday, June 25 View Page Here is the second female that will be pollinated on the 1068. Its at 15 feet and is looking good. Has the perfect position. Much better than the first female on the same plant. Keeping it cool with the ole ice pack. The thermometer show temp at the unit (84) and the temp on a cable 15 feet away (93). I also have this under an umbrella.   Monday, June 25 View Page Here is a shot further back of the second to be pollinated on the 1068. Umbrella and all. Its keeping everything almost 10 degrees cooler (9 actually).   Monday, June 25 View Page The 1302 Zuhlke off and running (and picking up speed).   Tuesday, June 26 View Page Here is the first pumpkin to be pollinated in the patch. Its on the 974 Bhaskaran. This is day 7 for it. This plant was only kept for pollen and a main vine, so it will be interesting to see how big it gets with only 40 leaves. So far so good.   Tuesday, June 26 View Page Here is the second female pollinated. Its on the 1068 Bhaskaran. This is day 4. Its 13 ft on the main, and was selfed. Nice and long, should be good for shape. Not sure if we will keep this one though. I have one in a better position opening in 2 days at 15' on the main.   Wednesday, June 27 View Page Here is a birds eye view of the north side of the patch. You can see the 974 (back) which seems to be less heat tollerant, though it does has less roots down, and the 1068 (front) which is doing great and has 2 females on it already.   Wednesday, June 27 View Page Here is the south side of the patch. You can see that it has not filled out yet, but it will with the 1302 in the corner, and the 1068 and 974 growing more and more every day.   Wednesday, June 27 View Page WOOPS, in the last two posts I said 974, I meant 1040 platte. Heres the north west corner with the Bhaskaran 974.   Wednesday, June 27 View Page Everyone says there are glaciers everywhere in Canada, well I live in Canada and I dont think glaciers would make it with temps like this. The hotter reading is from the "oustide" probe laying in the dirt in full sun, while the "inside" reading is taken at the unit under the umbrella, under a fan, next to frozen cooler packs. Still soooooo hot.   Wednesday, June 27 View Page Here is how you cool a nice female that is about to open in 100+ temps. The outside "in full sun" temp reading is 128 degrees, while its a nice cool 90 under the fan/umbrella/ice.   Wednesday, June 27 View Page We all know rockstar pumpkins need rock music. Well mine have it, 24hrs a day. WOOOOOOO!!!!   Wednesday, June 27 View Page For all of you out there who are not certain what an SVB egg looks like, have a look here. This is a high res closeup of an egg. I will post a collage of three eggs in the next post. THIS IS PERSONAL NOW!!!   Wednesday, June 27 View Page Here is the high res closeup with a flash so you can see that common brick red colour.   Wednesday, June 27 View Page Here is the egg collage. See how they are very tricky sometimes with the placement of the eggs. These are on my hubbard squash (which I only have to detect and pull SVB away from my pumpkins). If the vine wasnt climbing up the fence, I likely would not have found these guys.   Wednesday, June 27 View Page Here is what I am reduced to. Those SVBs will not take me out without a fight. This is an inspection mirror for mechnics from Canadian Tire. I will use it to search the undersides of vines as I found 4 out of 6 eggs today on the bottoms of the vines. ARRRGGGHH. Apparently it makes a nice cat scratching post too. LOL.   Wednesday, June 27 View Page Look at the size of these monster leaves.   Friday, June 29 View Page This is the first female to be pollinated on the 1040 Platte. Unfortunately, it opened when I was camping, so if it takes, the pollination was open. This is at about 10 feet on the main. There is another that will open at 15 feet on the main in a couple days.   Wednesday, July 4 View Page The last posts picture was actually the 1068 female 2. This is the picture that belongs with the last post. Open pollination took place on the 4th of July. The 1068 in the last picture was at 15 feet on the main vine and was pollinated on the 29th of June with the 1302 as a pollen parent.   Wednesday, July 4 View Page Here is a full view of the 1040 Platte. This is Kristin's #1 choice. Hoping it will do well.   Wednesday, July 4 View Page Here is a picture of the Bhaskaran 1068. It is a monster. We have 2 fruit growing on this already and one is already on day 12.   Wednesday, July 4 View Page Here is the first female pollinated on the 1068 at 13 feet. This is 12 days after pollination day. We left on Friday night to go camping and it was at 14", when we returned on Monday afternoon, it was 24". Out of control.   Wednesday, July 4 View Page Put up the first shade frame over the 1068 female 1. A couple saw horses, some 2x4s, a piece of plywood, and some tarp. Should be sufficient until 300-400 pounds.   Wednesday, July 4 View Page Completed shade frame. This is when the magic happens.   Wednesday, July 4 View Page Chilling underneath the shade frame on a new 2'x2' ceramic tile for protection.   Wednesday, July 4 View Page Of course before I put the shade frame up, I needed to clear aay a couple big leaves. Cut out 3 leaves and look at the space you can make.   Wednesday, July 4 View Page When I had cleared an opening for the pumpkin, I saw the coolest thing. Ever wonder why the leaves are huge and shaped like funnels? Well, AGs need lots of water and when it rains, the leaves catch it and it runs down the leaf stalk to the node where the tap roots are. Look at this watering pattern. My lines are out, but not where these wet marks are.   Wednesday, July 4 View Page I am 99 percent sure that although this looks like dirt, it is a dead SVB egg from the bifen sprayed patch. Dont quote me on it though. I didnt find more than 3 eggs on all AG plants, but I found more than 30 on the hubbard squash.   Wednesday, July 4 View Page A week after I pollinated the first on the Bhaskaran 974 (only a 7' main for the heck of it) this fruit had stopped growing. Now I see this on the bottom. Is this rot? or an abort?   Wednesday, July 4 View Page From a pest point of view, we are doing well, but they are around. On the hubbard trap crop, we have both cuke beetles and SVB. Here are a couple cukes.   Wednesday, July 4 View Page I thought SVBs only laid eggs individually, here I found 6 in one spot. I have also found a couple spots with 2. All in all, I found 34 eggs on two small squash plants today, but only 4 eggs on 1000 SQFT of AG which is sprayed weekly with Bifenthrin.   Wednesday, July 4 View Page It really seems the spraying is working. This bug looks like he has had happier days. Is he fused to the leaf? LOL. Let that be a lesson to SVBs.   Wednesday, July 4 View Page Big leaves you say? How about half the size of an umbrella. This leaf is 23" across.   Wednesday, July 4 View Page Here is what looks to be an SVB entry point on the hubbard plant. I cut the vine open to find nothing.   Wednesday, July 4 View Page I saved all of these eggs and put them in the screened in porch. I want to see how many more days it takes for these to hatch.   Thursday, July 26 View Page Well my digital camera has broken, so I haven't posted in a while. Things are going well. Here is a summary of what has been going on. 1. My Bhaskaran 1068 is on day 34, 220 OTT, 233.9 est. Last 24hrs it did 14.8 lbs. Should break 20lbs in 24hrs tonight. 2. Kristins 1040 Platte is on day 20, 119.5 OTT, 45.1 est. Last 24 hrs it did 4.8 lbs. Slow, but picking up pace. 3. No more SVBs. No more eggs, moths, nothing. Potential for a second wave is there, but not likely until September. All vines are buried now so that should hold them off. I will put out a new pheremone patch in my trap in a few weeks to see if anything shows up that warrants a spray. Not one borer got into my plants (THANKS BIFENTHRIN). 4. Both plants cover roughly 500 square feet. All vines have been terminated, buried, etc. I need to lay a few more irrigation lines tomorrow, but thats about it. We have been getting alot of rain in the last few days, so that is good too. 5. No signs of powdery mildew on the plants yet. A little on the hubbard, but they are across the yard, and have never been sprayed. I sprayed a second round of myclobutanil tonight, but only got through one plant and part of the other. 6. Doubled my water feeding, plus I am now giving the fertilizer injector 4 oz of seewead (1-3-6), 2 oz of fish emulsion (6-6-6) and 2 tablespoons of Potassium Sulphate, each day. 7. I used a 10% bleach solution to wash both fruits today, am covering at night with blankets, and have been regularly adding bags of sand to accomodate the ever growing fruit. 8. I ripped out the 1302 Zuhlke (sorry Steve), 1008 Howard, and the 974 Bhaskaran since they didnt have enough room to support a good fruit and could contribute to PM. 9. Here is a picture of the 1068 a few days ago. Looking nice, and turning orange a bit.   Tuesday, October 16 View Page Sorry for getting lazy. I certainly have not been lazy in the last week or two, getting the patch ready for next season. Our two pumpkins went 353 and 449 officially in Port Elgin. Not bad for second year, but next year is the turning point for me. Here are the pumpkins on the trailer.   Tuesday, October 16 View Page Here they are without us sitting on them.