Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 202 Entries. Tuesday, March 1 View Page This is the year of the diary!   Monday, April 25 View Page Time to organize the supplies for seed starting! I use the wet paper towel method for germination and then into the sterile seed starting mix with the goodies.   Tuesday, April 26 View Page 4/26/2011 Started several of my own seeds 1254 Boyce 10, 1099 Boyce 10, 1024 Boyce 10, my sleeper seed 500 Boyce 09 est. Also started 1605 Sweet 10, 1634 Werner 10, 991 Urena 2005.   Thursday, April 28 View Page 04/28/2010 Picture 1634 Werner 10 after 36 hours. All of my seedlings have sprouted except the 1605 Sweet 10. I will hold out a while longer on the Sweet. Come on baby, germ!   Friday, April 29 View Page The 1605 Sweet 10 still not germinating. Time to start some backups other than my own. 1618.2 Bryson 10 and I will try my hand at a green squash. The 800 Neily 2007, I would love to try another squash seed given to me by Art Kaczenski but I will wait to see if these additions germinate first.   Friday, April 29 View Page I am sick of the rain, rain and more rain!! I think I will start a giant tomato and try my luck, I have never attempted one before. Wendy & Huey gave me a book to borrow with information. So here we go with the 7.33 Hunt 10.   Sunday, May 1 View Page The 800 Neily squash and the 1618.2 Bryson are both germinated! The 1605 Sweet won't germ..... oh well, I hope I can get this seed from Ken again to try next year.   Saturday, May 7 View Page Time to start the Long Gourds. I plan to go with my 115.88 Boyce 09 and the 108.75 Eaton 10.   Saturday, May 7 View Page The Eaton and Boyce Long Gourds are up, but the Eaton is a little slower getting out of the gate. I will start the 106 Johnston/Butler 10 as a back up plant   Sunday, May 8 View Page OOPS... the above diary entry for the 106 Johnston Butler long gourd should have been entered on MAY 14th...... not the 7th.   Thursday, May 12 View Page The patch is about as dry as it is going to be I guess, so time to add the necessary admendments as recommended by my late April soil report. And Till baby Till!!   Friday, May 13 View Page LUCKY FRIDAY THE 13th, time to plant the pumpkins and squash! Here are my final 4 picks for this year. The 1634 Werner 2010, the 991 Urena 2005, the sleeper 500 Boyce est from 2009, and the 800 Neily 2007 squash.   Saturday, May 14 View Page Plants given away so far; two 1254 Boyce 10, one 1099 Boyce 10, one 500 Boyce 09 all to Donna. One 1024 Boyce 10 to Tim.   Saturday, May 14 View Page Also, earlier this spring, we mailed out 38 giant pumpkin and long gourd seeds to people that we met at weigh-offs and through "Hort.net". Received some very heartwarming thank you letters, pictures, and even a bag of chocolates from a California grower. Giant Veggie growers are some of the nicest people.   Friday, May 20 View Page We have been growing a few years now without a diary, so here are a few of our recent pumpkins and long gourds.   Friday, May 20 View Page This is our 1,208. A personal best for 2009, grown from F.1258 Dwelly 06 X M.926 Breznick 06. 14.38% Heavy. This was a fun one to grow! Big E Winner.   Friday, May 20 View Page Here is our 1,024 from 2010. F.1556.5 Werner 07 X M.1208 Boyce 09. Winner at the VT State Fair and another fun pumpkin to grow!   Friday, May 20 View Page Here is our 1,099 also in 2010. F. 731 Boyce 09 X M. 1556.5 Werner 07...9.41% Heavy. 4th place at the Vt Giant Pumpkin Growers GPC weigh-off.   Friday, May 20 View Page Last pumpkin in 2010 was the 1,254 Boyce. F. 1136.5 Connolly 09 X M. 1556.5 Werner 07. 6.07 % Heavy. Foaming stump on day 34. I learned a lot about foaming stumps with this plant. Big E winner for 2010.   Friday, May 20 View Page We like to grow long gourds too. This is our longest ever, the 115.88 Boyce grown in 2009 and currently the VT State Record. From the 104.25 Boyce 08 X self. The picture was taken at the Topsfield Fair. The Best and most enjoyable Fair in New England for Giant Pumpkins!   Friday, May 20 View Page GOALS for 2011!.... Grow our first giant squash and tomato. Better our personal best of 1,254 pounds for giant pumpkins, and 115.88 inches for the long gourd. A lot to shoot for. What would we be happy with, considering we are having the wettest spring in history, a pumpkin, squash, or gourd of any size at weigh-off time.   Saturday, May 21 View Page Emergency call from Huey, trouble! All of his pumpkin plants died while in their pots on the dining room table. We met up with Wendy and Huey and gave them the 1618.2 Bryson 10 and a 1254 Boyce 10. Both nice looking plants.   Monday, May 23 View Page Poor Huey, he has bad luck again! Cucumber Beetles pretty much devoured his plants. (Huey was supplied with two more pumpkin seedlings.)   Tuesday, May 24 View Page Huey has a woodchuck!! Which he caught before the little guy sturred up any trouble. Last year he had one that took up residence in his patch and caused some damage. Not this Year! Way to stay on top of things Huey!   Wednesday, May 25 View Page Another emergency call; Donna went out to check on her plants and found one of them GONE! Not certain which one, I brought Donna another pumpkin plant, the 1099 Boyce 10.   Thursday, May 26 View Page The 1634 Werner on day 13 the patch. Doing well inside the hut, considering the wet rainy weather and no lights or heating coils.   Thursday, May 26 View Page The 800 Neily at 13 days in the patch and doing well.   Thursday, May 26 View Page The 500 Boyce is doing well also, but a little behind the others.   Thursday, May 26 View Page And last but not least, the 991 Urena, doing very well at 13 days in the patch.   Wednesday, June 1 View Page Cucumber Beetles have arrived, two found on the 800 Neily. Sprayed Sevin on the plants that evening.   Friday, June 3 View Page Long Gourds into the patch, 106 Johnston/Butler, 115.88 Boyce, 108.75 Eaton.   Sunday, June 5 View Page The 1634 Werner at day 23 in the patch. Main vine at 29 inches.   Sunday, June 5 View Page The 500 Boyce, Main vine at 25 inches.   Sunday, June 5 View Page The 800 Neily squash with a 25 inch main as well.   Sunday, June 5 View Page And last but not least, the 991 Urena in the lead with 36 inch main and a tiny female at the end. Very impressive for a 2005 seed!   Tuesday, June 7 View Page The 108.75 Eaton 10 has vanished? No idea what happened to it..... but it is gone. Hey Keimster, were you in my patch??? LOL.   Tuesday, June 7 View Page Here is the 106 Johnston/Butler 2010 long gourd in the patch.   Tuesday, June 7 View Page Here is the 115.88 Boyce 2009 long gourd in the patch, it is a week older than the Johnston/Butler.   Thursday, June 23 View Page The 106 Johnston/Butler is at about 3 feet and doing well.   Thursday, June 23 View Page The 115.88 Boyce is at 5 feet and is also doing nicely.   Thursday, June 23 View Page The 500 Boyce is at 10 feet.   Thursday, June 23 View Page A female @ 9.5 feet on main of the 500 Boyce.   Thursday, June 23 View Page The 991 Urena with a 12 foot main vine.   Thursday, June 23 View Page The 991 Urena with a female @ 11 feet.   Thursday, June 23 View Page 800 Neily squash sporting a 12 foot main vine.   Thursday, June 23 View Page The 800 with a female at 10 feet.   Thursday, June 23 View Page The 1634 Werner with a 10 foot main vine.   Thursday, June 23 View Page 1634 Werner has a female at the end of the main, @ 10 feet.   Monday, June 27 View Page Still chugging along, somewhat discouraged this year so far. The gardens are mostly clay soil, so moisture and compaction are a big challenge. May was the wettest month in history. June has been rain or showers most everyday, last Saturday afternoon we had a flash flood caused by training thunderstorms which caused our pond to overflow, (a water rise of more than 3 feet in the span of 2 hours) which washed out some of the driveway.   Tuesday, June 28 View Page Cucumber beetles are back, along with squash bugs. Sprayed and the bugs have gone bye, bye. I wish it was that easy to control the weather. LOL.   Tuesday, June 28 View Page I forgot to mention that the nights have been cooler this June, most nights in the 50's.... Nice for sleeping, but not for pumpkin growing.   Wednesday, June 29 View Page Damp morning after another night of thunderstorms, two of the first 2011 pollinations are waiting for me in the patch. The 800 Neily and the 991 Urena. There are only three male flowers, one on the Urena and two on the 1634 Werner. Sooooooo, the 800 Neily female will get the male 991 Urena and the Urena female will get lucky and receive the pollen from the two 1634 male Werner's.   Wednesday, June 29 View Page Here is the 800 Neily female at 10 feet. Attempted pollinated with only one male flower, time will tell if I got lucky. Temps in the low to mid 70's today.   Wednesday, June 29 View Page Here is an overall view of the 800 Neily. More weeds than I would like to see, as I have been staying out of the patch as much as possible due to moisture & soil compaction.   Wednesday, June 29 View Page 991 Urena female at 11 feet. Attempted pollination with two 1634 Werner males, keeping my fingers crossed on this one.   Wednesday, June 29 View Page The 991 Urena this morning.   Wednesday, June 29 View Page Rear view of the 500 Boyce chugging along at 13 feet or so. Only one very small female on the main.   Wednesday, June 29 View Page 1634 Werner at 14 feet and picking up the pace. It too has a very small female on the main.   Wednesday, June 29 View Page The 115.88 Boyce long gourd at 10 feet and climbing.   Wednesday, June 29 View Page The 106 Johnston/Butler at 6 feet and catching up. It is a week younger than the Boyce.   Sunday, July 3 View Page Pollination attempt made on the 991 Urena main with 1634 Werner.   Monday, July 4 View Page 7/4 A Second pollination on the main of the 800 Neily squash. Looks like the 6/29 pollination did not take. :-(   Saturday, July 9 View Page Many thanks to Mike Cole for allowing me to visit his patch early this morning for some 1132 Vincent / McGill pollen. Busy Day, made attemps to pollinate on the 500 Boyce, 1634 Werner, 991 Urena, and the 800 Neily squash. Unfortunately the 800 Neily had seeds in the blossom.   Saturday, July 9 View Page 991 Urena day 10.... 25cc, 18.5 ss, 20 ee = 63.5 OTT   Thursday, July 14 View Page The 800 Neily Squash at day 10.... 31cc, 23ss, 24ee = 78 OTT   Thursday, July 14 View Page 991 Urena X 1634 Werner Day 15... 45.25 cc, 33ss, 35ee = 113.25   Saturday, July 16 View Page Looks like the only pollinations that took were the 500 Boyce and the 1634 Werner back on July 9th. More to do today though, back to Mike Cole's for some 1132 Vincent /McGill pollen... Thanks again Mike. Unfortunately, seeds in the blossom of the 800 Neily again!! GeeZ!! by the way, Mike Cole has a very nice patch that is coming along nicely :-) Way to go Mike.   Saturday, July 16 View Page Here is a photo of the 800 Neily blossom with seeds exposed.   Sunday, July 17 View Page Checking the patch I noticed that the 991 Urena pollination from 6/29 and 7/3 seemed to be aborting.(Soft blossoms and no visible rot.) The Keimster and his son Jonas came for a visit after a weekend at cubscout camp. Second opinion from the Keimster, "Hang in there."   Monday, July 18 View Page HAIL STORM!!! 30% of the leaves on our plants have holes in them from hail. I was luckier than fellow grower Donna Parker. I had shade cloth pulled because of the oncomming thunderstorm and received holes only in the leaves outside of the cloth, but Donna had a direct hit on her patch (see picture). Hopefully all of the plants will recover.   Tuesday, July 19 View Page The 7/3 pollination on the Urena has aborted and no females visible on the main. The 6/29 pollination still looks like it is aborting, a very soft blossom with no rot visible. As a last resort I cleaned the blossom with 10% bleach solution, brushed on Dacinol straight from the bottle and applied a fan 24/7.   Tuesday, July 19 View Page The 800 Neily squash day 15.... 55.75 cc, 38.5 ss, 38.25 ee = 132.5 OTT   Tuesday, July 19 View Page 991 Urena X 1634 Werner Day 20.... 67.25cc, 46ss, 46ee = 159.25   Tuesday, July 19 View Page 500 Boyce X 1634 Werner Day 10... 23.5 cc, 18.25 ss, 18.25 ee = 60.5 OTT   Tuesday, July 19 View Page 1634 Werner X 991 Urena Day 10.... 24.25 cc, 20.5 ss, 20.25 ee = 65 OTT   Friday, July 22 View Page I let the bees have their way with a sidevine female on the 991 Urena. Maybe they can do a better job me with this plant.   Saturday, July 23 View Page Last try for a second pollination on the main of the 1634 Werner as a backup. Used 991 Urena Male pollen. Don't think I will need this one as the July 9th pollination is looking good.   Saturday, July 23 View Page I attempted a pollination this evening on the 115.88 Boyce Long gourd with male pollen from the 106 Johnston /Butler. The plants look great. Pictures of them to follow soon.   Monday, July 25 View Page Looks like the long gourd pollination from 7/23 may have taken! 115.88 Boyce x 106 Johnston/Butler.   Monday, July 25 View Page The long gourds are looking healthy. I did two more pollinations this evening in the rain... I wonder if they will take? let's wait a couple of days and see. (Boyce x JB and JB x Boyce.)   Monday, July 25 View Page Okay, here we go, pictures and measurements of pumpkins and squash, beginning with the oldest pollination.   Monday, July 25 View Page 991Urena X 1634Werner 26DAP. 95.25cc, 59ss, 60.5ee = 214.75OTT   Monday, July 25 View Page 800Neily squash x 1634 Werner 21 DAP.. 87cc, 56.5ss, 54ee, = 197.5OTT   Monday, July 25 View Page The 500Boyce09 EST x 1634 Werner 16 DAP.. 54.5cc, 40.5ss, 39ee = 134OTT   Monday, July 25 View Page The 1634Werner x 991Urena 16 DAP... 53.5cc, 42.5ss, 40.25ee = 136.25   Monday, July 25 View Page A sea of leaves on the 1634 Werner plant.   Monday, July 25 View Page Another photo of the 1634 Werner plant with the pumpkin.   Tuesday, July 26 View Page Okay, Yet another hit on the patch this evening, a thunderstorm with 60 MPH winds and heavy rain. blew over trees and cut our power lines. Several vines blown over on all four plants. :-( The Good News is that Donna Parker was spared the brunt of the storm this time. Last Monday she was hit hard by hail.   Tuesday, August 2 View Page The 800 Neily squash chugging along... 29 DAP 249 OTT. (Interesting sag in the top.)   Tuesday, August 2 View Page The 991 Urena, 34 DAP 270.75 OTT. Not too shabby considering it almost aborted and lost its blossom. Now avg 28 LBS a day.   Tuesday, August 2 View Page UGLY, but growing at a good pace... 500 Boyce, 24 DAP 219.25 OTT   Tuesday, August 2 View Page 115.88 Boyce X 106 J/Butler coming along nice and straight, 10 DAP 34.5 inches.   Tuesday, August 2 View Page 115.88 Boyce long gourd open pollination.. Skinny and straight 18.5 inches. One to keep an eye on.   Tuesday, August 2 View Page Finally a pollination on the 106 Johnston-Butler despite it being an OPEN pollination. 23 inches, I am happy. I did 2 pollinations on this plant this evening 8-2 and one on 7-31. The 7-31 is not looking the best.   Wednesday, August 3 View Page 1634 Werner, 24 DAP 226 OTT....Pretty pumpkin and growing well :-)   Wednesday, August 3 View Page OOPS! The above Werner pumpkin entry should read 8-2-11 not 8-3...   Thursday, August 11 View Page 8-11 The 800 Neily, 38 DAP 291.5" OTT   Thursday, August 11 View Page 8-11 The 991 Urena, 43 DAP 315.25" OTT   Thursday, August 11 View Page 8-11 The 500 Boyce 33 DAP 285.75" OTT (Gaining 27.5 lbs per day)   Thursday, August 11 View Page 8-11 The 1634 Werner, 33 DAP 300.25' OTT (35 lbs a day)   Thursday, August 11 View Page 8-11 The 1st Boyce gourd, 19 DAP 82.75" (Getting big at the bottom, slowing down.   Thursday, August 11 View Page 8-11 The Open Boyce gourd 71" growing 6.25" per day.   Thursday, August 11 View Page 8-11 The Johnston / Butler Open, 81.5" growing 6.25" per day. Very Pretty long gourd.   Thursday, August 11 View Page 8-11 The 106 Johnston-Butler X 115.88 Boyce 11 DAP 42.5 inches.   Thursday, August 11 View Page 8-11 Another 106 J/B X 115.88 Boyce, 9 DAP 31 inches.   Friday, August 12 View Page 8-12 Foamer on the Boyce plant at day 34. A small hole was made in the underside of the stump to relieve pressure and to drain the water. Captan, daconil, and fans 24/7. ( I had the same thing happen to my 1,254 pounder on day 34 last year).   Saturday, August 13 View Page The Vermont Giant Pumpkin Growers patch tour and BBQ was in Central VT. This is a picture of the group at Mike Cole's giant pumpkin patch. IMPRESSIVE!!   Saturday, August 13 View Page BBQ was at the Cadieux's. Thanks to Wendy and Huey for a 1st class BBQ, their hard work to prepare was evident.   Saturday, August 13 View Page Huey Cadieux with a sampling of the great food!   Tuesday, August 16 View Page For some reason the patch seems to get training storms this season. 8-14 rain! 8-15 rain, HEAVY at times! 8-16 morning rain......5.5 inches total rainfall. 8-16 afternoon hours 80 degrees humid and sunny.   Thursday, August 18 View Page The very heavy first long gourd pollinated; 115.88 Boyce X 106 Johnston/Butler broke from the trellis and nosed 4" into the rain saturated soil. The good news is that it didn't break. 99 inches.   Thursday, August 18 View Page More bad news..... Doing the daily morning check of pumpkin stumps I discovered a small amount of foam coming from the 1634 Werner, darn.... holes drilled, stump drained of fluid, Captan, Daconil and a fan 24/7. Hopefully I caught this in time. (DAY 40)   Thursday, August 18 View Page 8-18 continued...... I will be glad when this day is over. A drunk driver with no license couldn't keep it in the road and slammed into my mother's car. Thankfully it was unoccupied and parked in her driveway. Then the drunk woman decided to leave the scene. Cops got her about 6 miles away.   Friday, August 19 View Page Afternoon thunderstorm with that darn old heavy rain, another 1.5 inches of water on the patch.   Friday, August 19 View Page 800 Neily 46 DAP 313 OTT. Slow and steady.   Friday, August 19 View Page 991 Urena 51 DAP 340 OTT. Shaping up to be a great boat for the regatta.   Friday, August 19 View Page Mr Ugly.... 500 Boyce 41 DAP 319.5 OTT Chugging at 23 pounds a day with a treated foamer.   Friday, August 19 View Page 1634 Werner 41 DAP 343.75 OTT with 149.25 CC. (The Pumpkin Pacer 1200 chart recommends 323.5 OTT and 146.5 CC) I am crossing my fingers that I don't see a big drop in growth because of the foamer discovered yesterday.   Friday, August 19 View Page Long Gourd run down on 8-19-11.......Oldest to youngest... J/B open is 108" (pictured avove). Boyce open is 103.5, J/B X Boyce is 80" @ 19 DAP , and the other J/B X Boyce is 73.5" @ 17 DAP. I am putting my money on the last one :-)   Saturday, August 20 View Page Three of the kids...   Wednesday, August 24 View Page It's shaping up to be a beautiful morning for a patch tour!   Thursday, August 25 View Page Aug 25th....Hit 1,021 pounds estimate on day 47 for the Werner. 365.25" OTT (160"CC X 105.25"SS X 100"ee). Steady grower, even after treating the stump for a foamer. Still +20" OTT and 4" CC over the 1200 pacer....   Saturday, August 27 View Page The 106 Johnston/Butler 09 open harvested today, stopped growing around 119".   Saturday, August 27 View Page The open pollinated 106 Johnston/Butler 2010 long gourd harvested today measures 118" unoffically. Nice green and white mottled color.   Sunday, August 28 View Page 1634 WERNER HQ VERMONT FOR TROPICAL STORM IRENE.   Monday, August 29 View Page We made it through Irene, others were not as fortunate. Many Vermont towns are isolated because of road and bridge washouts. Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone affected by the storm.   Monday, August 29 View Page 8/29/11 The pumpkins and gourds made it through the storm with minor damage. 6" of rain has saturated the patch which may cause some plant stress coupled with growth spurts. Hopefully the pumpkins will stay together.   Tuesday, August 30 View Page Day 51 measurements of the Werner; 165cc, 109ss, 104ee for 378 OTT. estimate 1,130 pounds, average gains of 29.5 lbs per day. (The daily high weight gains are really getting unnerving.)   Tuesday, August 30 View Page Oops, the above entry should have read 8/29/2011 not 8/30.   Tuesday, August 30 View Page The 115.88 Boyce Long gourd open harvested today in the 120's.   Thursday, September 1 View Page Took a road trip to Essex VT and visited the pumpkins at the Champlain Valley Exposition. Nice weights for an August weigh-off. Congratulations to all!   Friday, September 2 View Page Wendy & Huey Cadieux, Mike Cole and I volunteered to help with the Vermont State Fair and their giant pumpkin weigh-off & display. I brought my Kabota to help with the lifting along with the Team Cadieux/Boyce lifting ring. Mark Breznick had hoped to help too but he was called away because of the emergency water situation in the city of Rutland. (Tropical Storm Irene destroyed several hundred feet of water main at it's source.) Thanks to Mark for the use of his hanging crane scale! Congratulations to all the growers, Nice Job!   Friday, September 2 View Page 2nd year grower Donna Parker and her grandson Jacob with her 1st place 530 pounder.   Friday, September 2 View Page Michael Cole, his son Zack and daughter Zoie, proudly pose with their 528 pounder.   Tuesday, September 6 View Page Oops, here is Donna and her grandson Jacob.   Tuesday, September 6 View Page Long gourd update, harvested a 106 Johnston/Butler X 115.88 Boyce... Unoffical length in the 120's.   Tuesday, September 6 View Page After six days or so, we finally got into the patch this evening to measure the veggies. Updated diary to follow soon... Off to the fair again tomorrow AM.   Tuesday, September 6 View Page The 800 Neily Squash X 1634 Werner, our 1st apptempt at growing a squash, is chuggung along at 8 lbs a day and thumping like a rock 64 DAP, 340 OTT, est 826 pounds. My money is on this one going very heavy to the chart.   Tuesday, September 6 View Page Next is the 991 Urena X 1634 Werner, 69 DAP, 363 OTT, est 1,002 pounds. Slowing to around 10 pounds per day. This pumpkin never exceeded an est. of 28 pounds per day, just a slow and steady grower. I am happy considering the blossom end issues it had earlier in the growing season.   Tuesday, September 6 View Page The 500 Boyce X 1634 Werner, 59 DAP, 350 OTT, est 900 lbs. This pumpkin has all indications of being heavy to the chart. Est. @ 10 lbs a day. This is the plant with the foamer on day 34 which never produced high weight gains, just slow steady growth. I'll take it :-)   Tuesday, September 6 View Page And finally, the 1634 Werner X 991 Urena, 59 DAP, 391 OTT, est. 1,278 lbs. Average 18.5 lbs per day over the last eight days.   Tuesday, September 6 View Page The Werner on 9/6 should be an estimate of 1249 pounds not 1278. My nicely color laminated GPC 2008 Stellflug OTT chart has a typo in the pound collumn for 391 inches OTT.   Wednesday, September 7 View Page OKAY, it can stop raining anytime now. We have been receiving rain over the last couple of days. First from a cold front and now from the remnants of tropical storm Lee. Cool and rainy today high only 60 degrees. Rain heavy at times.   Wednesday, September 7 View Page It must be near weigh-off time, each night is more sleepless than the next and I am experiencing that recurring dream again........   Wednesday, September 7 View Page Ahhhhhhh...... well worth all of that hard work in the patch over the summer.   Wednesday, September 7 View Page Huey!!!! This is my dream...... hit the road!   Wednesday, September 7 View Page Now that's more like it......   Thursday, September 8 View Page Days of RAIN!!! The 2 previous foamers,the 1634 Werner and the 500 Boyce, had their drain holes plugged with plant material. I opened them again and water came gushing out. No foam, just clear water. I sure hope that this is not the end for me. (Fans have been on them 24/7 since they 1st showed signs of foaming back in July)   Friday, September 9 View Page The rain has finally stopped and the day is sunny and 78 degrees. We received 4 inches of rain over the last few days and it has been cooler than normal. The patch is a mud wrestling pit, it should dry over the next few days.   Monday, September 12 View Page A gourd fell from the trellis and broke. Introducing the 115 Boyce 2011 DMG   Monday, September 12 View Page Another shot of the 115 Boyce 2011 DMG   Tuesday, September 13 View Page The 1634 Werner 66 DAP +400" OTT. My first pumpkin over 400 inches and I am happy. Plus, I think it was my second or third Becks.   Saturday, September 17 View Page Frosty in Vermont this morning... 1634 Werner bundled in a sleeping bag somewhere under the row cover. Sunshine expected today.   Monday, September 19 View Page The Werner, peeking out of the 900+ sq ft patch, enjoying a morning of sunshine after the frosty weekend. The Vermont foliage should start to change soon.   Monday, September 19 View Page The 991 Urena 82 DAP slowing to 5 lbs a day.   Monday, September 19 View Page 500 Boyce, looks like it will stay mostly white with little to no ribbing, 72 DAP, 6 lbs a day. Powdery mildew issues in this patch.   Monday, September 19 View Page Here is a picture of what was the result of the foamer on the 1634 Werner. You can see the digging that I did around the affected area of the stump and the drain holes.   Monday, September 19 View Page Here is a close-up of the drain hole.   Tuesday, September 20 View Page A small spike horn enjoying a midmorning snack in the food plot. (Rainy day today)   Friday, September 23 View Page 9/23/2011 Weigh-off day at Eastern States Exposition. I will harvest the 991 Urena with the 1634 Werner cross. It is 86 days old and has pretty much stopped growing. This was the pumpkin that lost the blossom because of softness back in Mid July.   Friday, September 23 View Page Holly with the 991 Urena at Eastern States Expo, the Big E, in West Springfield MA. NOW OFFICIALLY THE 1,081 BOYCE 2011. We did well, 4th place, and the pumpkin went a little heavy, but very close to estimate. cc171.8 X ss97 X ee102.5 for a total of 371.3 OTT... 0.89% over estimate. COOL!!!   Friday, September 23 View Page Here is the customary Big E photo of the growers with the winner. Congratulations to Joe Goetze and his 1,278 monster. Top five pumpkins were; 2nd place 1171 Lou Chadwick, 3rd 1092 Art Kaczenski, 4th our 1081, 5th 1077 Tom Brouillet. A nice Time with some great folks.   Friday, September 30 View Page Time for another weigh-off, The Breznick's (pictured left) traveled to Topsfield with us. The pumpkin in our truck is the 500 Boyce crossed with the 1634 Werner. The pumpkin is 82 days old and just hasn't been growing the best since the foaming stump blow-out back on day 34. We also have our longest long gourd loaded and hope it will do well! The Breznick's have a monster in their truck.   Friday, September 30 View Page The long gourd did very well, we were fortunate enough to WIN with a measurement of 124.38 inches!!! Very, Very COOL! This long gourd was the 106 Johnston/Butler 2010 crossed with our 115.88 Boyce 2009. It is also a NEW VT RECORD!   Friday, September 30 View Page Our pumpkin finished in 16th and is now the 1,033 BOYCE 2011! This guy went heavy cc161.8 X ss104.5 X ee94.8 for a 361.1 OTT measurement. 4.71% Heavy. Very cool and our first pumpkin ever weighed at Topsfield MA. Not too shabby for not having a stump.   Friday, September 30 View Page Mark & Sharon Breznick finished 4th at Topsfield with a 1,498 Giant and a NEW Vermont Record! Way to go!   Friday, September 30 View Page The Topsfield winner 1,668.5 grown by Peter DeNigris. Nice Job Peter :-) Top five; 2nd 1593 Bruce Whittier, 3rd 1513 Bob Duffy, 4th 1498 Mark & Sharon Breznick, 5th 1466 Joe Jutras. Now there are some heavy weights!!   Friday, September 30 View Page Our good friend, Wes Dwelly took second place honors with his 116 inch long gourd at Topsfield. The rest of the top five; 3rd 113.50 Ken Magdycz, 4th 111.38 Joe Jutras, 5th 103.25 Pete Sweet Jr. A good time was had at the pumpkin capital of the world! It was nice to see old friends again and make some new ones too!   Friday, October 7 View Page Harvest time again! The 800 Neily squash crossed with the 1634 Werner. 95 days old, thumps heavy. Headed to the Vermont Giant Pumpkin Growers GPC weigh-off tomorrow.   Friday, October 7 View Page One last pumpkin to harvest and we are finished for this year. The 1634 Werner crossed with the 991 Urena, the biggest pumpkin that I have ever grown. 90 days old today and looking great for having a foamer on day 40. Nice shape and color. This one is headed for the Vermont weigh-off tomorrow as well.   Friday, October 7 View Page Here is another picture of the 1634 Werner, blue sky and sunshine. Great weather for getting this bad boy out of the patch.   Friday, October 7 View Page Can't forget to load the 115.88 Boyce long gourd crossed with the 106 Johnston/Butler that I harvested a while back. She measures just over 120 inches. She will be going tomorrow too!   Saturday, October 8 View Page Weigh-off day, we are loaded with a long gourd, two previously weighed pumpkins for the regatta, the Werner, Neily squash and Wendy's first year grower pumpkin.   Saturday, October 8 View Page Here is a picture of Wendy and her first giant pumpkin. She is very proud and excited to say the least.   Saturday, October 8 View Page We made it to the GPC Vermont weigh-off in one piece and the Werner has been off loaded. So far so good!   Saturday, October 8 View Page There is a good showing on this beautiful day!   Saturday, October 8 View Page The 800 Neily squash is now offically the 913 BOYCE 2011. And a NEW VERMONT SQUASH RECORD! SWEET! She went 5.01% heavy, cc163 X 94ss X 89ee for a total of 346 OTT.   Saturday, October 8 View Page Okay, The Werner has made it to the scale in one piece. We are onlooking, sweating.........   Saturday, October 8 View Page Wow! The 1634 Werner is now offically the 1,421 BOYCE 2011! FIRST PLACE and a NEW SITE RECORD! Way TOO COOL! Also a PERSONAL BEST! The pumpkin did weigh light though, by 6.78% The GPC officials measured the pumpkin to be cc187 X ss117 X ee114 for a total of 418 OTT. or an estimated weight of 1524. Despite going light I am VERY, VERY, HAPPY with the result.   Saturday, October 8 View Page Our good friend John Young, aka/ VTJohn on BP, brought two whopper long gourds to the Vermont Weigh-off. He is pictured with the WINNER and NEW VERMONT RECORD of 124.50 inches. (If you recall on Sept 30 we had a 124.38 inch LG at Topsfield) His other LG measured 124 and was exhibition. Our 115.88 Boyce X 106 Johnston/Butler measured a respectable 120.75 inches and took 2nd place. Hat's off to John and his two SUPER LONG GOURDS! Three long gourds at the Vermont event were over 120 inches, pretty impressive for our small state.   Saturday, October 8 View Page The traditional Vermont Giant Pumpkin Growers club weigh-off photo. Kevin Companion on the left with his 3rd place 1125, Wilbur Horton, right, with his 2nd place 1149, our 1421 in the middle. The watermelon was 124 pounds and grown by Michael Cole. It was yet another NEW VERMONT RECORD set at the weigh-off! Hat's off to Mike, aka/ Big Pappy on BP.   Saturday, October 8 View Page Back at the hotel with friends after a long day at the Vermont weigh-off.   Saturday, October 8 View Page It doesn't get any better than this!!!! It has been a long, wet, bug infested, stump foaming season. But no time to reflect now. Tomorrow is an early rise for the 4th annual pumpkin regatta on the Burlington waterfront.   Sunday, October 9 View Page It's tomorrow already, we are at the Burlington waterfront getting ready to unload a few pumpkins for boat making. I picked up another pumpkin for a friend and his is on the back of the trailer.   Sunday, October 9 View Page Now the real work begins, flipping the pumpkins onto their backs, a real back breaker. LOL   Sunday, October 9 View Page Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines!   Sunday, October 9 View Page Quite a crowd has gathered, around 10,000 so they say.   Sunday, October 9 View Page The crowd had pretty much all gone home; TIME FOR THE VGPG GROWERS RACE!!   Sunday, October 9 View Page Okay, I am tired and maybe a little to old for this. That's me on the right and my good friend Huey Cadieux to the left. He is 10 years younger than me and even he looks a little tired too. Our club helped to raise $30,000.00 dollars today for "Linking Learning to Life" a local school.   Wednesday, October 12 View Page It's not raining so let's get a couple of photos taken. This is the 120.75 Boyce 2011 long gourd. 115.88 Boyce 2009 X 106 Johnston/Butler 2010.   Wednesday, October 12 View Page The 1421 Boyce 2011 and the proud pappa!   Wednesday, October 12 View Page A better picture of the 913 Boyce 2011 squash. 800 Neily 2007 X 1634 Werner 2010. New Vermont State Record.   Wednesday, October 12 View Page Little Jacob Jamieson likes to sit in the sag on the 913 Boyce 2011.   Wednesday, October 12 View Page A full length picture of the 124.38 Boyce 2011 LG. 106 Johnston/Butler 2010 X 115.88 Boyce 2009.   Saturday, October 22 View Page Time for the annual Poultney Pumpkin Festival. We travel to the event with the pumpkins so the kids play on them and parents like to take photos. A nice event with pie baking contests, pumpkin decorating, costume judging, and face painting. Even a couple of goats showed up.   Saturday, October 22 View Page Everyone seems to be having a great time despite the rainy weather!   Saturday, October 22 View Page Even one of the goats found an irresistible delight. LOL! Party on!   Saturday, October 22 View Page Donna Parker's grandson Jacob, a future pumpkin grower for sure!   Monday, October 31 View Page What better place to be on Halloween than at the Rutland, Vermont annual parade. Our float took a day or so to complete, but it came out pretty cool! I managed to talk Wendy, Huey, Donna, and my sister Leisa to dress up for the occasion. Of course the 1,421 is center stage.   Monday, October 31 View Page The turnout was HUGE! The parade lasted 1 1/2 hours and was dedicated to the heros of tropical storm Irene, wich devestated much of our state back in August. The parade can be seen at http://www.pegtv.com/ipegvideo.php video on demand, Halloween Parade 2011.   Monday, November 14 View Page I listed the 1421 on Craigslist and made a sale! He was thrilled with the extra leg room and even the dog appeared to have a smile on his face.   Friday, December 30 View Page TIME TO REFLECT... Back on May 20th I posted the following goals for 2011.."Grow our first giant squash and tomato. Better our personal best of 1,254 pounds for giant pumpkins, and 115.88 inches for the long gourd." Despite the wettest season on record, a tropical storm, and lots of insects, we were blessed & completed all of our goals except for the tomato. That never made it to the garden. Maybe something to try again next year? THREE personal bests for 2011 were; Long Gourd 124.38", Squash 913 lbs., AG pumpkin 1,421 lbs. All Very Nice, But Nothing Compared to the Great Friendships That We Have Made Along The Way! Looking forward to 2012, however, the wife has a long "to do list" that doesn't include much time for growing. Time will tell :-)