Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 42 Entries. Saturday, April 23 View Page Started seeds. 1725 Harp, 1610 Liber, 1493 Shazzy, 1325 Hopkins, 1288 Wallace, 1116 Traylor. Theses are some great seeds and it will be tough to whittle it down to my final 3. I have done no patch prep here as it has rained every other day for the last month. I hope to get the ammendments in and hoops up by May 1!   Tuesday, April 26 View Page Already having problems germinating. My 1325 Hopkins and 1288 Wallace did not make it. So far the 1116, 1725, 1610 and 1493 are up. I planted a 320 Lombardi and a 900est Wallace just incase we get crazy weather again this spring and I lose my starts. Patch is buried under 10 inches of winter rye but it is still too wet to prep. All sprouts were transplanted to gallon containers today!   Friday, April 29 View Page Both 320 Lombardi's turned to mush. They may have been real young seeds and were not fully developed. The 900 Wallace has not popped yet either. I planted a 1019 Wallace as another backup (1450 X 1421.5) Other plants are still indoors as it poured out yesterday and my patch is a swamp. They are getting kind of leggy but the 1725 and 1116 look the strongest. The 1610 and 1493 are catching up. The 1493 had the largest root system when I repotted them.....   Friday, May 13 View Page This is going to be another one of those wet seasons. My sump pump is going and I can not get the bottom site dry. It may be a blessing though as I am coaching this summer for my 2 son's baseball teams and finishing up my Master's Degree with 2 courses. So far in the ground are a 1610, 1725 and 1116. The first 2 were planted May 3rd and the 1116 was planted in the swamp on May 11th. Then I still need to put down ammendments and I could not dig planting holes because I was hitting water....yippee!   Wednesday, May 18 View Page Rain!   Thursday, May 19 View Page Plants have not had sun since Saturday, the 14th of May. It has rained 3.5 inches in 4 days. Sun may come out on Saturday or Sunday the 21st or 22nd. The 1610 seems to be my most aggressive grower now. It it producing some large foliage and has kind of laid down. The 1725 Harp is also quite aggressive but is not laying down and this is why I have one backup plant just incase she snaps. My 1116 in the wet spot continues to lag behind even though she was the first to germinate and most aggressive early on. The wet soil has slowed her growth I fear. I have a tarp covering half of the 1116 site but water is moving through the soil horizontally and standing water is the norm.   Wednesday, June 1 View Page Ends of hoops are down and 2 of my plants are out of hoops. This is a week earlier then the 2 previous years. My water logged plant is still behind as my lower site will not dry out. It looks like a two plant season for competition and a porch pumpkin plant. The two big plants are down and running with kinked mains and one split but it has not affectd growth and the split is parrel so flow has not been interupted. 1725 is the most aggressive while the 1610 is throwing some big leaves early on. I will start my aggressive spray plan today...and ofcourse severe weather is expected....   Thursday, June 2 View Page Voles ate my neighbors plant, 1493 Shazzy....sorry Shazz...It is also very windy today. My silt fence is blowing over!   Sunday, June 5 View Page My sump pump ditch is finally dry after a month and a half. I may try to add my ammendments to my lower site now as the soil is starting to dry out. My 1116 is way behind the other 2 plants but it does have a pumpkin 3 ft out...It is always windy when the hoops are coming off. This year I did the Maine Growers hoop houses and slowly took them off over a three day period and this year the plants look great and no wilting that occurs with the quick hoop house take off. Also the houses were bigger and allowed my plants to be bigger. The 1725 is around 6 ft and the 1610 is around 5ft out as off Thursday. The 1725 is growing by leaps and bounds. Both plants are throwing sections with double tendrils and some double leafs on secondaries. The mains look fine at the moment. I will not be growing terts off my rear secondaries this year. It just makes me ruin roots as i dig and bury them around my stump. The roots are already 5-6ft away from the base and I am ruining them now when I am burying secondaries. I have two sets of silt fence around the 1725 and 1610 and have also installed my over head sprinkler and will start watering today at noon. No more early morning watering when the plant is already cold and damp....My soil is now dry in the top 2 sites. This week I also started foliar feeding and will start insecticides this upcoming week. Plants look the best I have ever had and they are also the largest at this point in time compared to the last 3 years. I credit this to Tom Privitera and his new products he makes available.   Monday, June 6 View Page Got the bottom site ammended finally. Man how 1 nice week of weather and wind helps out....now the grass in the lawn is drying up and dieing...lets see if the 1116 can catch up now...biota max application last night. I have plenty of it since I won some at the SNGPG Seminar...   Wednesday, June 8 View Page Ozone damage on leaves of all plants. Aphids, potatoe beetles, and squash bugs too! It was a great day for the start of the heat wave here in Preston! Applied some bug spray. This is the earliest I have ever had aphids.   Thursday, June 9 View Page Cuke beetles arrived along with a wicked ovenight thunderstorm....   Thursday, June 9 View Page Huge storm is passing through now. I took a before picture of plants. Silt fence is down and floppy. Great season weather wise so far. 1725 is at 10.5 ft, 1610 is at 9.5 ft and 1116 is at 6 ft...well they were...you put all this work into something and within a half hour your leaves are all beat to hell....   Saturday, June 11 View Page Here comes another storm....   Saturday, June 11 View Page 1116 starting to grow now after water table is down   Saturday, June 11 View Page 1725 is growing good...longer and thinner plant   Saturday, June 11 View Page 1610 is bushy and thicker...I hope to cross it with the 1725, should be a good cross   Sunday, June 12 View Page More storms last night. Pumpkin ditch is filled with water again. There goes the water table and time for the sump pump to come back on...cuke beetles are back again. First male opened on 1610....where are my females though?   Monday, June 13 View Page I have not buried vines in 4 days. Now the soil is all wet and clumpy so I may just hold off another day or 2. The water table is high here. I have readjusted my silt fences to allow more room for the plants. I have minor hail damage on the plants from last Thursday...Biota Max was used now that the soil is water logged to try to keep bad things away from the roots...   Wednesday, June 22 View Page 1610 x 1725, but had a deformed lobe...12 ft out, will wait for next one. I would like to have all pollinations done before July, we shall see if mother nature cooperates...more rain the next 4 days, yippeeeeee!   Friday, June 24 View Page 1610 x 1725, 6 lobe 1725 x 1610, 4 lobe side vine, just in case   Saturday, June 25 View Page 1725 twins x 1610 5 lobe and a 4 lobe far out...lets hope this rain ends. I have not buried vines in 5 days...   Saturday, June 25 View Page 1116, still small and ground is wet...   Saturday, June 25 View Page 1725, 2 pumpkins pollinated, hope they take...plant has some funky secondaries showing up now around the pumpkin area...which isn't bad because hey usually get cut off any ways...time to start turning the rear 2ndaries forward...   Saturday, June 25 View Page 1610, 2 pollinated as well on this plant, time to start turing the rear secondaries forward...1 more to bloom in 6 days   Saturday, June 25 View Page Patch overview...kind of dissappointed in the bottom site this year due to all the rain, that is where the bigger pumpkins grow in my patch...i am thinking about running the 1725 down into that area...this is the earliest I have pollinated in 4 years...I hope to start grwoing soon...no vine bores yet...   Monday, June 27 View Page 1610 x 1725, 3rd pollination on main should be done now 1116 x 1610, 1st pollination, no vine bores yet, spent 2 hours burying and pruning yesterday and had to do an alternator job in wifes car....yippeeeeeeeeeeeeee   Wednesday, June 29 View Page Vine bore in trap yesterday! Also a resurgence of squash bugs, potatoe beetles and cuc beetle. I hit them with some generic warrior....I have lots of leaf burn from insecticides this year...Trying to keep my plants vine bore free. The 2 previous years I have done vine bore extractions on all plants...Pumpkins are growing but they are slow. Just waiting for some 10 day numbers....   Thursday, July 7 View Page 1610 has aborted the 2 chosen females...next one in a week 1725 has been whittled down to one! 1116 has a D10 at 22inches   Friday, July 8 View Page Heavy rains today with some hail. Quite a few leaves have holes now...good for aeration...I got the pumpkin on the 1725 ready to grow now by trimming up side vines and putting down my plastic pallet cover to grow on...the 1610 put 1 inch on in cc last night...time to cut antoher one off...   Monday, July 11 View Page 1725 has slowed down now as well. I had to cut off its blossum nub since it was getting mushy. The 1116 is the only one gaining any size, but it is on a real small plant...200sqft...so here's to another crappy season...pollinated 2 on 2ndary vines on the 1610x1116...   Monday, July 11 View Page I think I have yellow vine disease...Just need to confirm now...pumpkins aren't growing and leaves are turning yellow and vines are stopping....squash bugs evident   Wednesday, July 13 View Page Pulled 1610, it was a nice and thick plant too with a great root system. Most likely YVD. Cut half of 1725 off. I have left the pumpkin on but it did not grow last night but it is still shiny. Removed some of the 1116 plant as well. Remember to stay up on your sprays and get a good even coverage. Lesson learned. No more vacations ever!   Wednesday, July 13 View Page 1610 YVD! YIPPEE   Wednesday, July 13 View Page Nice big plant though, could have big a good one!   Wednesday, July 13 View Page Nice leaves!   Wednesday, July 13 View Page 1725 look affected as well since pumpkin has stopped!   Wednesday, July 13 View Page 1725 plant, very aggressive this year and will grow some monsters again in 2011 for other growers...   Wednesday, July 13 View Page Here is the pumpkin on the 1725. Great shape and went from doing 6 inches to 3 to 1 to .5 to zero....   Wednesday, July 13 View Page Ahh memories are nice....   Thursday, July 14 View Page Cut off 1725 today. I was starting to rot at blossum end. Seeds not mature so I did not get my cross this year that I wanted. I have only dark green plant left. Maybe she will though a tertiary...1116 is now slowing down...   Wednesday, August 3 View Page I have about 4 open pollinations on my 1116 plant, what is left of it after YVD took half of it with my 20 day old pumpkin. Just trying to keep it going. Matt Debacco suggested removing 3-4 feet infront of the infected plant parts. So far it is working. Maybe I can still get a porch pumpkin....good luck everyone