Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 210 Entries. Sunday, April 15 View Page My good friend Dick Squires stopped by with his tractor today and tilled the patch for me. His 20 minutes of help saved me a good 2 hours with my little tiller! Here is the long gourd side of the patch.   Sunday, April 15 View Page Here is the pool side of the patch. The winter rye got to about 4 inches which was much higher than last year due to our warm spring so far. I will be putting the soil heating cables and infra red lights in the hoops this week.   Sunday, April 15 View Page Here are the primary seeds for the 4 spots this year. Thanks to James, Mark and Norm. I will be trying to germ the 603 Muller, 1059 Vincent McGill and my own 777 Young 2011 993 VM x 1059 VM as well as my own 1103 Young 2011 1059 VM x 1131 Gansert, I will also be growing either my 124 or 124.5 lg. I planted 12 giant sunflowers today and will be germing pumpkins and lgs tomorrow or the next day.   Sunday, April 22 View Page The first week of patch prep is by me and still a few more things to do. Every year I whine around this time because I planted winter rye. Even after a nice roto-till this stuff keeps re-rooting. I am guessing it will be close to june by the time the patch looks good. But I know it gives the patch an extra boost of green nitrogen every spring. Almost all of the plants have germed except for the 603 which really bums me out. It is a 9 year old seed but my fingers are still crossed that something happens this week. The hoop on the right will house the 777 Young and the hoop on the left will have the 1103 Young.   Sunday, April 22 View Page Here is the pool side of the garden. Hoop far right will house 1103 Young. The hoop in the middle will house the 1059 Vincent McGill and the hoop on left will be 603 or one of my back ups. Weather is calling for snow tonight and tomorrow morning so I am not in a hurry. The patch was stirrup hoed by whole family today and soil heater cables are dug in. Also added 250 infra red heat lamps in each hoop which will be turned on in a few days to warm and dry soil before planting.   Sunday, April 29 View Page The second week of the season is in the books and I have a couple of plants in the ground. I started yesterday with one of my 1103 Young's even though I knew it was going to be a cold night. The plant survived a low of 24 degrees with the help of soil heater cables and a 250 watt infra red heat lamp. I planted one 777 Young today even though calling for a frosty night tonight. Tomorrow night I will plant quite a few more seeing the next 5 days seem to have decent night time temps.   Sunday, April 29 View Page Here is a view of the other side of patch. A beautiful looking day but very chilly with a high of 45 degrees and a northwest wind at 10-15.   Sunday, April 29 View Page Here is the 777 Young on its first day in the garden. I put blood meal, worm castings and myco in the planting hole for ferts. I also soaked the seedling with 1/3 strength spectrun triazcide in hopes to ward off seed corn maggots.   Sunday, April 29 View Page Here is the 1103 Young after one full day in the patch and surviving a 24 degree night.   Sunday, May 6 View Page Week 1 in the garden has come to an end and all plants are still alive. Victory! Germination has been very good except for the 603.5 Muller. The plant shot out a club root and is still sitting in the same stage it was 3 weeks ago. I am still working hard to save it but I think we are losing the battle.   Sunday, May 6 View Page Here is the pool side of the patch. I have started some Walla Walla onions by plant which are in the triangle. When frost warnings are gone we will plant cukes on the trellis and zucchini on the hills.   Sunday, May 6 View Page Here is the 777 Young. Doing well and starting to grow a bit.   Sunday, May 6 View Page 1103 Young. This plant is doing well. I seem to always get weird looking leaves this time of year. i am guessing due to cold but the plants have always grown out of them as my world heats up.   Sunday, May 6 View Page 1059 McGillis doing well.   Sunday, May 6 View Page With the 603.5 doing badly I have two nice seeds in this hoop. This is the 919 Richards which grew me a red orange beauty a few years back.   Sunday, May 6 View Page The other that is battling for the top spot is the 1304 Sperry. Momma was a beautiful pumpkin so I had to germ it. Hard to know which way to go. I usually never like to look back so the 1304 has an edge so far. But the 919 produced a real pretty pumpkin. Only time will tell. I have 6 out of 6 lgs germed, 2 124 Young and 4 124.5 Young. May the strongest lg win.   Sunday, May 13 View Page May seems be clipping along quite quickly and the weather has been pretty typical. We have had 2 nights of frost this week and also around 2 inches of rain. The pumpkins are all still alive and growing albeit slowly. Next weekend I will be planting a couple of long gourds in to the patch.   Sunday, May 13 View Page Here is the other side of the patch. I spent over 2 hours with a stirrup hoe yesterday and will be applying the first dose of Talstar and Merit today.   Sunday, May 13 View Page 777 Young. Plant is growing well and I am starting to see tendrils which means vining will be occuring soon.   Sunday, May 13 View Page 1103 Young. There are tendrils showing here as well and the plant looks to be ready to start running.   Sunday, May 13 View Page 1059 Vincent-McGill. This plant is a bit slower grower but looks healthy.   Sunday, May 13 View Page 1304 Sperry. This plant is a week younger than the rest of the patch but I have faith that it will catch up.   Sunday, May 20 View Page Our spring season is almost coming to a close as the weather finally seems to be warming up. The plants are all doing fine except for a few minor grower errors. LOL Here is the long gourd side of the patch.   Sunday, May 20 View Page Here is the pool side. Hey Duff what ya think about the pool. Nice and clean already! It was a high of mid 80's today so the pool got used already.   Sunday, May 20 View Page 124.5 Young front and 124 Young in back. It will be survival of the fittest. These were identical crosses pollinated on the same day on secondaries 24 inches a part so I really don't have a feel for which one may do better.   Sunday, May 20 View Page 1103 Young. This plant got over heated and I think that is what is going on with a couple of first big leaves. The new growth looks good but time will tell.   Sunday, May 20 View Page 1059 McGill. This plant is starting to run as well and is starting to get bigger.   Sunday, May 20 View Page 1304 Sperry. This plant is about a week younger than the other due to losing the 603. It is growing well and should catch up soon.   Sunday, May 27 View Page Memorial Day weekend is here and hopefully the official start of summer. The next 10 days look warm enough in the evening to pull the hoops. So after about 5 hours of work the hoops and electricity are done, hail/shade netting is up and patch is weeded. The plants are equal or better than 2011 but we haven't even completed the first 5 miles of the "marathon" yet.   Sunday, May 27 View Page Oh yeah forgot to say pool has been vacumed as well. Ha! Here are the other two plant spots.   Sunday, May 27 View Page Here are the lgs 124.5 in front 124 in the back. So far the 124 seems more agressive but time will tell.   Sunday, May 27 View Page 777 Young. Forgot to post pics of this last week. This plant has been a nice steady grower so far and is quite agressive.   Sunday, May 27 View Page 1103 Young. This has been the fastest growing so far of the patch. The leaf issue seems to have been fixed which I am still pretty sure was heat stress.   Sunday, May 27 View Page 1059 Vincent-McGill. This plant is growing fine.   Sunday, May 27 View Page 1304 Sperry. This gal is about 10 days younger than the rest but is growing well.   Sunday, June 3 View Page June is here and the weather seems to be turning for the worst. 9 out of the next 10 days are calling for rain with temps in the mid 60's. I am currently happy with what the plants are giving me and should be on time with my pollinations.   Sunday, June 3 View Page Here is the other side of the patch. I got an inspection today from the NY Dept. of Agriculture..... ok not really it was my good friend RandyTCat taking a couple of my back up plants and checking my patch for weeds.   Sunday, June 3 View Page Here are the lgs still fighting for the space. The 124.5 Young is closest and 124 is the further one. So far the 124 is looking stronger but will give them 1 more week.   Sunday, June 3 View Page 777 Young is starting to look nice. It had a couple of leaf issues from the high winds we had on June 1st but overall has been an easy plant to grow. Currently around 6 feet.   Sunday, June 3 View Page 1103 Young. This plant was partially rolled over with the wind storm and thank goodness did not snap. I missed the forecast for 60 mile per hour wind gusts but awoke at 3 am by the sounds. Nothing like a 3 am plant staking party by flash light.   Sunday, June 3 View Page 1059 Vincent-McGill. This plant is growing well and is right around 6 feet in length. I forgot to mention in the last post but the 1103 is a little over 7 feet long.   Sunday, June 3 View Page 1304 Sperry. This plant is starting to grow well. Light green color in this photo looks alarming but I think it is my camera for some reason. Plant is a little over 3 feet long.   Sunday, June 10 View Page We just had a beautiful warm dry weekend and the plants have started to wake up again after a very cold rainy last week. I have two plants with main vine splits but over all the patch is looking good.   Sunday, June 10 View Page Pool side of the patch.   Sunday, June 10 View Page I had a patch pest last night who left quite a few foot prints. Anyone know what kind of pesticide to use on Black Bear? She was nice this time and walked politely around the plants and hopefully will not return.   Sunday, June 10 View Page We are down to just one lg plant. The 124 was a faster grower than the 124.5 so we decided to keep that one. Now if I grow a lg 1/2 inch shorter than my pb I am gonna be mad. Ha!   Sunday, June 10 View Page 777 Young. This plant is growing real well and is around 8 1/2 feet long. There is a baby at 6 feet and one in the growing tip.   Sunday, June 10 View Page 1103 Young. This plant is doing fine but has a vertical split in the main at around 3 feet due to bad winds awhile ago. I will keep an eye on it and try to keep it dry.   Sunday, June 10 View Page 1059 Vincent McGill. This plant is growing well and is sitting around 8 feet with a female at 7 1/2 feet. The 1103 in prior pic. is at 10 feet with babies at 7 1/2 and 8 1/2.   Sunday, June 10 View Page 1304 Sperry. This plant is still growing well and is at 5 feet.   Sunday, June 17 View Page Here is the patch in mid June. The plants are starting to kick in as the weather turns warmer.   Sunday, June 17 View Page Here is the pool side. Starting to bury vines every other day now. I love this time of year although my back is constantly sore.   Sunday, June 17 View Page 124 Young lg. This plant is really starting to grow well. I am a little bit ahead of last year although I am not really sure if it matters with lgs.   Sunday, June 17 View Page 777 Young. This has a couple of ladies that will be open by weekend. Of course we have a heat wave coming to make things more challenging. Ha! I will be shading the pumpkin and plant to try to keep it cooler.   Sunday, June 17 View Page 1103 Young. This plant should have a female open by next weekend as well. Growing well and main vine split is nice and dry.   Sunday, June 17 View Page 1059 Vincent McGill. This plant is picking up the pace and has a female opening in a day or two. Not as far as I would like down the main, but may be early fair pumpkin.   Sunday, June 17 View Page 1304 Sperry. This plant is doing well and is around 7 feet. We should be on time for an early July pollination.   Sunday, June 24 View Page Summer is here in VT for awhile anyways with warm weather and high temps. I saw my first svb of the year today at my fathers patch. The plants have really liked the heat we have had the past week and have all grown a lot.   Sunday, June 24 View Page Here is the pool side of the patch.   Sunday, June 24 View Page 777 Young. This plant is quickly filling its 380 square feet and it looks like the keeper I want is set but just a few days old.   Sunday, June 24 View Page Here is the 777 female which was crossed by my 1103. So the cross is 777(993 x 1059) x 1103(1059 x 1131 Gansert)Lots of 1059 hopefully continue orange.   Sunday, June 24 View Page 1103 Young. This plant is doing well and it looks like I have the cross I wanted at 12 feet.   Sunday, June 24 View Page This is the female on the 1103 Young and is 1103(1059 x 1131) x 1059. I really like the shape and color of the 1059 and am hoping to bring it back in the 1103 will keep it a nice big orange cross.   Sunday, June 24 View Page 1059 Vincent McGill. This plant is growing well and I pollinated a female this morning at 12 feet with the 777 Young. We will see in a couple of days if this gal has taken.   Sunday, June 24 View Page 1304 Sperry. This plant has really picked up the pace and is looking good. Hopefully pollinating in a week or so.   Sunday, June 24 View Page 124 Young. This long gourd is growing very well and is roughly 8 feet in length.   Sunday, July 1 View Page July 1st is here and the weather is really nice and warm. Nights are cooling down into the 50's which is great for sleeping. Had 2 aborts since last week but have more pollinations done this week with more to come.   Sunday, July 1 View Page Here is the other side of the patch. We have netted our blueberries ready for the season. The blueberries and raspberries are about 2 weeks early.   Sunday, July 1 View Page 124 Young. This long gourd is growing like a rocket and is at the top of the 12 foot trellis and also has males that are opening. Hopefully pollinating in a couple of weeks.   Sunday, July 1 View Page 777 Young. This plant is doing well and has almost filled its 400 square feet. The first pollination aborted but another opened on June 30th.   Sunday, July 1 View Page Here is the June 30th pollination crossed with the 1059 Vincent McGill and 4 lobes.   Sunday, July 1 View Page 1103 Young. This plant has been a very agressive grower but unfortunately the first set aborted. I have one possible and another pollination tomorrow.   Sunday, July 1 View Page Here is the possibility so far on the 1103 Young at just a couple of days old crossed with the 777 Young.   Sunday, July 1 View Page 1059 Vincent McGill. Very happy to grow this plant again and it is growing well so far.   Sunday, July 1 View Page 1st set on the 1059 at 11 feet and is growing fine albeit a little slowerthan I like. This is crossed with the 777 Young which is the 993 x 1059.   Sunday, July 1 View Page 1304 Sperry. This plant is doing well and quickly filling its 400 square feet.   Sunday, July 1 View Page Here is the first pollinated on the 1304 and crossed with the 1103 Young. Just a couple of days old.   Sunday, July 8 View Page I can't believe we are almost to mid summer, time sure has flown. The patch is healthy overall with a few sets that I am happy with and also the crosses I was planning.   Sunday, July 8 View Page Here is the other side of the patch. We had a great vacation week with lots of fun activities but mostly stayed around the area. Hard to believe the plants growth this time of year with vine burying every other day.   Sunday, July 8 View Page 124 Young long gourd. This plant has topped our 12 foot trellis and is about 5 feet across it already. Some early females but not up on the top of the trellis yet.   Sunday, July 8 View Page 777 Young is now Branwen, Celtic Goddess of Love and Beauty. My wife names the pumpkins each year and makes signs for our patch guests.   Sunday, July 8 View Page Here is a better pic of the 777 Young with our Tiki God patch mascot.   Sunday, July 8 View Page 1103 Young is now Damara, Goddess of Fertility.   Sunday, July 8 View Page Here is a better pic of the 1103 crossed with the 1059 and at 6 days.   Sunday, July 8 View Page The 1059 Vincent-McGill is now Olwen, Goddess of sunlight.   Sunday, July 8 View Page Here is a better look at the 1059 at day 14.   Sunday, July 8 View Page The 1304 Sperry is now Cally Berry, Maiden Goddess linked to weather magic. Seems to be working for us so far.   Sunday, July 8 View Page Here is a better look at the 1304 Sperry at 12 days old.   Sunday, July 15 View Page I thought I would start this weeks diary with raspberry and blueberry pics. To date we have picked 25 quarts of blueberries and 12 quarts of raspberries. We planted the blueberries about 15 yrs ago and the raspberry plants we started with 4 about 5 yrs ago and now have a 100 or more. It is great to get nice fruit from your backyard although we are good with picking for a day or two.   Sunday, July 15 View Page Here is a peek of the long gourd side of the patch. The plants are quickly filling in and the pumpkins are starting to swell.   Sunday, July 15 View Page Here is the other side of the patch with blueberry netting just behind pool.   Sunday, July 15 View Page 124 Young. This long gourd is growing fast and throwing females everywhere. I pollinated a female tonight that will be for the Champlain Valley Fair if it takes.   Sunday, July 15 View Page Here is the 777 Young plant. I am starting to terminate quite a few vines and the pumpkin is responding well.   Sunday, July 15 View Page This is Brawen off from the 777 Young and is already looking pretty. Today is day 15 and the pumpkin has an OTT of 111.   Sunday, July 15 View Page A side view of Branwen off from the 777 Young day 15.   Sunday, July 15 View Page Here is the 1103 Young plant. This plant has been a very agressive grower with little problems.   Sunday, July 15 View Page Here is Damara from the 1103 Young at 13 days and an OTT of 111. This is our fastest growing pumpkin to date.   Sunday, July 15 View Page Here is Damara side picture off the 1103 Young.   Sunday, July 15 View Page This is the 1059 Vincent-McGill plant. Growing well but needs a bit of vine training to fill empty spots due to vines just stopping growth.   Sunday, July 15 View Page Here is Olwen off the 1059 Vincent-McGill at 21 days an OTT of 149.   Sunday, July 15 View Page Here is a side pic of Olwen off the 1059 Vincent-McGill. You can see that it is tending towards being a wheel due to the short end to end. I am hoping she will block out.   Sunday, July 15 View Page Here is the 1304 Sperry plant.   Sunday, July 15 View Page This is Cally Berry off of the 1304 Sperry at 19 days and an OTT of 134.5.   Sunday, July 15 View Page Here is the side of Cally Berry off the 1304 Sperry. She is starting to look like a nice shaped pumpkin.   Sunday, July 22 View Page I will start this weeks diary with a picture of my Dad's best pumpkin. It is the 648 Young that I gave him as a back up after he had some issues. This pumpkin is sitting just over 100 pounds and is quite young but an open pollination so we don't know the date. It sure looks like it will be a great looker.   Sunday, July 22 View Page Here is a look at the long gourd side of the patch. We have had a few nights in the 40's this past week that have slowed growth a bit but the plants are healthy and the pumpkins are still swelling.   Sunday, July 22 View Page Here is the other side of the patch. We have taken down the blueberry netting for the last few quarts. To date we have picked 50 quarts of blueberries and 22 quarts of raspberries. This has been the best berry season for us in our 10 years of growing them.   Sunday, July 22 View Page Here is the first pollinated off of the 124 Young and is a self. This plant has been throwing females all over the place and I have nothing that pollinates them flying around, so its me a ladder and a bottle of wine. HA! This is 6 days old and is 13 1/2 inches long. I will pollinate 1 or two more in a week or two for the fall weigh offs.   Sunday, July 22 View Page 777 Young 2012. This gal is growing fine albeit a little slow for us. She has an OTT of 175 at day 22.   Sunday, July 22 View Page Today is day 20 for the 1103 Young and she is a perfect ball. The OTT today is 180 inches and has a circ. of 76 inches which is a best for us.   Sunday, July 22 View Page 1103 side view. This pumpkin looks exactly like momma in shape and color at this age. I am hoping she continues and gives us a great show.   Sunday, July 22 View Page Here is the 1059 Vincent McGill at 28 days and has an OTT of 203 inches. She has not been a fast grower but steady.   Sunday, July 22 View Page 1059 Vincent McGill side view. This gal looks less like a wheel now and just a tall wide narrow pumpkin.   Sunday, July 22 View Page 1304 Sperry. This gals body runneth over but is growing well at 195 OTT at day 26. I just hope she holds together for me.I am guessing I am not going to be able to see the blossum end in a couple of weeks.   Sunday, July 29 View Page Last diary entry for July 2012. Can't believe how fast summer is screaming by with our patch tour less than 2 weeks away and our first fair two weeks after that. Here is a large sunflower head with Mr. Tiki.   Sunday, July 29 View Page Here is a view of the long gourd side of the patch.   Sunday, July 29 View Page Here is the other side. I still have 4 pumpkins growing which is always good for any time of year.   Sunday, July 29 View Page 124 long gourd. This is our early set and is 42 inches long at day 13. Not great but typically our early sets don't grow as long as our later ones.   Sunday, July 29 View Page 777 Young. This gal is starting to show some color and has a smooth complexion. She is 29 days old and has an ott of 229". The color is starting to show around the blossum end.   Sunday, July 29 View Page Here is a side view of the 777. Unfortunately it has no shoulders. I think over all it will be a very pretty pumpkin just not as symetrical as I hoped.   Sunday, July 29 View Page 1103 Young. This is still our fastest growing pumpkin and is 27 days today with an ott of 238.   Sunday, July 29 View Page Here is a side shot of the 1103 Young. Very round.   Sunday, July 29 View Page Just wanted to show the stump of the 1103 Young and how I prune at mid season. I never bury the main because I like to see what is going on with it all season.   Sunday, July 29 View Page Also some growers seem to fret over main vine splits early so I wanted to show a main vine split about 4 feet from the stump. This happened after a windy thunderstorm twisted my main. I have kept it dry and used fungicide and it has healed up nicely.   Sunday, July 29 View Page 1059 Vincent McGill. This gal is not growing as fast as I would like but is getting prettier every day. She is at day 35 and 241 inches for an ott.   Sunday, July 29 View Page Side shot of the 1059 Vincent McGill.   Sunday, July 29 View Page 1304 Sperry. This gal is blobbalishous but is still growing although a little slow. She is at day 33 and has an ott of 238.   Sunday, July 29 View Page Here is a side shot of the 1304. She is getting quite a nose on her and in a week I will not be able to see her blossum end. Just going to cross my fingers and let her grow.   Sunday, August 5 View Page Here are the first August pics. The weather has been hot and humid and pm is starting to come a little earlier than the past few years. The pumpkins are growing well.   Sunday, August 5 View Page Here is the other side of the patch.   Sunday, August 5 View Page Here is the most mature on the 124 Young and is 87 inches on day 20. This plant is growing very fast and the long gourds are skinny and mostly straight.   Sunday, August 5 View Page Here is one of the later sets that is screaming now at 36 inches on day 10. We have one more fall set that is at day 4 and are starting to prune the plant heavily.   Sunday, August 5 View Page Here is the 777 Young at day 36 and really starting to show some sweet color. It has an OTT of 268 inches.   Sunday, August 5 View Page Here is a side pic of the 777 Young. I was hoping shoulders would slowly come in but it doesn't look like its going to happen.   Sunday, August 5 View Page Here is the 1103 Young. This continues to be our fastest grower and has an OTT of 281 at 34 days.   Sunday, August 5 View Page Here is a side shot of the 1103 Young. It is still very round!   Sunday, August 5 View Page Here is the 1059 Vincent McGill, not our fastest grower but is going to be a real looker. It is at day 42 and has an OTT of 270 inches.   Sunday, August 5 View Page Here is the side of the 1059. I thought she was originally going to be a wheel but has thickened up nicely with great color. I am very happy that I crossed it back in to the 1103 and the 777.   Sunday, August 5 View Page Last but not least is the 1304 Sperry. Although I am not totally happy with the shape I do like the color that is coming on. Here she is 40 days old and has an OTT of 269 inches. Very low pumpkin.   Sunday, August 5 View Page Here is the side of the 1304. What a nose on this gal! LOL   Sunday, August 12 View Page Almost half way through August and as usual we are starting to see issues pop up. Nothing devastating so far, a foaming stump here and stem issues there. Over all patch is doing well although no personal bests in pumpkins. Here is the long gourd side of the patch.   Sunday, August 12 View Page Here is the pool side of the patch. Yesterday was our Vermont patch tourand we were honored with Norm, Matt and Gene as well as 30 other Vermont members. We were represented by 4 states and Canada at the meeting and it really felt more like a family reunion more than a pumpkin growing club.   Sunday, August 12 View Page Here is our oldest long gourd on the 124 Young. Today is day 27 and it is exactly 1xx inches. LOL Just happy to break 100"!   Sunday, August 12 View Page Here is the two later gourds on the 124 Young. The longer is 74.5 inches at day 17 and the youngest is 40 inches at day 11.   Sunday, August 12 View Page 777 Young front picture. This gal had some soft issues around the stem and had a couple of slow growth days but the stem issue has dried up and she is back to 20 pounds a day. She is at day 43 and 294 inches. Nothing spectacular but she has great color.   Sunday, August 12 View Page 777 Young side picture. Not a great shape but developing great color.   Sunday, August 12 View Page 1103 Young. Unfortunately this gal has a foaming stump that I surgically worked on today and the growth has slowed. Hopefully it will pick back up once the stump is dried. We are at 41 days and an OTT of 310 inches.   Sunday, August 12 View Page 1103 Young side view.   Sunday, August 12 View Page 1059 Vincent McGill. This gal is still healthy and plugging along slowly. She is at day 49 and has an OTT of 290. She is turning into a beauty.   Sunday, August 12 View Page Side view of the 1059.   Sunday, August 12 View Page 1304 Sperry. She is still slowly growing and getting more "interesting" each day. We are at day 47 and have an OTT of 290 inches. No way to see her blossum end so it will be like opening a present at christmas when we lift her. Or maybe more of a trick or treat. LOL I am hoping for treat!   Sunday, August 12 View Page 1304 Sperry side view.   Sunday, August 19 View Page We are past the mid point of August which means we are in the official worry season for pumpkin growers. most of the work has been done but now we worry about everything and many times for good reason. Here is the long gourd side of the patch.   Sunday, August 19 View Page Here is the pool side of the patch. Hmmmm something looks different!   Sunday, August 19 View Page Yup! The worry time is here, we have a brown patch of dirt where Olwen the 1059 Vincent McGill once was.   Sunday, August 19 View Page Olwen the 1059 McGill is now the 617 est dmg Young 2012. The cross is 1059 x 77 Young(993 VM x 1059 VM. This should produce beautiful pumpkins. We have had 5 out of 6 pumpkins split in this area of the patch. Next year we will probably turn it in to a second long gourd trellis if we can't sort out what the problem is. I can't believe that it is just luck when it has happened so often and splits are 3 stem splits and 2 blossum end splits. We did get around 500 good seeds from her though which I may try next year.   Sunday, August 19 View Page This is our oldest long gourd on the 124 Young and it is still growing well at day 34 and is now 1XX long. LOL This will probably be harvested for our Champlain Valley fair this Friday the 24th of August.   Sunday, August 19 View Page Here are the other 2 long gourds growing on the 124 Young. The longer one is 23 days and now officially 1XX long and the shorter one is at Day 18 and is 81.25 inches long. I am hoping to get 3 lgs that are 100 inches or more off same plant again this year. If the weather holds I think we can do it.   Sunday, August 19 View Page 777 Young. This gal has slowed growth a bit and our 43 degree night last night didn't help. She is 51 days old and is standing at 312.5 inches.   Sunday, August 19 View Page 1103 Young. This pumpkin is 49 days old today and has an OTT of 327 inches.   Sunday, August 19 View Page 1304 Sperry. This pumpkin is 55 days old and has an OTT of 303.5 inches.   Saturday, August 25 View Page First weigh off of summer at the Champlain Valley Fair. 4th in pumpkins with 627.5 off the 1304 Sperry. 1st in lg at 122 7/8 inches off the 124 Young and first in tall sunflower at 13'7". It was a great time with 8 pumpkins and a number of fruits and vegies to weigh.   Saturday, August 25 View Page Here is a picture of Dan and Holly Boyce measuring our now 122 7/8 Young 2012 long gourd. I was happy that they both agreed to give me an official measurement over a fair official that was not as familiar with the rules.   Saturday, August 25 View Page Here is a picture of my wife and growing partner with the 122 7/8 Young 2012. Our "gourd board" is a big photo hit at our fair.   Tuesday, August 28 View Page People ask me why I like growing orange genetics due to them typically going light to the chart and easy to split.............   Tuesday, August 28 View Page Because when you go out at dusk to cover them up you see this.......   Tuesday, August 28 View Page And this. Isn't orange great!!!!!!   Sunday, September 2 View Page September is here and the pumpkins are responding with very slow growth. Nights have dropped well below 50 degrees most nights and the sun is at an angle that doesn't help much of the patch. Now is the time to try to keep pumpkins alive and moving along.   Sunday, September 2 View Page Here is the other side of the patch and both pumpkins are gone. We started a secondary pumpkin about 2 weeks before we took the 1304 to our fair and it is sitting at 183 for an OTT. Hopefully the weather will cooperate so we get a carver out of her.   Sunday, September 2 View Page Here are the final 2 gourds on the 124 Young. They are both over 100 inches now which is always good. We have already gotten a 122 7/8 off this plant. Always amazed when a single plant can produce 3 decent lgs.   Sunday, September 2 View Page Here is the 777 Young and she is quite colorful. Today she is sitting at 334 for an OTT. Not going to be huge or great shape but she does have sweet color.   Sunday, September 2 View Page Here is the side of the 777 Young.   Sunday, September 2 View Page The 1103 Young is still plugging along and is currently at 346 for an OTT.   Sunday, September 2 View Page Here is a side view of the 1103 Young.   Sunday, September 9 View Page We are starting to get into the painful part of the season for us colder climate growers. From here on out little to no growth. Just need to keep them plugged in to a healthy main and keep protected from frost. Next few nights will be in the high 30's to low 40's.   Sunday, September 9 View Page Here are the last 2 on the 124 Young. We had a big front go through yesterday with wind gusts up to 50 mph. This taping up of the long gourds has been my best strategies to keep them hanging. We survived tropical storm Irene last year doing this. We will be harvesting both of these by Tuesday next week unless we see any late growth.   Sunday, September 9 View Page Here is a picture to remind me that I need to build a higher trellis next year. We have had to dig holes the last 2 years. Of course if I do make a taller trellis I will grow shorter long gourds. LOL   Sunday, September 9 View Page 777 Young front view. She is really moving at a snails pace now with an OTT of 339.   Sunday, September 9 View Page Here is a side view. Got a bump but still kind of pretty.   Sunday, September 9 View Page Here is a stem view.   Sunday, September 9 View Page 1103 Young. This gal is getting a bit darker but has a very rough exterior. She is at 352 OTT and is growing very slow. Thumps pretty good so hopefully will go heavy.   Sunday, September 9 View Page 1103 side.   Sunday, September 9 View Page 1103 stem view.   Sunday, September 9 View Page Here is our front lawn display so far. The pumpkin on the left is out 627.5 Young 2012 (1304 x 1103) and the pumpkin on the right is from our friends Mike and Gail and is on loan until our VT weighoff.   Sunday, September 30 View Page Topsfield Fair was a great time meeting old friends and making new as well as seeing some world class fruit. Here my wife Kerry and I are with our entry weighing in at 840 pounds. We loved the color of this pumpkin from our own 777 Young. It went 3% light to the new chart which I was very happy with, which made it heavy to the old chart!   Sunday, September 30 View Page Here Kerry and I am with our 129 1/8th inch long gourd. We were fortunate to win the long gourd division at Topsfield. This long gourd was from our 124 Young 2011.   Sunday, September 30 View Page We also posed for a picture of Ron's 2009 pound monster. Everyone there was in awe of this pumpkin. It was incredible to see it live. I also think Ron Wallace is one of the best giant pumpkin ambassadors in the world!   Sunday, September 30 View Page Here is a view of what is left in the patch. This week I need to start pulling vines off of the spot the now 840 Young came from.   Sunday, September 30 View Page Here is the last pumpkin in the patch and it is the 1103 Young. Currently we measure it at 358 OTT. Not our biggest ever but we are happy with her. Just need to get her safely to the VT weigh off. Also have one more long gourd to bring.   Sunday, September 30 View Page Here is the side of the 1103.   Sunday, October 21 View Page Here are the final long gourd stats for us this year. From left to right is the 115.25, 122.88 and 129.13 Young 2012. These were all grown on this trellis from the 124 Young. The trellis is 12 feet tall and the top is 3x8 feet.   Sunday, October 21 View Page Here is the latest front lawn picture. Mike and Gail Strange are renting us the pumpkin on the right from the Champlain Valley fair. The middle pumpkin is the 840 and the left is the 990.50.   Sunday, October 21 View Page Here are the seeds from the Strange pumpkin. This pumpkin was picked aroung August 20th and carved today. There were a few sprouted seeds in it and this was the longest I have ever seen at 11 inches.   Sunday, October 21 View Page Here is the start of our patch expansion for 2013. We started by moving our picket fence to the front of the pool and deck.   Sunday, October 21 View Page Here is a picture of the pool and deck that we are removing. Hopefully by snowfall!   Sunday, October 21 View Page Here are my Father and two sons with his pumpkins this year. The big one is from the 777 Young and is around 450 pounds. The culls are from the 648 Young plant as the main pumpkin went down in early august.   Sunday, October 28 View Page We have half of the deck down here and the pool down except for the liner.   Sunday, October 28 View Page A few days later we have the pool deck down and the liner taken care of.   Sunday, October 28 View Page Here is a picture on the corner of the old patch.   Sunday, October 28 View Page Here is an outline that will be tilled. The big square will be new plant area of 1600 square feet which will host 2 plants.   Sunday, October 28 View Page The green grass between the two farthest away till lines will be kept as a path to walk and move pumpkins. From the farthest tilled spot to the picket fence on the side will be for field pumpkins. We will have 5 plants that will be roughly 10x10 of field pumpkins and ornamental gourds. Hopefully next week I will get my friend Dick Squires to come till the new and old patch with tractor and will be ordering 15-20 yards of compost in the spring.   Sunday, November 4 View Page My back yard has gone from this........   Sunday, November 4 View Page to this in 3 weekends.   Sunday, November 4 View Page And from this view to .......   Sunday, November 4 View Page this view. My son Andrew looking at where his pool used to be. LOL Kids are grown and prefer to swim in the local river rather than Mom and Dad's little pool.   Sunday, November 4 View Page The farther away skinny strip is 10 feet wide and we will have a 10 x 40 space to grow field pumpkins and ornamental gourds.   Sunday, November 4 View Page In the far left of this old patch picture we will be putting up a new long gourd trellis. We will have 2 long gourd trellis's and space for two giants. Over all we will have 4 plants; 560,690,800 and 800 square feet. Last year largest plant was 650 square feet. Now we need to start adding compost next weekend if snow doesn't stop us!   Sunday, November 4 View Page Here is the old long gourd side of the patch. We will be building a new trellis here next year as well. The old trellis was pieced together and only 12 feet tall. The new trellis will be 14 feet tall and 12x4 feet on top to give me 48 square feet. The old trellis was 3x8 so 24 square feet.   Saturday, November 10 View Page This was our project today. My wife wanted raised beds for a few vegetables so we used pool deck wood to make these. They are 7 feet by 4 feet and 20 inches high. We filled them 3/4s with new patch dirt that was real sandy and finished the top 6 inches with compost. Each box took 1.7 yards of material. It always surprises me how many shovels and wheelbarrow loads that is. LOL We will be sleeping well tonight!   Monday, November 12 View Page Here is the new patch with 7 yards of compost on it. I have tried to cover the main vine area first (approx 19 x 40). Next spring I will add a few more yards. Sally the patch dog looking over it and gives her approval.