Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 282 Entries. Tuesday, January 1 View Page Happy New Year to everyone. Hope you all have a great year growing! Here's my line-up for 2013. Recognise them?   Monday, January 14 View Page Made a slight change to this years line-up. Still sticking with the 1770.5 Lieber (1495 Stelts x self), a 1290 Poirier (772.2 Poirier x 500 Northrup) and a 980 Fredricks (1544 Revier x 1610 Lieber) but am now adding in a 1161 Rodonis remake by Peter Frei: the 854 Frei (1231.3 Pukos x 1450 Wallace). Thanks to all growers that have been kind enough to share there seed with me. Dale and Glenna, I really wanted to fit your 1213 and 1723 in but I just can't manage another two patches, apologies! Too many good seeds to choose from.   Friday, February 22 View Page Normally we get snow for a few days once a year but this year its been snowing on/off since the 19th Jan. Got to break out the old sledge which is at least 20 year old, probably considerably more.   Friday, February 22 View Page Been flicking through some old photo's and found an old favorite of mine from 2007. I have always found swans to be quite gentle   Wednesday, March 6 View Page This was back in 2005. Climbed the odd tree in Horsham Forest   Wednesday, March 6 View Page Something about this pic suggests I was moving at speed but I can't remember in which direction.   Wednesday, March 6 View Page This one's of a heron that use to frequent our garden trying to get at the fish.   Tuesday, March 12 View Page I built the long gourd frame and then measured it at 96" high. It's a bit lop-sided but is stable and I have been up and down it a few times. Its 12" wide so I am guessing three plants possibly two but I'll check with some experts as this will be my first attempt. Will be growing a Young seed but not sure which (Thanks John). If I put a board under the gourd and angle it out to the lower ground in front then there is a possible 120" there. Will leave the green manure where it is until a week before planting time.   Tuesday, March 12 View Page The patch after the sun melted the snow away. You can see that the patch on the left had more vetch than rye and that the cold spell has knocked the vetch out. The right hand side patch vetch has been battered but a thick sowing of rye exists. I'm going to try and keep these cover crops going as long as possible and dig in just before the plant as it grows. Left side patch: 980 Fredricks and right side patch for 1770 Lieber. Foreground pact to the right: 854.5 Frei and finally the left side patch in the background will be home to 1290 Poirier (not sure of back-up plant)   Friday, March 22 View Page Bummner!   Saturday, April 6 View Page First day of sunshine this year with temps in the double figures for the first time too. Kids just wanted to make mud soup.   Saturday, April 6 View Page and get started on the cover crop   Saturday, April 6 View Page and picking all the flowers   Saturday, April 13 View Page Reminder to self of what is going where   Saturday, April 13 View Page Sophiana working on a sign for her patch and the beginning of a mini-greenhouse for one of the pumpkins. Hopefully I'll get two or three of them up and on the patches soon to start warming the soil. May have to make a start soon but the weather hasn't said go yet.   Sunday, April 14 View Page First of the pumpkin houses (6'x8')in place and rye/vetch turned over two weeks ahead of planting.   Wednesday, April 17 View Page Just one more side to cover up on pumpkin house 1. This took longer than I thought it would. Noticed that the vetch has started leafing up again ater the long winter.   Sunday, April 21 View Page 4.00 am, woke-up, insomnia.... may as well start some seed   Sunday, April 21 View Page 10.00am - putting the kids to work   Sunday, April 21 View Page They argued over who would plant which seed and now over who will have which patch. This one will be Sophiana's and she'll be growing a 1290 Poirier or a 1213 Rea here, whichever does best. About 7 days until planting and we are only just digging in the rye before putting a cover on the greenhouse. We're a little behind!   Sunday, April 21 View Page You know when they're quiet the tea and biscuits are out!   Sunday, April 21 View Page Nearly covered all of the pumpkin house but a little left to do! May have to keep it much simpler for the 3rd and 4th patch just to get them planted and then build bigger ones as time permits. Being the UK, and UK weather, bigger ones will be needed! The weather has improved though and the rye is growing super quick and even the winter battered vetch is growing back.   Monday, April 22 View Page Germinated and potted on are 3 x 854.5 Frei's, 2 x 400 Frei's, 1x 980 Fredricks and thankfully the sole 1290 Poirier. I'm using two different commercial starting mixes for comparison. The ungerminated 1213 Rea's, 1770 Lieber's and remaining 980 Fredricks are back above the boiler in the ziplock bag.   Thursday, April 25 View Page Pumpkin house almost eaten alive by the rye   Thursday, April 25 View Page Ammendments went in today in the pumpkin houses. 1.75 lbs of 0-0-50 and 1.75 lbs 7-7-7 (f,b&b) in each of the pumpin houses. Had to cover the soil as the rye keeps growing back. Patch 3 had 3.5lbs each of 0-0-50 and 7-7-7 in the prepared 7'x16' prepped area. Each patch had 0.9 lbs MgSO4 watered on. Just waiting to plant but the seeds are taking a while to pop out of the soil. They germinated fine but are recieving no special treatment in terms of temps. Hoping to get them in one of the pumpkin houses if some warm nights are forecast.   Thursday, April 25 View Page 3rd pumpkin house done. Patch 4 is still untouched.   Friday, April 26 View Page Change of plans. Going to enter the 150 contest which ultimately means less digging/prep. Plan is to grow the 1290/1213 and 1770 on the full sized patches =(ca. 600 sq ft ea.) and convert patch 3 into two 150 sq ft patches for the 854.5 and the 980.If I still have energy then make the fourth patch just 150 sq ft for a 1213 Rea if it does not get grown in the big patch.   Saturday, April 27 View Page We just had a warm week and if my plants were ready they would have gone in. However, today its turned cold and there has been some hail, just as well that they are slow to pop there heads out of the soil although i'm not sure how they're doing as they're in my mums porch. You know how pumpkin wives can be with pots of mud around the house. Hoping to plant on May 3rd if first leaves are showing.   Monday, April 29 View Page Gave the rye a trim on the patch in the background. Took 10 mins with garden sheers and now I have some souvenir blisters.   Friday, May 3 View Page Plants went in: Patch 1 = 1290/1213, Patch 2 = 1770/1770, Patch 3 = 854.5/854.5. The 980 Fredricks are coming on quite slow and one has a damaged cot with a hole in it. There's a good chance they do not get planted.   Tuesday, May 7 View Page Planted a 400 Frei in an unworked spot. Potential pollinator.   Wednesday, May 8 View Page Cut back the rye on Patch 2 (1770) which is starting to go to seed.   Sunday, May 12 View Page A typical UK wet day   Monday, May 13 View Page This is the 400 Frei that was one of my strongest and that I didn't want to compost so found a hole for at the bottom of the allotment. Expecting the second leaf by now and got twins instead. Had the same occurence with an 852 Myers last year but can't remember how soon it appeared. Had doubling of everything off the primary up until the 5th node and then it grew out normally from there on out. This plant does not have a back-up and is a spare. Couldn't throw it on the compost as it was one of my strongest so foun   Tuesday, May 14 View Page Soil temp 13oC. Keeping boarder about 1ft from the stump.   Tuesday, May 14 View Page With my patch being a 20 min walk away its a nightmare to get there everyday to open up the pumpkin houses when Mrs Dandytown has the car. This bike is a lifesaver!   Tuesday, May 14 View Page Pair of 854.5 Freis. Just out of shot and 2' from the left hand plant was a potato sprouting. Gave it a tug and disturbed the soil only to reveal some pumpkin roots. Didn't damage them but it sure made me panick about digging in the rye/vetch on the other two patches.   Tuesday, May 14 View Page Along the sides of each pumpkin house (3-5' out from plants) I cut down the rye/vetch and turned over to one fork depth. Covered over with carpet to prevent any grobw-back   Tuesday, May 14 View Page Check the soil temps: 854.5 (hoop house 16oC), 1290 (14oC pumpkin house), 1770 (14oC pumpkin house) and for the two 400's (13 oC recently put together window frames). This made me think about watering. The waterbuts were at 6oC and the watering cans in the pumpkin houses were at 10oC (too cold). Made up a brew of fulvic acid (2g), seaweed (5g) and organics 2-6-3.5 (5mL) in 11L, warmed it to 20-25oC on the camping cooker and split over each plants and its back-up Soaked with a further 2L of water.   Tuesday, May 14 View Page Have myself two 60-100L tanks raised up above the 1770 patch and hope to get a third. These will feed the driptape for that patch. Plan is to always have at least one tank warming up and to stay away from cold tap water this year accept for when spraying.   Monday, May 20 View Page   Monday, June 10 View Page Eni meeni mini mo...... 854.5's and one needs to go!   Monday, June 10 View Page 854.5 is the most advanced on the patch. I have only worked the first 8' x 16' of it's patch and need to rapidly get out ahead and prepare the rest ahead in advance of it vining   Thursday, June 13 View Page 1770 back up culled today and vine is down for the remaining 1770. 1290/1213 in patch 1 are quite slow at the moment. Vines up but the 1213 is going to fall in the wrong direction. 1290 (keeper) needs turning. 854.5 is 1' from the end of the tunnel.   Wednesday, June 19 View Page 1770 Lieber - cropped all the weeds around the plant which is now 4'   Wednesday, June 19 View Page 854.5 Frei - again, same with this one with tons of weeds around the plant which is at 6'. Picture taken at 10.00pm with little light hence the poor quality. It's starting to get busy on the patch!   Wednesday, June 19 View Page 1290 Poirier - 7 mins later and its dark. Plant at about 3'. The allotments always give me the creeps when I leave in the dark. Never know what's lurking about.   Monday, June 24 View Page 854.5 Frei - Moving at a good pace now with the secondaries filling out nicely which means the cover will have to come off. The photo show the main vine (red arrows), a secondary off the main (blue arrow) and another vine (yellow arrow) which I am not sure about. The yellow arrow vine shows tertiary’s that are more advanced than all the other secondary’s and I wonder if this vine is what is known as a double? It doesn’t fit with the other secondary’s either in terms of spacing pattern. Wondering what to do with it? Let it run and terminate as any other secondary?   Tuesday, June 25 View Page 1770 Lieber - Now without cover. Leaves on this one tend to sag a bit today, temps are only ca. 22oC and the plant had been watered.   Tuesday, June 25 View Page 854.5 Frei - It's starting to look like a proper pumpkin patch now, only had to wait 10 months!   Tuesday, June 25 View Page 1290 Poirier - Running slower but looks healthy. Same could be said of the previous plant on this patch last year.   Friday, June 28 View Page There's a healthy stock of worms on my patch, this I know, but check out the size of this beast!   Saturday, June 29 View Page 854.5 Frei - at 9'. I think this plant benefits from being in a sheltered spot (from the wind).   Saturday, June 29 View Page 1290 Poirier - now without pumpkinhouse   Saturday, June 29 View Page 1770 Lieber - This one has me concerned as most of the larger leaves do not want to lay flat. They curl up and over but all in the same direction which makes me wonder if it's due to wind damage? The 854 is sheltered and the 1290 only just out from undercover so just not sure.   Saturday, June 29 View Page 1770 Lieber - at 7.5' and with its windshield up to see if it makes a difference   Saturday, June 29 View Page Nb. 1.5g MnSO4 in 9L watered onto each plant and its surrounding root area   Sunday, June 30 View Page Nb. 1.5g MnSO4 in 9L watered onto each plant and its surrounding root area. Female on 854.5 at 10' and on 1770 at 8'. Possible July 8-10th pollination if weather is good.   Sunday, June 30 View Page Correction to above: MgSO4 added on 30/6   Friday, July 5 View Page Now this is rare for the UK and its got me excited! Just finished a cup of tea (04.47am) and off to get some of the 854 plot dug ahead of the plant which is at about 11 foot now. Little nervous that the roots may have ventured into the part that needs digging. Also, desparately need to get an IBC moved and attached to the drip lines for the week ahead. Note: 854.5 Frei had a male open on the 2/7 and the 1290 Poirier on the 3/7 which was good to see as I seem to remember in the past geting females pop open with no males ready.   Friday, July 5 View Page Nb. 1.5g MnSO4 in 9L watered onto each plant and its surrounding root area   Friday, July 5 View Page 1770 Lieber - at sunrise, is needing extra care to shield from wind   Friday, July 5 View Page 854.5 Frei - at sunrise with first female at 11'   Friday, July 5 View Page 1290 Poirier - this patch always produces slower growers that look healthier. Plants has deep green stems and vines, expecting something ruby red from this bad boy   Friday, July 5 View Page 400.0 Frei - overview of the whole patch (150 sq ft: 8 x 18.75). Will be using the tunnels for as long as possible.   Friday, July 5 View Page 400 Frei - this one is catching up with the 1290, suspect the pumpkin house helps as it was ptretty fresh on the patch this morning   Saturday, July 6 View Page 854.5 Frei - female at 11' and the weather being in the high 20's is bringing it on quickly. Not sure how many days until this one pops   Saturday, July 6 View Page 1770 Lieber - viturally the same stage as above, maybe a day behind. This one is at about 9', wine at 10'   Wednesday, July 10 View Page 854.5 Frei - Pollination day for female at 11' and the weather is behaving nicely with yesterdays 30oC heat(ca. 92F) cooling for today and tomorrow (62F min - 72 max) before heating up again for Friday. Only issue with this plant is it's growing quicker than I can dig ahead of it. Looking back to my June 30th prediction and I probably got lucky. Primary also had another female at 13' and quite a few on the secondaries.   Wednesday, July 10 View Page 854.5 Frei - Untied the female at 11' and nothing wrong with her at all!   Wednesday, July 10 View Page 854.5 Frei x self (at 11')   Wednesday, July 10 View Page 1770 Leiber - Pollination day for female at about 9.5'. Bit of a rough measurement as I have literally been using my feet.   Wednesday, July 10 View Page 1770 Lieber - again, nothing wrong with this female   Wednesday, July 10 View Page 1770 Lieber x 1290 Poirier (at 9.5')   Wednesday, July 10 View Page 1290 Poirier - A little behind the others but then again it's being grown for it's beauty and good things come to those that wait eh!   Wednesday, July 10 View Page 400 Frei on the 150 sq ft plot after removing the plastic to start burying the secondaries. Didn't realy think this one through as I can't move the pumpkinhouse off as the primary has already grown through the end.   Wednesday, July 10 View Page For comparison (clockwise): 854 Frei (1231.3 Pukos x 1450 Wallace), 1770.5 Lieber (1495 Stelts x self), 1290 Poirier (772.2 Poirier x 500 Northrup) and the 400.0Frei(716 Dill x 846.5 Calai)   Saturday, July 13 View Page Its 23.17 and I'm sweating my pants off. Can't complain at all and hoping to see some good drowth on the pumpkins as a result. Fed up with 17" CC measurements on day 17.   Saturday, July 13 View Page 854.5 Frei - Installed an IBC and made a hozelock adapter to the 60 m of drip tape covering 14' wide by 10' long of the patch. Mixed a good wedge of soluble seaweed and 12g of Fulvic into the 1000L tank and have started the irrigation and will check in the morning to see how much has emptied. Terminated 5 secondaries of which I had to remove the female at the end of four of them as even as backups they would have no room to grow at the edge of the patch. Left a female on the 2nd r/h/side secondary and I hope its not going to be a repeat of 2011 and growing on a secondary. Also started puting a bend in the main at the kin and trimed off a few secondaries that had no space to grow.   Sunday, July 14 View Page 1770 Lieber x 854.5 Frei 6' out on the first secondary (L). This is Zachary's plant so we'll pollinate everything to increase our chances of a fruit this year.   Sunday, July 14 View Page and here he is pollinating the kin himself. If this one takes I'll have to get him to all my pollinations from now on.   Sunday, July 14 View Page job done   Sunday, July 14 View Page He's been very busy picking peas   Sunday, July 14 View Page and shelling them.   Sunday, July 14 View Page job done!   Sunday, July 14 View Page 854.5 Frei - Female at 11' with another at 14' which should open tomorrow.   Sunday, July 14 View Page The IBC container ran for 12h overnight from a full tank and put out 200L over a 200 sq ft area so from full I need to aim to let it run for 6 hours max or pick up a timer and have it run for four 90 min intervals per 24 hour. The adpater was made by drilling a 2" whole in the middle and superglueing a connector on. Now I have a few request to make some more. Cost me Ł1.00 for the adapter and Ł20 for the tank.   Sunday, July 14 View Page Patch overview - 1290 and 400 both with females at 10.5 opening within the next 2 days   Monday, July 15 View Page Pollinated this 4 lobe 854.5 Frei x self @ 14'   Monday, July 15 View Page 1000L IBC flow rate: 1000-800L (200 L per 12h), 800-700L (100 L per 12h)   Monday, July 15 View Page 1770 Lieber - noticing that there are yellow spots on the leaves all over the plant but especially on the new growth. Not quite sure what it is even after looking at Matts leaf problem ppt   Monday, July 15 View Page 1290 Poirier - about 4 days ago I knocked a barrel over with a hose pipe and it had to go and fall on the main. It cracked it right where the first female is at 10.5'. Well today I started to put a little bend in the vine and off dropped the main. Best that it happened now rather than later. I'll grow the tertiaries of those two secondaries closest to the kin and grow a pitch fork pattern   Monday, July 15 View Page picture to the avove post   Tuesday, July 16 View Page Note to self: Re: Yellowing leaves on 1770 http://www.bigpumpkins.com/msgboard/ViewThread.asp?b=3&p=479503   Tuesday, July 16 View Page Pollinated nice little 5 lobe 1290 Poirier x 400 Frei at 10.5'. The bee's were literally swarming round the patch this morning. Felt like a warfare pollination. This female has faint green lines running in blossom to stem direction which I recall from a post might be a positive thing for asthetics.   Tuesday, July 16 View Page Also did the reverse pollination on 5 lobe 400 Frei (716 Dill x 846.5 Calai) x 1290 at 10.5'. Top pumpkin shows what the 846 Calai produced (827.1Frei08 uow/dmg) and the bottom is what the 716 Dill produced (400 Frei). There's going to be some orange in the patch!   Saturday, July 20 View Page Currently running a pb on the 854.5 Frei at 11'. Weather has just cooled off a bit.   Saturday, July 20 View Page 1770 Lieber is also putting out a better 20 DAP (17.25" CC) than I have had before. Liking the shape of this one. Plant looks the least healthiest on the patch with lime green leaves with yellow spots. Definately the underdog but it could suprise me.   Saturday, July 20 View Page 1290 Poirier - really liking this plant, looks very healthy although I spotted blackfly eggs under the leaves which I might treat with dilute soapy water after checking with other growers if okay.   Saturday, July 20 View Page 1290 Poirier x 400 Frei on 1st secondary (l/h/s)   Saturday, July 20 View Page 10 day CC 854.5 Frei : 21.75" 10 day CC on 1770 Lieber : 17.25"   Saturday, July 20 View Page Some kind fellow grower pointed out that numbnuts here has been measuring cc completely wrong. Back we go later to measure correctly. I really should know better!   Saturday, July 20 View Page Remeasured 10 DAP for 854.5 Frei at 11' (24.5") and the 1770 Lieber at 9.5' (19.0").   Monday, July 22 View Page Pumpkins slowed in growth yesterday (3.5" to 2" a night on the 854) due to two days of cooler weather. However should I be worried about the changing colour on this 854.5 Frei? I ask as when my 1304 aborted around day 30 last year it had been turning orange from the blossom end   Monday, July 22 View Page 854.5 again. Note to self to get some sand later today   Monday, July 22 View Page One more angle on 854.5 colouring.   Monday, July 22 View Page Just been flicking through some photo's and noticed this on my 400 Frei a couple of days ago. How did I miss him although don't think he was a real threat   Monday, July 22 View Page Patch overview (clockwise: 854, 1770, 1290, 400). 854is beasting along, 1770 looking haggered but the 1290 I love, no issues at all. Plants seem to like this patch. 400 needs the secondary's sorting to within the boundaries so as not to DQ from the 150 comp. Will train vertically at the boundaries later.   Monday, July 22 View Page This is why my watering can is always getting blocked   Tuesday, July 23 View Page Last night we had a thunderstorm which brought with it a ton of rain so this morning I cut a few secondary's, chopped off a load of pumpkins on secondary's and chopped off as many tendrils as I could get rid of so that it would take some water pressure away from the growing pumpkins. At 17.00 hrs today came torrential rain unlike any I have seen before. This photo shows moderate flooding at one part of the journey home. Other parts had rivers dissecting the roads. The Mrs was worried about the car, I was worried about my pumpkins and I have no idea how much rain they recieved in that part of Nottingham.   Tuesday, July 23 View Page Much of the water has drained down hill now but these people completely lossed the back of their garden. Fortunately nobody was hurt.   Tuesday, July 23 View Page The final stretch home, all up hill from here and away from the water.   Wednesday, July 24 View Page 854.5 Frei (14 DAP) 36.5" cc, 26.5" ss, 27.5" bs (90.5" OTT)   Wednesday, July 24 View Page 1770 Lieber (14 DAP) 28.5" cc, 21" ss, 20" bs (69.5" OTT)   Thursday, July 25 View Page 854.5 Frei (15 DAP) 42" cc, 30.5" ss, 31" bs (103.5" OTT) which makes that 13" growth in the last 24 hrs. Snipped some tap roots off nearby buried nodes and retopped up the IBC with seaweed. Also, made the first half a cut through the stem on the back-up at 14' as I'm all in with this one at 11'. Damn this one has me excited!   Thursday, July 25 View Page 1770 Lieber (15 DAP) 34" cc, 22" ss, 24" bs (80" OTT)   Friday, July 26 View Page 10 DAP measurements for 1290 Poirier and 400 Frei are 20" CC and 18" CC, respectively. The 1290 which I had hoped would be a perfectly round unblemished and orange pumpkin now has a dent in it as a result of a growth spurt and growing into the cage protecting it. Fortunately the white sheet keeping it warm prevented the skin from breaking but you can see where the skin has been stretched as it grew. Keen to see how that dent expands in a full sized fruit.   Friday, July 26 View Page First foliar on 854 (5g seaweed and 1g fulvic acid in 5L), probably managed 75% of leaves at best. Sophiana did her 1290 and looking at 40% coverage for her effort. Calcium nitrate tomorrow (5mL in 5L of 4% N, 8% Ca in liquid humate)   Tuesday, July 30 View Page 1770 x 1290 day 20: 124.5" OTT   Tuesday, July 30 View Page 854 x self day 20: 153" OTT   Thursday, August 1 View Page I had only noticed today that the newer leaves on the 1770 are nolonger showing the yellowing that was showing up a few weeks ago. Two days ago it cooled to 18oC and as a result a reduction in gains was noticed on each plant. The 854 was down from a 20lbs overnight gain to 10lbs with a change in the weather. However, today was v.hot so I hope to see some change in the right direction.   Sunday, August 4 View Page 854 x self day 25: 200" OTT   Sunday, August 4 View Page 1770 x 1290 day 20: 170.5" OTT   Sunday, August 4 View Page 1770 x 1290 day 25: 170.5" OTT   Sunday, August 4 View Page Under canopy shot of the 1290 and not a weed in sight. Not sure why the soil is so good here but I love this patch and am hoping the 1290 likes it too!   Sunday, August 4 View Page Under canopy shot on the 854, completely different. Letting the weeds do there own thing as they just don't compete for my time like watering and spraying etc etc. Probably waste an hour a day just uncovering with sheets, measuring, gawping at and then covering again.   Sunday, August 4 View Page 854.5 Patch in all it's glory! Most vines are terminated bar the main and 3-4 secondarys at the bottom of the picture. I'll try and let these run for a while yet and maybe let the main run indefinately!   Sunday, August 4 View Page 1770 in forefront, 1290 behind it and the little 400.0 Frei at the back to the right in its 150 sq ft patch   Sunday, August 4 View Page The important stuff!   Sunday, August 4 View Page Happy days!   Sunday, August 4 View Page Our day out at Mablethorpe Beach Seal Sanctuary   Sunday, August 4 View Page 1770 x 854 on side vine (97" OTT 21 DAP). Growing this one for the seed. The 1770 x 1290 started off perfectly round like this one and ended up as a pentagon. The 854 started off not too great a shape and now is looking like a thumper with good symmetry.   Sunday, August 4 View Page 400 Frei has a really long shape although I'm quickly learning that the shape now is not always carry through to the end. Feel inclined to name it 'Bullet'   Sunday, August 4 View Page 1290 Poirier could grow down on its blossom as a result of a lack of care keeping the blossom and stem ends lined up early on. I have been adjusting it but can do no more. This one is the second fastest growing and may outperform the 1770 although the 1770 does have two pumpkins growing on it.   Monday, August 5 View Page 1290 x 400 day 20: 145.5" OTT   Monday, August 5 View Page 400 x 1200 day 20: 116" OTT (150 sq ft patch)   Monday, August 5 View Page Today's measurements were good ones! On day 26 the 854.5 and 1770 taped estimated gains 29 and 22.5 lbs respectively and the 1290 and 400 on day 20 put on 17.6 and 8.6 lbs, respectively. Nice to see that they all respond in the same way at the same time. The 1290 was a late starter but I have a sneaky suspicion it could perform really well if I haven't just given it the 'kiss of death'. Hope everyone else is having as much fun in their patches as I am.   Monday, August 5 View Page Nb. The above chart refers to lbs not OTT   Tuesday, August 6 View Page Today's measurements were bad ones after a cold day and night! On day 27 the 854.5 and 1770 taped estimated gains 14.2 and 11.8 lbs respectively which is down 50% from yesterday. 1290 and 400 on day 21 went down to put on 8.2 and 2.3 lbs, respectively. Almost like hibernation. 50F nights and 70F days forecast for the next 5 days which is bad as the 854 could have gone +30lbs a day I am sure. Can't complain too much but can't helkp consider 'what if?'   Friday, August 9 View Page 854 x self day 30: 233.5" OTT. Not exactly rockin it at the moment and at just under 20lbs a day its lost the wow factor as you can not tell that it is growing with the naked eye. :(   Friday, August 9 View Page 1770 x 1290 day 30: 206.75" OTT   Friday, August 9 View Page 1290 x 400 day 24: 174.75" OTT   Friday, August 9 View Page 400 x 1290 day 24: 139.5" OTT. Not too happy with the shape of this one. All the females had the same long shape.   Friday, August 9 View Page Took a peek at the stem on the 1770 and found these marks which look like a slug has been dinning out   Monday, August 12 View Page 854.5 Frei - Day 33: 252" OTT (5 & 10 day av. 20.6 lbs). The IBC was turned off Friday midday for fear of over watering. Back on today.   Monday, August 12 View Page 1770 x 1290 - Day 33: 224.5" OTT (5 & 10 day av. 16.7 and 15.9lbs, respectively)   Monday, August 12 View Page This picture (taken with my phone) shows the true colour of the pumpkins. I'm liking the colour that the 854 in the background is developing. The 1770 in the forefront is still super shiny   Monday, August 12 View Page 854 Frei   Monday, August 12 View Page 1290 Poirier - Day 27 195" OTT   Tuesday, August 13 View Page 400 Frei - Day 27 195.5" OTT. Not the easiest to tape reliably. Not a nice looking pumpkin either and has a small whole in one of the ribs which I can not see how deep it is. Just as well it was on this one and I'll let it do its thing and get uglier and uglier.   Tuesday, August 13 View Page correcction to above, its 159.5". Some difference!   Tuesday, August 13 View Page Side vine 1770 x 854 - Day 30 137.5" OTT. Doesn't seem to be slowing up or affecting the main vine 1770 x 1290   Tuesday, August 13 View Page For a haggered plant the 1770 is not doing to bad with a 30 day 137.5" side vine (1770 x 854) and a 228.5" day 34 main vine pumpkin (1770 x 1290). Repeating myself I know ;)   Wednesday, August 14 View Page Everyday I go to the allotment I get savaged my mosquitos, say 20 bites a time round my kneck, shoulder, arms. Hell, today they even bit me on my groin and arse crack. Can't handle a summer of itching every night. Tomorrow I'll tip all the water containers that I can not seal closed. How the hell did they get inside my trousers *~@$%*#!   Wednesday, August 14 View Page Everything is ticking along by itself so I started building the kids a split-level playhouse next to the pumpkin patches.   Wednesday, August 14 View Page Have an idea what I want it to look like but I'm just going with the flow.   Thursday, August 15 View Page 1290 Poirer - Day 30 214" OTT   Thursday, August 15 View Page 400 Frei - Day 30 176" OTT. Went under the knife today to investigate.   Thursday, August 15 View Page Cleaned up and is intensive care. We'll see how the fugly fruit does   Thursday, August 15 View Page Started taking measurements every two days from now on and today they were good. Both the 854.5 and 1770 are doing 20lbs a day despite the cold nights and average days. I found this on the 1770 which explains it all!   Thursday, August 15 View Page Baby patch toad!   Thursday, August 15 View Page Where vine growth has ground to a halt on the plants so there's no vine burying etc, time is taken up with propping up the stem and main. This is the S-curve on the 854.   Sunday, August 18 View Page Blossom end on the 854 has been weeping since the 14th. Haven't seen the pumpkins or measured for a few days since we have had rain everyday for the last 4. Day 40 measurements tomorrow and I hope there are no nasty suprises waiting for me.   Monday, August 19 View Page Still chuggin along :)   Monday, August 19 View Page The hole on the 400 seems to have healed. The 1290 is just waiting to roll over its blossom.   Monday, August 19 View Page Progress with the playhouse is slower than I would like due to forgetting tools and batteries running out on the drill. Finished the top floor which is a great place to kick back in the sun with a tea. Next task is to complete the steps.   Tuesday, August 20 View Page Managed a little more work on the playhouse today. Finished the stairs, almost completed the downstairs floor frame and have put in the front frame with one window.   Tuesday, August 20 View Page What should have taken half the time end up taking a good part of the day as the rechargable battery on my drill is finished! Had to go old school which got the job done but my hands are killing me   Tuesday, August 20 View Page Blossom end on the 1770 x 1290. This one is super smooth and is going to do a real nice orange. There's a good chance that this one will get grown next year.   Friday, August 23 View Page 1290 Poirier with 400 sq ft of plant behind it. Since the main was terminated an inch before the pumpkin through an accident, the plan was to grow tertiaries from the last two secondaries to fill out the remaining area, kind of like a pitchfork pattern. Trouble is is that when the pumpkin kicked into gear and the vine growth stopped, all those little tertiaries became stunted and kind of terminated themselves. Still have 1 or 2 tertiaries growing back from the stump and I'll let these continue indefinately.   Friday, August 23 View Page Close-up of the 1290. This one would of had perfect form but one of the ribs got split into 2/3 as a result of not moving a cage from above it when it was rapidly growing as a little pumpkin.   Sunday, August 25 View Page 1770 Lieber x 1290 Poirier - Day 46   Sunday, August 25 View Page 1290 Poirier x 400 Frei - Day 40   Sunday, August 25 View Page 1290 received a visitor last night!   Saturday, August 31 View Page 1770 Lieber x 1290 Poirier - Day 52: 301", 608 lbs   Saturday, August 31 View Page 1290 Poirier x 400 Frei - Day 46: 281.25", 500 lbs   Saturday, August 31 View Page 400 Frei x 1290 Poirier - Day 46: 232.5", 288 lbs   Saturday, August 31 View Page 854 Frei x self - Day 52: 306.5", 640 lbs   Saturday, August 31 View Page 1770 Lieber x 854 Frei (side vine genetics pumpkin) - Day 48: 200", 187 lbs. Main vine pumpkin in the background. I have been deliberating over whether to cut this one off from the stump but it doesn't seem to be affecting growth on the main pumpkin so I'll leave it a while longer.   Tuesday, September 3 View Page 1770 Lieber - Day 55: 305", 632 lbs which is an avergae of 8 lbs a day for the last three days. The nights are cold but the weather in the day time is good. Havent been on top of watering but still suprised that the plants have slowed down so quickly. Target is for this one to tape 800 lbs, not sure if that's being unrealistic. Anyway, this is Zachary's pumpkin and it has for some time been working on edging its way to be being the biggest on the patch and is catching up on the 854.   Tuesday, September 3 View Page 854 Frei - Day 55: 311.5", 670 lbs, 10 lbs a day for the last 3. This one nearly got separated from the vine when Sophiana started slipping backwards. It was a 50:50, caught the kids and the vine had a narrow escape. Lesson learnt!   Tuesday, September 3 View Page 1290 Poirier - Day 49: 288", 535 lbs, +35 lbs over the last 3 days. This is Sophiana's pumpkin and it was no fun taping it as some cat has had a dump nearby. Can't see it but I can damn well smell it! Found a small slug on the stem which confirmed where the damage is coming from.   Tuesday, September 3 View Page Been thinking about the 1770 x 1290 cross and this pumpkin is definately my favorite and I'm looking forward to seing what the seed from this one grows next year. The 1770 is still super smooth and shiny whereas the 1290 is heavily ribbed. Both are going to be HDA orange, maybe its time to take the sheets off.   Thursday, September 5 View Page Temperatures will drop down to 9oC tonight and a max of 15oC in the day for the next 5 days. So, although gains jumped back up they could be set to drop again: 854 Frei (D5: 318.5", 718 lbs), 1770 Lieber (D57: 311", 668 lbs), 1290 Poirier (D51: 293.75", 567 lbs), 400 Frei (150 plot, D51: 240.5", 318 lbs). I think gains went down as my watering was not consistent, sometimes every 48 hours due to over commitments.   Sunday, September 8 View Page Day 60 numbers: 854 Frei (319.5", 723 lbs), 1770 Lieber (316", 700 lbs)   Sunday, September 8 View Page Day 54 nuumbers: 1290 Poirier (299.75", 601 lbs), 400 Frei (150 plot, 244.75", 334 lbs).   Monday, September 9 View Page 1770 x 1290 is glowing nicely in the patch and the plant is no longer supporting the side vine kin (1770 x 854 est 230lbs) so hopefully the big one should get a little boost although the days and nights are cold (8 oC)   Monday, September 9 View Page 1290 plant, still growing and still the healthiest of them all and with very few weeds under canopy   Monday, September 9 View Page 1290, Day 55   Monday, September 9 View Page Noticed a small split near by the stem on the 854. I'm hoping it will amaount to nothing. Hoping!   Wednesday, September 11 View Page Today I noticed that the 1770 x 854 side vine pumpkin was feeling overly soft all over so it was cut open to harvest the seed.   Wednesday, September 11 View Page Harvested 200 seeds which I estimate is about 1/4 of what was in there. Need to dry these and then do some germination tests. Know as 230(est)Geyelin 2012 (1770 Lieber x 854 Frei [1161 Rodonis remake])   Wednesday, September 11 View Page Make that 2013 not 2012. About a third of the batch saved seem to be a little underdeveloped on the tips but germination tests will throw some light on it.   Wednesday, September 11 View Page Getting a little paranoid so I started to feel the 1770 x 1290 for soft spots and its probably just fine. Bit like feeling a melon to see if its ripe, you keep prodding and prodding until its all bruised and soft. I'd like it to feel firmer though as I don't want to lose this one!   Wednesday, September 11 View Page The crack around the 854 seems to be getting wider. If the weather wasn't so wet and cold then that crack would be getting wider much quicker. Fingers crossed. Compared to the 1770, the 854 feels solid.   Thursday, September 12 View Page We might not have SVB in the UK but with growing outdoors we have our own battles. The remainder of September looks bleak. Pumpkins are on suicide watch. Growth expected: minimal   Thursday, September 12 View Page After a ton of rain last night and some warm blankets on the pumpkin the split has widened and has some sap around it and the hairline crack above it. Where I have been willing it to grow I am now willing it to stop so that I don't lose it to a split. First noticed the split the day after spraying with 0-0-28 but could just be a coincidence as I hadn't checked the stem for a few days anyway.   Friday, September 13 View Page Growing quicker than I would like as we are having rain everyday. Split was cleaned of debri and was dry. Dusted with S. Currently seeking advice on how the split will affect the pumpkin (e.g. depth, rot etc) and if I need to take any drastic measures to save the pumpkin (i.e. stop growth)   Friday, September 13 View Page A carpet of green leaves. When you think about it, look at all the mass that's being drawn out of the soil and the air. Would be interesting to know the volume of CO2 being used by these plants. Simply amazing!   Friday, September 13 View Page Very little growth observed on all plants at the moment with the cold days and nights. The 1770 feels fine to the touch so I am over my 'is it going soft' panic. Terminated all 3rd and 4th stage growth on the 1290 and 1770 today except for a single strong tertiary on the 1290 and the main of the 1770 which at a guess might be around 30'.   Friday, September 13 View Page New neighbour at the allotment introduced himself today and uncovered a mouse nest. They have been returned to the nest so I hope the mum isn't upset about that. The nest is very far away from the pumpkins.   Saturday, September 14 View Page Zachary woke me up asking for me to make a helicopter. Kept my mind off the 854 split which I need to go and check out later today. A couple of growers have given some advice which is appreciated!   Saturday, September 14 View Page ....and here's the chopper.   Sunday, September 15 View Page The cold weather has slowed the pumpkins down prematurely but here is where they're at: 854 Frei (324”, Day 66, 752 lbs) 1770 Lieber (323”, Day 66, 745 lbs) 1290 Poirier (306.75”, Day 60, 642 lbs) 400 Frei (150 sq ft patch, 251”, Day 60, 360 lbs)   Sunday, September 15 View Page Note to the above. Estimated weighhts based on 2012 chart whereas the spreadsheet may be to 2005/2008 charts, not sure which. If anyone has a new formula for excel that would be great   Sunday, September 15 View Page Here's my complaining in the form of a weather report and this is just about as good as it gets. Mother nature just stole 150 - 200 lbs off my pumpkins final weights   Monday, September 16 View Page 1290 Poirier x 400 Frei - Day 62   Monday, September 16 View Page 1290 Poirier x 400 Frei - Day 62 The plan was to allow sunlight from hear on out to bring out the 1290 colouring but there is no sun.   Monday, September 16 View Page 854 Frei x self - Day 68   Monday, September 16 View Page 1770 Lieber x 1290 Poirier Can see where all the visible growth is happening.... the stem end. I love the colour and smooth skin of the 1770 but the symmetry of the 854 and 1290   Monday, September 16 View Page 1770 x 1290 backside view   Monday, September 16 View Page I imagine this is small for 'giant beetroot' but I know I wouldn't find one like this at the supermarket. Tapes 16.25" I think there's a few bigger ones still to come from the patch.   Monday, September 16 View Page For comparison with my Bonbon squash (only 4 this year!). the beetroot went to my neighbour.   Wednesday, September 18 View Page The 1290 managed to not grow over its blossom end. 1290 seems wider today   Wednesday, September 18 View Page 854 is holding together but the split opened up a fraction and I think it happened due to being warmer as I covered it last night. So, I carried out some treatment to stop it from travelling further into the pumpkin should it decide to grow some more.   Wednesday, September 18 View Page Put a small cut across the split on the pumpkin and split the stem about 2 inches. Stem cut is about half and inch deep. Not sure if I was agressive enough but I sure can't cut in a straight line. Thanks Quinn and Glenn for the advice   Wednesday, September 18 View Page Close up.   Saturday, September 21 View Page Someone was supposed to watering the pumpkin plants! We have just come out of a week long cold spell and daytime temps are set to increase to around 20oC. Measurements after the cold spell are: 854 Frei (327", 772 lbs, 3.3 lbs/day) 1770 Lieber (329", 786 lbs, 6.6 lbs/day) 1290 Poirier (315", 693 lbs, 7.1 lbs/day) 400 Frei (255", 376 lbs, 2.6 lbs/day) Gave the three big ones a good dose of 0-0-28 through the irrigation hose   Saturday, September 21 View Page Zachary wouldn't let me help him carry them. He loves picking them, hates to give them away but won't eat them. ???   Tuesday, September 24 View Page 1770 on day 76, 332", 807 lbs   Tuesday, September 24 View Page 854 on day 76, 330", 793 lbs The stem split is holding up while its still growing and is starting to show another small split further round. 10 days until weigh off in London and hope to take this one. Convinced that this one will be heavier than the 1770.   Wednesday, September 25 View Page Noticed a very small crack split on the 1770 a few days ago and guessed it might get worse. It's below the blossom nub but I have a feeling that it will be fine judging how it has opened up. Seems to be external only, hope I'm not wrong. Good to see its still growing!   Wednesday, September 25 View Page Usual routine, kept dry and dusted with sulfur   Wednesday, September 25 View Page 1290 on day 70, 317.5", 709 lbs   Wednesday, September 25 View Page 400 on day 70, 257.25", 385 lbs (150 patch)   Saturday, September 28 View Page Zachary being a photograph-jacker while Sophiana waits by her 1290   Saturday, September 28 View Page Take 22......Cut!   Saturday, September 28 View Page Finally!   Saturday, September 28 View Page Zachary and his 1770   Saturday, September 28 View Page On 'split watch'. Getting bigger.   Tuesday, October 1 View Page Was suprised to see how much the 1290 had darkened in just three days. At 739 lbs (322.5") on day 77 and has only 5 days of growth left. Bar a few leaves near the stump the plant does not look like how an October plant should and could support the fruit for much longer!   Tuesday, October 1 View Page Same with the 854.5 having deepend in colour over the last 3 days. Wonder what made them all change at the same time. Tapes 807 lbs (332.25") on day 83   Tuesday, October 1 View Page 1770 Tapes 825 lbs (336") on day 83. Not sure this one can go any 'oranger'. Which one to pick for the weigh-off in 6 days time   Thursday, October 3 View Page Half of the 1290 patch has been cleared ready for the weekend. Already I can see an improvement needed for next year: irrigation over the complete patch rather than the middle 25%   Thursday, October 3 View Page First time I have seen the 1290 from this side and I like it. Another thing to change for next year is slug pellets/beer traps as they have been munching around the stems of every pumpkin. Maybe I'll look into some kind of nematode?   Thursday, October 3 View Page The 1770 could be the one going to London but I'm not completely sure. It's the one most likely to continue growing and could tape 910 lbs by the weigh off at the end of October. 10% heavy would be what I need to hit the coveted 1000 lb mark. However, while it grows, so does the 'surface' crack below the blossom. It's edging closer to the blossom.   Thursday, October 3 View Page Panoramic view of the patch   Thursday, October 3 View Page Too much time on my hands or time poorly spent?   Saturday, October 5 View Page Made the local newspaper and they were extremely complimentary and accurate as well. There was no editing in there that could make me sound like a tool. Here's the link: http://www.nottinghampost.com/Nottingham-s-finest-giant-pumpkin-grower-faced/story-19892068-detail/story.html Only error was that they had the world record (according to Guiness) down as 1818 lbs) The 1770 has been cut from the vine and will be travelling to London tomorrow. If I left it I am sure it would have taped 930 lbs. We'll see if it goes heavy on monday and then I'll do calculations to see if it would have made 1000 lbs or not. If I left it I am sure the growing crack under the blossom would have opened up.   Sunday, October 6 View Page Lifting day and first up was the 1290. SMT brought some slings and a lifting tarp so we simply tipped it to the side, slid the tarp under and then did the same the otherside. Was a great feeling to feel it lifted and it wasn't too much trouble with 7 of us.   Sunday, October 6 View Page .....although the fit was 'tight' with just under half an inch clearance each side. SMT is displaying this one at a garden center for two weeks in advance of a carving event.   Sunday, October 6 View Page Farewell 1290!   Sunday, October 6 View Page By the time it came to moving the 1770 everyone was knackered and a little reluctant. Here's part of the lifting team: Fadil, Mike and Alf.   Monday, October 7 View Page The 1770 was a beast and there were no spare hands to photograph the lifting. We had to walk it some 50 feet to where the van was and the path was far from even. The hardest part was shifting it from the pallets onto the pallet in the back of the van as we couldn't stand up. After this one I am sure a third pumpkin move would have been too much. This van is much bigger so clearance on the sides was not as issue. It took 3hrs to get to London. Had no idea how we were going to move it off the van as they had even less equipment as the forks would not be ready until the next day. Turned out they had a flatbed trolley exactly the same height as the van floor. So.... tied an old seatbelt around the pallet and it just took four of us to simply drag it onto the trolley. Job done. Had a sneek peek in the venue and there was one other of the 5 pumpkin in the competition already there.   Monday, October 7 View Page Now looking at the 874.8 Geyelin 13 (1770 Lieber x 1290 Poirier) which took 3rd place at the RHS Autumn festival in London. Final measurements were 151, 96, 93 (340") for an estimated 865 lbs which was bang on.   Monday, October 7 View Page The 766 est Geyelin 13 (1290 Poirier x 400 Frei). Final measuremnt was 48.5, 91, 86.5 (326"). As with the 1770, this one was also still putting on 5 lbs a day when harvested   Monday, October 7 View Page *148.5, 91, 86.5*   Tuesday, October 8 View Page The 874.8 sitting next to what I presume is Ian & Stuart Patons pumpkin. Picture courtesy of an artist that is hoping to take a moulding and make a giant cement version   Tuesday, October 8 View Page SMT delivered the 766 to the garden centre in Lancashire where he will be carving it at the end of the month.   Tuesday, October 8 View Page unloading   Tuesday, October 8 View Page Managed to find another photo of my 784.8 from the internet. I think, but am not sure, that the other one might be Ian Patons grown from a 1725   Tuesday, October 8 View Page The 766 on display   Friday, October 11 View Page Last remaining big one in the patch. No more measuring since the weather is too cold now that Autumn is setting in. 14 more days left for this one and the plant is looking tired and the winds are strong!   Sunday, October 20 View Page The last week has been rain rain rain but it doesn't stop the kids from having fun at the allotment. 5 mins later he trod on it.   Sunday, October 20 View Page Sophiana's: 766 Geyelin 13 est (1290 Poirier x 400 Frei)   Sunday, October 20 View Page and here's the pollinator: 400 Frei x 1290 Poirier (265", 412 lbs est). The plant is completely dead now. The leaves are from the 1290 plant which has had the main vine removed over 2 weeks ago so its amazing the leaves have stayed alive for so long. Must have a very good tap root system supporting it.   Sunday, October 20 View Page The last big one in the patch, the 854 Frei. Today I removed the stem to prevent rot as a result of water getting into the stem cut I made some time ago. The winds had blown the cover off and it had sat in the rain for a week. It's had a very liberal 'dusting' with sulfur. The stem removal looks quite brutal.   Wednesday, October 23 View Page Of the two dozen hoppers for the pet gecko this one was chosen to be freed   Wednesday, October 23 View Page The 854 weighting to go to the ball. Hoist was ordered last night, will get some slings today. Archilles heel in the moving will be the flatbed trolley which I guess may have a max load in the region of 200-300 kg   Wednesday, October 23 View Page *waiting*.....it's early in the morning!   Wednesday, October 23 View Page Found a neat app on my phone to convert pictures to sketch format. Another great way to waste away those precious hours!   Friday, October 25 View Page Lifting day and as per usual, I couldn't have done it without the team. Thanks Fadil, Jim and Mike. Practice run was on the 400 Frei pictured.   Friday, October 25 View Page Next up was the 854.5 Frei and getting it airbourne was not an issue. Moving it on a trolley that was built for something half the weight was. The trolley couldn't be turned or the axel would bend and break so we had to move the hoist/tripod and use it four times!   Friday, October 25 View Page This was after lift no. 3 and the hardest part was balancing the pumpkin on that trolley. We started the lift at 3.30 and finished at 6.30 in the dark.   Friday, October 25 View Page Lift No.4 in a tight spot. The four of us then spent an hour trying to push in to the van only to be held back by lose parts of the floor catching on the pallet and the pallet falling apart. Two pumpkins loaded and off to York in the morning.   Saturday, October 26 View Page 400 Frei and 854.5 Frei all loaded up!   Saturday, October 26 View Page I wonder how much one of those would set me back?   Saturday, October 26 View Page Only 4 pumpkins in the competition :(   Saturday, October 26 View Page 2nd place: 427 Geyelin 13 (400 Frei x 1290 Poirier). This was my neglected 150 sq ft patch pumpkin (estimated at 421 lbs).   Saturday, October 26 View Page 1st place: 976 Geyelin 13 (854 Frei x self). It was estimated at 857 lbs and I knew it would go heavy but 14% heavy! Looking forward to next year Jorg? ;)   Saturday, October 26 View Page The kids had a great day too firing pumpkins.   Saturday, October 26 View Page and Zachary got a medal for landing one in the target   Saturday, October 26 View Page and they both loved carving their own pumpkins!   Saturday, October 26 View Page .   Saturday, October 26 View Page It's been a great year! 976 Geyelin (854.5 Frei x self) - 14% Heavy, 1st Place at York. 874 Geyelin (1770 Lieber x 1290 Poirier) - 1% Heavy, 3rd place at London. 766 Geyelin est (1290 Poirier x 400 Frei). 427 Geyelin (400 Frei x 1290 Poirier) - 1.5% Heavy, 2nd Place at York. The 766 is being carved. The 874 is being casted to make a conrete version The 976 and 427 are on display and will later be casted to make concrete versions.   Sunday, October 27 View Page Sophiana summed it all up perfectly!   Tuesday, October 29 View Page Sophiana and Zachary in the York Press on the 976. Apparently I got the weight wrong. I never actually saw the scale due to trying to shoot if through my camera phone but it was out of focus. Weight was 444.8kg minus the 1kg lifting straps = 443.8 kg (978 lbs). 978 Geyelin 13 (854.5 Frei x self) http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/10767313.Heaviest_pumpkin_competition_held_at_York_Maze/ Somehow I managed to avoid getting photographed again.   Tuesday, October 29 View Page 766 Geyelin 13 (1290 Poirier x 400 Frei) on display   Wednesday, October 30 View Page Big thanks to Jorg Wagler for helping me through this year with good advice. There was a moment where I felt the 976 pumpkin has stopped growing and was tempted to pull the plant. Just goes to show it pays not to be hasty and to listen to others.   Saturday, November 30 View Page off season!   Sunday, December 8 View Page I you requested seed, they'll be going out this week with the hope that they make it to you before Christmas!   Thursday, December 19 View Page The last thing I want to post this year. Thanks to anyone who has followed my diary and /or requested seed. Have a great christmas and a happy new growing year!