Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 50 Entries. Thursday, January 2 View Page Happy New Year everybody! Good luck this year!   Thursday, January 2 View Page + Germination test of the Tall Corn seeds which I sent to a lot of people, including Engel's seed exchange, and SCGPG seed exchange.   Tuesday, February 11 View Page Have been busy traveling the last 6 weeks, completing the trifecta of winter Horticulture/Landscape/Garden Center trade shows in Baltimore, Boston, and Columbus, OH. The best part is learning about new products which can help juice up my patch this spring and learning more about the stuff I currently use from the manufacturers.   Tuesday, February 11 View Page Also is nice to see a building full of green trees and garden plants in the middle of winter.   Wednesday, February 12 View Page The above picture is the New England Grows event at the Boston Convention Center where I had the pleasure to meet "Buzz" from Damariscotta Pumpkinfest. Also talk to some nice folks from New York Botanical Gardens. I told them my pumpkin and I might pay them a visit in October. They were actually interested in growing an AG there - ha Professional Gardeners at NYBG asking for growing advice from lowly Pumpkinman Dan, LOL!   Saturday, March 15 View Page This winter sucked beyond belief. Dug around in my patch today and to my surprise - no frost left in the ground. Can't believe it, but glad I can resume patch expansion now the ground isn't frozen. Picked up a couple yards of well rotted donkey dookie today & spread on the patch. So ready for this season to begin!   Thursday, April 3 View Page Nice plates for Orange Jeep. Spotted yesterday in Mason City.   Sunday, April 13 View Page Now home from out of state travel, I can finally get started!   Sunday, April 13 View Page Back-ups   Friday, April 18 View Page Cobbled together a new mini-greenhouse today. If there was an award for "Most Ghetto Greenhouse" I would win. Don't let my lovely assistant's swim suit fool you, it wasn't that warm here today, LOL   Tuesday, April 22 View Page Still trying to catch up. Mater line-up for this year   Tuesday, April 22 View Page Lopes   Tuesday, April 22 View Page Watermelon me and Ashley will grow this year   Tuesday, April 22 View Page Tall Corn seeds!   Tuesday, April 22 View Page Tall Sorghum seeds. The variety I've grown the past few years, and "Blizzard Buster" sorghum seeds from a very tall stalk from my Uncle's food plot   Tuesday, April 22 View Page No action yet on the 1872 seed. One of my 903's has popped up and is looking good!   Wednesday, April 30 View Page 100% germination maters   Wednesday, April 30 View Page 903 Boelman   Wednesday, April 30 View Page 2009 Wallace, which is currently a "one armed bandit". Yesterday Pumpkinman Dan was fumbling 1/2 awake yesterday morning before work and accidentally broke one of the cots off. Ouch, what an el-stupido move! Hopefully the plant will be okey dokey   Thursday, June 5 View Page 669 Bastian   Thursday, June 5 View Page 903 Boelman   Thursday, June 5 View Page Female #1   Thursday, June 5 View Page 903 Boelman X 1676 Daletas   Thursday, June 5 View Page Learned we're not moving to DSM till later on in the summer, so will be able to grow a fair pumpkin after all!   Monday, June 9 View Page Pollination #2 this morning, 903 Boelman X Self, 5 Lobe   Sunday, June 15 View Page Pollination #3 on my 903 plant, another self, 4 lobe   Thursday, June 19 View Page So far so good   Sunday, June 29 View Page Pollination done this morning 669 Bastian X 903 Boelman, 4 Lobe   Sunday, June 29 View Page Hopefully aforementioned pollination will work - while I was gone on vacation something or someone broke off the 669's main. As a side note, holy crap we must have had a lot of rain last week. Its a mess out there!   Sunday, June 29 View Page Day 25. First diary entry using the iPhone App   Saturday, July 5 View Page Day 30   Saturday, July 5 View Page Had another 5 inches of rain today. Still trying to get ahead of the weeds that took over when I was on vacation. Also, the deer that ate my 1872 last year made an encore appearance last night and terminated a number of my vines for me :-(   Saturday, July 5 View Page 669 Bastian, Day ?   Tuesday, July 15 View Page Day 40.   Tuesday, July 15 View Page From left to right: 8 y/o, 40 DAP, 5y/o   Sunday, July 20 View Page The family that is buying our house stopped by today to check out the garden and the pumpkin patch. They are interested in giant pumpkin growing! Even took some seeds home for 2015. Wow! It's still going to be hard to leave this place, but I couldn't have asked for a better outcome for the pumpkin patch and garden I've worked so hard on!   Friday, July 25 View Page   Friday, July 25 View Page Deer have been going buck-wild in my garden. Ate my biggest mater :-( Deer repellent not working.   Sunday, July 27 View Page Uhh oh   Sunday, July 27 View Page Didn't see any rot. Bottom wall was thin and she imploded. Game over.   Friday, August 1 View Page Seed head on my Tall Sorghum opening the morning we moved   Friday, August 1 View Page Goodbye   Friday, August 1 View Page Future home of Pumpkinman Dan's new patch. This whole not living out in the country thing is going to take some getting used to.   Tuesday, September 2 View Page Visited Pella yesterday, the first time since we moved and stopped by the old place. Was really nice to see most everything I planted last spring is still alive.   Tuesday, September 2 View Page With minimal care, and a bounty of rain, the 669 Bastian pumpkin kept growing   Tuesday, September 2 View Page Heeee Hawww! With the cool weather, tall corn didn't get super tall, but looks like will have plenty of seeds.   Friday, October 3 View Page Loading the 669 Bastian pumpkin at the old house in Pella. Really appreciated Greg's help   Saturday, October 4 View Page 604.5 Boelman. Still amazed I was able to get something off this plant since it had no care X 2 months. The bounty of rain we had in Aug and Sept probably made a big difference. Had an awesome day in Anamosa, it was great to see everyone!   Saturday, October 18 View Page Broke ground on the new patch, today in suburbia. Was pleasantly surprised to find 12 - 24 inches of nice black dirt below the sod. Its on!!!   Sunday, December 14 View Page Fall test of back yard suburb soil. Have tilled in two pick-up truck loads of horse manure, and a good amount of leaves.