Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 155 Entries. Tuesday, February 18 View Page Well...time to start the ole 2014 diary out with a wish of many personal bests during this 2014 growing year to all my friends and may we all stay healthy and happy during our crazy endeavors this summer....if all the snow ever melts that is.   Friday, March 21 View Page Early beefsteak Tomato plants coming along nicely   Sunday, March 23 View Page Got done cleaning out the hen house today and got about 6 bucket fulls of supercharged pumpkin fertilizer to put down in the patch...thanks girls!!   Sunday, March 23 View Page Got my soil cables down in one of my plots today. Will get these babies rolling in the next week or so to get that ground warmed up real nice   Tuesday, March 25 View Page Well....this is what I have to choose from this year and I gotta say that all these seeds are super excellent candidates. I thought I lost the 209 werner field pumpkin seed but ended up finding it in my nightstand so definitely should try this out in the field patch. Awesome shout outs to dave (bumkin) for the 979 seeds (aka the orange beasts) and nana rea for the 1327.5 seeds. You folks are top notch!!! God I hate decisions like these but I know what I'm leaning towards!!!   Tuesday, March 25 View Page Got my big maters started today. Nine of them were 4.46 diehls and six were 3.486 big zacs. Thanks so much to PA_J and dale for the seeds. Your kindness is awesome and I hope I can do good by you my friends!!!!!   Thursday, March 27 View Page Soil sample report came back yesterday with a ph of 7.1. Nitrogen was low so will need to put down about 20 lbs. Of bonemeal. Phosphorus was good and potassium was medium to slightly high but should level out by planting time. Now we just need the temps to step it up.   Tuesday, April 1 View Page Soil cables are in the chosen plots and are now active and online. Both plots have also had amendments tilled in and are now covered with visqueen as well. Gonna get that combo cable heat with the solar heat so we can be planting real soon. Hoops will go up as well in the next 2 or 3 days.   Wednesday, April 2 View Page Six.of the nine 4.46 diehls have germinated and have been repotted into larger containers. Lookin good!   Monday, April 7 View Page Tried out 2 test germinations with a different method. Both seeds were filed and soaked then placed in a small plastic dixie cup filled with some of those clear water-absorbing crystals that have been warming on the pad then the styrofoam cup was placed over the dixie to keep in the warm. Started at 9 am this morning.   Thursday, April 10 View Page Hoop alpha is up and and the heat cables have been online for about a week now. Gotta get hoop bravo up friday (tomorrow). Too windy out today...but nice though. 67 degrees.   Thursday, April 10 View Page Hoop alpha is up and looking good. Heat cables have been online and active for a week now. Gotta get hoop bravo up friday. Too windy out today but nice though. 67 degrees. Target outdoor plant date is april 25   Sunday, April 13 View Page Daughter bought me a new coffee cup. She's a sweetheart.   Monday, April 21 View Page My 2 practice germinations from 4 days ago are up and running and now my youngest daughter has informed me that this one is not going to perish and that it must be planted. I told her to take it next door to her nanas and plant it in her compost pile.   Monday, April 21 View Page Well...seeds were filed and soaked in peroxide and lukewarm water for 3 hours and then put in dixie cups with promix and mycco. My choices this year to start off are two 1327.5 rea's, two 979 mcmillans, one 1192 harp and one 1498 werner. Thanks so much out to nana rea, dave mcmillan, the harps and quinn werner for the seeds!!! Great people that I wish the very best for this season. LET THE GAMES BEGIN!!   Thursday, April 24 View Page 3 days later and we have 100 percent germination on all little banditos and have been up-potted into the breakaway containers and under lamps. So hard to tell which seems more agressive than others. It doesnt really matter right now. Just happy their all up and runnin!!   Thursday, April 24 View Page #2 pic of both 979 mcmillans and 1498 werner on the end.   Thursday, April 24 View Page Both 1327.5 reas and the 1192 harp   Saturday, April 26 View Page Got myself two 275 gallon rainwater/well fert. Dispensers from a friend for free so hopefully there will be no parched roots in the coming warm months ahead.   Tuesday, April 29 View Page Don't have the little bandits in the dirt yet but wanted to test out my lights in hoops Alpha and Bravo tonight and see what the temps are when I get off work. With rain in the forcast for the next day or 2 I'm looking at planting date of Fri. May 2 or sat. May 3 for sure.   Wednesday, April 30 View Page All the little banditos got put outside this afternoon for about 3 to 4 hours with the natural sunlight and cool breeze blowing about to begin the hardening off process. 3 or 4 days of this should get them nice and ready for the hoop planting on saturday. The 4 strongest appear to be the 1498 werner, 1192 harp, 979 mcmillan and the 1327.5 rea. The other 979 and 1327.5 dont appear to be as vigorous as the 4 on the right. Also began to harden off the two 4.46 diehl tomato plants I have as well   Sunday, May 4 View Page Well..planting day was today and the little banditos are all tucked away in their hoops. Hoop Alpha has the 1498 werner on the left and the 1327.5 rea on the right....may the best plant win.   Sunday, May 4 View Page In hoop Bravo we have the 979 Mcmillan at left and the 1192 Harp on the right....may the best plant win.   Sunday, May 4 View Page Momma got her new car friday so now maybe I got a little leverage for more patch stuff..lol   Tuesday, May 6 View Page Night time and cool outside....daytime and warm in!!   Tuesday, May 6 View Page The 1498 werner and the 1327.5 rea are likin the cozy at night also in hoop alpha.   Sunday, May 11 View Page 7 days in the dirt and the growth is looking good for the 1498 werner (left) and the 1327.5 rea on the right. Both received a total of 5 gallons of a light fish/guano water mixture.   Sunday, May 11 View Page Side view of the 1498 werner...looking good little Bandita!!   Tuesday, May 13 View Page Forgot to post the 7 day in the dirt update for the 979 mcmillan and the 1192 harp. Both also received a total of 5 gallons of a light fish/guano and water mixture.   Tuesday, May 13 View Page Heres the 979 mcmillan also coming along real nicely. If it ends up being the 979 mcmillan and the 1498 werner then I do declare that I will have a 2013 nana rea patch part 2 on my hands..lol..still too early to tell though.   Sunday, May 18 View Page The 14 day in the dirt report is here and the plants are still growing but at a slow pace due to the lack of sun during this past week. I think this is also why the leaves have more a creamish green color to them. This is the 979 mcmillan and the 1192 harp. COME ON SUN!!!!   Sunday, May 18 View Page Closer up shot of the 979 mcmillan.   Sunday, May 18 View Page Dirt report day 14 as well for the 1498 werner and the 1327.5 rea. The 1498 is keeping its green the best as compared to the other plants and of the 4 plants it is also the biggest. I have a feeling when it starts to get a taste of that sunshine it's gonna kick on the afterburners.   Sunday, May 18 View Page Close up of the 1498 werner.   Sunday, May 18 View Page Close up of the 1327.5 rea. COME ON SUN DAG NAB IT!   Sunday, May 25 View Page Started the 209 werner field pumpkin seed last night. Got a good location for the plant and hopefully it germs. For me.   Sunday, May 25 View Page Week 3 in the dirt report. 979 mcmillan on left and 1192 harp on the right. Cull time is coming in the next couple days. Both plants are healthy so it will come down to size and vigor..I hate this part.   Sunday, May 25 View Page Closer view of 979 mcmillan. Main is gonna hit the ground real soon.   Sunday, May 25 View Page Week 3 in the dirt report with the 1498 werner on the left and the 1327.5 rea on the right. Both plants are healthy and doing great but it seems as though the 1498 may be a bit more agressive grower which may give it the edge in the race...did I mention I really hate this plant culling process.   Sunday, May 25 View Page Closer up view of the 1498 werner. Getting real close to the ground now.   Tuesday, May 27 View Page The 1498 werner is down and running now out at 3 ft. So it was with a heavy heart that the 1327.5 rea was culled today...sorry nana...i still have 2 more 1327.5 rea's for next season so I will be definitely be giving them another run next year. This one just couldnt keep up with the 1498's pace. The jury is still out for the 979 mcmillan and the 1192 harp...will decide in the next day or 2   Wednesday, May 28 View Page Gonna go out and give the plants their first spray of sevin so I can protect them from the cuke beetles and other creepy crawlies. My house is smack between bubba presley and afveteran who have both seen the bugs already so I better get on the ball. For a note though I havent seen any hungry bugs out yet though other than the damn mosquitos.   Wednesday, May 28 View Page New wind break put up this evening on the 1498. Tried out some portable dog fencing which is easily moveable and bought a 4 ft. x 100 ft. Roll of weed barrier which is still breathable but will kill the brunt of any forceful gusts that may roll thru unexpectedly. Heck...the fence was 5 bucks at a yard sale and bought the roll of weed barrier at a discount store for 10 bucks.   Wednesday, May 28 View Page Inside pic of my dog fence/weed barrier combo wind break. Lol   Friday, May 30 View Page Well...the reaper finally came for the 1192 harp. I had to cull it today and hated doing it but the 979 mcmill an has proven to be the more dominant plant and has hit the ground and running now. So oddly as it seems, I've ended up with the nana rea patch part 2 (only in michigan)..lol..well if I can do half as good as she did last year then I'm in for a great ride. Both plants got 5 gallons of fish fert. Drinky drinky this evening.   Sunday, June 1 View Page 4 week in the dirt report and the 1498 is looking good. Main vine is at 5 ft. 4 inches and longest 2ndaries are at 2 ft. Started mycco and vine burying today. Suppose to rain tomorrow which is just what my 2 banditas need.   Sunday, June 1 View Page 979 mcmillan 4 week report. Looking good as well with the main out at 4 ft now with the 2ndaries just startin to pop. Plant is just a tad bit behind the 1498 but its lookin good and healthy and growing good so all is well.   Monday, June 2 View Page Found these at a hardware store that was going out of business. I know these are pretty good brands so heck...might as well try em out and see.   Sunday, June 8 View Page Week 5 in the dirt report and the 1498 continues to keep up the good growth with the main out to 8 ft 7 inches and the longest 2ndaries out a little past 4 and a half ft now. The first girl is at the 8 ft mark also for noting. This morning the 1498 also got a 10 gallon drench of fish and guano. This evening she got a good spray of sevin and foliar feeding of foxfarm.   Sunday, June 8 View Page Forgot to add the pic of the 1498.   Sunday, June 8 View Page 979 mcmillan week 5 report and the growth is also coming along nicely on this plant as well. The main is at 6 ft 6 inches and 2ndaries look to be about 2 or 3 ft. Long now. This girl also got a 10 gallon drench of fish and guano this morning and a treatment of sevin and a foliar of foxfarm this evening.   Wednesday, June 11 View Page This is the first girl on the 1498 werner. She's at 9 ft and lookin good!   Wednesday, June 11 View Page Man these leaves are starting to get big. Bigger and healthier leaves = bigger gains!   Wednesday, June 11 View Page The 1498 plant growth is really steam-rollin along now with the main vine at 10 ft and the longest 2ndaries looking like about 6 or 7 ft now. Spied another 2 girls in the tip bundle coming down the pipe pretty soon.   Wednesday, June 11 View Page Pic #2 of the 1498.   Wednesday, June 11 View Page 979 mcmillan moving right along as well. Between the vine burying on this and the 1498...my hands are full..lol.   Sunday, June 15 View Page Week 6 "in the dirt" report and the 1498 is at 12 ft 6 inches on the main and the longest 2ndaries are at 9 ft. Backed off the nitro cause pollinations are coming soon but the plant got its weekly spray of sevin and will get its systemic treatment of bayer tree and shrub on tuesday   Sunday, June 15 View Page This is the 2nd girl on the 1498. Its at 11 ft 6 inches and this one will get pollinated hopefully within the next 5 days. For noting though I probably will cull off the girl at 9 ft. Its gonna open up in the next day or 2.   Sunday, June 15 View Page Week 6 in the dirt report for the 979 mcmillan and the plant is doing great as well with good healthy growth. The main is a little over 10 ft long and the 1st girl is at 9 ft. The plant also got its spray of sevin tonite and will get its systemic treatment of bayer on tuesday as well.   Sunday, June 15 View Page This is the girl at 9 ft on the 979 mcmillan. Probably will get culled but she IS a cute little booger though..lol..seen more coming though in the tip.   Wednesday, June 18 View Page Ended up pollinating the girl that opened up on the 1498 werner this mornin. She is at 9 and a half feet and was pollinated with 1 male from the 979 mcmillan. The next one opening up is at 11 and a half feet and will be soon so the 9 footer will get culled.   Wednesday, June 18 View Page This is the girl that was the 1st poll of the year. She is at 9 ft. Pretty sure it took.   Wednesday, June 18 View Page This is the next girl on the 1498 (at the 11 1/2 ft mark) She'll be makin her grand opening tomorrow mornin.   Wednesday, June 18 View Page Here is the girl down the way on the 1498. She'll be at the 14 to 14 1/2 ft mark so were gonna see who wins out between this one and the 11 1/2 ft girl. Wanna get these pollinations done asap while the weathers a little cooler out.   Wednesday, June 18 View Page The 1498 is still growing strong and is at 14 1/2 ft on the main. Awesome growing plant and I'm hoping the kins grow just as strong.   Wednesday, June 18 View Page 979 mcmillan coming on strong now with lots of good growth and the sides starting to fill in nicely. Gots some good looking females coming out on her pretty soon..can't wait!!!   Thursday, June 19 View Page 4 lobe girl on the 1498 got pollinated with 2 fellas from the 979 mcmillan this mornin at 8 am. She is at the 11 1/2 ft for noting.   Saturday, June 21 View Page 1st culled girl of the season on the 1498. She was the 9 and a half footer. More to come though.   Saturday, June 21 View Page Also on the tomato front...it looks like my 4.46 diels are finally starting to put out some nice looking big blooms but not sure if they are megablooms though.   Saturday, June 21 View Page This was the suprise pollination on the 979 mcmillan yesterday. Wasn't suppose to open till today and I go out yesterday morning and this little rascal is giving me a little pretty flower smile. Got it early though with 3 males from the 1498 werner. She was a 4 lober and is sitting at the 10 ft mark.   Saturday, June 21 View Page 979 mcmillan plant looking good but misses the sun.   Saturday, June 21 View Page 11 and a half ft poll on the 1498. I'm thinkin that it took.   Saturday, June 21 View Page This is the 14 foot girl on the 1498 which will be opening in a couple days. Been waiting for this one.   Saturday, June 21 View Page 1498 werner pic. Also for noting was svb traps were put out on weds and I found 2 of the dead little devils in one of the traps yesterday. Keep an eye out my friends!!   Monday, June 23 View Page Sunday evening and more vine burying. Got caught up on the 1498 and both plants received their 5 gallon drinks of merit and foliar fed with foxfarms. Will catch up on the rest of the vines on the 979 monday..too tired   Monday, June 23 View Page The 11 1/2 ft pollination (4 dap) on the 1498 with the 14 ft girl on the right going to open tomorrow.   Monday, June 23 View Page The 10 ft pollination on the 979 mcmillan (2 dap) looks like it took.   Monday, June 23 View Page 1498 filling in nicely with the 979 in the upper part of the pic.   Monday, June 23 View Page Starting to clean up around the 11 1/2 ft poll on the 1498 in case this is the keeper. Gonna start to get her more perpendicular to the main as soon as she touches the ground. Will get the sand laid down today.   Tuesday, June 24 View Page This little bandita on the 1498 werner was pollinated this morning with 5 males from the 979 mcmillan at 830 am. She's sitting at the 14 to 14 1/2 ft location on the main vine. Temp is like 72 degrees out and overcast with just a slight bit of humidity but not bad at all though.   Tuesday, June 24 View Page The 1498 also got a good trimming around the stump. Gotta keep it dry down there.   Tuesday, June 24 View Page The 979 mcmillan is gonna get the white glove treatment this afternoon and I will FINALLY be caught up with the garden and the patch.   Thursday, June 26 View Page Just got in from burying vines and SUPER WHIPPED right now and I've only got 2 plants but wanted this so I could focus all energy into just 2 ultra premo pumpkin pound gaining machines!! The main on the 1498 is at 20 1/2 ft now with a poll at 11 1/2 ft and another poll at 14 1/2 ft and one more thats gonna open up at 18 ft of which I would like to get polled before july 1. The 979 mcmillan is at 18 ft long now and has a poll at 10 ft and another thats gonna open up at 15 ft probably the day after tomorrow. Now im gonna go shower and grab a beer and sit back and read everybody elses new diary entries so I can feel like im not so crazy!!!! Lol   Friday, June 27 View Page Here's the 1498 with the poll at 11 1/2 ft and the one at 14 ft. Got some more cleaning up in the patch and I'm caught up for a day or 2 anyway..lol. the 15 ft girl is opening up in the morning on the 979 mcmillan and she is hopefully gonna be the little sweety that is the keeper for this awesome plant.   Saturday, June 28 View Page Hey LL: thanks for understanding my crazy...lol. I try to take alot of pics cause those are my wintertime reminders of the nice weather and summertime as well. I'll look back at this pic in january and think about all that green!!!   Saturday, June 28 View Page Forgot the pic on the entry before last.   Saturday, June 28 View Page 4 lobe girl at the 15 ft mark got pollinated at 9 am this morning on the 979 mcmillan with 5 males from the 1498 werner. Gonna be a hot one today so I hope she takes.   Saturday, June 28 View Page So far a total of 3 of the dead little svb devils...better in here than on my girls.   Saturday, June 28 View Page This is the girl thats gonna open up on the 1498 tomorrow morning. She is at 18 ft so we will see who wins out of the 3 polls on this awesome plant.   Saturday, June 28 View Page Putting up new wind barrier today. This stuff is 4 ft shade cloth (60 percent). I got 100 ft of it on ebay for 45 dollars and it works much better than silt barrier cause it does allow a nice breeze through it but dampens out the gusts so the plant and polls can still get air circulation through it without getting blown over....just my theory thats all...lol.   Saturday, June 28 View Page Another pic of the same stuff just from the outside.   Sunday, June 29 View Page This pretty 5 lobe girl on the 1498 werner at 18 ft got pollinated this morning at 9 am with 4 males from the 979 mcmillan. I got the 3 pollinations that I wanted done by july 1 so I'm gonna be praying that they do well and no aborts.   Sunday, June 29 View Page Day 10 for the 11 1/2 ft pollination on the 1498. The circ for this one is 25 inches. Seems to be doing ok although I was hoping closer to 30 inches for day 10 but I'm not gonna complain though because I've been told before that day 10 numbers don't mean a hill of beans.   Monday, June 30 View Page 979 mcmillan has another girl on its way in the leaf bundle but im hoping the 15 ft poll takes. The plant is really taking off now and I love it!!!! Thanks again dave for the seeds...and I still have some left!!!   Tuesday, July 1 View Page The little beaner on the 979 mcmillan is getting ready to lay down so got her little sand pillow all laid out ahead of time.   Tuesday, July 1 View Page Looking at the 1498 from behind the 979 mcmillan. Had to get the plants cleaned up and vines buried before I leave for 2 days.   Tuesday, July 1 View Page The 3 pollinations that are going on the 1498 currently. First on right is 11.5 ft and then 14 ft in the middle and down on the far left is another at 18 ft. Its hard to see it but its on some white plastic.   Tuesday, July 1 View Page Lookin like its gonna be a good and orange one like its sister the c-cat that nana rea grew last year..hope its that big :)   Tuesday, July 1 View Page Never get tired of lookin at all the pretty green!! Now I'd like to see some orange pokin out the top of those leaves.   Tuesday, July 1 View Page Then ya look under the canopy and its like a whole different world.   Sunday, July 6 View Page Well...come back from lake michigan vacation yesterday and awesome water...awesome beaches and friends.. happy late 4th of july to everyone. This was my 3 day view.   Sunday, July 6 View Page The main was terminated on the 1498 werner today after I pollinated my last super duper contingencey girl at 20 ft this morning. She was a 4 lober pollinated with 5 males from the 979 mcmillan. The secondaries are at the max fill capacity so I am going to start terminating 2 a day. Have been fighting some of these terterary vines cause they are shooting out everywhere. I let a few go just to fill in the canopy.   Sunday, July 6 View Page Been keepin ole stumpy on the 1498 high and dry so hopefully we wont have any issues with her later on. She has gotten pretty thick too.   Sunday, July 6 View Page Day 17 for the 11 1/2 ft pollination on the 1498. This is looking like the keeper cause the 14 ft poll aborted and the 18 ft poll doesn't look like it took. I'm happy with this one cause from the looks of it she's gonna be one big ole orange beauty!!!!!   Sunday, July 6 View Page She's got a nice shape to her that I'm liking!!!   Monday, July 7 View Page So far.. so good.. and fingers crossed with the 11 1/2 ft poll on the 1498. Got the white plastic sheet put under it today and a small pile of sand to allow for growth movement.****note to future self..put the plastic sheeting under the pumpkin BEFORE it gets too big to comfortably lift ya knucklehead!!!   Monday, July 7 View Page Another view..but in this pic you can also see the vine sling that I installed to help slowly lift the vine on either side as the pumpkin grows in order to keep the stem even with the vine and, in theory, reducing stem stress....or at least I hope it is :)   Monday, July 7 View Page Yesterday the plants also got a foliar feed of foxfarm and biosys. Forgot to add that   Wednesday, July 9 View Page Day 20 for the 1498 set is 176 ott according to the gpc app and the new charts. Come on my orange bandita...YOU CAN DO IT!   Wednesday, July 9 View Page Day 11 for the poll on the 979 mcmillan and probably won't measure her till day 20. She's looking good though and I've named this little sweety "beaner". Both plants also got a light spray with some captan and the 1498 got a 5 gallon drench on the main vine with some fruit booster.   Saturday, July 12 View Page Day 22 for the 1498 pollination which I still haven't named yet. Growth is still going good and she got 400 gallons of drinky tonite through the soaker tape. If the rain stays away tomorrow then she's gonna get another 200 gallons with foxfarms and biosys in the drink. The girl hasn't had ferts in awhile and she's getting hungry.   Saturday, July 12 View Page Starting to get bulgy...hope the ole girls skin stays loose for a long time...lol   Saturday, July 12 View Page Day 14 for the 979 mcmillan pollination...looking good beaner and I gotta make you a better sun shade little sweety.   Thursday, July 17 View Page Have been dead heading the secondaries but the fight with the terteraries is still ongoing. I nip of the heads on the secondaries and the next day I got terts climbing the wind break fence like crazy. This plant sure does love to grow..that's for sure. Burying vines almost complete as well.   Thursday, July 17 View Page The ole 1498 girl is still doing good and I think that I've finally got her named thanks to SPARCMAT!! Smokey here has a 249 ott for day 28 and doing well. Keep going baby!!!   Saturday, July 19 View Page Well...ole smokey is day 30 today and her official numbers are ss-73 ee-74 and circ. Is 115 for an ott of 262 for her which is the best I've ever done at the 30 day mark.   Saturday, July 19 View Page Long way to go till october for smokey and the bandit....I think we can do it this year!!!!!!   Tuesday, July 22 View Page Plants got a good deep soaking today with 400 gallons of h20 and 1/2 liter of foxfarm/fish and guano gatorade in the mix. Smokey pulled off a 42 lb. Gain and I hope she keeps it up!!!   Saturday, July 26 View Page Took a break today and went to the telegraph rd. Street cruise and took a ride in my buddies dads 850 h.p. barracuda beast. This thing was evil fun..lol.   Saturday, July 26 View Page Back to the patch progress and still culling off these girls a couple times a week.   Tuesday, July 29 View Page Officially day 40 for smokey and she's still chugging along with SS=83 EE=86 and a circ of 138 for an ott of 307. Finally got a good soaker rain 2 days ago but not enough to pop the old girl. Slow and steady for 60 more days!!   Tuesday, July 29 View Page Smokey is shaped like a big old bell but she sure is gonna be a pretty orange one!!   Tuesday, July 29 View Page Last pic of smokey till day 50 (front blossom end)   Tuesday, July 29 View Page I think that the 979 mcmillan plant has something going on with the leaves starting to discolor rapidly and the 2ndaries all but stunted and stopped growing. Have been trying to revive this plant but not sure whats going on. It may need to get pulled if I can't figure it out....sorry dave!!   Tuesday, July 29 View Page Also cannot get a good set on the 979 without them aborting after a couple weeks....frustrating for sure!!   Sunday, August 3 View Page Growth is still movin right along with smokey and the 1498 werner is gonna get a good foliar feed this evening with a special proprietary blend of BANDIT BREW.   Saturday, August 9 View Page Day 50 for Smokey and official numbers for the girl are circ.--155 SS--90 EE--94. For an official OTT of 339 and the new chart has it at 866 lbs. So far the best ott I have ever attained so super excited as long as she can hold it together till october. I can see 363 ott coming and I really wanna hit 1000 lbs so I got all the fingers crossed.   Saturday, August 9 View Page Another pic day 50   Saturday, August 9 View Page Blossom end is the only thing that makes me worry sometimes. Kinda looks like a squinty eyeball..lol.   Saturday, August 9 View Page Stem still lookin fairly straight on her also.   Saturday, August 9 View Page Hey LL...here's another pic that I'm gonna love staring at when the snow is pouring down in january!! Whoever doesn't love lookin at a scene like this in august ain't right!!   Saturday, August 9 View Page Last pic for smokey day 50 with a side view...keep going baby!!   Thursday, August 14 View Page Plant got another foliar spray with the bandit brew along with a 1/2 liter of fruit maker added to the root feeding. Added some fungicide to the bandit brew to keep the PM at bay and it seems to be helping. The orange has been starting to get a deeper color to it as the weeks go by and its been getting cool at night so she has been getting covered up with an old comforter.Keep going smokey!!   Tuesday, August 19 View Page Well...yesterday was day 60 for smokey and she is still chuggin along and her numbers are: SS-94 EE-97 and circ is 163. Which is putting her at 354 ott.. man I can almost put my hands on my first 1K pumpkin here and it's a good feelin!!   Tuesday, August 19 View Page Forgot to mention the new chart calls 354 ott 979 lbs. This pic is a good side view shot of the plant and of smokey. Lookin forward to day 70!!!   Sunday, August 31 View Page Day 70 for smokey yesterday and forgot to post due to a couple projects i been trying to finish up around the house. Gotta get these honey-do's done before weigh offs and huntin season. Daytime cover is being kept off now to get that pretty orange to come thru even more and she has slowed down in gains but still is doing some though. I've seen my first signs of PM about 5 days ago and even though i nailed them that day with fungicide it's starting to slowly spread so will stay on top of it to try and get at least 2 more weeks of health out of the plant as best i can. Smokey numbers for day 70 were ss-95 ee-98 and circ was 165 for a new chart weight of 1010 lbs. I have finally hit the 1k and happy beyond words. Thank you quinn...glenna....dave mcmillan...LL..pap...and all my other friends here who understand this passion of ours and have helped me over the years with seeds and advice that have gotten me to this point..You're all the best and know that you've always got a patch to hang out in if you're ever in or near whittaker michigan.   Sunday, August 31 View Page Smokey pic 2...love the orange!!   Sunday, August 31 View Page Last pic day 70. Not gonna measure no more because i would like to save the rest for the weighoff. Just wanna keep her healthy till then. Hope i can squeak a little more weight outta the plant into the ole girl.   Tuesday, September 2 View Page So...out there tendin to the 1498 plant and had me my first "where the hell did that come from!!!" Moment. I wondered what the heck was pushin on the wind fence and there she was smokey's little sister hiding under the canopy. All the times this week I've been out there and haven't seen nothin till today...lol...think I'll just let the little squirt grow for my youngest daughter.   Tuesday, September 2 View Page My biggest tomato for the year came off my one and only 4.46 diehl plant which ended up at exactly 3 lbs. Not as big as alot of everybodys but next year they will have a new home cause i been preppin a new spot for my maters.THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE SEEDS THIS YEAR PA_J!!!!   Tuesday, September 2 View Page Slowin down...but still steady.   Wednesday, September 17 View Page Haven't posted in a while...been super busy with volunteering for my sons football games...fall cleanups...decorating for halloween...hunting preparations...phew!!! Lots of stuff but man i love fall the most for sure. Smokey is still rolling along and getting a nice deep orange color to her. Today is day 90 for her and i quit measuring at day 75 so the rest will be a surprise hopefully.   Wednesday, September 17 View Page Only thing that makes me wonder (and maybe i can get some advice from anyone) is a soft spot about the size of a dime on the stem. Not sure how it got there but made sure it was dry and dusted it. Doesn't SEEM to be getting bigger or oozing or anything like that but just wondering if it's something i need to worry about with 2 weeks before the weighoff.   Wednesday, September 24 View Page Week and a half from the weigh off and pretty excited about it for sure. Scraped out the soft spot on the stem (there was one on the bottom as well ) and peroxided..dried...and dusted with captan and put fan on it seems to have kept any big issues away (thanks cecil for the advice!!) She gets a deeper color to her everyday and you know how cool it would be to win a howard dill award!!! (I'm wishing deep down..lol). Hope everyone is having a great weighoff season!!!   Wednesday, October 1 View Page Cut smokey from the vine last night cause started to wonder if the plant was contributing to the soft spot on the stem. Now I'm gonna have me a couple 6 packs of these until the weigh off on saturday.   Saturday, October 4 View Page Smokey loaded up this mornin and ready to go..nerves finally settled after we got her in the truck. Drizzley and cold as per usual but too excited to care!!   Saturday, October 4 View Page Lookin down the row and there sure are some dandies. Lots of different colors, shapes and sizes. Always nice to see a good turn out.   Saturday, October 4 View Page My "look of concern" pic as smokey was getting ready to be put on the scale. Geez...you'd think my wife was fixing to give birth as serious as i was lookin...lol   Saturday, October 4 View Page Smokey headin to the scale!!   Saturday, October 4 View Page Smokey is now officially the 927 faulkner '14. She ended up going 8 percent light which means the big 1K has eluded me for another year. Smokey is my personal best though so I'm still happy and having something to bring to a weigh off is a great feeling. Another win for the bandit patch!! Hope everyone else is doing great!!   Saturday, October 4 View Page Number 1 at the harnica weighoff was this beaut. 1865 lbs.   Saturday, October 4 View Page Always cool watchin the artists do their thing!!   Saturday, October 4 View Page Always cool watchin the artists do their thing!!   Saturday, October 4 View Page Good job mark clementz with the 120 inch long gourd. I'm guessin that bubba stayed at home to tend to tiny and eva while mark was here. Great guy to talk to and i wish him the best with the other weigh offs!!   Saturday, October 4 View Page Loaded back up and ready to head home. Never get tired of lookin at my pick up with that big old orange beauty in it. The wife wants to go for a green squash next year and we talked about expanding the patch by 100 percent to accomodate the wifes squash she wants to grow next year and some big gnarly whitish orange heavy beasts for next year. She sounded pretty pumped about 2015 so guess what everybody.......i think i got her hooked!!