Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 195 Entries. Monday, April 14 View Page Soil Amendments   Monday, April 14 View Page First year growing Atlantic Giants, here we go!   Saturday, April 19 View Page Giant Pumpkin Seed Line Up: Holland Silver Bullets, Foss 881.5, Foss 945   Tuesday, April 29 View Page Seedlings getting filtered sunlight   Tuesday, April 29 View Page Foss 881.5 (1770 Lieber x 2009 Wallace), hoping for this one to be my main plant   Thursday, May 1 View Page Foss 881.5 inside under CFL lighting   Thursday, May 1 View Page Holland Silver Bullet back-up   Friday, May 2 View Page All seedlings getting some sun in the mini greenhouse   Saturday, May 3 View Page The two best will go into the ground today, looks like it will be the Foss 881.5 and Silver Bullet #1.   Saturday, May 3 View Page My mini greenhouse and small patch, about 11 x 18 (200 sq ft). The stump will be positioned in the corner and the vine trained as a flag pattern.   Sunday, May 4 View Page Foss 881.5 going into the ground today, in the corner under the main greenhouse   Sunday, May 4 View Page Back-up plant is the Holland Silver Bullet #1, will go into the opposite corner.   Tuesday, May 6 View Page Foss 881.5 at day 2 in the ground. I expect its growth to slow down as I disturbed the roots a little too much upon putting into the ground.   Tuesday, May 6 View Page Silver Bullet 2nd day in the ground.   Tuesday, May 6 View Page I also constructed a mini greenhouse for the Silver Bullet (right side), Foss 881.5 in the larger greenhouse. Temperatures got up to 100 in the greenhouse due to failure to vent before going to work. Sun came out before storm rolled in.   Friday, May 9 View Page Foss 881.5, it has been cold and rainy   Friday, May 9 View Page Added a heat lamp for the mini greenhouse, as it looks like it will get close to freezing the next few nights.   Friday, May 9 View Page Back-up Holland silver bullets   Friday, May 9 View Page Back-up Holland Silver Bullet #1   Saturday, May 10 View Page 881 was fed fish, seaweed, humic acid, and superthrive. High today was only 54, partly cloudy.   Saturday, May 10 View Page A third leaf is finally coming out on the 881. A few more days of cool weather then back into the 70's.   Sunday, May 11 View Page 881 has been in the ground for a week now   Sunday, May 11 View Page Made a CO2 generator using yeast, sugar, and water.   Monday, May 12 View Page Waiting for the warm weather, high of 53 today, will get down to freezing tonight. Hopefully the last freeze of this spring!   Tuesday, May 13 View Page Got down to 29 F last night, 881 stayed above 50 with the heat lamp. High today was 61, going to be getting warmer.   Tuesday, May 13 View Page 881 in the ground for 9 days now.   Thursday, May 15 View Page First true leaf was starting to get yellow spots, possibly scab, sprayed leafs with Daconil.   Sunday, May 18 View Page 881 at two weeks in the ground. Drenched the soil with compost tea yesterday. I may not have enough sunlight for this plant being that I planted it in the southwest corner of my patch that is surrounded by fencing and a bush.   Tuesday, May 20 View Page Growth is starting to pick up a little   Tuesday, May 20 View Page View inside the mini greenhouse.   Thursday, May 22 View Page Preparing the plant for touchdown of the main vine   Thursday, May 22 View Page 881 starting to vine, first tendrils showing   Thursday, May 22 View Page View of the young stump   Friday, May 23 View Page Brewed some compost tea to give to the 881. Here is what I used.   Saturday, May 24 View Page 881 a little over a month since germination, 3 weeks in the ground tomorrow.   Saturday, May 24 View Page Trying to get the main vine to lay down.   Saturday, May 24 View Page 881 top view   Saturday, May 24 View Page This is my first year growing Atlantic Giants. I grew my first pumpkins last year, Big Max variety. Nothing over 50 pounds. Basically just watered and fed the plants with miracle-gro the whole season.   Monday, May 26 View Page 881 top view   Monday, May 26 View Page Main vine growing upwards   Tuesday, May 27 View Page Got really hot today in the mini greenhouse, plant was flagging at lunch time. Main vine still growing upwards. Sprayed garlic barrier to keep small flies and possibly aphids away.   Wednesday, May 28 View Page Brewed some compost tea   Thursday, May 29 View Page 881 top view   Friday, May 30 View Page 881 top view   Friday, May 30 View Page Main vine   Friday, May 30 View Page Tip of the main   Friday, May 30 View Page Sunflower cover crop, not planted on purpose.   Friday, May 30 View Page More random sunflowers and mint in the mini greenhouse. Mint planted by previous homeowner and it will not go away.   Friday, May 30 View Page Holland silver bullet backups, one in the ground and two still in pots.   Saturday, May 31 View Page 881 top view   Sunday, June 1 View Page Main is finally down!   Sunday, June 1 View Page 881 at 4 weeks in the ground, 6 weeks from germination.   Monday, June 2 View Page Weather has been nice, mid 80s   Tuesday, June 3 View Page 881 top view   Thursday, June 5 View Page 881 top view   Friday, June 6 View Page 881 top view, plant is getting longer, time to start stepping back to get the whole plant in the field of view   Friday, June 6 View Page Tip of the main   Friday, June 6 View Page Might be time to mow the cover crop?   Monday, June 9 View Page 881 top view, 5 weeks in the ground, a little over 3 feet long.   Monday, June 9 View Page View down the main vine back towards the stump. I am following the Holland's fertilizer program.   Monday, June 9 View Page No growth from the secondaries yet.   Wednesday, June 11 View Page 881 after watering, need to set up an irrigation system soon   Wednesday, June 11 View Page 881 back side view   Friday, June 13 View Page 881.5 Foss at 5 feet long on Friday the 13th + full moon   Friday, June 13 View Page The secondaries are trying to grow   Friday, June 13 View Page The first pumpkin showed up around 3 feet a few days ago   Friday, June 13 View Page Only 1 foot left and the 881 will be out of the mini greenhouse. I will take it down in a day or two.   Saturday, June 14 View Page Going to try the Starr Dan Micro irrigation system. Assembled the pvc components today and tested it out on the lawn.   Saturday, June 14 View Page Sprinkler heads are spaced 2 feet apart along the 1/2" feeder lines. Feeder lines are spaced 5 feet apart on the 3/4" pipe.   Saturday, June 14 View Page Here are the components broken down, no piece longer than 10 feet. Should be easy to store in the garage over the winter.   Sunday, June 15 View Page 2nd pumpkin at 6 feet.   Sunday, June 15 View Page 881 reaching 6 feet today.   Sunday, June 15 View Page 6 weeks in the ground today   Sunday, June 15 View Page 881 back view   Tuesday, June 17 View Page Forecast low tonight is 37 degrees F! Not taking any chances, the heat lamp was put back into the mini greenhouse. 881 is knocking on the door to be let out.   Tuesday, June 17 View Page High today was only 55 degrees F. One strong secondary coming out but it's on the wrong side. I'm keeping all the secondaries on the left side and pruning the ones on the right.   Tuesday, June 17 View Page Back-up Holland Silver Bullet #1 still in the ground growing.   Tuesday, June 17 View Page I also put another one of the silver bullet backups in the ground last week.   Thursday, June 19 View Page Cold snap slowed growth right down, got down to 35 F the other night.   Thursday, June 19 View Page First male flower opened near the stump today.   Thursday, June 19 View Page The last foot of the main is thicker than the main near the stump.   Thursday, June 19 View Page 881 leaf size   Friday, June 20 View Page Mini greenhouse taken down today   Sunday, June 22 View Page Here is the first pumpkin at only 3ft.   Sunday, June 22 View Page Pumpkin #1 at 3ft   Sunday, June 22 View Page Pumpkin #2 at 6 ft   Sunday, June 22 View Page Secondary vine growth is really picking up.   Sunday, June 22 View Page 881 has been in the ground for 7 weeks and is approaching the 8 foot mark   Sunday, June 22 View Page Here is a view of the irrigation system and current shade cloth/wind break setup.   Tuesday, June 24 View Page Flower on pumpkin #1 at 3 ft opened this morning   Tuesday, June 24 View Page I practiced hand pollination on pumpkin #1   Tuesday, June 24 View Page 881 Secondaries   Tuesday, June 24 View Page Pumpkin #2 at 6 feet should be ready to pollinate in a few days.   Tuesday, June 24 View Page 881 Stump   Tuesday, June 24 View Page Leaf damage on two week old leaves   Tuesday, June 24 View Page 881 patch view   Wednesday, June 25 View Page Tested the irrigation system and appears to be watering the patch evenly.   Thursday, June 26 View Page Main vine was measured to be at 10.5 feet today   Friday, June 27 View Page The flower on pumpkin #2 at 6ft opened this morning.   Friday, June 27 View Page 5 lobes on pumpkin #2   Friday, June 27 View Page I used 5 male flowers from the 881 (selfed), two were kept in the refrigerator for three days, the other three had opened yesterday and were closed today still on the plant. So we will see.   Friday, June 27 View Page Pumpkin #2 pollinated   Friday, June 27 View Page and closed up   Saturday, June 28 View Page I will be needing to remove the back up silver bullet #1 soon. Instead of just cutting it down, I will try and clone the main vine. I have a mixture of hydroton, napa oil dry, and perlite as a soil-less mixture in a pond basket purchased from Lowes. Two holes cut into the sides allow the main vine to pass through. A small root was coming out below the leaf node in the picture. Some myco and azos was also put near the root.   Saturday, June 28 View Page The vine buried in the soil-less mixture and watered in. Hopefully in a week or two I can cut the main and have a clone of this plant.   Wednesday, July 2 View Page 881 Patch view. Growth of the main has slowed down. I believe the soil is not drying out enough due to the shade cloth I am using, which is blocking about 70% of the light. I will try a misting system with the shade cloth removed. No other pumpkins are showing up on the main yet.   Sunday, July 6 View Page I am trying a new shade cloth, about 60% transmission. The ground seems to be drying a little quicker. Temperature reached 98 F today and the plant looked ok without any misting.   Sunday, July 6 View Page Pumpkin #1 and #2 did not take and were removed. Still no other females showing up. Secondaries are growing well and the main is starting to pick back up.   Monday, July 7 View Page Main vine was measured to be 16 feet today. Longest secondary is 6 feet.   Thursday, July 10 View Page A pumpkin finally showed up on the main today   Sunday, July 13 View Page 881 patch view. I am curving the main and allowing some secondaries on the right side to grow.   Wednesday, July 16 View Page Pumpkin #3 on the main at around 20 ft, hoping for this to be the one. I have pumpkins showing up at the tips of all secondaries as well.   Wednesday, July 16 View Page 881 patch view. I changed out the shade cloth to a 40% trasmission   Saturday, July 19 View Page Put down some mill fabric   Saturday, July 19 View Page Strong secondaries with pumpkins at the tip   Sunday, July 20 View Page Looks like she will open tomorrow morning   Monday, July 21 View Page After removing cheese cloth covering   Monday, July 21 View Page Pollinated with 4 male flowers that also opened this morning   Monday, July 21 View Page 5 lobes   Monday, July 21 View Page covered up   Monday, July 21 View Page and cooled down with frozen water bottles inside Styrofoam cooler   Monday, July 21 View Page Cooler working nicely, let's hope it helps!   Tuesday, July 22 View Page Pumpkin is 23 feet out on the main vine   Thursday, July 24 View Page Looks like it's growing?   Monday, July 28 View Page ~ Nerf football at 7 DAP   Monday, July 28 View Page 881 Patch View   Monday, July 28 View Page Pumpkin #4 at the tip of the main   Thursday, July 31 View Page 10 Dap today   Saturday, August 2 View Page 881 back end patch view   Saturday, August 2 View Page Tip of the main vine is pushing 32 feet today   Saturday, August 2 View Page Letting a few secondaries onto the lawn   Tuesday, August 5 View Page 15 DAP   Tuesday, August 5 View Page 15 DAP   Tuesday, August 5 View Page 15 DAP, I removed the secondary growing from the stem yesterday and dropped off 5 petioles at Utah State University for a tissue test. Should get the results back in a week or so.   Saturday, August 9 View Page Under the leaf canopy   Sunday, August 10 View Page 20 DAP, 111 OTT (47-33-31), estimated 33 pounds   Sunday, August 10 View Page 20 DAP, top view   Sunday, August 10 View Page 20 DAP, blossom end   Wednesday, August 13 View Page Lady bug release   Friday, August 15 View Page 25 DAP, 146 OTT (65-42-39), estimated 74 pounds   Friday, August 15 View Page 25 DAP, blossom end   Friday, August 15 View Page 25 DAP top view   Wednesday, August 20 View Page 30 DAP, 168 OTT (78-47-43), estimated 111 pounds   Wednesday, August 20 View Page 30 DAP, top view   Wednesday, August 20 View Page 30 DAP, blossom end   Wednesday, August 20 View Page 30 DAP, stem end   Wednesday, August 20 View Page Got a partial tissue analysis back today (still working on nitrogen). Looks like I have many deficiencies to take care of.   Monday, August 25 View Page 35 DAP, 191 OTT (90-53-48), estimated 161 pounds   Monday, August 25 View Page 35 DAP, top view   Monday, August 25 View Page 35 DAP, stem end   Monday, August 25 View Page 35 DAP, blossom end   Saturday, August 30 View Page 40 DAP, 208 OTT (99-57-52), estimated 208 pounds   Saturday, August 30 View Page 40 DAP   Saturday, August 30 View Page 40 DAP   Saturday, August 30 View Page 40 DAP   Saturday, August 30 View Page The stump isn't very big.   Saturday, August 30 View Page Two strong secondaries allowed to grow out   Saturday, August 30 View Page Older leaves going down and powdery mildew showed up after a week of rain and cool temperatures, sprayed Actinovate.   Thursday, September 4 View Page 45 DAP, 220 OTT (104-61-55), estimated 242 pounds   Thursday, September 4 View Page 45 DAP   Friday, September 12 View Page First frost of the season, got down to 31, lost half of the 881 leaves.   Monday, September 15 View Page 56 DAP, 237 OTT (112-65-60), estimated 300 pounds   Monday, September 15 View Page 56 DAP   Monday, September 15 View Page 56 DAP   Monday, September 15 View Page 56 DAP   Monday, September 15 View Page Silver bullet #1 clone from June 28 post is growing in the corner of the garden.   Monday, September 15 View Page Pollinated this pumpkin on the silver bullet #1 on September 12! Let's see what it can do by Halloween or the next frost. First frost of the season also occurred on September 12 here. Lost half of the 881 leaves.   Thursday, September 25 View Page 66 DAP, 247 OTT, estimated 338 lbs   Monday, September 29 View Page 70 DAP, powdery mildew taking over   Monday, September 29 View Page 70 DAP, skipped the weigh off this year, maybe next year   Wednesday, October 1 View Page 72 DAP, patch view   Wednesday, October 1 View Page 72 DAP, 251 OTT (121-66-64), estimated 354 pounds   Wednesday, October 1 View Page 72 DAP patch view   Wednesday, October 1 View Page Silver bullet #1 clone still moving along   Wednesday, October 1 View Page 881 secondaries still growing   Thursday, October 2 View Page Growth curve for this season   Thursday, October 9 View Page 80 DAP, 256 OTT (124-68-64), estimated 375 pounds. Might make it to 400? Nearest weigh off is in Colorado this weekend and next, 9 hour drive.   Saturday, October 18 View Page Cut the 881.5 off the main today, 89 DAP   Saturday, October 18 View Page Made a tripod and weighed the pumpkin   Saturday, October 18 View Page Came in at 365 pounds   Saturday, October 18 View Page Bottom was concave   Saturday, October 18 View Page Champagne 365 EST 2014 (881.5 Foss 2013 x self)   Saturday, October 18 View Page Champagne 365 EST 2014   Saturday, October 18 View Page Champagne 365 EST 2014   Saturday, October 18 View Page Sandy approves   Thursday, October 30 View Page Carved up the day before Halloween   Friday, October 31 View Page Eye of the Tiger, Happy Halloween and Geaux Tigers!!!   Saturday, November 1 View Page Time to harvest seeds   Saturday, November 1 View Page Inside the cavity   Saturday, November 1 View Page Pulled a few seeds out   Saturday, November 8 View Page Cut stem out   Saturday, November 8 View Page Thickest part is 7"   Saturday, November 8 View Page Cutting the 365 up   Saturday, November 8 View Page 365 cut up   Sunday, November 23 View Page Seeds are dried and clear coats removed. I have a total of 600 seeds! Shoot me an email if you would like a few.