Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 34 Entries. Thursday, June 19 View Page This is my first attempt at growing a giant anything. We purchased this home on 2 acres last year, and my intent was to cover the 30' x 50' garden bed with visqueen to give the once lawn a year to rest. Looking at all that weed free real eastate, I figured I could at least grow a sprawling pumpkin plant to make it useful. Now, after irrigation, pruning, and many other mods that has destroyed the visqueen, I am trying to stay current with the learning curve. In hindsight the visqueen was a bad idea for the goal of growing a giant. I've had to cut slits at each node to allow the sideshoot roots to touch ground.   Friday, June 27 View Page The strongest of the two Dill's (seeds sourced from Parkseed.com) plants is on the south side of the plot. I am doing a modified Christmas tree training. The first females occured about 12 foot down the main trunk. I went with the first viable fruit that occured on the main trunk, since one before this one was a dud and just rotted off. This plant will only have 1 fruit on the entire vine. My other Dill's will be allowed to make 5 or 6 nice pumpkins for the Fall season.   Saturday, June 28 View Page Conception, cross with the weaker Dill's plant (oh well). Maybe come September I let another fruit set and self pollinate to perseve genetics if it all turns out good. By goo I mean Giant. Hopefully by next year I make some contacts and get ahold of some good genetics.   Wednesday, July 2 View Page Fruit is holding, got the sand down and trained the vine into a modified S, trying to anticipate the growth and direction of the fruit in relation to the main vine. Contact or abrasion = bad.   Friday, July 4 View Page She's puttin on. Note the oblong shape, not as rounded as other growers diary entrys show. I wonder how bad that is, worried about the weight and falling in upon itself. I am using a plastic stool to keep the middday sun off of it temporarily.   Monday, July 7 View Page Had a eurika moment after making a larger shade cover. I realized that it wouldnt be big enough after 2 weeks, and doesnt prevent my chickens from rooting around the sandy area. Good ol pop up hunting blind! Its been almost 10 days after conception and the diameter is roughly 7.5". Smaller than I'd hope for (compared to others) but beyond all expectation for the journey so far. Put in a ton of work this weekend, adding more irrigation and getting the tap roots to the dirt. Also anticipating the main trunk and side shoots paths to completion. The plant overall appears dark green and healthy, with only slight mid day wilting due to the direct sunshine and heat.   Wednesday, July 9 View Page This is just a general disclaimer that I am a total newbie in regards to growing a Giant pumpkin. As a matter of fact, this is the first pumpkin I have ever grown. Therefore, I know nothing of good fertlizer regiments and the associated timings (just using 13-13-13 and hoping for the best). Or of foilar feeds, Calcium applications any tricks of the trade. Also, being in central Arkansas, I have heat and vine borers to contend with. So, please, ANY and ALL comments, suggestions, observations, adive, and warnings are so very much appreciated. I am much obliged!!! Thank you for this community.   Thursday, July 10 View Page Day 12 and still puttin on strong. I see ribbing forming that has started from the stem and is moving its way to the stub end. Still a little worried about the football shape. I recieved some great advice for fertilizing regiments, and ways to combat SVB. I need to find a canister type product that I can screw my garden hose into, and be able to broadcast spray the foiler type of fertilizers with my hose sprayer, versus filling up a 1 gallon pump sprayer. Although that way you cant control the ratio's of #oz fert to 1 gallon water. Back to square one I guess?   Sunday, July 13 View Page View of the plant mass. So far I just have a few leaves around the stump that are yellowing or dying off due to some cause, deficiency or abuse. It's not plantwide white powder or anything, but I am keeping my eyes peeled. I'm also seeing a few squash bugs here and there, so I dusted with SEVIN. I decided I do not like the dust due to the potential to breath the powder in days after application (while pruning and working within the patch). Next time I'll buy the liquid concentrate and apply with a broadcast water hose sprayer, and regiment it to once every week or two.   Sunday, July 13 View Page Continuing to put on strong. People gasp when I show them the progression over 3 days. I smile to myself because by the time I show them the pictures, it has grown even more! Sunday night I applied another 1/4 cup of granular at the stump, and a tablespoon at each node along the trunk. I also foilar fed (for the first time, it was more practice than anything) a liquid mixture of fish and kelp type grow and bloom, along with some Dutchmaster and Florabloom liquid ferts I had lying around. I am careful to dispense at 3 teaspoons per gallon with my new broacast ferztilizer garden hose sprayer. So far it seems they have responded well, and I may slowly ramp up the dosing. Right now I am reading into Calcium and Magnesium (I already apply Epsoms Salts liberally to the stump and trunk) and the different detail level fertilizing methods. Still so much to learn!   Wednesday, July 16 View Page Vegetative growth has definetly slowed down. It hasn't stopped completely, but I can see the stems at the end of some 20ft+ secondaries turning shades of yellow, appearing to have nutrient difficiencies. By not fertilizing and then burying each node (no MYCOZ either!) I see not how the tarp has really held me back. This is what I get by doing something as an afterthough. BUT, holding my feet to the fire has at least come this far. I am having some tertiaries and new growth around the stump lately. Going in there to cut it back, I noticed some scondaries that have Vine Borer damage at the first node leaving the trunk. I was not dilligent enough applying the SEVIN, especially to protect the main stump and base. I worry about how much destruction will occur before this wave leaves the vine and pupates. I applied a good measure of SEVIN around the stump, trunk, before the fruit, and where the secondaries branch off. I will be more diligent in the future. I am using SAFER 3in1 to protect my fruit, and apply every week. So far the hunting blind has been perfect cover against the elements.   Saturday, July 19 View Page 21 DAP. I took my first set of measurements: Using the OTT system, I have 44.5" Side to Side, 50.5" Stem to Blossom End, and since it's resting on the layer of sandbed, I don't know how to correctly measure the circumference without lifting the pumpkin, other than to make an approximation. Thus, using the calculator, I am roughly 80-90lbs weight so for. Not bad for only 3 weeks of growth!??? Definetly not bad towards my 100lb goal, I am going to SMASH it!!! I have Humic acid, Mycoz fungi, Fish and Seaweed, and a sticker/spreader arriving tomorrow. I seemed to have stopped further Vine Borer Damage, or at least the current infection isnt killing any more plant mass.   Monday, July 28 View Page 1 month after pollination. The SVB damage is still present, if not slightly increasing. Also, I see PM setting in. I have not taken any preventative measures yet this year. Now, its the end of July and here it is! I have some Potassium Bicarbonate on order, hopefully it can stall and stop the progression. Days and life are getting busy and I am finding it hard to give the patch the small daily attention it needs. If everything could be organised on paper and anticipated from the beginning, then the task of it all could be quanitified and more easily maintained. I took an OTT which I dont have the number for offhand (roughly 195-200) which places me at 170lbs so far. Right now, considering the larvae and fungi invasion I have going on, I would just like to keep the vine alive until harvest!!   Monday, July 28 View Page Main trunk is terminated, secondaries have picked back up.   Monday, July 28 View Page I could float in this already, I think! I love the ribbing and color!   Friday, August 1 View Page 203 OTT, 34 DAP 190lbs I never though I would say this. I actually want some sunshine and dryness! Enough of the rain, cool and clouds! Only gaining 5 lbs per day.   Tuesday, August 5 View Page I am going to title the next few series of pictures: Problems Here is a photo of my pumpkins stem. notice the small cracks in the flesh radiating outward from the stem area. Also notice the new discoloration, what I thought was bruising except for it's hard and stiff, not soft. Near where the Vine and stem meet, there are small balls of sap forming. I placed a electric fan in there yesterday, pointed at the stem and base, but I fear it's too little too late. It's definitely not due to the pumpkin growing too fast ha!! Are these signs I should harvest? This leads me to a very important question I have: How many DAP days after pollination before the fruit is ready? How many DAP is too much, to little?   Tuesday, August 5 View Page Check out this foaming node!!! Crazy!! I've seen a few diaries place the fan at the stump to combat foam, but I don't know what causes it, and didn't know it can occur anywhere on the vine. Too much stagnant moisture???   Tuesday, August 5 View Page This ones bad. The PM, DM, and a little dash of wilt. I seemed to have stopped the fungus spread with Serenade and Potassium Bicarbonate, but the foaming has me shaking my head..... I need to go in there and prune away all the bad stuff.   Tuesday, August 5 View Page 206 OTT. Slower than 5 lbs a day now, pretty bummed out, but I know that I was facing an uphill battle and a glass ceiling the whole way. Next year will be different.   Tuesday, August 5 View Page Amazingly, the other vine. Totally neglected, abused, ignored. I think the largest pumpkin on this one is at least 100lbs, I haven't even measured it! Definitely 1/3 the size of my big one. 3 total pumpkins still on this one, 1 rotted off recently. Should I harvest them? They havnt changed in size in quite some time. Again, I haven't read anywhere how many DAP to harvest. I realize that its based upon local harvest dates for weigh ins and county/state fair competitions. You guidance is very much appreciated for all of these issues I am having! Thank you in advance.   Thursday, August 7 View Page The bruising is progressing, and not in a good way. The fan does not seem to be drying it out. There is more ooze, and now the bruising is starting to turn soft. I expereinced a small bit of this at the stump, but it just left a small soft area about 1mm into the stem at the stump, and thats all. I just go in there and check things out to make sure nothing is escalating. But this pumpkin stem issue has me alarmed! Any way to stop this progression?   Monday, August 11 View Page 209 OTT 190-225lbs, 44 DAP. I have received tremendous feedback with advice and recommendations, thank you again for this community and it's members. To combat the stem issue, I have coated it with Daconil concentrate to help dry it out. The fan did help keep the snot down to a minimum. The PM is spreading. I went ahead and did a tertiary prune out, and decided to pull the entire first 4 or 5 secondaries that started at the stump due to general rot out. I would say a good 20% of the mass is gone, but I am hoping it allows the rest to breathe. I went ahead and applied the Daconil to the rest of the vine via hose end sprayer at 3tsp/g, but if i don't see an improvement soon I will reapply double this dose. Time to see what works. This issue of spraying, whether for fertilize, pesticide, herbicide (or I guess all that at once) is extremely cumbersome without some form of backpack mister. I can see how a 1 gallon hand pump sprayer will make one weary over the season, something has to dramatically improve here, and enable me to completely and evenly saturate the bottom side of the leaves.   Monday, August 11 View Page The vine is hungry. 1/4 cup granular at the base and broadcast down the trunk and out along the secondaries, PLUS my once a week foilar isn't cutting it. I suspect this is also why PM is able to set is so much easier. I need to be able to deliver the correct dose, at the right times to allow the vine to best prosper, yet minimize my intrusion into the patch's soil network. Two things seriously wrong with my vine pattern. First, this modified xmas tree. How the secondaries curve back isn't practical since it doesn't allow for planks of wood to be placed, directing a path to the stump and/or trunk from the side. I think a regular xmas tree shape that terminates the secondaries 15 feet on either side would be clean and neat. Second, that would allow for a pumpkin on the trunk that you direct into a "drip loop" shape and then allow the trunk to continue. This crazy modified S had me pruning secondaries off 3 or 4 nodes on either side of the stem/vine interface.   Monday, August 11 View Page Toying with the idea of letting 6 fruit set on the last 3 secondaries that are running before where I terminated the trunk. Actually, they have all set due to natures sweet kiss, but I reach a cross road. Should I trim all the newly set fruit and let my main pumpkin gain, what, 5% more as its going right now, and try and reach max weight? Or, let these 6 put on, and get more lawn decorations for Fall season? I did harvest the 3 from the other vine, and they are all beautiful!!!! The one I could barley lift into my deer sled to drag it out of there! I am sure I could get those 6 fat if I trim my giant, but I want to see it through to the end!   Thursday, August 14 View Page So I guess in the South, we have 3 waves of vine borer moth. Saw this guy hanging out on a leaf yesterday. Early July, late July, and now early August thus far, like 3 weeks apart. Sprayed Sevin concentrate to combat.   Friday, August 15 View Page I decided to trim off all new growth, and go for the gold with my main. Time to start seriously upping my foilar dosing, I have no idea where my upper limit is. As before, the vine looks hungry!!! I want to burn the leaves so I know how much they can handle!! At this stage I am spraying 0-5-4 to increase fruit size.   Sunday, August 17 View Page Went to check on the stem, and it was rotting so bad I could stick my finger all the way through the stem. Fearing the rot would travel into my pumpkin, I cut the stem from the vine as close as possible to the area where the stem meets the pumpkin.   Sunday, August 17 View Page Cutting the stem August 7, 2014 reveals 50 DAP gestation for my giant. It was done growing, the stem became soft, mushy, and rotting from the inside. When I cut the stem, there was no water beads forming, showing no transpiring movement. Hopefully competition genetics will enable me more days of growth, though the heat of August perhaps will not permit more. I will have to discuss this logic more with you guys to gain some insight, and adjust my planting dates accordingly.   Thursday, August 21 View Page Weight in. I am using a deer hoist pulley system, and a deer hanging scale that weights up to 550 lbs. Although not official, it lands me within +/- 2 lbs, so good enough for me.   Thursday, August 21 View Page 215 lbs with the rigging! Thus it falls within 210-214 lbs. Not bad, doubled my 100lb goal!!   Thursday, August 21 View Page I used a pool noodle to protect the bottom loop, and moving straps made a X up and over to support the weight as it was hoisted. You can see the non existant stem covered in Daconil. Pumpkin integrety was great during lifting and transport (with the exception of the stem). It has held its shape and firmness well.   Wednesday, August 27 View Page Just my last update. The rot has progressed into the pumpkin, when i press on the coated stem cap area, I can tell it is stoft and mushy beneath the dried out layer produced by the Daconil. Since the rot is progressing, I do no think I will enter it to show in our County Fair. Lesson learned, do NOT allow the it go past harvest, and the stem will abort and allow rot access into the pumpkin. Should have went with my gut feeling on that one. Now I see how my location contributes to just how many DAP I get. Now to find a creative way to destroy it! or I carve it and show if off in the front yard for a week until it rots out (jack o lantern in late August? Sure! Why not!!!)   Sunday, August 31 View Page This years harvest. Next year I have my sights set on the Arkansas state record! 685lbs to break the record! I can't wait!