Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 110 Entries. Saturday, April 4 View Page When I see the other local growers prepping the vast acres of land that they have to grow in, this backyard grower knows he better get planning for the season ahead. We hope everyone has a great pumpkin growing season in 2015.   Monday, April 6 View Page So, I see Richmond Dave is about to plow under his covercrop now that we have a few nice sunny days in the weather forcast... I have turned over the soil in the planting spots and will wrap my hoophouses also in the next few days. We use one hoophouse that is 16' x 12' and heated at night and we use the small 4' x 3' one on the other patch and just use a shielded 40 watt light bulb to keep it over 50 degrees overnight. Past 3 years the smaller hoophouse has produced the bigger pumpkin than the plant grown inside the hoophouse for a much longer time...obviously the plant inside the bigger hoop gets larger faster....the other plant tends to be tougher and has outgrown its rival...this will be the last year I use the bigger hoophouse if the small one beats it again...   Monday, April 6 View Page So, I'm also spending alot more time with my old Ford, when the weather is nice. Richmond Dave, has offered up the use of his shop, so that we can paint the stripe along the side back to original Ford Corrinthian White, so that I can register the car as a collector/antique. Cars must be a certain age, condition and be in as original "stock" as possible...they turned me down for my custom colored stripe...I've owned this car for 37 years and drove it in high school. The guy that I bought it from had painted it, including the multi colored stripe and I've always liked it...but gotta conform to the rules...It will look awesome...thanks in advance Dave, you are a good buddy.   Sunday, April 19 View Page Now, with the stripe painted back to the original white...we like it!! We've got some sunny. dru warm weather, so I've been hand turning my rye crop in the patch by hand, slowly...kind of doing a full double dig, and have added our ammendments as per the soil test, and I'm not changing a thing in my program other than adding to the Growth Products we use.   Friday, April 24 View Page Upper patch and planting site ready to go. Been running tests with the smaller heat lamp in this hoop and it keeps the temperature inside overnight at around 50-55 degrees, when it is 40-45 degrees outside. I may up the wattage of the lightbulb... We are hand turning the cover crop in the patches again this year, I'll likely mow it a few more times untill the plant lays down and needs more room. Not worrying about irrigation (as you can see...its wet) but am putting together the parts, and will have a more effective system for this year.   Friday, April 24 View Page Lower patch with slightly larger hoophouse with bigger heat lamp (175 Watt Infared heat bulb) and it keeps the overnight temps around a nice 60-65 degrees when the overnight is 40-55. We had snow in the North Vancouver hills yesterday and last night...the soil is too cold...it is too early to plant... Not changing the system much this year, even having Richmond Dave take care of the seed germination, not that I'm superstitious or anything... I will be starting seeds for other North Shore Boyz, and a few new entries into the hobby. Going to monitor the temperature and try and raise the planing site soil and surrounding area before planting. Also going away on the annual Boyz fishing next weekend, so I'm hoping to get them in the ground for next friday.   Wednesday, May 6 View Page 7am today, upper patch hoop sensor says 75 degrees...nice! The soil has warmed up a bit, Dave and I have been monitoring this over the past 10 days or so and I'm glad I did not plant early, when the soil was below 65 degrees inside the hoophouse at 6 inches deep. It is at 68 degrees now in the morning, so we are off to the races. In our region (especially me and Chad in the mountains)soil temperature when planting our seedlings is one of the most important factors in having a good growing year. I have stunted a few good seedlings in earlier years and I'm convinced that soil temperature is a key part.   Wednesday, May 6 View Page Lower patch in the morning, no sun at planting site, but it will roll around in late morning and then stay till sun down...since I rotate my planting sites in my small patch, I battle differant sun angles, but generally get full sun when the going gets good in July and August. We wont bore you with seedling pictures this year. but will tell you that our 1124 Dixon was super easy to germinate and all the seedlings have us repeating "wow I've never seen seedlings like this before" If you have not checked out the diary from Spambie (Scott), do yourself a favour and check it out. Scott is a local Vancouver guy who has found some fun in pumpkin growing, and it looks like he is serious about whatever he gets involved with. He should be growing a 1124 or 1126 Dixon, but I think he said something to me about "not having enough room" http://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryView.asp?season=2015&grower=67816&action=L   Wednesday, May 6 View Page So, quite a few people ask me "why do you bother to turn over your cover crop by hand?" and here in this photo is some of the reasons why. The root structure from the rye grass down 8-10" is amazing...I have done it this way for the past 4 years and I guess my answer has to be "I don't kill many worms this way, the green ends up on the bottom, and all the ammendments I've spread get mixed in, and it rotates the top structure of the soil creating a lighter, easier to manage soil for when burying vines...also, quite frankly I've got 60 x 25 to deal with and this time of the year is when I want to shred a few pounds..." Also, last 4 years our weights have been on the upward curve, so it would be silly to change now. Borrowing Dave's Troy built pony would be alot easier...but when I'm a big boy and have more land, I think I will have a ride'em tractor like my friend the Doctor and our other buddy in the Valley...gonna paint mine green to match my car. Chad, if your reading this, we need to step it up this year and the Pemberton Valley needs to produce a monster if anyone is gonna compete with Scott...   Sunday, May 24 View Page 1124 Dixon (1043 Chan x 1602 Glasier) is off an running. Hoop will get taken down in a few days, this plant is very heat tollerant so far, we've had stunning weather. Andrea and I turned (double dug) the rest of the patch, and I will install overhead watering/misting systme in the next few days. I likely won't be using our holding tank for the next few weeks till the plants are bigger, but I sure like the coverage I am getting with the expanded system. I'm running 4 x 15' circle Toro 570 Shrub sprayers that give 3 gallons per minute each...works great!! 1126 Dixon (1602 Glasier x 1043 Chan) is not yet photo-worthy and I even planted a backup plant thinking that the 1126 seedling was not performing...it is fine now and only a day or 2 behind the other one.   Monday, June 1 View Page We are growing 2 plants again this year, this is the 1124 (Glenn) Dixon that I am growing, which has outgrown its little hut, starting to aggressively root and starting to send out secondaries. I like this time of the growing season, just letting the plant do its thing...but pre-planning and pre-trenching where the secondaies will land... The 1126 (Andrea) Dixon is still not photo worthy...but is down and running also. Certainly wont be needing a misting system on the 1126 plant...it appears tough as nails. I have not installed my watering/misting system for the 1124 plant yet, but I saw the diary by anaid_tecuod and it reminded my of how great his watering system is, and why I copied him. They are pretty simple sprayers on a riser, but it sure gives great coverage...great diary BTW...   Friday, June 5 View Page These roots are 4 feet out from the planting area (stump) and were under the boards on the sides that hold the plastic down...wow!! Every year when I remove the hoophouse, roots have made their way quite a distance away from the plant, and very often I post these pictures in my diary in the hopes that just one new or newish grower...will see these pictures and realize just how important your growing area is, and how far the roots will go in a short time.   Friday, June 5 View Page This root here...   Friday, June 5 View Page Mid section away from the plant and about 4' away from the plant...more roots. So, that is why I try and keep my soil light and fluffy and groomed nicely, so that the roots can settle in and do their job...stepping off a walking board or stepping directly into or on any of our soil, results in immediate eviction from the Dixon patch... Plants are both doing great and our weather forecast is awesome...we are fortunate to be near the ocean, so there is almost always a breeze that keeps things from heating up too much.   Friday, June 12 View Page Out doing some vine maintenance and spotted this little beauty...of course my first thought is "grab the camera" and then after snapping a few shots like this one...my mind wandered to "plants must have aphids if we've got ladybugs" After a good look under some leaves...my worry went away but I will continue to be vigilant against aphids and whiteflies again this year.   Saturday, June 13 View Page 1124 Dixon growing nice now, couple more weeks and I'd like to be pollinating... If you look at my risers for the sprinklers, you might see a piece of a fishing rod and half a ski pole for the other. One man's garbage works perfect in the pumpkin patch...recycle and re-use.   Saturday, June 20 View Page Finally my wifes plant, the 1126 Dixon is somewhat photo-worthy and starting to stretch out now. Its a couple weeks behind the other plant, and months behind Scott (Spambie). The fine Doctor (Richmond Dave) has 3 great plants this year and all signs point to good things for he and his bride Janet this year in the patch!!   Saturday, June 20 View Page My 1124 Dixon, is looking good and gobbling up ground at a good pace now. Females are showing up to the party now and likely we will be pollinating over the next few weeks. Weather in Vancouver has been been summer like for all of June and when I look back at previous years diaries (thanks Ken) we can see that actually the plants are ahead of schedule and indeed it has been a warmer/drier/sunnier year again this Spring.   Monday, June 22 View Page Love this time of the year and the growth of the plants, each vine on the 1124 Dixon growing 5-6" per day and it won't be long till vines are terminated on one side at 15'. At least if I need flowers to pollinate, I can rely on some of the local Boyz...including Spambie who grows like 15 plants...how does a city person compete with that?? Somebody wants a GPC Jacket I can tell... Game on, I figure most of the Vancouverites I know, will be pollinating anytime now, but Scott most likely has a few on the line by now. I know it looks like we will be another 8-10 days before the deed starts to take place...funny when people will ask us "lots of pumpkin sex happening right now?" when they know it is pumpkin season...   Monday, June 22 View Page Getting a nice drink after a lazy day in the sun...oh and me too.. The other plant got 10 gallons of Companion and Bio Nutrients that will get watered in tomorrow night. Whenever I feed the plants whatever is on the rotation, it always gets watered in the next day in hopes that any residual goodness will get sucked up the next day with a good watering about. There's a few things that I have not added to the rotation yet and I better get off the sidelines and strap on my new backpack sprayer and get with the program. I don't foliar feed much anymore, but when I do, its sure nice to have the right equipment...thanks Scott I really appreciated the backpack sprayer...   Wednesday, June 24 View Page Nice little football on the 1124 plant is perfectly situated on the main vine and on the correct side of the plant for my plans for this patch this year. The 1126 plant also has a baby showing in the growth tip of the main vine but is not on the correct side of the vine for my plannted use of the upper patch. I will keep it for now, and hope another one pops out on the opposite side of the vine...then all systems appear to be go!! You all seen Richmond Dave's diary and patch this year? Banner year might be in store for the good Doctor, hoping he gets his 3rd year in a row over 1000 lbs.   Thursday, June 25 View Page We've got a great long term weather forcast again for the next 10 days with hot coastal weather to continue. Plants are bullet proof this year and misting/cooling is not needed...   Saturday, June 27 View Page 1124 plant has one to pollinate in a few days and another in the growth tip. I found out today that you can't mix Cal/Mag Max and 3-3-18 in your hose end sprayer...clogs up and gets super thick...bad... Had to empty the contents into my 250 gallon tank and mix the heck out of it, but used my hose end sprayer to apply a feeding of Cal Mag Max on its own... 1126 plant has one to pollinate in a few days at around 14' on the main and there is another in its growth cluster further out as well...moving ahead nicely for June!!   Saturday, June 27 View Page I usually do that once a year...forgot the picture for the previous post...here it is!!   Monday, June 29 View Page Right at 7am just like Richmond Dave said...pollinated this morning and will do the same on the other plant tomorrow morning. Plants are about 1/2 size right now but eathing up ground fast...really aggressive rooting plant. The other North Shore Boyz also have pollinations with Jeff and Steve both having nice plants on the go right now too.   Monday, June 29 View Page 1124 Dixon x 1126 Dixon from this morning.   Tuesday, June 30 View Page My own fault, didn't trim the leaf and put a protective basket over the freshly pollinated female, and a midnight skunk nibble the flower off and messed with the perfect lobes on the flower...not too bad...and totally my bad for being lazy. We've got an owl family taking care of most of the squirrel issues and the skunks and racoons have been leaving us along since I dont use fish ferts anymore...   Tuesday, June 30 View Page So off comes the leaf, a nice 90 degree bend in the vine for better fruit position...   Tuesday, June 30 View Page So the basket gets put on and I'll pollinate another one further out on the main in a few days and make my decision 10-12 days after that... All I need now is one of my hillbilly umbrellas for a few weeks and then I'll think about putting up my shade/water protection hut to protect the growing giant.   Wednesday, July 1 View Page 1126 Dixon is finally more photo worthy, there are 2 more flowers on the main to pollinate within the next 7 days, so the timing looks good this year. Really we've had great weather and the 1124 is just ahead and outgrowing its patch rival...last year both plants that produced the 1126 & 1124, were smaller at the beginning of July...interesting... http://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=221294 http://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=221293   Thursday, July 2 View Page I'm a trench digger...I like to pre-dig landing spots in trenches for all the secondaries, and when they lay down and roots start to show under/over/on the side...then I cover them with soil. Also, for my area on the Coast and in the Mountains, we constantly have whirling winds that switch direction and without burying my vines and using bamboo to stabilize my plants, it would be difficult to grow. I also cover the main vine as it roots, but uncover as the pumpkin stats to grow and naturally lift the vine back up a bit.   Saturday, July 4 View Page Protective basket will be too small in a day or two, so I've got my white sheets at the ready to cover the babies...especially at night when we have skunks and racoons that frequent the patch...usually leave things alone...but not always. No skunks or racoons in Richmond? And no protective baskets this year...Richmond Dave is rolling the dice and not employing his usual tricks or the trade, and I can already hear Janet say "..."   Sunday, July 5 View Page 1126 Dixon has 2 pollinated, I culled a wierd one from yesterday. The one under basket done today with multiple 1124 flowers mainly from the main vine as well. Loads of wildfires in B.C. right now and we have smoke and ash in the big city...you can see the ash on the plants and it looks like lithovit looks after you use it on your plants. Either way, the ash is gonna get watered off later in the day...   Sunday, July 5 View Page So here is that wierd female flower, looks like the stigma are sideways, and not facing up like we usually see them.   Sunday, July 5 View Page Here is a side angle. In my time of growing pumpkins, I've never seen one like this but have seen alot of malformed, deformed, mis-aligned, crooked and strange looking lobes, but this one just appears to be sideways, otherwise may have been normal. Any thoughts?   Monday, July 6 View Page We've got this one (7 days today 1124 Dixon x 1126 Dixon) and one more recently pollinated on the 1124 Dixon. Able to get the crosses we wanted this year from our own seeds...pretty satisfying.   Monday, July 6 View Page Side shot of the 1124 plant with the umbrellas in the distance over the babies on the 1126 Dixon plant. 2 pollinated on the 1126 plant on the main, one at 13' and the next one out at 17'...we will wait untill day 10 or 15 on the small pumpkin to decide which one to keep....I'm leaning to the second one at 17' just because the plant is bigger and will have more secondaries behind it...it will be tough to cull the one pollinated 6 days earlier...but what's a grower gonna do...   Monday, July 6 View Page This is a picture of the sun in the sky at 7pm tonight. We've had really dry weather and hot for this part of the world...fires are an issue and the big ciy of Vancouver has been enveloped with smoke and ash over the past few days...in all our years in Vancouver, we've never seen smoke from wild-fires in city like we are now. Hoping for rain, but none in sight. Watering restrictions are in full force (thankfully you can water your veggie gardens) and we are all expected to cut back on water usuage for the rest of the summer... Patch could not be happier right now...but our forests need some rain...   Thursday, July 9 View Page Day 10 at 15' on the main and day 4 at 19' on the main of the 1124 Dixon plant. I like the shape and position of the first pumpkin, so likely will cull the second fruit in the next while.   Thursday, July 9 View Page Also on day 10 at 13' on the main and day 4 at 17' on the main of the 1126 Dixon plant. I dont even take the sheet off the 10 day old pumpkin because I just dont want to get too attached to it because I like the positioning and potential plant size better of the newly pollinated one further out. Always good to have a backup till around day 20 or so.   Thursday, July 9 View Page And finally today, for the local growers who asked, and for other newish growers that might not know, the great Canadian grower Jake van Kooten told me once "when the pumpkin is young, try and keep the stem end and blossom end equidistant to the ground" While I admit I did need to look up "equidistant" in the thesaurus I figured that it meant "equal distant". To this day, it is one of the most valuable pieces of information and advice that I use and practice every year. Yes, you have to snip a few tap roots before and after the pumpkin to allow it to lift the vine....worth it in the long run for sure!!   Thursday, July 9 View Page 1124 Dixon starting to pack on the overnight inches...looks like I better get in there and clear out the rest of the male flowers...everybody is pollinated that I know of...no need for any more competition for juice.   Saturday, July 11 View Page OK Richmond Dave...here is my 1124 Dixon on day 13... Dave got the jump on me by getting his plant pollinated 1 day earlier than me this year..well game on dude.   Tuesday, July 14 View Page Side shot of the 1126 Dixon plant in upper part of patch. We (I) culled down to one pumpkin on this plant earlier than usual, and been sweating bullets for the last couple of nights. Got a pumpkin on it that will hit day 10 tomorrow.   Tuesday, July 14 View Page No man's land between the two plants...I will let my wifes plant (the 1126) take this spot to fill in a few vines...even though I could have let the other plant (mine) grow into its allotment.   Tuesday, July 14 View Page Lower part of patch with the 1124 Dixon plant growing strong. Won't break my culling rule on this one and will wait till day 20 (it is day 15 today) because we've got some kinda Nova Scotia 20 day pumpkin numbers going on here...crazy and that's why I'm leaving the backup/shock-absorber pumpkin further out under the basket for a few more days...   Thursday, July 16 View Page 1124 Dixon at day 17 is looking nice, liking the shape but not so much the position on the vine, total rookie move on my part, figuring I had enough slack and room, and now the main might not be as easy to move again...might have to resort to repositioning the pumpkin herself the other way. If not, we've had good luck over the past years withour pumpkins having no main vine after the fruit...time will tell on this one.   Thursday, July 16 View Page 11 day old pumpkin on the 1126 Dixon plant, and not the same issue with the vine after the pumpkin, as I've got great positioning on this one and should be good to go. This pumpkin looks like it will be orange...I can already see the tell-tale dappling on the skin...excited!! Its sure nice having other grower diaries to look at, so that you can see what kind of techniques are being used, and how to perform them properly, we've had such warm weather that bending and moving vines has been easier than in the past.   Sunday, July 19 View Page Day 20 for the 1124 Dixon and had a nice 25 lbs gain in past 24 hours according to the 2013 weight estimate charts. Biggest day 20 for the Dixon patch history. Not smashing the old standard, but a move in the right direction. I'll be starting up my fert rotation in the next while, and while not hitting it hard, I will be spoon feeding something most likely every 3rd day... Insect and disease control and preventative measures in place, and will rotate 2 products now every 2nd or 3rd week as needed. To beat the big boyz, I need to keep my plants as healthy as possible into September and October...   Monday, July 20 View Page So, day 21 for the 1124 Dixon and after a good gain of 25 lbs on day 20, it turned in 35 lbs for today. I'm way behind Spambie (Scott) and now well behind the good Doctor in Richmond and who knows who else has a monster in the patch, since we've had yet again a record breaking year for warm weather patterns...thanks California. The overnight lows have been warmer than usual and I think the young pumpkins really enjoy it...   Tuesday, July 21 View Page And then there are these goofy things that are so much fun to grow. This plant is from a seed from our 119.25" long gourd British Columbia record from 2013 that was 25th place overall on the GPC standings that year. Seed is a 110 Mailey x self...I don't remember it looking so much like a club (super fat on bottom) but I've got 4 good ones going on this plant...my BC Record might be safe, untill Spambie asks me for seeds or a seedling next year...   Thursday, July 23 View Page Yikes, looks how much these babies have grown in the past 2 days... Attention all British Columbia gardeners and growing enthusiasts...long gourds grow fantastic in our climate and it would be great if someone else wanted to grow these bad boyz... Every year now I take them to the weighoff and take a bunch of seeds...but nobody has stepped up and joined the party...   Saturday, July 25 View Page 20 days for the 1126 Dixon, a few inches behind her patch partner but still 70" in circ today. We've had some rain, not very much but anything that helps the burning forests is welcome. We are also close to major watering restrictions, which could really throw a twist never encountered while I've grown pumpkins...hand watering only for vegetable gardens.   Wednesday, July 29 View Page Day 30 today for the 1124 Dixon and after talking to Richmond Dave, and getting a text from Spambie (Scott) I no longer feel that I we are as in good shape as I figured we were. Don't get me wrong...at 112-70-70 we are still ahead of last years pace...just not blowing it away like we were at day 20. We had some cooler weather and rain for a couple days, and growth rate dropped like it was October. Unless the retired Dentist and Jet-Setting International Businessman are full of compost, it looks like I am playing for a ribbon again this year...oh well...September is North Shore Boyz month to roll and I get some fantastic gains in that month if my plants are still in good health...which I plan on them being...   Wednesday, July 29 View Page I really like it when the pumpkins start to rise above the canopy of leaves, then you know you have something good going. On the message board, a newish grower asked nicks and sratches and removing leaves and this picture is a great example of what a little "oops" does to the pumpkin as it grows. You can see on the very top, there is a brown mark in the middle about 4" long and 1" wide...that was a careless nick from a finger nail while doing some work when the pumpkin was just days old...Sorry Mr. Dill....I'll try and do better. Looks like she will be orange and I'm glad cause that is what I have to shoot for now...Orange and Pretty....lol...   Friday, July 31 View Page So, Andrea's 1126 Dixon pumpkin at day 26, still a nice long football fruit. She's finally getting around to putting up her rain/weather cover because we are going to be away for 4 days on Vancouver Island. Smartly, Andrea chose the smaller upper patch (where she beat me last year)adjacent to the new deck that I was empowered to build. You can notice that the pumpkin is already in shade while the plant is in full sun...smart lady.   Friday, July 31 View Page Next to the hot tub and table...ya 2 giant umbrellas on the upper deck where it gets pounded by full sun. Not only that...the hot tub umbrella can be swung out directly over top of the pumpkin as the sun moves in the evening. Well done Andrea, I wondered why we "had to have" a tilting umbrella and why we got the heaviest marble umbrella stand but that was apparently to match the decking...ya sure.   Friday, July 31 View Page So, while my beautiful bride is thinking maybe 400-500 lbs when she built her pumpkin cover in the previous picture, I'm thinking 1200 lbs plus when I put up this bad boy over the 1124 Dixon pumpkin...doing 34 lbs a day...weather awesome!! I'll cut a skin for both of them and clip it on...but I'm pretty sure we will be rebuilding a larger cover for Andrea's pumpkin when it kicks into high gear...we'll see.   Friday, July 31 View Page Long Gourds going to grow down into the patch so I may lose a leaf or 2 in the process. 119.25 Dixon are sure fat on the ends...the mother was long and skinny and fat on the end...just not like tihs... I'm glad I mentioned long gourd growing in British Columbia and now it seems next year, there will be other locals giving them a try. We must have the right climate in our Province for them and I just feed them what I do the pumpkins.   Friday, July 31 View Page Going away this weekend for a few days and getting Dave to come over to water. I've just been covering with a tarp when I've been overhead watering and putting the sheet back on afterwards so we did't need a full rain covers, this way its just way more convenient for everyone.   Tuesday, August 4 View Page Watermelon Pumpkin on the 1126 Dixon today at day 30. Is several inches behind her patchmate down below, but that is OK, she is 6 days younger and theres a long time till weighoffs.   Tuesday, August 4 View Page Day 26 for the 1124 fruit, averaged 29 lbs a day for the 4 days that we were away on Vancouver Island. Looked at 2 homes today, each on 2 acres of prime pumpkin patch...someday!!   Tuesday, August 4 View Page And in that 4 days...confirmed...she'll be orange...no doubt about it now. Very smooth and shiney just like I was hoping...really happy with the crosses we did last year and the fruit are turning out to be what we were hoping for. Richmond Dave's got a beauty going on his 1043 Chan, and that is where the 1124 Dixon came from...cool. 1043 Chan is from 'The Freak' 1789 Wallace, with orange pumped into it by pollinating with the 1684 Delaney. Dave's 1043 grew my 1124 for me last year, and I further pumped some orange into it by pollinating with the 1602 Glasier which was beauty orange and our 1126 lb personal best that went 15% heavy. So long and short...we are hoping to get big, orange and heavy from our resulting crosses and they look good so far.   Thursday, August 6 View Page And the long gourds...oh my!! There were 4 fruit on this plant but one of them fell from wind. Short and thick does the trick or what? Only about 70" long at this point in the season but already 25" in circumference at the ends. I'm a fairly new gourd grower, this being my 4th year...but I've never seen them so thick...I'd be interested to see others in diaries but I guess I dont look closely at enough diaries...any gourd growers out there is this normal or just our strange year this year with fantastic weather?   Saturday, August 8 View Page Day 40 for our 1124 Dixon today and while it continues to pack on the inches, it has been at a more moderate pace than the Dentist's pumpkin in Richmond. Its at 309" OTT so I've got some catching up to do, but my system usually leaves me a pretty healthy plant for continued growth in September, and my gains in that month have been pretty fantastic the past couple of years. Its the only advantage that I have over Richmond Dave (September growth) and its the one thing that I'd love for him to absorb for next year...if he wants to get the type of gains that I do in September..which I'm pretty sure he would like. That is going to have to wait till next year...he is tired of listening to me...especially with his success this year so far...so we will have time for that later.   Friday, August 14 View Page Day 40 for the 1126 Dixon and the growth has been typical for my patch in general...seems to be slow and steady. If the shoulders start to fill in like the rear end, then this will be a decent pumpkin come weighoff time. Also starting to show nice colour...   Friday, August 14 View Page Side view of the day 40 1126 Dixon...sure is low and wide... I've added 0-0-25 to my rotation now and may think about adding it earier next year. I'm going to get a tissue test and let some of the boyz look at the results and tell me what they think. I don't think that I am deficient in anything, but how am I going to know for sure without a test...right?   Friday, August 14 View Page Lucky I was home, it started to rain so I threw a tarp on the 1126. This is the main vine that has grown out of the confines of the patch, and conveniently has swung over into the spent part of our Veggie garden beside the deck...how convenient.   Friday, August 14 View Page Now the rain comes down. 1126 fruit has been going Comando with no rain protection since I took down the first one that was way too small. 1124 pumpkin off in the distance below, has its rain protection so all is good there.   Tuesday, August 18 View Page Day 50 today for the 1124 Dixon and I'm pleased that its over 800 lbs before the end of August. If we can get the plant to just continue on its current growth pattern, then 1000 lbs before the end of August looks possible.   Tuesday, August 18 View Page Richmond Dave is gonna rumble over town to the North Shore in one of his old cars for a patch visit/inspection...I hope he brings his 1967 GTX. We will have to line up our cars with our pumpkins this year... I opened up the rain/watering cover to give him a good view of what a realy good looking pumpkin looks like, and keep him out of my patch...   Sunday, August 23 View Page 1126 Dixon at day 50 today. Growth has slowed quite alot and daily gains are down as overnight temperatures get cooler than it has been for the past several weeks. Only gained 12 lbs a day for the past 10 days, but is starting to blob out in certain areas. If we can keep her growing steadily for another month, it will certainly be a nice porch pumpkin.   Sunday, August 23 View Page 1126 from the back...starting to widen even more now but not getting much taller...will have a great big wide carving face for Halloween. If I'm home and its sunny, I will now start to take the blankets off of this one, to let it warm up during the day...its almost September and you can feel it in the air...overnights are getting chilly. Blankets back on for overnight...gotta put up rain cover.   Monday, August 24 View Page But for this one, thicker blankets have already gone on, its already super orange so doesnt need any sun at all. Blankets will only come off if they get wet, or if I have the need to measure... To my friends in Richmond, Janet...this is what needs to happen to the big one in your patch...cover it and let it grow for the rest of September unmolested. I'd like to suggest that September be a roadtrip month for you and Dave, put the camper on the truck, and head off to explore...I think of you everyday that I am getting rapid fire text messages from the good Doctor...   Friday, August 28 View Page Day 60 today for the 1124 Dixon x 1126 Dixon, she sure is long...   Friday, August 28 View Page ...and boy is she wide... Day 60 sitting at 354 OTT and has gained 156 lbs in the past 10 days. The growth curve definitely on its way downward, but I'm hoping that the health of the plant will let it continue to grow at a modest pace.   Thursday, September 3 View Page The forgotton one...the 1126 Dixon with no rain cover (its been pouring). This pumpkin is on day 60 today and in the past 10 days put on 105 lbs, but more importantly over 10 inches in circumerence over that same 10 days. If she is a late grower like her mother, then we might have to leave this one plugged in and go to another weighoff later in the month since our local one in British Columbia is on October 3rd. The plant is in such good shape, I'd like to see how long it will continue to pack on the inches. Both pumpkins from our seeds are big and orange...happy with that.   Saturday, September 5 View Page Went sturgeon fishing on the mighty Fraser River yesterday with Spambie and Richmond Dave...fish on!!   Saturday, September 5 View Page Now, this is my first ever sturgeon, and at about 4' long and heavy...I thought it to be a pretty good starting PB, till Scott said that the big ones are 7' long and way thinker...   Saturday, September 5 View Page Then I caught a second one, and figured it was way bigger and thicker than the first...my fishing partners over-ruled and the fish was declared "about the same size" as the first one...just like pumpkin growing...big is never big enough...have you seen Spambie's diary? We had a great day, talked some pumpkins, ate some good food and caught a few fish...thanks guys!!   Sunday, September 6 View Page 1124 Dixon will be day 70 tomorrow, I can tell she's still growing and hopefull that the growth will continue in September till weighoff on October 3rd. New Weighoff Site Sponsor this year, we are at Krause Berry Farm & Estate Winery on October 3rd...see you there.   Monday, September 7 View Page Day 70 for the 1124 Dixon and the weather change to rain and cool has lowered the daily gains. Last 10 days she put on 80 lbs for an 8 lb a day average and grew another 7" in circumerence. Overy 1000 lbs by the chart now, and unlikely to catch some of the other growers in my Province this year.   Monday, September 7 View Page Covered it will sit for the next 10 days, we've got some nice weather on its way back, but the overnight temps are what is controlling the gains and its getting pretty cool out there overnight...   Saturday, September 12 View Page Well, I have been pretty carefull again this year and have 2 healthy and growing pumpkins into September... Dave says pedal to the medal and leave take no prisoners...so the tank got loaded and the plants are getting watered for the first time this month (only because we had rain). Still time to put on a few hundred pounds and give the local boyz a run for the money on the scale...   Sunday, September 13 View Page 1126 Dixon (x 1124 Dixon) is on day 70 day, and despite the plant looking fantastic, the gains have gone to a crawl. 44 lbs in last 10 days and only around 4" in circumference over those 10 days, so unless she is thickening inside...gotta go real heavy with this one to crack the top 10.   Sunday, September 13 View Page 1124 Dixon (x 1126 Dixon) has the blanket taken off for a few hours so the overnight dew can dry off of it, and I rolled up the plastic for a photoshoot with a visiting buddy. Andrea likes this shot of the pumpkin...I must agree it is a good shot of it from the side. I've been permitted to "trim" some of the competing roto bushes so we'll see what the patch looks like for 2016...   Sunday, September 13 View Page Will be day 80 in a few more days for this one, be interesting to see what the tape says...   Tuesday, September 22 View Page I cleared 4 or 5 secondaries on each side of both plants in preparation for the sheets of plywood that I lay down in order to lift pumpkins up on tripod, and pallet jack them out to the front to load up for weighoff. Good luck to everyone on the scales this year!! Last day of summer so I wanted to get some prep work done outside before the rains set in again...   Thursday, September 24 View Page From the family room, I can watch the lower patch...its not doing much now, but still pushing sand at the bottom. My "trim" job on the rhoto bush to the right, was deemed excessive and the azalea bush that I trimmed down to just the newest growth..was deemed "cut down"... Needed to clear a path to get her out in a few days. A buddy of mine has called this pumpkin "Miss Jack" after our cooking teacher in High School...she had another name, but inappropriate for this family web site.   Friday, October 2 View Page We don't have the luxury of machinery in the big city, like Spambie and Richmond Dave...but the North Shore Boyz are going hillbilly backyard lifting today. OK...pallet, plywood to slip under, tripod, chain hoist, lifter, chains, and Richmond Dave to learn a new knot after a nearly fatal "issue" with his loading yesterday.   Friday, October 2 View Page ...then across the rest of the patch on plywood on a pallet jack...where we have to repeat the process to lift them onto the trailer...good times!!   Friday, October 2 View Page Loaded and ready. From back of the trailer forward we have my 1124 Dixon, Dave's 1043 Chan, Farmer Jim's 384 Dixon, my 1126 Dixon and last to Dave's 1177 Carley.   Saturday, October 3 View Page Top ten BC Growers at todays Krause Berry Farms and Estate Winery Giant Pumpkin Weighoff. Congrats to winner Scott Carley and his 1411 lb beauty that he grew from his own seed from last year.   Saturday, October 3 View Page Leaderboard from Krause Berry Farms today...what a great turnout we had 20 pumpkins and 2 squash...   Saturday, October 3 View Page The top 2 at our Weighoff today...Dave increased his PB by around 300 lbs today, and also with his own seed. I couldn't think of 2 better guys to come 3rd to...we had a great day!!   Saturday, October 3 View Page Now the 1068 Dixon. Thanks GPC for the support and tools to run a great event. We got great press coverage...watch link below for CTV Coverage of the Event. http://bc.ctvnews.ca/mobile/video?clipId=719614   Tuesday, October 6 View Page Now the 1068 Dixon (1124 Dixon x 1126 Dixon) sits on the front grass awaiting final destiny as a jack o lantern of some kind...   Tuesday, October 6 View Page We live at the end of a cul-de-sac that turns into another, so we are getting more and more traffic doing a drive by as the word spreads... There's more that 1 Giant Pumpkin this year on the North Shore of Vancouver, as all of us weighed big pumpkins this year...well done Boyz.   Friday, October 9 View Page ...and away we go...   Saturday, October 10 View Page ...Wow, did it pour with rain at Central Market this year... Brian and his crew did a fantastic job...great to meet some more of the Washington and Oregon growers.   Friday, October 16 View Page Our 1126 Dixon x 1024 Dixon went a bit heavy at 789 lbs... Both pumpkins were over 1100 lbs last year, and this year a little lighter...but overall a good year with fun results.   Friday, October 16 View Page Dave with his 1117 lb... he had a great year and also grew a 1339 lber with his own seed...   Friday, October 16 View Page ...and Scott with his 1305.5 lb...   Friday, October 16 View Page Tilled with a rented tiller that I will never rent again... Soil samples taken and submitted. 10 lbs of winter rye seed has been spread and raked in, warm weather now should germinate it quickly. I think we are going to use drip tape next year, with overhead misting system for cooling if and when needed. I really like using the 250 gallon tote with my pump system, and will modify it to accomodate the new drip tape system.   Sunday, October 18 View Page Front page of our local paper today, North Shore News... As if we already didn't get enough traffic and treak or treaters...they actually put my street name in the article. Next, the pumpkin becomes a jack-o-lantern.   Friday, October 23 View Page Today is a teachers conference/professional development day in our area...so all the local daycare providers and community recreation centres, are bringing groups by all day today in the beautifull sunshine... This is part of the reason that I continue to grow...Everybody likes a Giant Pumpkin.   Tuesday, October 27 View Page Great job Andrea...Cheshire Cat...   Tuesday, October 27 View Page Happy Halloween Everyone!!   Wednesday, December 2 View Page We didnt carve the 789 lb pumpkin this year, and it's still solid as a rock...we've had a longer than normal cold spell, and its frozen solid...   Wednesday, December 2 View Page House decorations for the holidays always look best when there is a pumpkin and long gourds in the photo. Have a great Holiday season and a happy 2016 to everyone!!