Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 77 Entries. Monday, February 2 View Page I have been on vacation for some time. Spent a while in the Cayman's fishing these thigs. Lots of fun. If you have been trying to contact me about seeds, that is the reason for no response. I will try to get caught up on emails and bubbles in the next couple weeks.   Tuesday, April 14 View Page Vacations are over now and the weather has been really nice this week despite the wind. Most of my time has been spent building this thing lately. 30 x 96 Oh, I started 11 melon seeds yesterday also. Hoping to grow at least 4 of them if I can get that many good ones.   Friday, June 12 View Page Time to get the diary started. Things have been progressing slowly this year. I have spent most of my time working on the Greenhouse and raised beds. I have just about everything in the garden now except a couple Field Pumpkin plants. We got hit by a bad storm Tuesday night that had 70 MPH winds and quarter size hail. All the plants were flattened and sustained hail damage including my tomatoes. The plants have since stood back up and all have broken leaf stems and ventilated leaves, but I only lost one main vine. It is early and I have dealt with this before so I don't get to excited about it.   Friday, June 12 View Page If you don't think hail can get inside a greenhouse, it can. This is my 1985 Miller inside the greenhouse. All three plants inside the Greenhouse got hail damage on the West side of the plant. When it is moving 70 MPH it travels almost parallel to the ground. I was gone so I couldn't get things closed up. This is one of those plants that doesn't want to grow secondaries. I get a couple of these every year, they figure it out after a while and end up being my best plants for some reason.   Friday, June 12 View Page This years lineup is 2036 Glasier, 2032 Mathison, 1738 Barron, 1985 Miller, 2009 Wallace, 1873 Steil and another 1873 Steil outside the Greenhouse. Those were my best 7 plants. I have two 1578 Holub Squash plants also and 4 615 Cantrell plants going. I had a super tough time germinating the 615's this year, hopefully I get a green one.   Tuesday, June 23 View Page Here is a picture of the patch today. Two AG's pollinated so far, the 2009 and the 1873. Hopefully have several more in the next three days. Everything is planted now. 7 AG's, 1 Squash, 2 LG's, 4 Melon, 8 Field Pumpkins, 12 Tomato, 4 Squash/Pumpkin Crosses.   Monday, June 29 View Page Here is the 2009 x 1873 at day 7 and it will be my keeper. I usually only pollinate one per plant if there are no issues with the female at pollination. This one is at 12 ft and the vine has been turned and we are ready to grow.   Monday, June 29 View Page This is the 1985 x 2009. This is the plant that didn't want to grow sides. It is a nice big plant now and this one will be my keeper at 13 ft.   Monday, June 29 View Page Here is the 1985 Plant now. This is the one that did not want to grow secondaries early but now has a keeper set and will be a very nice plant.   Monday, June 29 View Page This is the 1873 x Sibb at day 4 and it is set at 13 ft also. Plant has been turned and we should be ready to grow.   Monday, June 29 View Page This is my keeper on the 8.41 MaCoy. It is on the first truss and growing well. Plant is pruned back and now the fun begins.   Monday, June 29 View Page This is a blossom that I have been working for over a week. I think it took a week to pollinate it totally but I am afraid the way the stem is curled around it that it may not work but I am going to give it a chance to grow some. It was 4 inches long about a week ago. I have two others set waiting to see how the big one unfolds. This is on the 5.03 Boudyo.   Thursday, July 9 View Page Here is the 1873 Greenhouse plant. It has a keeper set at 14ft and today is day 11 for it. Cross is 1873 x 2009 the tomato plants are on the end of the Greenhouse and doing well.   Thursday, July 9 View Page This is the 2009 x 1873 which sits in the middle of the Greenhouse. It is at Day 17 today and looks like it will have very good Day 20 numbers. I prefer very good day 70 numbers but good day 20 numbers is a start.   Thursday, July 9 View Page 1985 Plant which has one set at 13 ft and the cross is 1985 x 2009. Plant is really going to be a beast on this one after the slow start.   Thursday, July 9 View Page Here is the 2036 plant. It has a keeper set at 14 ft but is only Day 7 today. I have another one set at 15 ft which is at Day 3. I will go with the first one for sure unless something changes. Cross is 2036 x 2032   Thursday, July 9 View Page Here is the 2032 with a keeper set at 13 ft. The cross is 2032 x 1738 and we are at day 11 today. The plant is really big on this one as well. Hopefully it doesn't just grow plant.   Thursday, July 9 View Page This is the 1738 x 1985 at day 12. Plant has been a really good grower and is very large like the 2032. This one is set a 12 ft and ready to grow hopefully.   Thursday, July 9 View Page This is the 141 Steil Field Pumpkin with the 211 MacKinnon behind it. These were the best to plants I had starting to they got spots inside the fence.   Thursday, July 9 View Page This is the 297 Kent Melon and it is going to be my keeper. It is hard to get melons set early enough here so I am keeping this one. My other three plants don't have a set yet. This is the 297 x 291 Kent.   Thursday, July 9 View Page This is the 1578 Squash plant and you can see if you look close there is one set at 7ft. 1578 x 1738 which is probably going to get cut in favor of the 1578 x self out at 14 ft. I really want to keep the first one but growing at 7 ft isn't that appealing.   Thursday, July 9 View Page Here is a shot down the High Tunnel. The 1985 front, 2009 Middle 1873 Back.   Thursday, July 9 View Page Here is a shot of the three plants west of the High Tunnel. 2036 front, 2032 Middle, 1738 Back   Thursday, July 9 View Page Just about forgot the last plant. This is the 1873B x sib at day 14. Plant and pumpkin are doing great. This one is set about 13 ft and is growing to the East of High Tunnel.   Wednesday, July 15 View Page Less than a week and the tunnel will be full. I am ready to be done growing plant. D20 is tomorrow for the 1985 in front the 2009 in the middle is D23 today and the 1873 on the end is D17.   Wednesday, July 15 View Page Today is D20 for the 1873 outside the Tunnel. 74-53-55 for 182 OTT. This is the first D20 outside the tunnel but so far the numbers are the same inside and out at D20. Both 1873's have the same great shape.   Wednesday, July 22 View Page Day 30 for the 2009 x 1873 and nothing to get excited about yet. 116-73-78 for 267 OTT. These are not the numbers I was looking for but it is mainly because of grower error. I let the plants inside the Tunnel get to dry but hopefully have recovered and am back on track. Only time will tell. The 1873 Pollinator on this one seems to be growing at a much better pace than the rest of my pumpkins right now.   Wednesday, July 22 View Page This is the 141 Steil Field Pumpkin Plant with the 211 in the Background. Both of these have pollinations on them and I am waiting for some shape to appear. The 189 and 197 Steil Field Pumpkin plants are still much smaller and will get pollinated closer to August.   Wednesday, July 22 View Page Today is Day 20 for the 2036 x 2032 and this one was the runt of the litter, although it seems to be picking up pace. D20 numbers 68-52-50 for 170 OTT. This may be the nicest looking, healthiest, strongest plant I have ever grown. Hopefully that nice plant results in long term growth and big gains soon.   Friday, July 24 View Page Here is the 1578 Holub x self. Today is D17 and the plant is just about totally terminated already. No complaints so far with this one.   Friday, July 24 View Page Here is pumpkin row outside the tunnel. These three received 1.2 inches of rain last night and it was much needed. 2036 is the closest then 2032 and the 1738. All of these have picked up the pace now. The 1738 and 2032 look like they will be orange.   Friday, July 24 View Page The Tunnel is full. The 1985 in front is a beast of a plant and the numbers seem alright also. These three did not get any rain last night so I have been supplementing some. Growth on all of these has been good as well. Slowly learning how to grow under cover and hopefully learning from my mistakes. The 2009 and 1985 are doing about 37 a day and the 1873 doing a little better than that now. Day 30's coming up for the 1873 and 1985.   Monday, July 27 View Page Here is the 1578 Squash x self at Day 20 today. Measures 79-53-57 for 189 OTT, basically the same or slightly ahead of the pumpkins at the same age this year. Plant is pretty much terminated now, which is early but it is a great growing plant.   Monday, July 27 View Page This is the 1738 Barron x 1985 at Day 30. Numbers were about the same as others 128-74-76 for 278 OTT. It did 34 pounds a day for days 20-30 which puts it middle of the pack but it seems to be ramping up growth. I still have room to grow more plant on this one but think I will start terminating much of it. This one looks like it will be orange when compared to the other white ones in the patch.   Monday, July 27 View Page Here is my keeper on the 297 Kent. It has a nice long shape to it. I realize I am way behind on melon sets but that is part of living up on the Tundra. These are hard to grow. I ended up pulling off what I thought was my keeper on the main.   Monday, July 27 View Page Here is my keeper on the 291 Kent. This 291 is crossed with the 297 and the reverse on the other one. This one had the best shape our of my options. So, time to grow.   Monday, July 27 View Page Here is Day 32 on the 1873 Steil X Sibb. This one has been the best grower in the patch since pollination. This was one of those plants that didn't want to grow side vines at first, so I filled in the space with Tertiany vines. It has averaged 51 pounds a day the last 5 days and is still picking up pace. Seems to be keeping its good shape so maybe it will be able to handle the high growth rate.   Monday, July 27 View Page I ended up growing both 211's this year after losing two Field Pumpkin plants early to disease. So, this is the smaller 211 plant but I wanted to make sure I did a 211 X Sibb which this one is. I will keep this one.   Tuesday, July 28 View Page Day 30 for the 2032 Mathison x 1738 Barron and the numbers 126-77-78 for 281 OTT. This seems to be right about where all the D30 numbers are falling between 280-290 Range. The real question now is which ones can make 350 plus OTT by day 40. We got 1.5 inches of rain last night and those timely rains seem to be helping the outside plants. Nice supplement to the drip system for sure.   Thursday, July 30 View Page I tried to get a picture in the Tunnel this am with it closed up because I have been tracking days since the tunnel went up. Yesterday was the first day that I believe there was a benefit to the plants in the Tunnel. We had 70 degree temps and 35 MPH sustained winds for two hours. We had about 25 MPH winds all afternoon and evening. The plants outside got beat up really, really bad. The leaves inside still look good and the temp was 85 in the tunnel all day. In front is the 1985 Miller at day 34. I believe with our cooler climate that eventually the kins in the Tunnel will bypass the ones outside. Up until now, growing outside has been almost ideal other than one small hail storm early.   Monday, August 3 View Page I had my first D40 this weekend on the 2009 x 1873 and the numbers weren't impressive 151-86-92 for 329 or 794 pounds. This is probably going to be the worst D40 in the patch. One thing I have noticed over the last week is this one appears to be getting the really Heavy look to it, which is good. If it is going to grow at a slower pace it better go nice and heavy. The pollinator on this one will be D40 tomorrow and those numbers are much better.   Tuesday, August 4 View Page This is the 1873 Steil x Sibb day 40 155-94-101 for an OTT 350 or 948 pounds estimated. This plant is really beat up, as are all my outside plants. This week of strong winds has taken a toll on the outside plants. I am sure that is going to cost me big time as it gets later. But, so far this 1873 has been a great growing plant and fruit.   Tuesday, August 4 View Page It got down to 48 degrees here last night and nothing in the patch likes that. Especially me out there at 5 AM pollinating Field Pumpkins. Anyhow, enough complaining this is the 1738 Barron x 1985 at D38. All the sheets were off today warming things up so I took some pics. This one is going to be really pretty!! And hopefully big. It estimates just over 800 pounds   Tuesday, August 4 View Page Day 37 on the 2032 x 1738. This cross may throw some really orange fruit as both look like they will be orange. This one is estimating 800 pounds also but is a day younger than the 1738.   Tuesday, August 4 View Page Day 33 on the 2036 x 2032 and this one estimates just over 700 pounds. It has been the fastest grower but it also is the youngest. Usually these come fast out of the gate but fall off really quick as September rolls around because we get to cold here.   Tuesday, August 4 View Page This is the 297 Kent x 291 Kent. This one has a nice long shape and is growing well now. Plant looks really good. Our cold nights like last night really slow these things down but oh well, that how it goes.   Tuesday, August 4 View Page This is 297 Kent (B) x Self. This one has a little fatter shape to it but is filling in now. Growth has been really good one this one.   Tuesday, August 4 View Page 211 X Sibb here at Day 14. Holding its shape pretty well. There is a slight sag line but nothing worth pulling it over. Growth has been excellent, this is a main vine fruit. Plant is beat up from the wind but the plant size is big enough to push this one beat up or not.   Wednesday, August 12 View Page This may be the last picture you see of the 1578 X Self. It is about 850 pounds right now and I am losing the battle with what started out as a crack next to the blossom that would not stop oozing. There were actually three and I got two stopped but the third is unstoppable I have a feeling. Frustrating because it was growing at such a rapid pace and I could not slow it down...or stop the leak. Should be through to the cavity within a week.   Wednesday, August 12 View Page Everyone that stops over comments on this 1985 Plant. Yes there is a pumpkin in there but these leaves measure over 50 inches across. They look really funny inside the tunnel.   Wednesday, August 12 View Page This 2032 x 1738 is the fastest growing pumpkin I have ever had. Today is Day 45 and this one has now lapped the field at 1203 pounds. I wish the plant was in better shape on this one as it gets the worst of the strong West winds we get here which will really cut into the gains over the next couple weeks.   Thursday, August 20 View Page We had 57 degree high temp here yesterday and a 47 degree low last night. The 40 MPH wind gusts made it feel like a fall day. Pretty sure nothing in the patch liked the weather other than me. I have cycled through all the Day 50's now and the 2032 x 1738 led the pack again at 190-104-106 for at OTT of 400. My first D60 starts tomorrow but I am pretty sure they aren't going to be pretty with the cold weather we have had. I only measure every 10 days now because there isn't much I can do except keep the plant healthy and fed properly. While the outside plants start to slow down because of the weather my hope is the tunnel can keep rolling.   Friday, August 21 View Page I thought the leaking blossom would be the end of my 1578 Squash but it turns out that turning into a pumpkin was the end of it. Yep, that's a lot of yellow and it is no longer connected to the vine. Going to try to set a new one since it still throws green females and it was nice and green until about 850 pounds. One odd thing about the plant is that I found a couple yellow and green striped females now which is a little concerning for the seed. Weighoff time will be interesting because I have a hunch mine isn't the only one that is going to end up a pumpkin. Great growing plant and kin though.   Wednesday, August 26 View Page 43 last night. Hopefully that is it for nights in the 40's. We have been in the 40's 9 of the last 10 nights. 54 tonight and then we get back into the 60's for lows. Can't get back the lost pounds over the last 10 days but at least we can maybe finish strong.   Wednesday, August 26 View Page Here is the row of pumpkins outside the Tunnel. They are soaking up the sun today. Amazing how warm 74 and sunny feels like. The 2036 in front is Day 54, 2032 in the middle is Day 59 and 1738 in Back is Day 60 today. The plants, despite looking ok in this picture are actually in terrible shape after a week of cold winds. The Day 60 numbers are going to suck, that I am sure of.   Tuesday, September 1 View Page We are three days into a nice stretch of growing weather here. Looks like the weather will be favorable until about Monday and then it falls way off again. It is actually a little to late, but better late than never. Most of the kins estimate between 1400 and 1700 pounds so we will see what the next 6 days brings. Long range forecast looks really bad so we will just enjoy the next 6 days and then coast home. I am sure this heat and humidity will bring on some serious rot issues.   Friday, September 4 View Page I am half way through the Day 70's and I had to move 5 pumpkins back this week. I moved each of them about 10 inches and I am sure that will be it for the year. The 2032 at Day 67 is still going to lead the pack at Day 70. The Circumference today was 212 inches which will make it the biggest. We have been warm but haven't had any sun until yesterday afternoon. Some sun with this heat should really help the late growth. Outside plants are in really bad shape and the inside ones are perfect. During the cold stretch the inside pumpkins did 6 more inches OTT in 10 days when compared to the outside ones. Still learning how to grow inside a tunnel but should do much better next year in there.   Tuesday, September 8 View Page I lost my best Field Pumpkin last night with the rains. This was on pace to be my biggest ever, and had perfect shape. This was my 197.5 x the 211 and as you can see it didn't just split a little. This one was growing at an unreal pace and taped in the 150's already. There are no other sets on the plant so this one gets pulled tonight. Little Bummed   Monday, September 14 View Page Lost my 211 x 141. This one estimates 173 pounds and was on pace to end up about 200 pounds. I will actually weigh this one since it seems really heavy. These big swings in temperature are kicking my butt this year. I do have another one set on this plant because I never liked the shape of this one. Never thought the blossom end would give though thought a rib split would end it.   Friday, September 18 View Page Last year I tried growing Long Gourds and screwed up really bad so I got some advice from Caleb Jacobus and did a little better this year. This one is about done but may still hit the ground. Thanks for the advice Caleb, I know I can do better now next year.   Friday, September 25 View Page Finally got around to weighing the 211 x 141 that BES a week ago. It tapes 173 but weighed 195 which was a really a nice surprise. I have a late set on this same plant I am hoping to finish out. As you can see by the terrible growth ring on this one I wasn't really expecting it to hold this long. But it never did rib split because of the super thick walls I guess. Dang Blossom just couldn't hold the late gains. Oh well! It was so close to a PB and still had a lot in the tank.   Tuesday, September 29 View Page Here is the 6.88 MacCoy which is now in need of some support. This is my last hope for a good tomato this year. It is just a single but has a CC of 24 inches so it should weigh decent. As you can see, all the other plants are long gone.   Tuesday, September 29 View Page This is the 2036 x 2032 and it growing slowly but surely yet. I really like the shape of this one and believe it will weigh heavy. But, who knows we have been really dry here this year. Either way we will know in a week or two.   Tuesday, September 29 View Page This is the 2032 x 1738 and it the largest pumpkin I have ever grown by OTT. I really have no clue what this one weighs but if I was to guess based on the thump test I would guess it is a little light to chart. Stump side of the plant is pretty much shot but the plant behind the pumpkin is still alright. I grew this seed because it can grow huge pumpkins and it accomplished that. Hopefully I added some heavy to it for the future.   Wednesday, September 30 View Page This is the 267 Edwards x 297 Kent. Both melons are neck and neck for the patch biggest. Our temps are in the 30's at night now so there won't be much growing left. Hopefully this big fat one yields a new PB for me.   Wednesday, September 30 View Page This is the 297 Kent x 291 Kent. As you can see the plants are really healthy. I got all my melons set way to late this year. I will do better at that next year. Hoping this one or the 267 end up a PB for me. They are actually growing very well yet so it is a shame to have to pick them. But, tis the season and it will probably freeze the next few nights so I will be done. Heavy frost last night, first of the year, which is late.   Wednesday, September 30 View Page This is the 1985 Miller x 2009 Wallace and it is up on a pallet already. It has been on a pallet for two weeks now because I like to get them off the wet ground if possible. Not sure if this one will make it to a weighoff or not yet. It tapes about 420 so it isn't going to make the top two.   Wednesday, September 30 View Page Here is the 2009 Wallace x 1873 Steil. This one is in the mid 430's and may not make it to a weighoff either. This one is not on a pallet but hopefully will be in the next night or two. I have the tripod in place now which was no easy feat. This one is still growing really well yet so I am hesitant to move it. Not sure if this one will get weighed either officially. Lots of pumpkins left and not many weighoffs.   Monday, October 5 View Page Here is the 1724.5 Steil 2015 (2036 Glasier x 2032 Mathison) It was 9% heavy and has almost perfect shape.   Monday, October 5 View Page Here is the front of the 1724.5 I am hoping this is the right combination of Shape, Heavy and a pollinator with size. The 2032 pollinator will be weighed this coming weekend in Stillwater. I will grow this seed next year. Both the 2032 and 2036 are very easy to grow and will continue to produce more giants this year. We were very dry here this year which effected all my pumpkins this year a little.   Monday, October 5 View Page The 1985 will do to Stillwater also as Exhibition. I cut half the plant away a week and a half ago so I could get around it. It has a really nice size Main Vine..LOL   Monday, October 5 View Page I went to pick my 211 X Self for Anamosa this weekend and found this. It was 155 pounds on my scale and is now in the compost pile with the 195 and the 155 Green one I blew up earlier. Bummer   Monday, October 5 View Page Here is Jadyn with my Winning watermelon at Anamosa. This is the 297 Kent x 291 Kent. I had trouble getting these set this year so they are all very young. One more left to weigh this weekend at Stillwater.   Monday, October 5 View Page My winning Long Gourd at Anamosa was also a personal best for me and I believe a MN State Record, but I can't confirm that. It says our old record was 115" online, no idea if that is accurate. This is the 139.25 Ansems x Sibb. Both 139.25 plants were great to grow. I made some mistakes growing this one so I am looking forward to next year already.   Monday, October 5 View Page I didn't get a picture of my winning Field Pumpkin at Anamosa but it was 120 pounds and went really heavy. It was my 189 Steil x Self. The 189 Steil 14 is going to be a great seed next year. I didn't give it much effort this year but they have perfect shape and went nice and heavy. I wish now I would have put more into the 189 plant. Oh well, next year.   Tuesday, October 6 View Page Just when I thought I didn't have a picture Mark McWilliams emails me one. Thanks Mark!! This is the 120 Steil 2015 and it is not a big pumpkin, 168 OTT but it went 22% heavy. This is the 189 Steil x Self and I will be planting this one next year. This plant was planted just to see what shape it produced. I think with some care this one will be a good one.   Tuesday, October 6 View Page This is my set on the 211 plant that I lost the 195 on earlier. This one has really nice shape, is really young and is huge already. This one is blowing away the numbers of all I have grown before. So, that means it will most likely split. The only thing I have going is that the weather is really good for growing these things right now. For those that know Field Pumpkins the CC on this one is over 80 already. This one will probably not go to a weighoff because I plan to grow it out if possible. It would be a nice consolation to just get this thing to maturity. I know this 211 plant can grow them big, and heavy.