Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 12 Entries. Sunday, February 8 View Page Welcome back to a new year of pumpkin growing! I'm happy to welcome you to my diary where once again I will be growing using hydroponics! This year i have a kick butt system in the works with all of the bells and whistles. With the experience of my first year under my belt, I am looking forward to a bigger and better year. The other day I got started on putting in the upgraded containers. Last season I used 25 gallon trash cans for my nutrient and top off reservoirs which Ive decided to upgrade to 55 gallon stainless steel drums. My father and I used these to make wine a number of years ago but they've been unused since and i cant pass them up! More updates as I get new parts in and feel free to contact me throughout the year if you have any questions or suggestions! Happy growing year everyone!   Sunday, February 8 View Page Getting that 50 gallon drum into the ground was no easy picnic. Already had the hole from the trash can but digging though the heavy clay and rock filled soil here proves challenging. Hoping the extra size and surface area to the soil will help keep the nutrients even cooler this summer.   Tuesday, March 24 View Page One change i made was to cut open the grids on the net pot. Last year i noticed my roots were choked out by the small holes in the pot so hopefully i can get more nutrient transfer through the root system.   Wednesday, March 25 View Page Started the pumpkins in rockwool cubes few by a drip feed. Once again using Dutch Master Nutrients to grow. This year I got off to a late start and kept falling behind. Ended up putting the plant in the greenhouse two weeks late and a little root bound.   Sunday, April 12 View Page Here's a look at the roots i draped on the trellis. There are 9 aeroponic misters under 80 psi that run on various cycles depending on the growth rate of the plant.   Wednesday, April 15 View Page A few days later and already the roots are looking better! They much better like the aeroponic mist rather than sitting in water.   Tuesday, May 12 View Page here is a look at the roots when i put them in the final container for the season. 50 gallon stainless steel drum with a wood top. To help manage the root mass and support the weight, I have placed a mesh hanging system in the container that has three levels. The roots will grow out horizontally and drop through the mesh. This will keep them from clumping on each other and breeding root rot. Also, the center of the mesh is cutout with a plastic container over it, This has a mister placed in the center to keep the deep center of the root mass open, water, and aerated. All of this is in hopes to create the largest aeroponic root system perfect for growing the pumpkin.   Monday, May 25 View Page So i mixed up the dates when adding the diary entries, the previos root pictures were taken in May and not April. This picture is 13 days after I put the plant in the aeroponic growing system and things are looking better. Hairy white roots that are hanging and spreading perfectly. Plant growing well. Still behind and not really expecting anything great this year, becoming a side project. Too many other projects this year.   Monday, June 22 View Page ALRIGHT! so, I had basically neglected the pumpkin for the past month. I didnt add nutrients to the 50 gallon reserviour at all and havent set foot in the greenhouse. Id been so busy that I gave up... That is until today when I opened up the bottom basin to find it had just run out of nutrients and figured I should check the root basin. I couldnt believe the beautiful mass of roots that had perfectly draped over the trellis. White, hairy, evenly spaced, and not clumped up, and everywhere!! Soon should be posting a link to a video showing the whole root system.   Monday, June 22 View Page Another look at the roots. You can see the mister up in the background. Isn't it pretty?!   Monday, June 22 View Page Another look   Thursday, June 25 View Page Here is a link to the video I made today showing the system and giving a good overall look at the plant thus far. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSkFxLUCJCw