Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 92 Entries. Saturday, March 19 View Page First year grower success on my first test germination!!! Pretty excitied for spring even though it is snowing outside.   Saturday, March 19 View Page Try again!!!   Thursday, March 24 View Page 5 days after breaking ground I'll call my first test ever a success!!! Can't wait till its time to get started on my first official season. Thanks to all that have helped me in preparing for my inaugural season!!!   Thursday, April 21 View Page Future home of 2 - 325 gal water tanks!!!   Sunday, April 24 View Page Installed both water tanks for my future drip system yesterday.   Sunday, April 24 View Page My first season is officially underway!!!   Thursday, April 28 View Page Started plumbing in my water tanks. Also started 6 AG's Sunday. As of today 5 out of six are up and under the lights!!! Getting pretty excited about actually growing and not just thinking about it.   Thursday, April 28 View Page Plumbed tanks into the shed so I can keep all my controls out of the weather. Got about 90% of the project done, hope to finish and test my system this weekend.   Wednesday, May 25 View Page So excited I finally get to post my first beer bottle reference pic!!! I notice a lot of guys like to use there favorite beverage as a size reference when taking pics. I enjoy many different brews so I will try to post pics from now on label out so you can see what is keeping me sane as I get started into this sometimes already frustrating hobby!!! In this pic I am enjoying a southern tier 2x IPA. Almost got 3 out my 4 plants on the ground. One is reaching for the stars. Hope to chose my 2 keepers by this weekend.   Thursday, May 26 View Page Got home from work yesterday to find this on 3 leaves on 3 different plants. All 3 leaves were relatively new leaves. Was upper 80's and sunny!!! Plants were still in hoops but I had them all the way open. When I got home the temps in hoops was pushing mid 90's. I feel it was from the heat. But this is my first season and was looking for some other input. The plastic has since been removed and I placed a wind break all the way around the plant and trying to shade new growth.   Monday, June 13 View Page First baby about 10' out from stump. Was going to pollinate it being this would be my first but went down today and it looks like something took a tiny little nibble out of the middle. Any thoughts? Doesn't seem like enough damage to be a rodent. If you zoom in you can just barely make out the damage. Have another one starting 2' further down the main. So not to concerned but don't want this to turn into an issue. Going to post in new growers forum about the damage so if anyone has any input would be greatly appreciated!!!   Thursday, June 23 View Page Haven't had time to update journal recently but here are a few pics from this week. Here's a standing on tracker view of both my plants. In front 1444 Halverson and back is a 962.5 McWilliams.   Thursday, June 23 View Page Pollinated this female on the 962.5 Saturday. I know it's not the prettiest but like Q-tip said you always remember your first!!! Have another one 3 ft down going to pollinate in the morning.   Thursday, June 23 View Page Got to do something Monday morning I haven't got to do since before the kids. I leave for work before 5 am so I got a quicky in before work!!! The wife was a little jealous!!! First pollination on the 1444. Also have another one it to do in the morning looks like I have a date with 2 ladies tomorrow morning!!!   Thursday, June 23 View Page 1444 2 DAP (yesterday) Didn't get a pic today because of rain but this little baby laid down in the last 24 hrs and looks to me like it took. The ugly one on the 962.5 also did the same.   Friday, June 24 View Page Another 4 am pollination!!! 962.5 McWilliams x 1444 Halverson   Saturday, June 25 View Page Thinking she took??? Top pic 2 DAP bottom 5 DAP. 1444 Halverson selfed. I think from what I have seen following you guys the long stem and shape are good things. Sitting in a perfect spot in patch. Pollinated another yesterday and looking to do one more this week. Looking for some input to confirm my thoughts.   Monday, June 27 View Page 962.5 McWilliams x 1444 Halverson   Monday, June 27 View Page 1444 Halverson selfed   Thursday, June 30 View Page Got home today from work to find several secondary vines with new growth looking like this!!! Will post in new growers forum. Any and all input appreciated!!!   Thursday, June 30 View Page Another pic of the yellowing leaves not sure what to do!!! Nothing yesterday and came home to this.   Friday, July 1 View Page Just bought on the way home for the patch!!! Got a good deal if any other new growers are looking for one?   Friday, July 1 View Page Different view from tonight of yellow leaves. Only about 10 more feet and my 1500 sq/ft is full.   Monday, July 11 View Page 1444 Halverson x self at 20 DAP (54,54,78=186 OTT) 149# team pumpkin chart. My wife and kids are really starting to get into this hobby that I have been consumed with all spring and summer. Let the kids name the kins. So being from just outside of Pittsburgh we are huge black and gold fans(all sports). So my son named this kin after a goal call from this years Stanley cup run. So I introduce Bonino, Bonino, Bonino!!!   Monday, July 11 View Page 962.5 McWilliams x 1444 Halverson 20 DAP (44,43,57.5=144.5) 71# team pumpkin chart. My daughter named this kin so I introduce Olaf, Elsa, Anna!!!   Tuesday, July 12 View Page Hard not to measure these guys everyday!!! So 22 DAP for Bonino, Bonino, Bonino (89,61,60=210 OTT) 211# per team pumpkin chart. 62 lbs in the last 2 days!!! To say I am excited to look at my kins everyday is an understatement. I see why this can be so addictive.   Saturday, July 16 View Page Think I found my pumpkin model!!! Bonino, Bonino, Bonino 24 DAP (101,67,65=233) 286# team pumpkin chart. Put on 75# in last days!!! Starting to get nervous growing way faster than I ever expected hopefully we can keep it going. Other kin is chugging along at a much slower pace. Came home to find a little rot on the blossom so I promptly removed cleaned with peroxide solution and painted with daconil. Placed fan on it and crossed fingers.   Wednesday, July 20 View Page 30 DAP for Bonino, Bonino, Bonino!!! (125,80,78=283 OTT) 501# per team pumpkin chart. Discovered a vine late this afternoon that every leaf completely wilted in a couple hours beyond saving. Posted in the disease section. Trying not to panic but hard not to!!! Any info greatly appreciated. Hopefully with a little luck I can keep this guy going.   Friday, July 22 View Page A little slow at work today so I built what should be a fully capable 24" lifting ring!!! Now hopefully I get to use it this season.   Friday, July 22 View Page 962.5 stump!!!   Friday, July 22 View Page 1444 stump!!!   Sunday, July 24 View Page Bonino, Bonino, Bonino!!! 34 DAP (136,85,84=305 OTT) 623# team pumpkin chart!!! Still right around 30 lbs a day. Had a little over 1" of rain in the last 48 hrs. Heat index has been pushing 100 last 2 days but things are still looking good. Keeping fingers crossed!!! This is way more than I expected my first year.   Sunday, July 24 View Page Bonino, Bonino, Bonino side view. Pushing back on main a little but I have plenty of slack.   Monday, July 25 View Page Been extremely hot and humid with 3 straight days of rain and heat indexes around 100. Kins looking good however found an 8" section of rot on the main of my 1444. Scraped everything rotten I could see which went all the way into the cavity. Section removed is about 1/2" wide by 8" long. Sprayed section with peroxide solution and waited till foaming quit then dusted heavily inside and out with captan. Placed fan on and covered with plastic end table as there is a chance of more rain tonight. Hopefully I can stop the rot and move on. Any other suggestions please feel free to email me.   Wednesday, July 27 View Page Yesterday found some rot on the stem!!!   Wednesday, July 27 View Page Today we are mourning the loss of our first AG!!! This is Olaf, Elsa, Anna on my 962.5 McWilliams. Final OTT=240 (311#) team pumpkin chart. On the bright side I actually had 2 kins going on this plant because this guy had a lob that never formed correctly and the back up is perfect shape and growing daily. So will see if it can stay together. Bonino, Bonino, Bonino on my 1444 is still chugging a long and plant seems to be hanging in there with the rot on the main which has not spread from its initial location yet. Kin is still gaining and stem and blossom both look healthy. Time will tell.   Thursday, July 28 View Page Here is my backup on the 962.5. The shape looks perfect. Going to start measuring tomorrow at 20 DAP. I actually terminated the main right after this set so no vine stress issues at all and the entire 750 sq/ft plant is behind it. The stem and blossom are perfectly parallel to each other. Hopefully my loss yesterday was a blessing in disguise. Have to keep thinking positive!!!   Thursday, July 28 View Page Got the 962.5 out of the patch tonight. The kids and I got about 50 seeds. They had a blast!!!   Thursday, July 28 View Page My son insisted on smashing it with a baseball bat!!!   Thursday, July 28 View Page On to the good news. The 1444 appears to be moving right a long. To muddy to get my pumpkin model involved so here I am (38DAP) Buddy come over to help me get the rotten kin out so he snapped a few pics for me.   Saturday, July 30 View Page Bonino, Bonino, Bonino is still chugging a long although daily gains have slowed somewhat. 40DAP (323 OTT=735# team pumpkin chart) still extremely pleased. Just hoping we can make it to the end. Plant is looking much better. Received almost 2" of rain overnight and through this morning and it's still coming. Bad news, I think the 962.5 plant is a goner. Kin has not moved in the last 24 hrs and plant looks like it's going down. When rain quits think I'm going to rip it out and concentrate on keeping my one and only healthy.   Wednesday, August 3 View Page Bonino, Bonino, Bonino still gaining, averaging right around 20# a day. 44DAP=336OTT(824#). Pulled my other plant on Sunday so this is my one and only chance to get one to the end for my first year!!! Keeping fingers crossed.   Monday, August 8 View Page Keep finding spots like this on the main. I scrape them, clean them, sulfur and keeping them dry. Kin is still growing good but wondering if anything else I could do and what is causing this. None of the places I have scraped seem deep just seems like the top layer. Going to post a few more pics. Also I am finding a few new ones everyday.   Monday, August 8 View Page Another spot   Monday, August 8 View Page And another   Wednesday, August 10 View Page Here's my better half with Bonino!!! 50 DAP 356 OTT=974# team pumpkin chart. Still chugging!!! Daconil on a few stretch marks around the blossom. Not sure if it is necessary but I figured it couldn't hurt. All cracks under 1/16" deep. Been there for a few days and are not getting worse. If I'm doing anything wrong please let me know.   Thursday, August 11 View Page Back side of Bonino   Thursday, August 11 View Page Shot of main and stem. Looking good!!!   Thursday, August 11 View Page Stem side of Bonino. Couple minor cracks.   Thursday, August 11 View Page Supposed to rain the next 7 days. Also very hot a humid. Trying to keep main dry with all the issues I've had so I made a roof/wind tunnel for it. Air mover at the far side of stump blowing directly down the main. Been up for 2 days and no more sap or soft spots since. Roof can easily be removed on sunny days.   Sunday, August 14 View Page Bonino update. 54 DAP=365OTT (1047# team pumpkin chart) pretty excited I may have broke 1000# my first year!!! Kin still doing around 20# a day. Bad news. Went away for 2 days and we have received over 2 1/2" of rain since yesterday with crazy humidity and heat indexes near 100. Came home to a soft stump which I cut open and scraped out the ugly stuff, sprayed with peroxide, and dusted with sulfur. Still have air mover blowing 24 hrs a day. Have a bunch of leaves with split stalks that fell over in the storms. Kin still looks great so I'm hoping I can save as much plant as possible. Drenched this afternoon in the rain with Clearys and Terrazole. Pics are from over the last 2 weeks. Once again any other suggestions feel free to let me know!!! Truly appreciate all the help this year.   Monday, August 15 View Page Another 1 1/2" of rain today. After work I dissected the stump a little more and decided to just go ahead and remove it. Rot was more than I originally thought yesterday. Good thing is that the rest of the main looks solid. Kin is getting prettier by the day!!!   Sunday, August 21 View Page 60 DAP for Bonino!!! 372 OTT(1107#) slowing down but still growing so we are pretty excited.   Sunday, August 21 View Page Day 50 to 60   Wednesday, August 24 View Page Mid-week measuring and Bonino is still putting it on!!! My son starts 3rd grade tomorrow and he really wanted a pic to show his new teacher. Kids are my new tour guides every time someone stops by to see the kin!!!   Friday, August 26 View Page Went to buy a case of adult refreshments and couldn't resist buying a case of this!!! So I guess this will be my official patch drink the rest of the season. All work is already done, no drinking and working around my baby!!!   Tuesday, August 30 View Page Bonino 70 DAP 383 OTT no pics this week. Kids started back to school and sports so kin time is getting limited. Still doing around 10# a day. Broke 1200# on the chart today so things are good!!!   Wednesday, August 31 View Page Stem side shot of Bonino. I can see why so many guys like to grow orange!!!   Saturday, September 3 View Page Letting Bonino get some sun this morning while drenching. Plant is doing much better. Although slow kin is still putting on the pounds!!!   Saturday, September 3 View Page I definitely know why I decided to get involved in this hobby. We went to a wedding today for one of my best friends dads who lost his wife to cancer 5 years ago. His 4 kids are some of my best friends. A lot of what we talked about was my pumpkin!!! There is no one on this earth no matter what language you speak or religion you worship cannot smile when they see a giant pumpkin. My kids were ecstatic to tell everyone the details about our kin!!! Today I learned a lot about why you guys put forth the work year in and year out!!!   Wednesday, September 7 View Page Starting picking some field pumpkins yesterday. Thanks Christopher24 for the seeds last spring. I'll make sure to return the favor this winter!!!   Friday, September 9 View Page Bonino 80 DAP 390 OTT!!! Slow going but still moving. Been hot and humid all week. Started battling 2 minor soft spots on the stem. Rain today and tomorrow and then a big swing in temperature and humidity for the next 10 days. Hopefully the drier air can help me stop it from spreading. Scraped, peroxide and sulfur. Put up another tarp to keep dry until rain is out of here and have fans blowing from 2 different angles. I thought September was supposed to be less stressful???   Saturday, September 10 View Page Picked some more field pumpkins today!!!   Sunday, September 18 View Page With the rain on its way we decided to get Bonino out of his home a day earlier than we planned. Where my patch is located in my yard I didn't want to risk getting my buddies service truck stuck.   Sunday, September 18 View Page Cutting the cord!!! I didn't even do this when my kids were born!!!   Sunday, September 18 View Page Setting up my homemade lifting ring!!! To say the two of us were just a little nervous on our first pumpkin lift would be an understatement.   Sunday, September 18 View Page Lift OFF!!! Bottom was slightly concave but solid as rock.   Sunday, September 18 View Page Finally I can relax!!! Thanks to great friends for the crane and the trailer.   Sunday, September 18 View Page Sitting in the front yard and we are hoping for no traffic accidents from all the head turns!!! Had almost 100 friends and family stop by to take pictures and check out our new baby. Here's a stem side pic.   Sunday, September 18 View Page Side view!!! I'm so happy with the shape and color. Thanks for such a great seed Travis.   Sunday, September 18 View Page Finally blossom end pic with my son in the background!!!   Sunday, September 18 View Page We even got our dog to pose for a pic.   Sunday, September 18 View Page Couple more pics from harvest day.   Friday, September 23 View Page West bound and down!!!   Friday, September 23 View Page The kids really wanted to take Bonino through a drive through.   Friday, September 23 View Page I learned having a shiny round pumpkin is hard to haul down the road. We had to stop 3 times on the way to re-strap.   Friday, September 23 View Page First time having a kin on the scale.   Friday, September 23 View Page It's official!!!   Friday, September 23 View Page The kids and I watching and waiting. Not sure what my daughter is doing.   Friday, September 23 View Page Here's Bonino waiting for the rest of the kins to get weighed.   Wednesday, September 28 View Page Got home late Sunday night after a great weekend at the Barnesville Pumpkin Festival. My son and I got to help open the 1291 Stephens pumpkin on Sunday and harvest seeds for the audience. The drive to and from the festival were priceless. Here's Bonino's home for the next few weeks. It's funny how many people slow down or stop to take pics when you have a giant pumpkin in your front yard!!! Once again thanks Tim for letting my family get involved in the festivities this past weekend.   Wednesday, September 28 View Page Had to post a few pics from tonight's sunset!!!   Wednesday, September 28 View Page Another one   Wednesday, September 28 View Page And another   Wednesday, September 28 View Page Last one!!! I am definitely hooked for life!!!   Sunday, October 2 View Page I just couldn't throw out my backup plants last spring so I planted them in my lower yard next to my field corn. Pulled one awhile ago to make room for my field pumpkins. These 2 were grown wild on one plant with little to no care besides some sprays of leftovers from my main patch. Bigger one tapes to 401# and the smaller to 262#. The kids had a blast picking them.   Sunday, October 2 View Page Here's the smaller one!!!   Saturday, October 15 View Page Cincinnati Reds pitcher JJ Hoover stopped by with his wife and mom to take some pictures with Bonino. My son was pretty excited to have a MLB pitcher stop by our house for a visit.   Wednesday, November 2 View Page Halloween is over so our fun with Bonino is coming to an end!!! We have had so many visitors over the last 6 weeks. From friends we haven't seen in years to complete strangers. I'm heading to Ohio hunting for a few days so time to see if what's inside. Only got about 50 mature seeds. Once their dry it's time to pay it forward from last year. So if anybody is interested in growing orange let me know. Just imagine if I knew what I was doing this year!!! 1306.5 Arico '16 (1444 Halverson x Self)   Wednesday, November 2 View Page Of course the kids had to climb inside!!!   Wednesday, November 2 View Page And so did the big kid!!!   Wednesday, November 2 View Page If anyone is wondering about all the writing. We took Bonino to the kids trunk or treat last week and let all the kids sign it!!!