Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 193 Entries. Saturday, January 16 View Page First Time Grower, If the image attaches, you will see I was able to get a good stand of winter rye and tillage radishes before winter   Sunday, January 17 View Page I've been wanting to grow a giant pumpkin since I I think about 2004, but with college, finding a job and moving, its gotten pushed off. So 8-14, like the hottest few days we had I decided to mow down an area for a patch.   Tuesday, January 19 View Page Finished Tilling patch on 8-16-25, only took two drive belts lol   Friday, January 22 View Page 9-2-15 spreading composted horse manure for what will be second pumpin, (first in the background) a truckload for each area, Not sure if this will end up being a mistake with potential weeds and such. I also got lucky in the fact I was unaware of herbicide carryover in horses luckily they never used any of those products. The third area (i plan on growing three) will not have any horse manure so I will have something to compare against.   Monday, January 25 View Page 9-16-15, After returning home from a successful Black bear hunt I was greeted with a good stand of winter rye and tillage radishes   Wednesday, January 27 View Page So it was 9-26-15, I went to my first pumkin weigh off, It was pretty cool, I met the two guys pictured here, Josiah and Scott. Both hooked me up with seeds for next year and gave me a bunch of pointers. Thanks guys!   Thursday, January 28 View Page 1-28-16, Patch is covered in Snow   Wednesday, February 10 View Page I like getting presents in the mail!   Saturday, February 13 View Page Trying some test germinations, per Matt Debaccos video   Saturday, February 13 View Page The set up   Sunday, February 21 View Page Success on germinating, forgot to take a picture, I planted um for grins, doing another round of testing to confirm results, glad I practiced, I had some failures lol   Tuesday, February 23 View Page Shit..... a 100 watt cfl doesnt fit in this fixture the transformer is too big, a 60 watt eq will fit, hopefully a 75 watt eq will fit, back to menards, should have just bought a grow light   Wednesday, February 24 View Page Ok germination is down, found a different brand of 100 watt cfl that will fit, things are looking up.   Thursday, February 25 View Page Grow light set up, a different brand of 100 watt eq cfls fit the fixtures, after I grow these out I'll see how it works and run a test from seed to transplant time, so I can stay on schedule   Monday, February 29 View Page Growing   Tuesday, March 1 View Page Too early?   Wednesday, March 2 View Page Look pretty good I think?   Wednesday, March 2 View Page Getting root bound in those small containers   Friday, March 11 View Page Started soaking this seed exactly 7 days ago, I think it looks really good, but first timer here, please shoot me an email on your thoughts, medium is promix with mycos, teaspoon of azos and tablespoon of wallace wow, didnt have any mycorrhizae but promix and wow has some in it.   Saturday, March 12 View Page No I'm not planting these, I just wanted to time everything out so Im ready. Made mistakes with germination, potting and grow light. Now those things are out of the way!   Sunday, March 13 View Page Test subjects are composted   Monday, March 14 View Page Heres the grow light setup, works pretty good. 8-100 watt cfls, day light 5000k, mylar blanket reflector   Monday, March 14 View Page Sent soil off to western labs   Saturday, March 26 View Page Here is the soil test, any recommendations or opinions appreciated   Friday, April 1 View Page Finally got my wood chuck, keeping my eyes peeled for more   Monday, April 4 View Page Got some really awesome seeds, maybe even too good lol, who will make the final cut?   Friday, April 8 View Page I never would have believed it, but ear corn works great for rabbits. Im try to remove them before they multiply   Saturday, April 9 View Page New toy, 8 cu ft, Should be able to do some mixing   Sunday, April 10 View Page Looks like I have a varmint problem, deer are liking the winter rye.   Tuesday, April 12 View Page Spreading some gypsum   Thursday, April 14 View Page Rick called my patch small and hurt my feelings, so I bought this 72" tiller, I feel better now   Saturday, April 16 View Page Old ice shack is now the patch shed   Monday, April 18 View Page Finally got everything down and got one pass done on till, will get a deep till tomorrow   Tuesday, April 19 View Page Digging hole   Tuesday, April 19 View Page Progress   Thursday, April 21 View Page Silt fence up house down,   Sunday, April 24 View Page Soaking seeds for my other 2 spots, 1st spot getting planted tomorrow   Monday, April 25 View Page These girls spent 9 hours outside today   Monday, April 25 View Page Other 2 hoops up and plugged in, 2 seeds popped roots, waiting on other two   Thursday, April 28 View Page 1385 H/J (1161 Rodnis x 2032 Mathison) is looking good after its first night!   Sunday, May 1 View Page 1670 H/J   Sunday, May 1 View Page 1386 H/J   Monday, May 2 View Page 2145 u not look soo good   Monday, May 2 View Page 1965 Brandt hits the dirt   Wednesday, May 4 View Page Must be finally happy in its new home actaully noticed some gains today, should really grow coming up with nice weather projected   Thursday, May 5 View Page Whats going on here?   Thursday, May 5 View Page Not sure last one loaded, whats going on here?   Friday, May 6 View Page 1670 hj   Sunday, May 8 View Page 1385 hj   Wednesday, May 11 View Page 1385   Sunday, May 15 View Page 1385 survived the frost   Sunday, May 15 View Page 1670 doing aight   Sunday, May 15 View Page 1965 is catching up, it was germed and planted a week later than the other two   Tuesday, May 17 View Page 1965   Thursday, May 19 View Page 1670 greening up with some sun   Friday, May 20 View Page 1385 is growing!   Saturday, May 21 View Page 1965 likes all the sun   Sunday, May 22 View Page 169 gantner   Sunday, May 22 View Page 1670 likes the higher temps and sun   Monday, May 23 View Page 211 Steil   Monday, May 23 View Page 1385 H/J coming down slowly, 19.5" leaves   Tuesday, May 24 View Page Water system almost done, foegot a few fittings   Wednesday, May 25 View Page 1965 doing ok, might try to throw a double vine or something   Thursday, May 26 View Page Watering system done, I can supply 500 gallons per hour to 3 tripod sprinkler that can shoot a max distance of 37 feet   Monday, May 30 View Page 169 gantner   Monday, May 30 View Page 211 Steil jumping out in front   Monday, May 30 View Page 1385 out of the hoop   Monday, May 30 View Page 1670 says hello sunshine   Monday, May 30 View Page 1965 still alive   Monday, May 30 View Page Patch overview from roof of truck   Monday, May 30 View Page Patch overview from roof of truck   Thursday, June 2 View Page A little slower than the others on secondaries   Thursday, June 2 View Page Actaully had female open.....a little early yet I think   Saturday, June 4 View Page Pickled 10 pint and half jars of aspargus today   Saturday, June 4 View Page Freaking hail plus 2" of rain that I didnt need, 1670 got the worst of things   Saturday, June 4 View Page First female appears on my smallest youngest plant, 1965   Sunday, June 5 View Page We have had 7.5" of rain in the past 7 days, growth has been slow   Sunday, June 5 View Page Previous photo 1965, Here is 1670 soaked as well it got the worst of the hail, but iy wasnt too bad   Sunday, June 5 View Page 1385 sides coming on good, real slow on the main vine   Saturday, June 11 View Page 1965 has really come life the last 2 days   Saturday, June 11 View Page 1670 doing well, some beat up leaves but sides are starting to come on strong   Saturday, June 11 View Page 1385 still the biggest, no shortage of females coming on this plant, sides coming strong   Monday, June 13 View Page Slow growth today, cloudy and cold, dont mind the weeds they are waiting to die   Thursday, June 16 View Page 1965 side view, 1385 in background   Thursday, June 16 View Page 1670   Thursday, June 16 View Page 1385 doing well, it will have a kin land about 14' and so will the other two.   Saturday, June 18 View Page 1385 getting a little bigger   Monday, June 20 View Page 5 lobe 1670 x 1385, only 9 ft out, but Nitrogen seems fairly high so I'll try and set what I can   Monday, June 20 View Page 169 gantner   Tuesday, June 21 View Page 211 steil   Thursday, June 23 View Page 1965 x 1385 about 14ft out, 5 lobe   Friday, June 24 View Page 4 lobe 1670 x 1965   Friday, June 24 View Page 1965 left - you can see the first secondaries are short thats cause they were ribbons but tertiaries are coming to fill in had a pollination @ 14, 1670 right, plant keeps growing wide but doesnt seem to like going forward, had pollination at 9ft and 12ft, next one is going to be after the 4th of july, 1385- Kristina will be polinate tomorrow at 14, still my biggest plant, but 1965 is growing fast   Saturday, June 25 View Page 1385 x self, 5 lobe   Sunday, June 26 View Page 1965 stump   Tuesday, June 28 View Page 1965 x .......open, Dang I missed covering this one last night 17 ft out   Tuesday, June 28 View Page This happened to my next in line on 1385, it was cold last night 52 degrees, whats going to happen to this one?   Wednesday, June 29 View Page 1965 6 dap   Wednesday, June 29 View Page 1670 5 dap   Wednesday, June 29 View Page 1385 4 dap   Sunday, July 3 View Page 1965 10 dap, I must have a bigger basketball than everyone else   Monday, July 4 View Page 1670 dap 10, this one has a spilt in main before kin   Monday, July 4 View Page Glass gem corn   Monday, July 4 View Page Happy 4th of July! 1965 near, 1385 back, 1670 right, 211 upper left, 169 below that.   Tuesday, July 5 View Page 1385 dap 10   Wednesday, July 6 View Page Todays 2pm feeding....lead   Thursday, July 7 View Page Tissue test, not sure what it all means yet, but doesnt look too alarming   Monday, July 11 View Page I decided not to go with my only main vine set on 1385, (pumpkin on right) its blossum was huge, appeared to have a hole, short stem, odd overall shape, I just didnt think it would hold together   Wednesday, July 13 View Page 1965 dap 20, 70-cc, 50-ee, 52-ss, day 20 will be on 1670 tomorrow, will it be bigger?   Thursday, July 14 View Page 1670 H/J "Heisenberg", DAP 20, CC-67, EE-50, SS-52, 170 OTT   Saturday, July 16 View Page 1385 "Hurley" We put this one in position off a side vine and clipped the main, we'll see what happens. Its 158 ott today, no idea what dap it is   Saturday, July 16 View Page My fertlizer injection system, works well!   Sunday, July 17 View Page Forgot to mention the 1965 Brandt is named Oreo   Thursday, July 21 View Page 169 ganter x open   Thursday, July 21 View Page 169 ganter x open   Thursday, July 21 View Page 211 steil x open   Friday, July 22 View Page Oreo, 1965 brandt dap 29, averaging 33lbs last 5 days, need to slide back tommorrow to releive some vine/stem stress, current patch leader but the other 2 are gaining ground on it   Saturday, July 23 View Page Day 30 on Oreo, SS 80, EE 74, CC 108, OTT 262, Est weight 401 lbs, I'm pretty Happy with those numbers!   Sunday, July 24 View Page 1670 "Heisenberg" Dap 30, ss-80, ee-77, cc-108 final ott 262, same as 1965 at Day 30   Sunday, July 24 View Page "Little debbie" 169 gantner   Monday, July 25 View Page Found this 4 leaf clover last night, I think it brought me luck today..........   Monday, July 25 View Page Luckily I carry a firearm to the patch everytime, I dunno what these woodchucks like about my water tanks, but thats number 3 off the water pad   Monday, July 25 View Page Slid all 3 kins back today, everything went well! Here's Hurley he has averaged 44 lbs a day the last 8 days.   Monday, July 25 View Page Kinda cool of view sitting in the tractor.   Wednesday, July 27 View Page Heisenberg, you can see Oreo and Hurley in background   Wednesday, July 27 View Page 1385   Thursday, July 28 View Page Hopefully this short stem on little debbie wont become a problem   Saturday, July 30 View Page Oreo day 37 averaging about 36 lbs a day   Saturday, July 30 View Page Heisenberg day 36 smallest in patch but has bumped up to 39 lbs a day last 6 days   Saturday, July 30 View Page Hurley day 33, new patch leader averaging 47 lbs a day last 6 days   Saturday, July 30 View Page Compost tea brewer piped in, Thanks to Don young for lead on an awesome aquarium pump, starting to look like a meth lab out here   Monday, August 1 View Page "Little Debbie" 169 ganter x open   Monday, August 1 View Page "Scooter" 211 Steil x open   Monday, August 1 View Page Stem end of Hurley, 1385 H/J x open   Saturday, August 6 View Page "Hurley" day 40 Aug 6th 361 ott est 1033, still averaging 47 lbs a day   Friday, August 12 View Page Oreo Dap 50 taping 360 ott, just a touch over 1,000 lbs, last 10 day average 27.7 lbs   Saturday, August 13 View Page My mom came to visit and wanted a picture   Sunday, August 14 View Page Fun time at patch tour last weekend, I was pretty nervous with Gantner and Rick standing behind me.   Tuesday, August 16 View Page Hurley Dap 50 still holding together, average 47 lbs a day since I last measured at dap 40   Thursday, August 18 View Page Heres the stem end of Oreo, shes still holding about 27-28 lbs a day, lots of skin cracking going on. Something lit a fire under heisenberg, the last two weeks he only averaged 22lbs a day, today when I taped him the sheet was glued to kin with sap, and last 5 days he went up to 35lb average, hes got the "circleville sweats"   Saturday, August 20 View Page Off store bought big zac seed, 19" circumference, didnt put alot of work in the maters   Saturday, August 20 View Page Bottom of mater   Saturday, August 20 View Page Oh yeah fertilizer scale, 2.73 lbs   Wednesday, August 24 View Page My bear is back from the taxidermist, she is one cool dude.   Wednesday, August 24 View Page Hurley you big turd, I had to unbury the main going out of the kin and slid it back and over a foot, I should have clearance on that side for the year, I might have to remove or unbury the side vine to the left depending on growth, the kin itself might need to slid back one more time to prevent stress on the main going in.   Wednesday, August 24 View Page Little Debbie   Wednesday, August 24 View Page Scooter   Sunday, August 28 View Page Heres Heisenberg, my smallest but is still gaining nice!   Tuesday, August 30 View Page The 1965 Brandt, real nice shape, shes cracking/cantaloping. I hear this is a good indicater of going heavy.   Tuesday, August 30 View Page Hurley   Saturday, September 3 View Page You can kind see sag line   Saturday, September 3 View Page You can kind see sag line   Sunday, September 4 View Page It appears all new growth on Hurley has Mosaic Virus, the plant is still very healthy and fighting it well.   Sunday, September 4 View Page Had all the sheets off for a little tour today, so I took the opertunity to jump on truck and get a patch shot. Hurley top of screen, watermelons to left of that. Oreo is lower left and heisenberg lower right.   Monday, September 5 View Page I already have mouse repellent around kins, but I want to make sure. Lady at hardware store, "Do you have an infestion", Me "I dont want a mouse to chew on my pumpkin", LoL, packed sand around Hurley, he keeps swallowing boards   Tuesday, September 6 View Page Little Debbie   Tuesday, September 6 View Page Scooter, 211 Steil   Wednesday, September 7 View Page With this and at least another inch coming, not sure if ill need to water again. Patch is requiring constant attention.   Wednesday, September 7 View Page Goal is to get em all to a weighoff   Sunday, September 11 View Page Oreo had a soft spot that I was able to heal in patch, I was concerned that it continued underneath. We picked it on thursday and there was soft spot underneath that i just couldnt heal. Thanks to Rick Jolivette we got a weight of 1724 and 19% heavy.   Sunday, September 11 View Page Wanted to get a weight beacause I knew it weighed more than it taped. 1724, Im happy with that even though its unoffical.   Sunday, September 11 View Page Ricks 1965 and my 1965, Frick and Frat, lol   Sunday, September 11 View Page Thanks again to Rick Jolivette helping me me get a weight on this kin, side view of the 1965s   Monday, September 12 View Page Big thanks to Josiah Brandt for helping and letting me use his lifting set up this season!   Saturday, September 17 View Page Melon loaded   Saturday, September 17 View Page Josiah, what a guy to drive down and help me lift again! Big thanks again! 1670 is loaded and ready to rock in madison tomorrow!   Sunday, September 18 View Page Went to my first weighoff today. Heisenberg weighed 1716, 12 or 13% heavy its a 1670 Howell/Jolivette x 1965 Brandt (that weighed 1724 uow and 19% heavy)   Sunday, September 18 View Page Little Debbie weighed in at 164lbs   Saturday, September 24 View Page Never give up, I got one set on whats left of the main on my 1670   Thursday, September 29 View Page Having a hard time squeezing anything out of Scooter, plant is in tough shape. We will weigh Scooter at Nekoosa this weekend.   Sunday, October 2 View Page You take your sheets off for one day and q tip is on his roof with telescope, what are the odds. Its been wet and rainy here none stop, this is the first day hes been out from under the tarp in a week, getting a little sun and air today. All is good, come see Hurley at Stillwater this weekend.   Saturday, October 8 View Page Picked and ready for action! I cannot thank these guys enough! What an awesome pick! Left to right Gary Gantner (big city grower), Josiah Brandt (mellow pumpkin), Rick Jolivette (rick j), Me (mobymikeguide), Tom Montsma (Gusto).   Sunday, October 9 View Page Hurley 2106! I cant beleive it, silly 484 ott and 19 foot circumference! There is alot of people I need to thank. Number one is beatiful girl standing next to me, Kristina. She beleived in me and supported me all year long. Alot of ups and downs, and a very tough September, but it was all worth it. Next a big thanks to the Wisconsin Giant Pumpkin Growers Association, its wasnt possible without all the support. Specifically members Rick Jolivette, John Barlow, Josiah Brandt, Gary Gantner, Joe and Karina Menting, Tom Montsma and many more. Thanks everyone else thats helped along the way, Scott Steil, Ron Wallace, Bryan Langley, Cecil Weston, Sue Barber and many more. I know I am forgoting someone, but you know who you guys are.   Sunday, October 9 View Page Big thanks to St Criox growers association for all the hard work they put into the weighoff. Thanks to Chris Stevens for helping me keep my nerves under control.   Sunday, October 9 View Page Nice pic of side view   Monday, October 10 View Page Hurley on the number 10 sidevine, dont be afraid if you cant get a main set. If you got one on a secondary just be sure to keep that vine going and clip your old main. Your power will be redirected if you keep that secondary going and it basically will turn into a main.   Monday, October 10 View Page Last one posted upside down, hopefully you see this   Monday, October 10 View Page 2106 stump   Monday, October 10 View Page Pic of 2106 stump cut in half   Monday, October 10 View Page This was a big tap root on a secondary, most were not this big, but a cool pic.   Sunday, October 16 View Page Heres a link to a video I took of Hurley while still on the vine. YouTube video   Sunday, October 23 View Page Been having a blast in NYC, I'll get more pics up when I get home. Unfortunately Im not sure yet how many good seeds ill have lots of white tips and not filled out, I guess we'll have to see after drying.   Tuesday, October 25 View Page My Kin on display   Tuesday, October 25 View Page Ian and Stu's Kin on display   Tuesday, October 25 View Page The Paton boys show off their seeds. Stewie gave the first seed to a young boy that was interested in growing, what a class act!   Tuesday, October 25 View Page Paps kin on display   Thursday, October 27 View Page Here's the end of season soil test on the 2106. Some things ill do different, side dressing of k mag weekly between between dap 20 and dap 60, start with a higher boron level and higher in season addition, then a once or twice season addition of other micronutrients. I wish i would have took another in season tissue test, I bet I was low on potassium before peak growth was over.   Tuesday, November 1 View Page Can my 1716 stop this Mathews Chill R?   Tuesday, November 1 View Page Id say thats a kill shot.   Tuesday, November 1 View Page Of all my pumpkins the 1716 looked the best inside, I might have to grow this next year....   Tuesday, November 1 View Page I decided to cut it all up   Tuesday, November 1 View Page How to convert your giant pumpkin into bacon and fertilizer, step #1   Saturday, December 17 View Page Some of the Glass Gem corn I grew this year, I have packaged up over 200 packs. They will be included with a 2017 membership to Wisconsin Giant Pumpkin Growers.