Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 68 Entries. Wednesday, April 19 View Page I'm Baaaaack,. After a hiatus from growing, and after littler deliberation, I have decided to grow this year. This was a last minute decision at 8pm last night. I was tilling the garden where I plant sweet corn and decided that I'm going to reserve a spot for 1 plant, and 1 plant only! there is VERY limited amount of space to grow this plant so it will be relatively small and I have fingers crossed I get a pumpkin off it. I dug one of my hoop houses out of the cellar last night and put it out in the patch. The 1 seed that is planted is still undecided (yes I realize I am now about 2 weeks behind everyone else but who's counting!) It is likely going to be the 993 Vincent McGill if I can get the unfrozen seed to germinate.   Monday, April 24 View Page Soaked the 993 V/m and my 453 Arnold which was the 1059 crossed with my 235 Arnold. Both were placed in pots on Friday. I have next to zero confidence that the 993 is going to germinate. So far, there has been nothing Weather is warming up, going to be in the 70s and 80s by the end of this week. The soil is warm ( I have very dark soil which helps hold the heat from the sun).   Monday, April 24 View Page 2 will be started; only 1 will be planted   Monday, April 24 View Page This is my growing area.... but only half of this is available for the pumpkin plant; the other half is for sweet corn. As you can see, I am working with very limited space. If I don't get a pumpkin on this plant early; I might be SOL for the year   Tuesday, April 25 View Page the 993 v/m has not germinated yet. absolutely no signs of life from the seed. Going to give it a few more days on the heat mat and then call it quits on the 993. On the brighter side; my own seed did Germinate and is motoring along. 3 days to germination on the seed which is great. If this ends up being the chosen one, very excited to see what it produces. As norm says, Orange Rules. Weather is looking up from here. 2 days of soaking rain and then highs in the 80s. Very warm for late April!   Wednesday, April 26 View Page April 26. My own seed has started its journey. the 993 v/m have the chance to grow one of the best orange seeds but excited to be able to grow my own.   Thursday, April 27 View Page 12 hours later. let the fun begin.   Thursday, April 27 View Page I just realized my seed is labeled wrong in the pot. Its the 235 Arnold seed which was weighed and grown in 2014. Its the same cross as my 453 dmg pumpkin though (1059 x 754 schweigert). Still brushing off the dust from not growing last year, I guess. Time to fix that...   Monday, May 1 View Page 6 days old. Temps are now in the mid 60s outside but forecast has been real overcast and dull. Would like to start getting this out in the sun a bit more but mother nature isn't cooperating.   Tuesday, May 2 View Page Hand tilled the gardens last night. upper body workout! I'm on a mission this year to combat weeds   Tuesday, May 2 View Page Pumpkin plant at 1 week old. Its been hanging out under a grow light and seems to be doing well. I had to rig up my pot to make it bigger by stacking more underneath it. the roots are already coming out of the bottom. It needs to go out into the patch but the weather is going to be down into the 50's for daytime highs next week. Trying to hold out as long as I can   Wednesday, May 3 View Page 5/3   Monday, May 8 View Page Day 12. Plant is getting too big to be inside. Mother nature is not cooperating to be able to put it out in the hoop house. Minimal sun and daytime temps below 60 degrees. Nighttime temps in the 30s!! I don't do heating cables or any of that jazz so if it's going in the ground; its on its own :)   Wednesday, May 10 View Page going outside later this week!   Thursday, May 11 View Page Had a little leaf burn on the oldest leaf on my plant last night from the grow light. Cant lift the grow light any further up. Because of this, the plant is going outside tonight in the hoop house. Weather still isn't quite ideal but it is what it is at this point :) . Most of the garden will be planted tonight as well. Plants are not overly happy about their potted existence anymore; even though the weather might not be ideal; I think being in the ground is the best option right now.   Thursday, May 11 View Page and we're off to the races...   Monday, May 15 View Page no pictures to share today. Weather has been horrible. daytime highs in the low 40's, blustery, rain, and COLD. My single plant has been doing great in the hoop house with no heating assistance. Its growing well and looks like its starting to lay down. Very excited despite the weather; it's been hardy. Highs in the 80's and even 90 for the rest of the week! I planted 90% of my garden also. Just need to put the tomato plants in. With all of the rain and wet weather we've been having, my corn crop is not so thrilled. leaves are turning a slight yellow. Need a few dry, warm days to help these seedlings out!   Wednesday, May 17 View Page the heat is on! beautiful weather for growing! So far so good; plant is healthy and growing well. Pictures tonight   Wednesday, May 17 View Page Picture is from 5.17. its been HOTTTTT!. high about 97-100 degrees yesterday! plant was a little wilted in the late afternoon when the temps were hottest but it's holding its own. some of the leaves are now having some yellow spots. may need to make some adjustments but overall plant is very healthy.   Thursday, May 18 View Page a look at my sweet corn that is planted in half the patch area. planting in rows of 3 every 2 to the weeks. the 3 rows at far left were planted on April 24. Seedlings were struggling a bit due to the cold these last few weeks but they are taking off now! the 3 rows at right were planted on 3/17. I will have about 4 separate batches of corn planted when finished. last year; the entire are was corn and I had about 8 batches of corn by end of summer   Monday, May 22 View Page My plant still has some yellowing leaves on the newer leaves. My guess is either A) nutrient deficiency or B) cold soil inhibiting nutrient uptake. In regards to A) a nutrient deficiency would not surprise me. I didn't do a soil test and just stuck the plant out there. haha. I have been watering with some fish meal and sprinkled a little UREA around the plant a few days ago to get the nitrogen going. In regards to B) we had a couple very hot days here but this week we are back in the low 70's with a lot of rain and minimal sunshine. I have been watering with cold water from the garden hose. Going to switch to watering with warm water from the house. This weather is making it impossible to keep the soil warm and a plant happy. The plant has slowed in growth and I am behind the eight ball considering its may 22nd already. Lets see if the warm water helps get the soil back to temp   Tuesday, May 23 View Page Slow growing but it is getting bigger. temps and cloudy weather are not helping. As you can see the yellowing on the leaves; I think its due to cold soil temps and not enough nutrient uptake. I have reduced my watering to every few days and I am only watering with warm water from the house. So far the yellowing hasn't progressed. I also sprinkled around the plant with some fert just to help it along. Hoping the sun starts to come out soon but it isn't looking good in the forecast.   Thursday, June 1 View Page Just about to lay down. Slow but steady this year. cold temps, rain, no sun. This plant has been living under the hoop house for the last several days and it looks like it will be back to living under the hoop house for the early part of next week. Good news is the watering with warm water has appeared to help. yellowing leaves has stopped and its adding more growth everyday.   Monday, June 12 View Page Quick update since I haven't been on in awhile. Here is my plant. Temps are in the high 90s and humid. Plant is loving it. Adding about a foot of growth per day right now; its really moving along (which is great because I am behind everyone). Lots of secondary's coming along too; you can just start to see them in the photo.   Tuesday, June 20 View Page looking healthy and happy!   Sunday, June 25 View Page Quick Update. looking good. I keep picking off the baby kins that keep appearing. need to let this plant grow for another few weeks. Its been very wet and humid so it's an ongoing battle with the fungicide application but we are doing OK.   Wednesday, June 28 View Page Update from my patch. Plant is adding a lot of growth now with the amount of rain we have been getting. After a slow start this year due to the cold; this plant is one of the most aggressive I've ever grown and probably the biggest for end of June timeframe. Lots of baby kins but I keep picking them off; want to get a bit more growth out of the secondary vines. I am planning to pollinate a pumpkin sometime around July 16th; maybe before. Due to my limited growing area; I am limiting the amount of secondary vines on the plant's left side. The main vine will be guided to take a right turn towards the camera. The majority of the secondary vines will be grown on the plant's right side. Almost like a flag-pattern but not quite.   Thursday, June 29 View Page getting hard to hold off on this one. Another week, maybe 2, and we will be setting a pumpkin. So far so good   Friday, July 7 View Page 6am this morning and in the patch pollinating. couldn't help but take a quick snap of the plant.   Friday, July 7 View Page this is always exciting   Friday, July 7 View Page nice 5 lobe! I hope this one makes it   Sunday, July 16 View Page I have been MIA for a bit due to hectic lifestyle. but I have a pumpkin on the plant which is great news. So far so good. We have been getting A LOT of rain here in CT. The storms that rolled through the other day dumper 4-5 inches of rain in 30 minutes. Chance of storms every day. I am lucky that my gardens are in well draining areas. I still have to water a small amount on the days we don't get rain but I am limiting water considerably. I do not want a split pumpkin. I am going to set another pumpkin on this plant in the next week or so. Since I am only doing one plant; I need to have 2 just to be safe   Sunday, July 16 View Page Here is the plant. If you can spot the pumpkin and the 5 gallon bucket in the photo. Plant is getting too big to get it all in the photo. I am going to have to start terminating vines very soon. Took 3 people to put a pallet under the pumpkin last night. Everything survived with no damage. I don't own a lifting ring so a pallet, a pad, and lots of sand is the only way to go for me. The plant itself is extremely aggressive. The leaves are massive and the vines extremely thick. I think I may have overdone the nitrogen supplementation this year :) . I have been continuing to spray for PM weekly as well as adding a foliar feed for calcium. I have struggle immensely in the past with lack of calcium causing my pumpkins to split. I hope this helps as it has in the past.   Thursday, July 20 View Page took a little while for this thing to get going but its going now! huge size difference in the past 3 - 4 days. I think its going to be like the 1059 that I grew (which is a parent to this seed); a giant pinwheel. Its shape is rather awkward right now but it is quite pretty from the stem end! I will be setting a 2nd pumpkin on this plant as a just-in-case. Since this is my only plant; the risk of only keeping one is a big risk. We will see how this goes.   Monday, July 24 View Page currently started WWIII against a groundhog who decided to move in under the pumpkin pallet yesterday. Not good. But the pumpkin is doing great. growing like crazy.   Wednesday, July 26 View Page the woodchuck battle has escalated.... trying to corral the PITA into the trap. he has resulted to taking any barrier down and displacing it to several feet away!   Wednesday, July 26 View Page View of the stump on this plant. very healthy despite the amount of rain, humidity, etc that we have had this summer. Its still holding strong   Sunday, July 30 View Page Sorry the photo is crooked. Its really hard to take a photo with the amount of leaves I have to hold out of the way. Measured this for the first time. At 23 days old; its measuring between 160-190 pound range   Tuesday, August 1 View Page Broke the 200 pound mark on day 24. Day 25, just shy of 220 pounds. Very hot and very humid currently. Sticking with daily watering but have to be careful; strong storms expected every afternoon for the next few days. Enough rain could fall in a short period of time that we are under flood watches. The blossom end of this pumpkin continues to worry me. I am on a 3x per week schedule of foliar spraying with calcium to keep the walls strong. Still a long way to go for this one   Thursday, August 3 View Page Measuring in at 273lbs at 27 (?) days old. 5 inches of rain the night before in a 1 hour period of time. It handled it well; thankfully. I am hoping this one can make it another 47 days until Durham.   Wednesday, August 9 View Page This is an exciting year for me!   Thursday, August 10 View Page still chugging along   Sunday, August 13 View Page Approaching the 500lb mark now. Turning orange now that its exposed to sunlight. Growth is slow and steady. Cant complain; if it was doing 30+ pounds a day I think I would be having slitting issues.   Tuesday, August 15 View Page measuring to a chart between 475 and 512 pounds. I have no idea how accurate these charts are from 2013 and its a bit hard to measure this one given its shape. 34 days til weigh off so fingers are crossed at this point   Thursday, August 17 View Page "grow your own seed", they said. ..... So I did :) . Measuring in at 530 pounds now. I am hoping the measurements and weight are accurate given the shape of this pumpkin (tall, pinwheel). Had to pick off some of the lobes of the blossom end last night as they were about to start cutting into the skin. Sprinkled a little phosphorous around last night and then lightly watered. Then sprayed with calcarb and some fungicide/insecticide as I seem to battling a really HARD battle with aphids this year. Nothing will kill them.   Tuesday, August 22 View Page Measures in at 599 pounds. I don't think it actually weighs that but time will tell I guess. Looking pretty though!!!   Thursday, August 24 View Page still growing! yippee! Went to war on the aphids last night. hope it worked   Thursday, August 24 View Page Very proud of this one. Hope it continues to grow   Saturday, August 26 View Page On 8-26 my pumpkin went over 300OTT measurement. First ever for me. Onward!   Sunday, August 27 View Page So far calcarb has been doing its job. Pumpkin looks great, plant is healthy. Won my war on aphids. No Complaints   Monday, August 28 View Page The blossom end is getting more and more scary by the day. I've already cut off all the lobes on the right side. Debating cutting the blossom off entirely. Starting to dig into the skin now despite cutting off the lobes. Stretch marks showing in this area by the day. I really hope it stays together. Come on big girl keep going   Monday, August 28 View Page for all of the orange lovers out there....   Tuesday, August 29 View Page 668 pounds   Tuesday, September 5 View Page measuring in at 714 lbs.   Sunday, September 10 View Page Starting to show off some color now. Look closely at the photo and check out the thousands of tiny dark red spots on this pumpkin. More appear as the pumpkin gets bigger. pretty neat   Monday, September 11 View Page A little celebration in the patch tonight. Here's to shattering my personal best!   Sunday, September 17 View Page thanks to everyone who followed along on my diary this year. This beauty will be making her way to Durham tomorrow night. Pictures don't really do it justice for how big it is; but my previous photo in this diary gives a better comparison. Hope everyone has a good weigh off with their fruits of their labor   Monday, September 18 View Page the extreme overcast evening wasn't helpful in capturing the beautiful color; but here is the last photo of this on the vine. It will be off to Durham fair this evening. Wish I could leave it on the vine longer; beautiful weather in the forecast! Its autumn and summer has finally arrived!   Tuesday, September 19 View Page 692 and 7th place pumpkin overall! isn't she pretty?   Tuesday, September 19 View Page my 692 in the back.   Monday, September 25 View Page a photographer took these of my pumpkin at the fair, thought I'd share   Monday, September 25 View Page #2   Tuesday, September 26 View Page And the 692 Arnold is now the official HD Winner of Durham Fair. Great way to end the season. Hope everyones' remaining weigh offs go well !   Monday, October 2 View Page obligatory porch photo   Tuesday, October 24 View Page the last photo of it before it got carved.   Monday, November 13 View Page If anyone is looking for seeds from my HD pumpkin or sister seeds to the seed that grew my HD winner this year; please send an email to ucalum10@yahoo.com I would like to get seeds mailed ASAP to those that are interested thank you   Monday, November 27 View Page Most of the bubbles with seeds went out in the mail over the weekend. If you are interested in growing pretty Orange or if you are interested in seeds for your club auction, please send me an email to the address, above. I am trying to get everything sent out before the holiday hoopla. As always, thanks to those who want to grow my seeds   Wednesday, December 13 View Page Wishing everyone a very blessed holiday season. I still have seeds if anyone is interested in growing my HD winner (it went heavy!!) or add an HD lot to your seed auction. Send me an email ucalum10@yahoo.com if interested; I'd like to find them good homes :)