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Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 73 Entries.
Thursday, March 2 View Page
First Entry of the year - Yahoo! Tested germination of potential main plant a 1389McCrackinxself'15 that produced a beautiful orange 454 lb fruit. put up 4 - first 2 germinated yesterday (4 days) and the other 2 have split the seed
 
Thursday, March 2 View Page
the 454 from 1389McCracken14 grown 2015
 
Thursday, March 2 View Page
100% germination Muzletxself big heart-shaped solid tomato, not weighed but about 2 lbs
 
Thursday, March 2 View Page
Typical Muzlet tomato (seeds smuggled in from Sicily 2008 by John Muzlet)
 
Monday, April 10 View Page
Ain’t no prettier picture than that – 1000 sq ft of rototilled patch. Let the Season Begin !! Fall Prep: 3 – 4x8 trailer loads of mushroom soil topping with an additional trailer load piled in the middle for spring topping after rototill; 1-2” grass clippings; 4” maple leaf mulch. Fall Soil Test – pH – 7.5; exceeded recommended levels of phosphate, potash, Mag and Calcium Spring prep before rototill: 40 lbs of granular gypsum, 20 lbs 10-10-10 – forgot to send a spring soil test before adding this stuff and rototilling. Plan to get a disease test from Western Laboratories in Parma ID. After taking soil samples for disease test, will top off with the pile of mushroom soil.
 
Wednesday, April 12 View Page
First Team: 2624 Willemijns'16 +21%- 2145Mcmullen x 1872Willemijns 2048 Willemijns'16 +5% - 1861Cutrupi x 1872Willemijns (only going with 2 vines this year - 3 drove me and the family crazy.)
 
Wednesday, April 12 View Page
Second Team: 1st back up: 1795McCracken'16 - 2145McMillen'15x1625Gantner'13 2nd back up: 1389McCracken'14 - 1744Fulk'13 x 1882Bryson'11 3rd back up: 1218Snyder - 1744Fulk'13 x 2323 Meier 4th back up: 1495Snyder - 1463Hoelke x 1177Clementz (Orange) Grew the 1389McCracken 2015 and got a beautiful round 454 orange. also tried the 1218Snyder with poor results (my fault) Sent off sample for soil fungus test (pricey) P.S. Auction price I paid So Ohio GPGs for the 2624Willemijns available upon request - if my wife finds out, a 47yr marriage and future attempts at giant pumpkin growing probably finished.
 
Wednesday, April 12 View Page
Muzlet Heart Shaped Giant doing nicely. Several more under light. Goal: 5 lbs
 
Saturday, April 15 View Page
Final topping of mushroom soil and layout of irrigation. Stakes for hoop houses. Team 1 right back growing southeast, some extra room to extend patch if needed. Team 2 left forward. Took out that volunteer junk evergreen. A nuisance last year, too big and irregular to transplant – so it’s another sacrifice to the sport.
 
Sunday, April 16 View Page
Starting Team 2 tonight – Team 1 will be next weekend – spread the risk of a planting calamity or doing something systematically dumb. Seeds rubbed with peroxide (afraid to do the 5 min soak suggested by others), filed edges (see next photo) and put up in moist towel in sandwich bags for next 12 hours – put in incubator to keep warm.
 
Sunday, April 16 View Page
Filed edge of seed on right to facilitate swelling and splitting, just down to the line marking the interior seed cavity, careful not to damage root end.
 
Sunday, April 16 View Page
Wet paper towel sandwich bags Into cheapo greenhouse at 80 deg along with everybody else till morning when they go into pots – also warming in incubator. Very exciting. ----- Quandary for tomorrow morning – do I set the seeds to reside at 0 deg, 45 deg or 90 deg?? Just too many decisions here – how does ANYBODY get something to weigh in Sept ? !!.
 
Saturday, April 22 View Page
Quiet – outright boring – week waiting for Team 2 to sprout. 5 days of lookin’ at dirt. Worse than watching paint dry. And Halleluiah!, McCracken 1795 moved the dirt today! Couldn’t stand to not know what was going on in the other 2 pots and so scratched away the dirt down to the seeds, and both have germinated, included the $35 2048 Willemjns. Should see them above ground in a couple of days. Plan to plant Team I (2624 Willemjns; 1389 McCracken; 1218 Snyder) in 2 days after a 12 hour soak in tissue paper in plastic sandwich bag.
 
Sunday, April 23 View Page
So here we go today with Team 1 : 2624 Willemijns, 1495Snyder (Winner of the MidAtlanticPGA Howard Dill Award for the Most Beautifully Orange Specimen of the Year), and the 1218 Snyder out of the 1744Fulkx2323Meier. Edges filed and carefully placed in sandwich bags cuddled in warm wet paper towels. All auspicious representatives of the species. Holding and gazing upon the 2624, I appreciated that I am holding the container for a mixture of brand new DNA that has never been available on this planet over its entire 4 ½ billion-year history. Just think of that. The potential in a few grams of casement to produce the largest pumpkin ever grown on planet earth (no proof here) and maybe in the 13 billion-year history of the Milky Way. Whew – just too much to get my head around. Yeh, sometimes I just wax inordinately philosophic.
 
Monday, April 24 View Page
Astounding! – 48 hours since appearing. How can anything grow that fast?!! Team 1 – 12 hours in the dirt after 12 hour soak. All 3 seeds plumped up with the soak, although the 2624 seemed a little compressed at the distal end, almost a little empty. Uh oh.
 
Wednesday, April 26 View Page
3 days post emergence – these guys are getting’ away from me. No electricity in patch, heating cables in the mail, fungicide to be obtained and applied to deal with massive fusarium and high Pythium infestation of the patch (looking for some azoxystrobin that I can afford) and very low boron levels reported to me by Western laboratories. Spoke to their Director, Harry Kreeft, at length yesterday for advice – good advice. He was appalled at my fungus report - very high fusarium (441 cfu) and high Pythium (139) and phytophthora (25), and thrilled with my 0 verticillium. Went over an overly complex soil micronutrient report full of reds, blues and blacks and tells me all is fine except low boron. Who wudda guessed? Didn’t help that I collected the soil samples a couple days after adding 40 lbs of gypsum – oops. I guess that’s why they have a 5 star rating. Great service. Weather greatly improving this week predicted to hold through early May.
 
Wednesday, April 26 View Page
Good progress today. Sucked it up and took my medicine – spent 100 bucks on 4 oz of powder azoxystrobin. 10 doses for 1000 sq ft. It’s in the mail – fusarium; Pythium; phytophthora – you’re history. Got electricity to patch and hoop house starting to warm the 57 deg soil with a heating lamp – rather anemic attempt. Heating cables should be here in a day or so.
 
Saturday, April 29 View Page
The potential monster emerges day 5 after planting. WHEW !!!
 
Saturday, April 29 View Page
Soil Heating Cables in (24’ spaced 3-4” in a 3x4 hoop house 4-5” deep) – easily heated soil to 78 deg – in fact had to turn off during sunny day to keep from going higher. The heating grow light brought temp in hh to >100 deg and so turned off during day. Chose the 2048 Willimejns and 1795 McCracken to carry Team 2 forward – but there seems to already be a mismatch 7 days post appearance (7 DPA)– maybe my $35 auction bid was a bust.
 
Tuesday, May 2 View Page
Hmmm – seems to be a clear winner here already. Will give 2048 some rope to catch up in deference to my 35 bucks. The 1795 was free in the MAGPA 2017 seed packet. Go figger. McCracken is an awesome grower! Alex collects only the best DNA. Heat cables (a mere $29.95 JumpStart Soil Heating; Amazon) are doing their job. I actually followed the installation instructions – a transient point of weakness-except I put them deep enough to avoid damage planting
 
Tuesday, May 2 View Page
Team 1 – all have appeared. 6 out of 6 seeds germinated. Will keep that planting ritual intact for the future. 2624 already with the clear edge (D---- well oughta, given the price I paid !)
 
Thursday, May 4 View Page
Strong wind found an opening in hoop house and lifted the PVC hoops and plastic. The 1795 McCracken is history (Sorry, Alex). I have another 1795 McCracken seed and will restart. Lost 3 weeks. This gives life to the lagging 2048 sharing the refastened hoop house – better put up the wind protective full fencing before risking putting out the 2624.
 
Thursday, May 4 View Page
Yeh – what’s wrong with this picture. Nuts
 
Friday, May 5 View Page
Horse --- Barn ----. You know the rest.
 
Tuesday, May 9 View Page
2624 not a lot bigger than when I put him in 4 days ago – these cold nights down to low 40’s and high 30’s must be turning off the juice, even in a green house with a heating lamp and heating cables. Ground up to 78 and air 70 by morning. Going up to >100 in the sun during day. Little guys just doesn’t know what to do. A replacement 1795 should pop above the potting soil in a day or so.
 
Tuesday, May 9 View Page
At least somethin’s growing in the cold wet weather
 
Thursday, May 11 View Page
Oh no! wasn’t this way this morning. Now what? Finished? Any suggestions.? How did this happen? – stem was supported all week by a plastic bubble. Nuts Please Comment - anybody.
 
Tuesday, May 16 View Page
Decision time – kept that 2624 Wjns in the heated cold frame despite the split stem for no good reason at all. The stem has turned into a flat ribbon, but the plant is growing normally. No future that I can imagine. To replace with a 7-day-old 2nd attempt at the McCracken 1795, but couldn’t bare to just discard the 2624 after what I shelled out for it – so moved it into another open place in the patch with some wind protection and wrapped the stem with Saran Wrap to keep the dirt and bugs out, but not much else. Maybe I can give it to somebody who has a good home for it. Any takers? Right off US Rt 78.
 
Tuesday, May 16 View Page
Replaced the $265 2624 with a free 7-day-old McCracken 1795. Planted with 2 WOW started packets and an extra handful of Myco + Kelp meal.
 
Tuesday, May 16 View Page
The 2048 Willeminjns has grown a huge leaf and the new leaves behind that one look good. Early leaves suffered from drastic temperature changes in the germination indoor facility and outdoor hoop house last few weeks. Its previous companion wind-destroyed McCracken 1795 will be replaced in the hoop house with the 7-day-old 1218Snyder - 1744Fulk'13 x 2323 Meier next week. (not putting all the pumpkins in the same basket, transplanting right before the 87-90 deg weather forecast rest of week.)
 
Wednesday, May 17 View Page
Now I have a competitively large hoop house – can’t believe how much trouble that was. But it’s all staked down and tight, hoping not to see it flying over a neighbor’s house during the upcoming thunder storms. Also planted the last back up in there – was getting too tall to leave in the hot house.
 
Monday, May 29 View Page
Snyder 1495 (Orange) is doing nicely and outgrowing it’s house – if we had better May weather, he would be free to the world, but still needs support for the 55 deg nights. Only fertilizer so far is 2 treatments of fish emulsion and seaweed solution plus a little of Jack’s 10-30-20. Back up 1795 McCracken in the back ground and over shadowed. Will keep him going for the time being. Never know when the next calamity may arise.
 
Monday, May 29 View Page
2048 Willemijns also doing well in the enlarged hoop house. (air and ground also heated). Already laid down and so buried entire main vine except for the stem. Same fertilizer program. 2 tiny longitudinal cracks have appeared in the stem – has me a bit concerned after what happened to the 2624. That plant moved to the general open patch and has grown little since. Stem splayed open like a ribbon.
 
Wednesday, May 31 View Page
Mustard crop lookin’ good. Growing in front of the 2048, both inside the temporary boundary of the wind fence and outside. A few plants showing evidence of crowning and so may be able to mulch and rototill in 7-10 days.
 
Wednesday, May 31 View Page
Rest of Mustard planting outside temporary boundary of windbreak. Will move that boundary to include the mustard mulch after rototilling and after farmer tills and plants the field.
 
Sunday, June 4 View Page
1495 Snyder – Transplanted May 11 sprouted 4/27 – so 38 days since sprouting – doing well. Got too big for the frame last night – so it on its own in the brutals of Pennsylvania weather. I finally “cut the mustard” (waited a month to say that) a few days ago on the advice of a fellow grower – what a mess – that stuff is 99% water and gummed up my lawn tractor cutting deck. Scraped off the gunk and raked it off the patch – leaving 1000 macerated stalks. After some drying these last few days, raked the still mushy gunk back onto the experimental mustard section of the patch and rototilled it in. Actually produced a surprisingly small amount of volume, given the robust appearance of the live plants. We’ll see.
 
Sunday, June 4 View Page
2048 Willeminjns out of the hoop house for 4 days and doing great. This year I plan to bury the entire main vine to promote more roots and discourage the flies that deposit the vine borers.
 
Sunday, June 4 View Page
The exiled 2624 with split stem is growing almost as fast as everybody else, now that he’s gotten over the shock of transplant to an away section of the patch. The interior of the split has gotten leather-like and actually appears like the outside of an intact stem. Don’t know what I’m going to do with him. He looks beautiful. Best if I can get a mature pumpkin of any size to harvest the seeds, as it will have been pollinated by either itself, the 2048 or the orange 1495 – all a great potential for 2018.
 
Monday, June 5 View Page
Applied azoxystrobin to plants and dirt - still awaiting results of soil disease test taken last week from Western Labs. Hopefully fusarium, pythium counts way down after the first azo application to dirt (rototilled after sprayed)5 weeks ago. Plan a fungicide program q2wks with something other than azo to limit chances of resistance developing.
 
Wednesday, June 7 View Page
1795 McCracken and 1218 Snyder back-ups to the 1495 Snyder (Howard Dill Award winner) and 2048 Wlleminjns, are off to a better home. Saved me the anguish of 2 murders. Actually, much better home. The guy is the assistant director of turf management of a private golf club. Maybe something really good will come from it. Now we are 3 – the 2624 remains in exile in a corner of the patch and growing like crazy – what to do with him??!!
 
Tuesday, June 13 View Page
Moved fence out to final configuration (maybe took too much liberty with the confines of the soy bean field). . 2048 foreground. 1495 back right. 2624 jammed against fence back left
 
Tuesday, June 13 View Page
2048 Willemijns growing rapidly.
 
Tuesday, June 13 View Page
Oops prior picture was the 2018 Wilemijns. THIS is the 1495 Snyder = doing beautifully and has a 22" leaf already.
 
Tuesday, June 13 View Page
2624 Willemijns – moved into exile a month ago when stem split. Obviously too closs to fence to be a big producer. The goal is to get some mature seeds for 2048
 
Wednesday, June 14 View Page
2624 stem that splayed open a few days after transplanting. Grown tough and stable. Decided to bury it today on the advice of another grower a couple of weeks ago. Also bought more Aluminet Shade Cloth to extend the wind break of the fence. Ecologic Technologies. Using 50% shade. Comes in 14’ widths by any length. Cut the 14’ in 3rds for almost 5’ high wind break fencing. Very tough stuff – won’t rip. Deer won’t come anywhere near this stuff; ground hogs are indifferent. Trouble is that they have a minimum order size of $100 plus shipping ($18). That’s 14’ x 25’. Well, it’s a once and done purchase. Disregard obvious typos on prior entry.
 
Wednesday, June 14 View Page
Received follow–up SOIL DISEASE report from Western Laboratories today and compared it to that of April, which had reported high Pythium (139 cfu), high Phytophthora (25 ct), and very high Fusarium (441 cfu). Applied Azoxystrobin (Heritage) 0.4 gm/1000 sq immediately after getting that April report and rototilled in. Again applied same azo treatment to plants and soil the day after I took this f/u soil sample and rototilled in (except the mustard planted area). This report shows Pythium had fallen to 61 cfu, Fusarium to 125 cfu and Phytophthora not detected. So should be in good shape having applied that second Azo treatment before getting this report back.
 
Wednesday, June 14 View Page
First flower of the year – appeared on the 1495
 
Thursday, June 15 View Page
First female flowers of the year – this morning. 3 on the 2048 (one of which was on the main vine) and one on the main vine of 1495. No action yet on the big boy.
 
Friday, June 16 View Page
Everybody; 2624 front left, 1495 middle, 2048 growing away from us right. A female flower appeared 10’ out on main vine of 2624. Now everybody’s in syn Moved the fence out further into the farmer's soy bean field to accommodate 2624 - now has room enough to grow a pumpkin.
 
Sunday, June 18 View Page
Muzlet tomato – 5’, sporting 3 heart shaped tomatoes , about 1-2” each. These are at least 6 weeks ahead of themselves.
 
Monday, June 19 View Page
First female on 2624 - at 10'. Hope of something further out but may settle here, given limiting growing room in the patch. Extensive vine burying on all plants today. Growing like crazy.
 
Tuesday, June 20 View Page
THE CANDIDATE - 2nd female on the main 2048 vine at 13 ft. If the pistil is well formed, plan to pollinate with the 2624 by the weekend. First insecticide treatment of the year – Merit 75WP More fish emulsion/kelp solution/Jacks 10-30-20 to all 3 plants. All nodes get buried with Myco/kelp meal/10-10-10 granules, simultaneously picking off the tertiary and cutting off the dendril. No apparent adverse events so far with this program, and the plants are growing like crazy. This may be the year!
 
Thursday, June 22 View Page
Big day today – pollinated first flower of the year on the 1495 (Orange) 1495 Snyder using a male flower from the 2048Willemijns. Wanted to use the 2624 but had no male flowers today. Will be spraying with Anthesis Hormone in 48 hrs. The female on the 2048 looks to bloom in about 48 hrs and will have some males on the 2648 by then.
 
Thursday, June 22 View Page
1st Candidate on the 2048 at 13 ft – may be ready in 48 hrs (expecting rain)
 
Saturday, June 24 View Page
1495 (orange)day 2 after pollinating with 2048. Applied Anthesis hormone
 
Saturday, June 24 View Page
First female 2624 – tied closed last night. Pollinated with 2048 Will & tied again.
 
Saturday, June 24 View Page
Pollinate 2624 Willemijns with 2048 Willemijns and re-close
 
Saturday, June 24 View Page
The Patch – plant growth directions – going to have to let them sneak under the fence soon to join the soybeans. All tertiaries cut – hope not to have too much entanglement but will have start terminating some secondaries. More fish emulsion, kelp solution and Jack's 10-30-20 today. There was a great rain overnight. Everything hunky doory.
 
Thursday, June 29 View Page
Foreground 2048 – 20’L x 22’W 9 (58 days since germination and the oldest by a week)– by far the most room to grow; Back R – 1495 (58 days since germination)– 21’L x 20 W – less room to grow. Back L – 2624 (58 days since germination)– 19’L x 17W - - least room to grow and a week of late transplant shock with split stem. Treated today with: Water -supplementing the usual 90 min of soaker hoses with 2 hrs of sprinkler after a week of hot dry weather, Fungicide: Mcleary’s 3336F broad spectrum systemic fungicide (double strength); Insecticide – Eight. Careful to spray both up wind and down wind to get underside of lifted leaves and leaves pointed in opposite directions. Also careful to get a much of the bare ground covered with fungicide as possible.
 
Friday, June 30 View Page
Pollinating for past 7 days – all closed flowers the night before opening and immediately after pollinating – pictured here 1495 x 2624 day 7. Status as of 6/30 2624 Willemijns. X 2048 – 6/24 – main vine X Self -6/28; X 1495 6/28 X 1495 6/29 2048 Willemijns X 2624 – 6/25 – main vine – 11’ X 2624 – 6/30 – main vine – 16’ X Self - 6/30 X 2624 - 6/30 X 1495 - 6.30 1495 Snyder X 2624 – 6/22 – main stem; first pollination X Self – 6/29 (really gonna be an orange pumpkin!) X 2624 – 6/30 So – 7 pollinated so far. The 6 that are more than a day old clearly growing. 5 more females tied up ready to open and pollinate tomorrow morning before going away for a week at the lake (will be very nervous). That’s 11 fruits started before July 1. New indoor record for me.
 
Friday, June 30 View Page
NEW PROBLEM – The straw mulch I used to suppress weeds and hold moister had left over wheat seeds ! Nuts! – Found a product called Grass-Be-Gone that is a herbicide specific to monocotyledons, not hurting dicots – says will kill grass leaving other species safe – gardens, bushes, flowers. Will try it in a small area – darn well better work Applying Anthesis to all fruits 48 hrs after pollination. Unfortunately, can’t get those after 6/28 – going on vacation today.
 
Friday, July 7 View Page
1495x2625 day 13. The 2624x2048 is half that size day 9. The 2048 vine is huge and healthy but the 5 pollinated flowers aren't growing - all stuck at cantaloupe size or smaller- why? Cut all terminals from all vines today - reached the limits of the fence everywhere. Really hard snipping off the main vine growing tip on the 2624 at about 18 ft. Probably should have it grow under the fence into the soybean field. Starphite to entire patch.
 
Sunday, July 9 View Page
The 1495x2624 day17 circ 60 – est wt 73 Today apply Borax (1st appl), fish/kelp/Jacks, Azo (3rd app), Merrit (2nd app). Tomorrow – Wallace Tea.
 
Friday, July 14 View Page
1495 Day 22 (is there a hint of orange there?)– Circ 78 est wt 160 – that’s 87 lbs in 5 days – Maybe that concoction of superstition works. Lost my biggest fruit on the 2624 to rot – flower end and random spots. Looked like fungus – how can THAT happen with 3 applications of Azo and 1 of copper and another of Mccleary’s over 3 ½ months ??!! Starting to wonder about the 2624 – several fruits pollinated from 1495, 2048 and self are remaining small.
 
Sunday, July 16 View Page
The 1495 passed est 200 lbs today. Wheat that germinated from the contaminated straw mulch now all nearly dead using Grass-be-Gone – didn’t’ hurt the vines at all. Today Applied Epson, Borax, Fish/Kelp solution, a double dose of Jacks 10-30-20, McCleary Fungicide and Eight Insecticide. Fungicide program so far: AzoOxyStrobin (Heritage) May 10 rototilled into soil, 6/5 foliar and soil, 7/9 foliage. McCleary’s 3336F 6/29 & 7/16. Copper – 6/17 & 6/29 Insecticide – Eight 6/17, Bac thurgensis 6/17, Merit 6/20, Eight 6/29, Merit 7/9; Eight 7/16 Other -Anthesis hormone –48 hrs after pollination all fruits up to 6/30 when I ran out - 11 fruits The 3 vines are astoundingly healthy and limited out by the fence. All growing tips cut. Not a tertiary to be seen. 3 nice fruits –one est 200 1495, 2 on the 2048 at est 45 lbs @ and 4 more basketball size; the 2624 is waaaaayyy behind, with 3 small fruits ---but with 24” leaves – maybe that’s all it does, is to grow big pretty leaves.
 
Tuesday, July 18 View Page
Really?? Is this really necessary? Really? 1495: DAP 26 - 230 lbs
 
Tuesday, July 18 View Page
2624 Willemijns has been nothing but trouble. Split main stem week 3, loss of every set since June 29, including 2 more today due to blossom end rot. One crummy one hangin’ on and nothing ever gotten bigger than a cantaloupe. No recognized female flowers anywhere. Thought the whole thing was a bust and looking to rip the plant out when THIS lady appeared today! – never saw her developing. On an enormous secondary of the main vine – actually mistook it for the main vine deep in the patch. Maybe some hope springs up here– pollinated with the 2048 Willemijns and tied shut. Pictured Mrs and Mr. 2624 and 2048 (2)
 
Wednesday, July 26 View Page
No weight change in any of the 3 large pumpkins in 3 days despite heavy rain and fertilizer. The 1495 (est 350 lbs) seems healthy enough but the stem is pulling up on the vine which is pinned to the ground by the pumpkin. The 2624 pollinated 4 days ago took nicely and grown – the ONLY pumpkin on that vine growing.
 
Friday, July 28 View Page
Things not lookin’ so good. Vines losing vibrancy with browning and yellow leaf stems. Pumpkins slowed down and stopped growing 5 days ago. The 2 cantaloupe size fruits on the 2048 withered and smooshed. Left with 2 on the 2048 at about 250, the orange on the 1495 Snyder stuck at 350, a misshapen cantaloupe size on the 2624 plus a new female flower. The 2624 never produced anything but these doomed elongated pumpkins that withered. Modest damage from the storm earlier in the week. More storms tonight. May be that the season is coming to a close – and it started so good. This sport has more disappointment than golf – if that’s possible. Sending a tissue sample from the 1495 to Western Labs. but i'll be a week to get a report from Idaho.
 
Monday, July 31 View Page
Ball game over – nothing left to weigh – the 1495 (orange) Snyder is history and the 2 – 125 lbs fruits on the 2048 haven’t grown in a week. The 2624 is putting on a meager show with a slowly growing misshapen fruit – we’ll see, but enthusiasm has waned, to say the least. Fungicide and insectide today
 
Monday, July 31 View Page
Culled the 1495 today- still was a beauty when viewed from the flower end, but a rot from the stem that literally fell out on to the dirt. Wife not happy assisting in wheel barrelling heavy, mushy chunks into the corn field - maybe the deer will be happy. So not much left of the season - 2 stalled 125 pounders on the 2014 and an ugly (but growing) 10 pounder resembling a Tom Brady football on the 2624. Anybody out there have anything resembling success on the 2624?
 
Tuesday, August 1 View Page
Well, I’m back , -- maybe. This Ugly on the 2624, whom we shall call Mr. Ugly, is actually growing. OTT 71. A small one just down the vine, same shape, but the vine they're on is a monster secondary, bright green and apparently disease free. Both have long thick stems. This one has a longitudinal split stem- Sprayed the who area, nodes, stems vines with Merit and Heritage. Will fill the split stem with Captan paste. Got 60 days to weigh in – maybe there’s a glimmer here.
 
Tuesday, August 22 View Page
Well, I’m back – had planned to rip out everything and go on vacation, but this guy showed up on the 2624 is actually growing normally – est now 50 lbs. The vine looks terrible, but let’s see what happens
 

 

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