Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 132 Entries. Tuesday, January 2 View Page Happy New Year!!! Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! -8 degrees F here this AM. The lake is frozen over except for one small hole for the waterfowl!   Sunday, April 8 View Page We decided to go on a tour of the Netherlands & Belgium to see the windmills   Sunday, April 8 View Page The tulips   Sunday, April 8 View Page And the Art.   Sunday, April 8 View Page The trip has delayed starting my maters, but won’t affect my AGs & squash. Here is my tomato rootstock 48 hrs after seeding at 82.5 degrees & 90% humidity, around 20% germination. My heirlooms & Giants I start 2 days later.   Sunday, April 22 View Page Well, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize how crappy that pic was. I was just shocked that I had anything up in 48 hours.   Sunday, April 22 View Page Working yesterday & today.   Sunday, April 22 View Page Planted yesterday, my selections for huge!   Sunday, April 22 View Page My selections for Green!   Sunday, April 22 View Page And my selections for Orange!   Sunday, April 22 View Page Here they are, snug in their little Cowpots, temp set to 87 degrees, 93% humidity.   Tuesday, April 24 View Page I did 10 approach grafts on my maters today.   Tuesday, April 24 View Page Here are my AGs & Giant Squash at exactly 3 days. I don’t consider any of them completely germinated although 3 of them are well on their way, the 1399 Christensen, 673.5 Engel & the 2095 Willemijns .   Wednesday, April 25 View Page Here are the first 3, transplanted into 6” Cowpots.   Sunday, April 29 View Page Here is the soil heating cable in my Orange patch. Can’t see it very well, almost the same color.   Sunday, April 29 View Page And the soil heating cable in my Huge patch. Question for the masses...how many were able to resist placing more goodies (ferts) in a hole beneath the cable? Placed it Friday & soil temperature is now 63 degrees.   Thursday, May 3 View Page Here are my 8 plants impatiently waiting under my T5 Badboy light. Raining/storming today. Soil temp in my hoophouses is up to 70 degrees. Hopefully I’ll be able to plant them out tomorrow or Saturday. Grafting maters while I’m stuck inside, just got 15 more done.   Friday, May 4 View Page I planted out my AGs today. In the Huge patch, from left to right are 2363 Holland, 2095 Willemijns and 2269 Paton.   Friday, May 4 View Page In my Orange unofficial 150 sq ft patch are, from left to right, 673.5 Engel, 1399 Christensen & 1092.5 Gansert. It was a gusty windy day but I got them in the ground without “grower error”. Ha!   Sunday, May 6 View Page Here are the 2 AG hoophouses .   Sunday, May 6 View Page Planted out the Squash today, the 2118 Jutras in the center, flanked by 2 1701 Jutras. The little one on the right just germinated 3 days ago.   Wednesday, May 16 View Page Here is my Huge trio from yesterday, planted out on the 4th & doing well.   Wednesday, May 16 View Page Here is my Orange trio yesterday, doing well, also planted out on the 4th.   Wednesday, May 16 View Page Here is my Squash trio from yesterday , planted out on the 6th. In the center is the 2118 Jutras. You may be able to see, it has some leaves which are small & a darker green, not sure what the reason for this is or the significance?   Monday, May 28 View Page I culled down to my 1701 Jutras squash, pretty much a nobrainer as it was definitely bigger than the 2118 Jutras & just as healthy.   Tuesday, June 5 View Page Panic much? If you have been following my diaries over the last couple years you’ll know that I have had plenty of problems with fungal disease. This is the tip of the main vine of my 2363 Holland. The leaf before the actual tip is shriveled up & yellowish gray. The main vine tip has been covered...this is not sunburn, no sprays have gotten to this area. I’m not leaving anything to chance. I cut the main vine back 2 leaf nodes from the affected leaf & applied Sulfur dust. There is a side vine that I will train as the new main vine. All my vines tonight got a foliage spray of Actinovate & Companion. Am I just being paranoid ?   Friday, June 15 View Page My 2363 Holland. It appears foreshortened because of disease at the tip of the main vine that I pruned off, also quite exuberant growth of the secondaries.   Friday, June 15 View Page My 673.5 Engel in a 150 sq ft patch.   Friday, June 15 View Page My 1701 Jutras squash. The plant is growing well but female blossoms are not maturing well.   Monday, June 18 View Page 4 lobe blossom 10’ out on the main vine of my 2363 Holland. I only had 1 available male blossom which I used to pollinate it yesterday.   Monday, June 18 View Page 5 lobe blossom on the fifth right secondary that opened this morning. I had 2 male blossoms which I used to try to selfpollinate it.   Thursday, June 21 View Page Sidevine blossom on my 1701 Jutras squash yesterday, pollinated it. A plethora of male blooms on this plant.   Friday, June 22 View Page The punkin at 10’ on the main vine of my 2363 Holland is 5 DAP & is starting to lay down. I have been lazy but I put an S curve on the vine today.   Friday, June 22 View Page Here is the pic from the last post.   Friday, June 22 View Page The 2363 Holland also has a 4 DAP fruit on the 4th side vine on the right. I put an S curve on this vine also. This plant also has a female blossom on the main vine at 15’ & it looks like it should open tomorrow. I don’t have a pic of it but my 1701 Jutras squash has a blossom on a side vine that looks like it is taking even though it is only 2 DAP.   Saturday, June 23 View Page Here is the 3 DAP fruit on my 1701 Jutras. I took this pic & am posting it to show the S curve I got on it. The vine was much more flexible than those of either my AGs.   Wednesday, June 27 View Page 1701 Jutras at 5 DAP.   Friday, June 29 View Page My Jutras 1701 squash at 9 DAP 21”.   Sunday, July 1 View Page 1701 Jutras 11 DAP cc 30”. Klutzy grower put a scratch on her backside, put some Sulfur powder on it.   Monday, July 2 View Page My 1701 Jutras squash 12 DAP. We got the mill fabric under him/her. It looks like I need to get the vine raised to reduce tension on the stem. Right now, taller than wide. I’m hoping that it will be tall like our squash last year, only of course 400 pounds heavier!   Tuesday, July 3 View Page Here is a 10 DAP fruit at 15’ on the main vine of my 2363 Holland . It is 26” in vertical circumference. But look at how long it is. It is from only a 3-lobe blossom but appears to be growing well. I actually still have an 8 DAP fruit on the right 4th side vine from a 5-lobe blossom measuring 21”. But I think I already have my keeper.   Tuesday, July 3 View Page Here is my 1701 Jutras squash, 13 DAP measuring 40.5” in horizontal circumference. It is growing well. I wanted it to be on the main vine but I had 4 female blossoms on the main vine from 14-24’ crap out on me so I was pleased to have this one. We have just today christened her Chonk!   Wednesday, July 4 View Page My 2363 Holland today.   Thursday, July 5 View Page My 1701 Jutras today at 15 DAP.   Thursday, July 5 View Page My 2363 Holland at 12 DAP.   Saturday, July 7 View Page Here is my 2363 Holland at 14 DAP, cc of 50.5”.   Saturday, July 7 View Page Here is my 1701 Jutras squash at 17 DAP. OTT is 59-43-41.5 = 143.5”. Still below the cutoff on the chart but likely 75-80 lb.   Tuesday, July 10 View Page 2363 Holland ‘Goliath’ 17 DAP 156.5”   Tuesday, July 10 View Page 1701 Jutras squash 20 DAP 169.5”   Friday, July 13 View Page Unfortunately I have been battling some fungal disease on my 1701 Jutras plant. The base of the leaves got a vertical split & then a yellowish orange color appeared. The color extends down into the vine . This pic shows the distal main vine which I had cut into 2 days ago & then painted with a Daconil-Captan mixture. I wasn’t sure if I had gotten all of it. So today I made another slice into the main vine on the right & if you look closely you can see a yellow spot representing disease. So I terminated the main vine another foot closer to the stump where it looks clean. It is sad to have to do this but hopefully this will save the rest of the plant & the squash. This is despite following a fungicide/insecticide program religiously.   Friday, July 13 View Page So here is the 1701 Jutras fruit. 23 DAP OTT 194.5”. Hopefully it will continue growing well.   Friday, July 13 View Page My 2363 Holland . At 20 DAP the OTT is 190”.   Saturday, July 14 View Page I have been having trouble with my 150 sq ft/Orange patch. I’ve had multiple female blossoms on the main vine that I have tried to pollinate without success. Until now, this one is 5 DAP & is looking good. The plant is the 673.5 Engel. This one is so far out on the main that I’ve got it looping around!   Sunday, July 15 View Page My 673.5 Engel at 6 DAP.   Sunday, July 15 View Page Unfortunately this is the growing tip of one of my secondary vines following a foliage spray. Didn’t realize they are this sensitive !   Tuesday, July 17 View Page My 2363 Holland ‘Goliath’ from yesterday , around 255 lb.   Tuesday, July 17 View Page My 1701 Jutras squash ‘Chonk’ from yesterday , around 240 lb. Not pictured, my 673.5 Engel finally has a good looking fruit on the main vine at 8 DAP, Yeehaw!!!   Thursday, July 19 View Page My 2363 Holland at 26 DAP, OTT 246.5, around 345 lb.   Thursday, July 19 View Page The 1701 Jutras squash at 29 DAP, OTT 232.5 around 290 lb.   Friday, July 20 View Page My 673.5 Engel at 11 DAP. Not big compared to my others but we’re looking for a beautiful orange kin.   Saturday, July 21 View Page A baby on my 5.86 Porkchop Domingo. I have high hopes for this one!   Saturday, July 21 View Page My Giant Sequoia. I got it in Portland when we went to the Big Show. When I transplanted it, it was 7” tall. Now it is 24”!   Sunday, July 22 View Page I placed my 673.5 Engel on mill fabric today between the raindrops. 13 DAP. Looks like good color.   Sunday, July 22 View Page My 1701 Jutras squash. 32 DAP OTT 252...around 369 lb.   Sunday, July 22 View Page My 2363 Holland. 29 DAP OTT 270...around 454 lb. This beast grew roughly 36 lb/day over the last 3 days.   Tuesday, July 24 View Page Today I unfortunately found fungal disease in the main vine of my 673.5 Engel plant. This is a cross-section of it.   Tuesday, July 24 View Page This is a cut along the length of the vine. The disease went from the first secondary on the right down the vine about 12 feet. Since it also happens to be my 150 sq ft plant, that means that there wasn’t much more vine with roots at the leaf nodes left. I therefore felt I should pull the entire plant. A sad day!   Thursday, July 26 View Page 1701 Jutras 35 DAP Around 421 lb   Thursday, July 26 View Page 2363 Holland 32 DAP Around 554 lb, growing at 39 lb per day Can we at least get to 40?   Friday, July 27 View Page Around 600 lb.   Friday, July 27 View Page Around 480 lb.   Sunday, August 5 View Page 2363 Holland 43 DAP around 863 lb, doing 30 lb/day for the last 2 weeks. We enjoyed the Indiana Patch Tour yesterday . Thanks to Mikkal & Kelly for organizing it.   Sunday, August 5 View Page 1701* Jutras 46 DAP around 633 lb, gaining about 19 lb/day over the last 2 weeks.   Wednesday, August 8 View Page My best looking tomato, a 5.68 Porkchop Domingo, grow baby grow!   Wednesday, August 8 View Page 46 DAP around 950 lb.   Wednesday, August 8 View Page 49 DAP around 670 lb.   Saturday, August 11 View Page Around 1,010 lb.   Saturday, August 11 View Page Around 700 lb.   Sunday, August 12 View Page I have noticed this white furball growth on the soil surface of my 2363 Holland patch. I have started a thread on the general topic of the message board. Any experienced growers have some advice please?   Tuesday, August 14 View Page One of my better Megazacs, it is a descendent of a 6.23 Konieczny from last year.   Tuesday, August 14 View Page Around 730 lb.   Tuesday, August 14 View Page Around 1,090 lb.   Friday, August 17 View Page Chonk at 58 DAP around 755 lb, down to only 8 lb/day. Maybe some compost tea can ramp that back up?   Friday, August 17 View Page Goliath at 55 DAP, around 1150 lb, currently still going at 20 lb/day.   Monday, August 20 View Page My largest mater currently, an f2 Megazac, probably has a week or slightly more to grow.   Monday, August 20 View Page Around 780.   Monday, August 20 View Page Around 1240!!! May not be much for some, but definitely great for us!   Thursday, August 23 View Page Family pic!   Sunday, September 2 View Page 70 DAP, growing around 6 lb/day.   Sunday, September 2 View Page 73 DAP Lost the stump & most of the main vine to disease, now just hoping to get it to a weighoff.   Sunday, September 2 View Page It seems like there is always something to learn about this sport. I’ve known for several years that the stump needs to be kept dry & so of course I have a clear plastic cover for the stump. But I hadn’t considered until now that the same applies to the main vine until now & I have to credit Milan for it. The pic shows the main vine cleared of extraneous leaves & I broke down & weeded around it too, no easy thing as hot & humid as it was this afternoon . So thanks, Milan!   Tuesday, September 4 View Page Here is my first entry for Team 20, Team Mammoth Maters. Certified weight at UPS, 4 lb 5.5 oz or 4.344 lb.   Tuesday, September 4 View Page Certificate pic.   Tuesday, September 4 View Page As you can see, it has a crack on it’s bottom but it is dry, nonleaking.   Tuesday, September 4 View Page It is from a 6.13 Konieczny Megazac. I have 2, possibly 3 others with hope of exceeding 5 lb. Unfortunately , no 7, 8 or 9 pounders! Chris, I do love your Megazac seed, it most consistently puts out megablooms for me.   Thursday, September 6 View Page Here is my second entry for Team 20, Yeam Mammoth Maters. Certified weight at UPS, 5.00 lb.   Thursday, September 6 View Page Certificate pic.   Thursday, September 6 View Page I might have squeezed a few more tenths out of it, but it is 46 DAP. And I have been having an unusually high incidence of sudden explained rot, so I didn’t want to chance it. I still have some other fruits, including a 4.15 lb fruit I also harvested today, but I will be surprised if they will surpass these.   Tuesday, September 11 View Page Chonk’s OTT is only 1/2” less than our squash last year, so we are heading toward pb territory. Pretty stoked about that considering the troubles we’ve had with her.   Tuesday, September 11 View Page Did I mention the 5.5” of rain courtesy of the tropical storm over the weekend? I’m just happy we’re not splitting...yet! Of course we are way beyond pb with Goliath. Probably will take him to the Fair Oaks Weighoff.   Tuesday, September 11 View Page My wife is proud of her Celosia. I started them for her but she is the one who has faithfully watered & tended them.   Tuesday, September 18 View Page The stump on my 2363 Holland.   Tuesday, September 18 View Page So I have been fighting disease on the main vine of my 2363 Holland on the stump side. I think I was just not aggressive enough with it. I scraped it and put Sulfur Captan Daconil & a fan on it.   Tuesday, September 18 View Page This is a closeup right at the junction with the stem,   Tuesday, September 18 View Page This is the end result. It is still attached to the distal end of the main vine.   Tuesday, September 18 View Page 2363 Holland 87 DAP   Wednesday, September 19 View Page I have an upgrade for our team competition from 4.344 lb to 4.66 lb. Woohoo! Lol   Wednesday, September 19 View Page It is an F2 descendent of 6.23 Konieczny Megazac. As you can see, it is a huge single. Initially I was not impressed by it but it just kept growing, it is 52 DAP.   Monday, September 24 View Page Definitely a new PB for me but will it exceed 1,500 lb? Increasing in size slowly but at 92 DAP in this photo, surely it is thickening it’s walls! Yeah, that’s what we all think!   Thursday, September 27 View Page Just in the process of building a new pallet for Goliath. 5 x 6 ft. Still need to put plywood on top & then some 3” foam.   Thursday, October 4 View Page Goliath at 103 DAP, still growing slowly.   Thursday, October 4 View Page Chonk at 106 DAP, still growing slowly.   Saturday, October 6 View Page We had a very challenging lift yesterday, but we did manage to get my AG on the trailer to take to Fair Oaks Farms today.   Saturday, October 6 View Page We left before sunrise, 6:15 AM, to go to Fair Oaks Farms.   Saturday, October 6 View Page My wife & myself prior to the weighing. This pic shows the width of Goliath but does not reveal his length.   Saturday, October 6 View Page This weight was right on the mark with the OTT. I didn’t get a pic of it, but when we looked at the bottom of the kin it was quite concave. I ended up with second place.   Saturday, October 6 View Page The winner of the Fair Oaks weighoff, Phil Groenewold & his wife Kristi. We fortunately got everything weighed just before it started pouring rain!   Saturday, October 6 View Page This pic, right before strapping the kin down to leave, shows his length. The pallet is 6’ long.   Thursday, October 11 View Page We got Chonk loaded up yesterday, all ready to go to Operation Pumpkin on Friday!   Thursday, October 11 View Page All loaded up & ready to go!   Thursday, October 11 View Page My wife had to place a decorative shock absorber between the May strap & the Squash.   Saturday, October 13 View Page OMG! First off, the official OTT was 2” greater than we had measured it at home. Then, the actual weight was 1,035.5 which was 9% heavy over that! I had been hoping for 970. I hadn’t even dreamed of breaking 1,000!   Saturday, October 13 View Page And it turned out to be an Indiana State record!   Saturday, October 13 View Page Josh Larsen won the AG at 1,901.5. Fantastic weighoff! Kudos to the SOGPG!   Saturday, October 27 View Page It’s harder than it looks, the walls were so thick!   Saturday, October 27 View Page Some of my fine sculpting lol!   Saturday, October 27 View Page More fine sculpting !   Sunday, November 11 View Page I thought it was interesting looking at the interior of my pumpkin in relation to the Dill rings. The minor Dill ring on the right shows an interior crack extending to 2” from the exterior . The more prominent Dill ring on the left shows the flesh reduced to only 1”. I must say, I had been very careful while growing it. It was miraculous that it wasn’t injured when we lifted it!   Saturday, December 29 View Page I hadn’t posted anything for a while so I thought I’d show what I’ve been up to. I personally have had the most success with Giant Maters with the Brutus Magnum variety & Chris’ MegaZac cross. So I decided I’d try to cross the 2. In this pic is 1 plant of each in an Earthbox. I don’t have to be concerned about the plants running out of water if I don’t peek at them with the Earthbox.   Saturday, December 29 View Page Well you can’t just waste the seedlings that you start so I talked myself into transplanting 4 more plants (2 of each) into these pots with a water reservoir. This gives me more blossoms to play with, especially as each plant I have kept the 2 lowest suckers. Turns out that rapidly growing mater plants suck up all of the water out of those reservoirs in just over 24 hours.   Saturday, December 29 View Page So this is my solution to being able to water my plants. This has a 6.5 gallon reservoir for water. I have it on the fastest setting. It is odd, the MegaZac plants are thirstier than the Brutus Magnum plants. So I have 4 drippers in the pots for the MZs & only 3 for the BMs. My lighting is not very sophisticated but it seems to work adequately, a Badboy fixture, 4’ with 8 T5 HO bulbs. I have the fixture as high as it will go, so I will need to prune the plants.   Sunday, December 30 View Page Here is my Vegibee pollinator, I’m sure an electric toothbrush works just as well. And my black spoon with some fine Brutus Magnum pollen on it, again a sunglasses lens works equally well. Sorry the pollen doesn’t show up well. Then I just rub the style of an emasculated bloom gently into the pollen. For a megabloom with a complex stigma I have a little makeup brush to transfer the pollen.