Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 37 Entries. Monday, January 1 View Page Bigger and better for 2018.   Tuesday, April 17 View Page Added about one inch of sand and 32 cubic feet of Perlite, for starters.   Tuesday, April 17 View Page Same view one hour later, after tilling. I’m going to need more Perlite when I add the rest of the amendments around May 1.   Tuesday, April 17 View Page Redirected the drainage swale to allow for proper square footages on either side.   Tuesday, April 17 View Page Corner view.   Tuesday, April 17 View Page Left to right, in the first wave of starts: 1991.5 Vanderwielen, 2043.5 Clementz, 2363 Holland. The 2043.5 popped about 36 hours later than the other two, but it’s looking ill, and it may not survive. Next round of starts will be on 4/19. These three were started on 4/11. Planning to pick up a better grow light in the next couple days.   Tuesday, May 1 View Page The four dark hills with the orange flags mark the location of the planting holes, scheduled for outdoor planting on 5/3. I wanted to stick them in the ground yesterday, but with a strong potential for severe wind tonight, I’m delaying until Thursday. 2363 Holland will be to the left of the drainage swale, and the other three will be to the right. My little gardener will now be banned from the patch for the next five months, except under supervision.   Friday, May 4 View Page 2363 Holland is looking a bit pale on planting day, but we’ll fix that.   Friday, May 4 View Page 1991.5 Vanderwielen ended up facing the wrong way, but I’ll deal with that later.   Friday, May 4 View Page 1279 Clementz on planting day. Yes, I plan to till again in the next few days before the roots begin to reach.   Friday, May 4 View Page 1330 St. Laurent on planting day. We’ll see how the improved drainage and soil composition helps this area of the patch.   Friday, May 4 View Page Patch overview on planting day. This view will change substantially over the next month.   Tuesday, May 29 View Page Ready for two nights of wind and hail protection. Now, to do something about the grass. Left to right: 2363 Holland, 1991.5 Vanderwielen, 1279 Clementz, 1330 St. Laurent.   Wednesday, May 30 View Page This is what the public sees when attempting to access many of the Team Pumpkin website pages, including the one for troubleshooting diseases. You can remove the thread from the General Discussion, but your problem still persists, whether or not you want to admit it.   Sunday, June 3 View Page Life is good under the 40% white shade tent. Just need to fix the problems caused by the gradually stretching fabric, add a few more poles, and we’ll be good to go until the first big storm sends the entire assembly into the neighbor’s pasture.   Saturday, June 9 View Page It’s 6:10 a.m., and it’s time for the first pollination of the season. 2363 Holland at 12 feet on the main stares down two dudes from the 1991.5 Vanderwielen.   Saturday, June 9 View Page 2363 Holland at 12 feet on the main is only a four-lober, but it’s symmetric, so we’ll give it a try.   Saturday, June 9 View Page Sealed the deal with some frozen bottles on this day with a forecast high of 93, and we’ll see if we get lucky...again. The next prospect at 15 feet looks much better at this moment.   Monday, June 11 View Page Nearly perfect presentation at 10 feet on the main of the 1330 St. Laurent.   Wednesday, June 13 View Page What would you call this? A hubcap? Hope the pollination takes. 2363 x Self, 15 on the main.   Thursday, June 14 View Page Four lobes and 75 degrees at 14 feet on the 1991.5 Vanderwielen.   Thursday, June 14 View Page 1991.5 Vanderwielen, 14 feet on the main, set up under the cooler.   Sunday, June 17 View Page 5 a.m. patch adjustments before heading to work, and Hubcap (2363 Holland x self, 15 feet on the main) is looking great for DAP 4 !   Sunday, June 24 View Page Created the “landing strip” for the keeper on the 1991.5 Vanderwielen, 14 feet on the main. 30.5 cc at DAP 10. This will be receiving the full setup tomorrow, weather permitting.   Friday, June 29 View Page 1991.5 Vanderwielen, DAP 15, 134 OTT. Up 17 pounds in the past 24 hours.   Saturday, June 30 View Page Set up the 1279 Clementz, 4th secondary, main and secondary total distance of about 15 feet. I left this one to the bees because nothing looked good on the main.   Saturday, June 30 View Page Another shot of 1279 Clementz, 4th secondary, and deadheaded as an experiment. DAP 9.   Saturday, June 30 View Page Six culls from the 1279 Clementz after I decided on the keeper. All of these were on secondaries, but unfortunately, the one on the far right was on the first secondary, so I couldn’t go with it.   Wednesday, July 4 View Page 1991.5 Vanderwielen, DAP 20, 196 OTT. Up an estimated 26 pounds in 24 hours.   Monday, July 9 View Page 1991.5 Vanderwielen, DAP 25, 241 OTT (323 lbs). Up 32 pounds in 24 hours.   Saturday, July 14 View Page 1991.5 Vanderwielen, DAP 30. An increase of an estimated 146 pounds in the past five days, to an estimated 469 pounds.   Thursday, July 19 View Page 1991.5 Vanderwielen, DAP 35. Estimated 584 pounds.   Tuesday, July 24 View Page 1991.5 Vanderwielen, DAP 40, 306.5 OTT (est. 664 lbs). Had to cut the stump on DAP 38, but we still have another 45 days to grow. Loving the shape and color!   Friday, August 3 View Page 1991.5 Vanderwielen, DAP 50. Slow, but still growing. Just need to make it to the end of August!   Sunday, September 9 View Page Not quite 900, but good enough. One monkey off my back.   Sunday, October 7 View Page Final resting place: the Oklahoma City Zoo.   Saturday, November 3 View Page Time to throw down the mustard! Later than I had anticipated, but this is Oklahoma, so I should still have time.