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Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 20 Entries.
Tuesday, April 16 View Page
At the Southern New England Pumpkin Grower's, Holiday Party, last December, a whole bunch of great people gave me seeds to try! There's a code to understanding what the packets say. The first number is the weight of the pumpkin the seeds came from, then the name of the person who grew it, next is the year it was grown. The next line is the same information about that pumpkins parents. I've got some Whoppers to start from this year!!!
 
Wednesday, April 17 View Page
I started my pumpkin seeds today, first with a little filing of the edges.
 
Wednesday, April 17 View Page
Then an 8 hour soak. (The forks hold them under water.)
 
Wednesday, April 17 View Page
I soaked in stream water with a bit of Neptune's Harvest and hydrogen peroxide in it. There is a stream next to my house and I try to use that on the pumpkins, instead of tap water.
 
Wednesday, April 17 View Page
I used Happy Frog potting soil; in "one gallon" pots, which are labeled 2.9 quarts? I'm not sure I'm using the right ones, but they are bigger than last year, so that has to be good!
 
Wednesday, April 17 View Page
I mixed these in to the Happy Frog potting soil. Azos is supposed to help the roots grow and Mycorrhizal Fungi is supposed to help the roots take nutrients from the soil. Phosphate is also supposed to help the roots grow.
 
Friday, April 19 View Page
Here they are staying warm and wrapped up, keeping the moisture in. Hopefully they will sprout up with in three days and I can take the bags off. They are all in a closet with a space heater set at 90 degrees.
 
Monday, April 22 View Page
Whoo Hooo! The first three popped up last night! They don't all look perfect, but I'll take it!
 
Monday, April 22 View Page
Last year, I grew my pumpkin in my front yard, but you should move them every year to give the soil a rest and so the bad bugs and fungus don't build up. So, this year I am going to try to grow one in my backyard and two down at Pakeen Farm! They offered to give me the space and even help a bit! It's great to have good neighbors, just down the road!!! That's the patch on their farm, marked by four corner stakes.
 
Thursday, April 25 View Page
Still digging the hole by hand.
 
Saturday, April 27 View Page
I was going to do some more digging today and finish that hole, but we got a bunch of rain last night and the hole filled up. I'm not sure this is a good sign for the pumpkin patch!
 
Saturday, April 27 View Page
Here are the pumpkins I have so far. The one in front is catching up really quickly. I have since staked them out to make them stand up. The main vine comes out on the opposite side of the first leaf, so I want the plant to fall in that direction.
 
Monday, April 29 View Page
After pumping it out. Not too much dirt got washed in and I was able to get nearly all the water out. I'll pump it out again next Monday, when we aren't supposed to have rain for a few days. Then, I can finish digging it and get my compost to fill it with. Then, I can till the whole patch. I'm having a slow start.
 
Wednesday, May 1 View Page
The pumpkins are coming along, but I'm worried about a few of them. Right in the middle, that plant has a "true" leaf (not one of the first two) that is looking wilted. It is yellow on the edges and wrinkling up. I don't know if this is not enough water. Too much grow light or something worse, a disease from the seed. The two to the right don't look good either and I'll be surprised if I use them for anything. I haven't been putting them outside or by the window, since there isn't too much natural sunlight, these days, for them to get. We'll see how they look next week.
 
Friday, August 9 View Page
It rotted. I'm trying to understand why.
 
Friday, August 9 View Page
This one rotted too
 
Friday, August 9 View Page
If anyone could explain why this one rotted, I would like to know, so I don't make the same mistake.
 
Wednesday, August 14 View Page
You can see the little crack there, with liquid spilling out. Also there is a bulge about 3 inches up, where the pumpkin is turning to goo.
 
Wednesday, August 14 View Page
You can see the little crack there, with liquid spilling out. Also there is a bulge about 3 inches up, where the pumpkin is turning to goo.
 
Wednesday, August 14 View Page
There is the whole pumpkin. I think it was at about 550 pounds.
 

 

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