Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 9 Entries. Sunday, January 31 View Page This is my 940.6 Gerry fruit, properly protected from lifting strap damage. The steps and descriptions that follow will enable you to lift and place your special and beautiful fruits without causing those nasty scars that occur that can be prevented so simply.   Sunday, January 31 View Page First, determine the size of the piping insulation you will need to accomplish this; With my older lifting ring, it was appropriate to use 4 of what is made for 1/2-inch piping; In my case, the length was perhaps 6 feet and I cut them all (4) in half for my 8 straps. Larger fruits and longer straps can use larger insulation (such as 3/4-inch) but it is possible that even a Weighoff's setup might only need 8 3-foot pieces; Season to taste. You do NOT want the kind that is slitted all the way through unless that is all there is available(!). A 6-foot+ piece of bamboo stake is used to 'fid' the strap into the insulation. This is gonna be SO worth it!   Sunday, January 31 View Page Here is the first of 8 straps practically DONE! The insulation would HAVE TO go above whatever edge height is typically seen on Weighoff-sized fruit. Additional pieces could easily be added, even off to the side in competition, as even myself always have the lifter in my trunk, just in case. The reason for not using slitted insulation is that any of the straps could orient itself improperly and defeat the purpose of the insulation otherwise, and that'd not be good.   Sunday, January 31 View Page 'Almost there...almost....there'...' My thinking is that you, the growers and the Weighoff sites themselves need to incorporate this technique universally to prevent this damage to our fruits. It really doesn't make sense to grow these marvels and do all that we do to get them gleamingly to the Weighoffs and so forth and yet allow them to be marred by the straps that lift them to their glory. I'd be HAPPY to pay a 'Pumpkin Protection Fee' of easily $1 to cover this cost at a Site and there'd be a surplus, I'm sure. I sure did like the donuts and coffee at Oswego.   Sunday, January 31 View Page 'Almost...' Well, anyway... There is still gonna be damage from the strap that goes around the bottom of the fruit, and the only weigh to alleviate THAT is to cover that main strap BETWEEN the ends of the lifting straps to begin with; I'll work on that down the road, but it'd simply amount to a stretchy, velvety fabric tubing in sections between each end of each lifting strap otherwise. Baby steps for now, I guess! Oh, and better and tighter cinching-up of the main strap around the fruit by the grower and by any lifting crew; Any of MY fruits I can still rock and roll, cinch, rock and roll, cinch, but, still...   Sunday, January 31 View Page Here it is! The G-1 Pumpkin Lifter Strap-O-Rama! Nahhh, 'The Pumpkin Spider', since it has 8 legs! It seems that this'd be a neat-o Saturday project for ANY time of year to not only build and test it, but to have it ready for the Weighoffs! Imagine, lift all you want and not have damage. There are a hundred things we do in a week and take precautions for, and to see marks on 300-pounders and especially on HD and World Record fruits is annoying. I hope this catches on before my own HD Winner this year is approached by that unprotected lifting sling - Nooooooooo!!! Owwwwchiiiee!!! Ahem - - -   Sunday, January 31 View Page One last look, but you can look again - it's OK. Whatta fatty. Couple things - If you need to suspend the insulation wayyyy up at the top of the straps during strap manipulation, you do NOT want to have used Zip ties atop the insulation - they have a 'knobby' part that the tip of the Zip fits through and if near the fruit, THAT can be more damaging than the straps, believe me; I suggest a really, really strong rubber band or a super-tight elastic string on each strap at the TOP; THIS IS ALL A WIN-WIN!!! The insulation actually makes it easier to place the straps at the bottom of the fruits as well. Don't knock it until you've tried it! Happy Lifting! pumpkinpal2   Saturday, May 1 View Page Here is an example of SS Mix with H2O2 @ 3% ADDed in, not having expected THIS big of a reaction, lol, but as far as I recall the seed i did plant DID sprout just fine and I do not THINK that it was a relic seed in January of '19, but my belief today is that with 4-6 hours'+ SOAKING, not FLOATING, seeds between two glasses with H2O2 between and then THIS Enhanced SS mix for any germination attempt will ensure a sterile, fungus- and illness-free sprouting regimen (!); Since there is SNOW on the ground in CNY today and my cover crop is probably ruined again, lol, what better to do than seed experiment??? Movie, Molsons and seed-soaking - I'd better do the order of that differently, lol---eg   Tuesday, August 3 View Page Just seein' if it's still easy to submit a pic from my ancient-but-wonderful laptop; I absolutely love this picture as well---eric g