Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 44 Entries. Tuesday, February 9 View Page Hello fellow growers! Long time no see... lots to update... some of you probably thought I left for good... just bad news came last fall... cancer... leukaemia to be exact... my sisters husband, brother in law. The worst is not over... the financial strain and big time sickness begins after his stem cell transplant this weekend. Praying it takes. They have a son, my 11 year old nephew. Ourselves we’ve had corona exposures 4 times, tho only twice was it scary because I knew how close my kids got to them. Cancer and Covid don’t mesh well... keeps us more isolated than ever. So I have a favor to ask or a request :) anyone want to sell me some orange type pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds? Going to be growing with a friend locally here. For the pumpkin seeds I don’t need a 2k lbr lol, but I do want a big one this time around :) I don’t know much about growing sunflowers but I know are good growing here and are good for the patch. Fun fact: I live in the warmest city in Canada... yearly average. Warmest spring too... so I can start my pumpkins sooner than later :) Send me a message about seeds if you got some that fit the bill.... appreciate it!!!!   Friday, February 12 View Page Wind storm tonight blew over my neighbor balcony planter that smashed the roof overhang and launched itself off to middle of the road. It’s a block of ice like 1foot thick by foot wide. What sucks? They have another one still on the balcony and where will that one launch itself. The wind is that strong to launch these things over. -18c — soooo not planting weather lol. Ground is so hard I can’t even get a shovel into it. Snow expected Saturday into Monday... not sure what day is going to be worse. Warms up a tad after that. Rain into frozen solid ground isn’t a good thing tho lol.   Wednesday, March 31 View Page Creating a raised planter the length of fence (19ft) to hopefully keep the mole issue at bay (can’t catch the sucker yet). Once the other planter is created I will cover it for a greenhouse effect to be able to plant by end of month. Hoping a pumpkin grows inside but if it grows out of the box so be it :) Amendments going in by next week (compost manure). Going bigger this year and excited!   Sunday, April 11 View Page Got them ready - need to add amendments and tarp (my greenhouse) but that being said weather is going to be 18-24c daytime rest of the week. Nights will need tarp at 5c. Soil will be warm enough this week tho for planting. Adding mushroom compost mid week then good to go! How you all decide on which seeds to use and if cross pollination or self, is a mind numbing brain tease. I still can’t decide lol! Doing two plants and whichever does best is my baby I guess and the other can be pollinator or tilled.   Monday, April 12 View Page Look at our beautiful weather upcoming :)   Wednesday, April 14 View Page It’s gooooo time! Garden mix with mushroom compost. Soil warm and covered for tonight. Next post will show my seed selections.   Wednesday, April 14 View Page I love orange pumpkins - this one has been selfed for 7 seasons and I don’t want to ruin a good thing so plan is to self it again (thank you lance!) And the wonderfully orange trait Karkos (thank you Gordon) which I’m excited about. Wonder which one will produce the biggest pumpkin... won’t know for several weeks but let the fun (and waiting) begin!   Thursday, April 15 View Page After several hours of soaking I planted these two and left on the deck in sunshine. Cool nights still so inside they come.   Friday, April 16 View Page Got germination on these two! Yay! Still waiting on the 963 Johnson, might need more time. I have back ups if they don’t germinate.   Friday, April 23 View Page Looking great so far! They will be planted outside next week sometime. Johnson seeds finally germinated and broke ground, all but one. About 4 days behind my karkos and rondeau seen in this photo.   Friday, April 23 View Page Photo that did not show up.   Thursday, April 29 View Page Roots were trying to grow out of the pot and growth slowed so I decided to take the plunge and outside they went. Two seeds were directly planted out a week ago and are up and healthy. Weather is good daytime, nights a bit cool still but not near freezing, so we should be good. I have a plant cover in case.... milk jug for seedlings and row cover for larger if needed. Milk plastic jug - cut off bottom, stick over plant with the lid off. It’s like a mini incubator :)   Thursday, April 29 View Page Forgot the picture lol.   Thursday, May 6 View Page Shock has ended thank god - this was my first time growing in pots, as last season I just stuck seeds outside, and went with it for fun thinking it wouldn’t amount to much. THEN was blown away by June and started caring a whole lot more lol... I was hooked. Already made the mistake of putting in the wrong way, but I can work with it... things happen for a reason :) leaves are going dark green again and growth slowly restarted... I knew they’d pull thru :) On another thought, has anyone tried to germinate a seed wrapped in a (organic) banana peel? Or letting banana peel soak in water with the seedling? It would retain moisture and have nutrients helping germination. I’m tempted to try it but I don’t have room to plant more and I’d feel bad if it turned out awesome and no where to put it... maybe next year.   Thursday, May 6 View Page This is a photo of the little tiny bugs I keep talking about that are everywhere in the soil and elsewhere else too when I disturb the soil. Is this going to be a problem? I have sulfur, neem oil, insecticide spray on hand. They look like soil mites to me??   Monday, May 10 View Page My birthday today :) maybe my pumpkin plants will do something amazing today! Sure has some nice dark green color now on new growth after I drenched it with kelp and another stinky liquid (looks bad too lol). Not ready to vine yet but I’m aiming for a end of June pollination so we r still good :)   Tuesday, May 11 View Page Thanks for the birthday wishes sub :) you growing this year? Those sunflowers look amazing. I am actually growing some this year to compliment the patch. New thing for me, so learning :) They already grew the leaf set above the cots, and not flopped over yet. Kind of hoping they flower before end of June as I expect pumpkin time to be around there.   Friday, May 14 View Page My sunflowers - just generic seeds from mammoth/pikes peak packages. No idea if I’m doing good on these so far, but they are holding themselves up, so that’s a good thing :) fed them what I’ve been feeding the seedlings - kelp, some low ferts, fish. On another note, got word about a weigh off (free entry) this year I may enter. It’s in wonnock (most of you won’t know where this is, but if you live in BC you might) and last year their top pumpkin was 400 something lbs. I can do that, says me!!! Pumpkins (still have 4 in) are doing good. Dark green color, nights are around 10c, daytime above 18c, it’s really helping. Got a ways to go but we are on track.   Friday, May 14 View Page The 963 Johnson plants both loving the weather. Will cull down one eventually, right now thinking the one in front is winning but another week hopefully make my decision easier. One of the 4 plants the first two leaves were kind of scrunched and rippled. But the 3rd and now 4th leaf coming in seem okay... so hopefully no more issues (famous last words right? Lol) as long as I got a vine first week of June on any of them :)   Tuesday, May 18 View Page Last night - crazy storm. Crazy enough that I was worried. Winds were throwing 5 gallon bins and garbage containers all over, there was hail and lightening. Pumpkin plants survived... my one I donated to a friend was uprooted (was transplanted last week) she hopes it still will survive. Today is still crazy weather from wind rain to sun and back again. Hopefully the rest of you BC folks have had your patch survive last night too.   Sunday, May 23 View Page Every year (even with pandemic) a street adjacent to mine has an outdoor party. It’s always kareoke parties (don’t ask me why lol). Every long weekend from May into sept they seem to have one. It’s 10pm and the music is ON, sitting on my deck pondering the idea if my plants will grow faster to the beat of music lol. I got vining started on two plants but need another week or two for it to really take off. Nights r still a tad cool to have that growth I want.   Wednesday, June 2 View Page Made my decision today about which two to keep... one was easy, the other very difficult choice, like neck n neck! I managed to dig up the one and save it in a large pot which is going to a new home later today. A pumpkin carver (a good one apparently) wants it for her yard :) Pic of 963 Johnson I kept, vine main started but not down yet. The back up 963 is going to new home.   Wednesday, June 2 View Page Flunder 1049 — Vining out has officially started today... got my first tendril reaching out. Oddly even tho I did plant it in half backwards, because most of the sun is from the west all afternoon, the plant stem itself is already angled that way. So now the vine looks almost in the right direction. Used bamboo stick to support that angle and will see what the next few days does to the angle. 963 Johnson - now that the plant has more room without his twin “sharing the crib” I’m ready to see this one take off. 2 more leaves overnight. This plant IS facing the right direction :) They both have been loving the seaweed and kelp. I have way healthier “stumps” than last year, but feel I am a bit behind just because it’s been a cooler May (esp the nights) tho no frost. I don’t use hoop houses etc. This week is like 25-32c weather and nights high teens for a low. Growth has jumped since Sunday big time. Next week looks like nights will be around 10c... so night growth may slow a bit again. I need nights to be like 14-18 ideally. At least there is no frost - some of you have had crazy weather with snow and frost in May for crying out loud... I feel awful when I see people post about the state of their plants after a frost :(   Tuesday, June 8 View Page Love the leaf size… vining has begun. StKe in place to slowly inch the vine towards the ground. Hoping for touchdown in the next week… weather is like 3 seasons lately daily, so may or may not happen due to that. I remember last year the very first female flower I had was end of June but plant wasn’t big enough yet. I got my first to take towards mid/end July. Just trying to beat that this year, but weather has a mind of it’s own lol.   Wednesday, June 9 View Page Here is missing photo :)   Saturday, June 12 View Page We are sooooo close to touchdown!   Tuesday, June 15 View Page Touchdown! Two nodes now buried. My Johnson is down too, just this picture shows the vine better since this vine is longer by a few days.   Tuesday, June 15 View Page I love the large leaves but the weather today is not their friend - wind bending flapping the leaves to hot sunshine to pelting down rain back to sun and more wind. 3 inch growth overnight on main, side vines are starting to pop out at the nodes but none big enough to touchdown yet.   Tuesday, June 15 View Page Got the “B” genetics on this one for sure - some leaves r distorted due to wind or when I accidentally poked them as babies with my bamboo stick :( This is the 963 Johnson a day ago and vine nodes buried today. Can’t wait to see this plant a week from now or when the side vines start growing out into the lawn. Got about 150sq ft or a tad less to work with but it’s enough to grow big :) I got to thinking…. Depending on which plant produces a female first past 10ft I will grow the main likely onto the lawn as well, easier to manage there. Planter mainly was to ensure safety while young and protect from cold etc. Soil also warms up faster and way better drainage. Bottom has a screen like sheet stapled to it to keep the vole or whatever it was from digging up. I also have an ikea bed tent (dome tunnel shaped that I got for $10) that fits the planter box great to shade it. Will be moved to pumpkin when one takes.   Wednesday, June 16 View Page Rainbow time - bring luck to my patch!   Friday, June 18 View Page Did a at home soil test and we r all good for the time being. I was high on nitro for a bit due to temps being not warm enough for the plant to use it fast enough. We are going to be 25-32c starting today and I expect to be at the end of the box by next weekend :) Leaves r dark green, vines THICK and healthy with secondaries coming out of all the nodes already. Pic is of my 1049 KARKOS. Not sure if I will self or use the Johnson to pollinate…???… how do I choose lol.   Sunday, June 20 View Page Holy sidevines!!! They blew up like overnight - 3 of them are over a foot long now and like just yesterday they were the length of my fingers. Main growth is chugging along but no spurts really, just steady growth gains daily. Waiting for the day when it “really moves” which I sense is coming soon… maybe after the sides have their turn to catch up.   Monday, June 21 View Page Today I was startled by a squirrel on the fence TRYING to check out my patch. When I popped my head up out of the garden to try to see where the “pitter patter” noise was, it jumped and scared me, ran off fast. I have no pumpkin yet for it but bet it’s binding it’s time   Tuesday, June 22 View Page BC is in a heat wave - thank god my vines r at 7-8ft and sides around 2-3ft max atm for it helps me keep them shaded. This coming weekend is WORSE like 36c not to mention the humidity! I have my first female show up today but likely won’t keep — one: way too hot, 2nd: only 7.5 ft on the vine and I prefer 10-16ft range. I might pollinate just for the heck of it if it’s a nice lober and see what it does before another comes along which I suspect will be by the weekend. Another week will tell.   Sunday, June 27 View Page 122F Monday… 122F!!!!! Like What IN the bleep is going on!! I don’t live in Arizona so why is their weather in my backyard lol!! Arizona please take back this weather where it belongs, it seems to be lost here up North. ASAP!!!   Wednesday, July 28 View Page DAP 7 for my KARKOS plant — doing soooo well! Measured circ at 22 inches. Will do an OTT this weekend once day 10.   Thursday, July 29 View Page This is KARKOS dap5, a back up kin at the moment. It’s on a sidevine but a robust one, and doing quite well. Two more weeks to go before I keep or cull it.   Thursday, July 29 View Page All of my females have been pollinated that I planned on pollinating, 8 of them total. Out of the 8, looks like 6 are keepers for now. 4 on karkos plant, 2 on 963 Johnson. We got PEPSI, DUETTE, TWINZ for names so far. I plan to cull two on karkos this weekend leaving two kins on each plant (main + side for both). I know I’m behind… the epic heat wave we had of 112f, aka feels like 52C was a big set back. The plants tossed everything to just survive. Took me two weeks to get flowers going again. We are in a drought currently, even corn fields are dying back in waves. For the next 3 days temps are hitting 100f or more again… time for round 2!! But this time I’m going to come out on top as I have my watering system in place. Been hand watering 300sq feet all this time as all the 100ft soakers were sold out… till now!   Friday, July 30 View Page This is view from atop. Not a large patch, but I make good use of it :) I’ve got 150-200sq feet or so I can use… giving the front bit thats left over for the pool we have stuck up, passage between neighbors etc. Compared to last years patch I’ve improved a lot… if you go back and look you will see :)   Friday, July 30 View Page Found this during vine clean up… what the hell happened in there lol. I have not altered this in any way other than removing the flower which was still attached half way up. I’d love to know thoughts on what would create such a thing lol.   Friday, July 30 View Page DAP10 on “PEPSI” 1049 Karkos. OTT was 71.5 inches. I am told this is great for a 10 day start, and I hope to keep it going. Circ seems to grow 2-4inches a day itself, weather dependent :)   Saturday, July 31 View Page BC grower here, super excited for this Karkos plant! PEPSI is DAP 11 - measured circ tonight at 34 inches. Been averaging 4 inches a day. I SHOULD hopefully hit 100lbs by day 20, or awful close. Secondary has back up kin, growing really well, 24 inches circ (day 9) almost as good as the main PEPSI, def a great back up if I need it. If it keeps growing good like it has been I will realllllly not want to cull it :( if I can grow both to at least 400lbs i might do it… i want 400 plus :) The next 8 days will reveal the winner :)   Sunday, August 1 View Page Pepsi on 1049 Karkos plant - DAP 12 @ 36 inches circumference. Needless to say I am having a good plant so far!   Sunday, August 1 View Page My back up kin, Twinz - DAP 10 today on the Karkos plant but on a sidevine. It’s growth is actually not that far behind Pepsi considering it’s a sidevine AND they r both growing good. I really wish I could grow both to giants!