Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 16 Entries. Thursday, June 2 View Page So it begins!   Thursday, June 2 View Page First pic was too big. This is my first attempt at a giant. Not a special bred seed or anything. Just hoping to get something bigger than the average pumpkin.   Wednesday, July 20 View Page Pollenated last week. I was busy with other things so I honestly don't remember the exact date. It might have been last Thursday, so let's say the 14th. We'll see how big she gets and go with her seeds next year, hopefully starting earlier. The cold snap in May kept me from planting when I wanted to, and I don't have a place indoors to start.   Thursday, July 21 View Page So here we are at 7 DAP. Obviously the vine is kind of puny with relatively small leaves. Probably because it came from a puny seed, but hopefully the fruit will be better. I know I can get better seeds from other growers but.....for some reason I have this urge to create my own lineage from this despite the disadvantages. Next year I plan to actually create more space for the vines and doctor up the soil a bit. I'm going to be growing a number of other things too.   Friday, July 22 View Page Welp now I've done it. This morning I've still got some leaf wilt and I'm about 99% sure I've overwatered between myself and my wife going out there to water things. Our soil probably retains water better than it would appear to on the surface. As for the pumpkin...well it's fine but I'm not seeing significant growth yet. Going to have to get some kind of fertilizer to prop this one up. There are two nearby vines I'm thinking about taking out but I'll probably ask the message board about that one.   Friday, July 22 View Page Well here we are leaf wilt and all...lol. It actually looks to have improved from this morning however. I think due to the type of soil we tend to have here, more frequent and less heavy waterings may be in order. Or just maybe just less heavy in general. There does seem to be marginal growth on the pumpkin so that gives me hope.   Friday, July 22 View Page Ok after the light watering, the leaves are perked back up tonight. So we'll see how my light watering plan goes.   Saturday, July 23 View Page SON OF A........well I suppose this is what happens when you don't treat for borers ahead of time. They are here at the base and the first few leaf nodes, which would be why my first few leaves have deteriorated. So, I got a straightened paper clip and poked and prodded around in each spot and then buried that section of the vine. This would probably explain why my FP's got stunted last year....or at least partly why. They are in the other vines too but I'm not concerned with them. If you're new to growing and live where these things can happen, which is almost everywhere....treat your plants early on so this doesn't happen because it almost certainly will if you don't. We live and learn I guess.   Monday, July 25 View Page It.....bugged me too much....I sliced off all the effected nodes as well as a slit near the base and found at least one grub inside, sometimes two. Buried the thing and watered the heck out of it. Now I'm just praying the thing stays alive...   Tuesday, July 26 View Page This morning the leaves are perked back up. I really struggle with knowing how much water to give it. I use to just go by whether or not the dirt was getting dry but I guess that's not enough. I dumped a fair amount of water on it after getting the SVB's out of it last evening.   Tuesday, July 26 View Page Also today we got a little rain shower and now just kind of misting, which is exactly the kind of weather I wanted today to keep my hardware store AG alive....lol.   Tuesday, July 26 View Page DAP 12.....13 1/4 inch circumference. I guess that's not bad but In spite of that, all the leaves up to the fruit are saggy today. It wasn't hot and it rained a bit. I chucked my watering jug across the yard out of frustration...   Wednesday, July 27 View Page Good amount of rain this morning. Great for the vines...bad for the septic. Probably going to have to manually pump it a bit for headroom.   Thursday, July 28 View Page DAP 14....no pic...because I think I've lost it. I found another SVB entry in the middle of the vine and cut it out, then wrapped it with foil like I've seen some others do. Leaves look fine, so I assume the plant is still alive, but the pumpkin is now tender to the touch in certain places especially the bottom, and there's been no growth. I knew I wasn't going to get much out of this seed but I hadn't planned on throwing up a goose egg. Have to say I'm a bit depressed now. If anything , let this be a cautionary tale to new growers. Take pest prevention seriously, and don't get your seeds from a hardware store...   Friday, July 29 View Page The plant is still alive. I still don't know about this 13 inch pumpkin that's still on it though. I'll probably know within the next couple days for sure. In the meantime, I'll let it set another fruit and see where it goes even though it's too late to get its full potential. It's good practice I guess.   Monday, October 31 View Page Tilled up area for next year. Roughly 60x30 feet. Not all of it will be pumpkins though. I'm going to see how it goes next year and probably expand it.