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Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 114 Entries.
Thursday, January 6 View Page
I guess the diary is back by popular demand. I’ve had so many emails asking me to carry on I felt it was only fair that I did, at least until we get the WR or retire. So with no further ado welcome back to the Patonator patch. As you can see, we’ve been very busy getting the patch ready for steam sterilising. After steaming for 6 hours we had 80C or 176F at 30cm or 12inches. Most of the bad pathogens and weed seeds are killed at around 60C or 140F Steaming also mends soil by a process called flocculation which basically means joining all the soil particles together. I won’t tell you what it cost but lets just say I will probably be sleeping in my shed when Sarah sees the bill. We did get through 2500 litres or 550 gallons of diesel.
 
Thursday, January 6 View Page
The pike season is going well with this croc weighing a tad under 15lbs. There is a short video of steaming our patch on my Instagram “ianpaton2269” Good luck everyone.
 
Tuesday, January 18 View Page
After steam sterilising we now need to add all of the good bacteria.
 
Saturday, February 5 View Page
The patch is finished and ready to rock. We are going to wash of the milky shading on the south and west side of the glasshouse. We over did it last year so will put it back on but not as thick.
 
Saturday, February 5 View Page
More of the good guys going in.
 
Tuesday, March 15 View Page
Decisions, decisions. We’re going to start with trying to germinate two 2183’s on the 21st March which is about two weeks earlier than last year. The reason for this is to make sure that the pumpkins are at least 100 days old for the very early Spanish show.
 
Tuesday, March 15 View Page
All the shading os off the sides and we’re just going to put a light dusting on. It’s all about “pandering”to the plants needs. The second the plants get too hot, too cold, too much feed, not enough feed, too little water, not enough water etc they have a hissy fit and bite you in the arse.
 
Sunday, March 27 View Page
We started the seeds for the early Spanish show on the twenty first and being brown and rock hard they have been very slow to germinate. We should have enough for two of the stations and it’s very nice to have started.
 
Wednesday, April 27 View Page
Everything is going well in the patch but it is rather boring as we finished all the work in the patch weeks ago. These our early plants for hopefully the Spanish show.
 
Wednesday, April 27 View Page
We have put a very light milky wash on the west end off the house.
 
Saturday, April 30 View Page
One very lonely weed
 
Friday, May 13 View Page
The 2356 Mendi is looking great
 
Friday, May 13 View Page
The 2183 Mendi is a little skinnier but still looking good.
 
Friday, May 13 View Page
We have two 1885’s in the patch, both of which have fairly short side vines but look great.
 
Friday, May 13 View Page
After various ribbon vines we have ended up with an excellent 1940 Urena.
 
Friday, May 13 View Page
Our last plant we be the 2261 Schmit. It’s been slow to start like Mike’s last year but has the making of one of the best plants ever in the Patonator patch
 
Monday, May 23 View Page
Everything in the patch is doing well and we’ve hopefully got the two early plants pollinated. The first was the 2183 x 2356 pollinated on the 20th.
 
Monday, May 23 View Page
The 2356 was pollinated with a 1885 on the 22nd. If both of these work it will give us 110 days plus which we need to max out.
 
Saturday, June 4 View Page
Our plants are all looking good but Nitrogen is a constant discussion as it’s so difficult to control. This is our first early plant the 2183.
 
Saturday, June 4 View Page
DAP14 this is our 2183 X 2356
 
Saturday, June 4 View Page
The other early plant is this rather good looking 2356
 
Saturday, June 4 View Page
This is the 2356 X 1885A at 13 days old
 
Monday, June 6 View Page
I just thought I would put up some photos of the other plants. This is the 2261 Schmit. We thought it was going to be a really big aggressive plant but it’s turned out to be a low compact plant.
 
Monday, June 6 View Page
This is the 1940 Urena
 
Monday, June 6 View Page
An absolutely beautiful 1885B Werner
 
Monday, June 6 View Page
And finally another fantastic1885A
 
Thursday, June 9 View Page
Here’s the Paton pot system working a treat. First a good sprinkle of Wow mycorrhiza and Azos
 
Thursday, June 9 View Page
Followed by 3 litres of soaking wet compost moulded around the vine.
 
Thursday, June 9 View Page
The pot is put back over the node to help block out any light a help keep moisture in.
 
Thursday, June 9 View Page
Job done. We leave the pots on rather than wade into the patch. If you study your plants enough you will find that the extra top roots can be particularly difficult to coax out of the stem.
 
Sunday, June 12 View Page
2183 DAP 20 is 151 inches and looking great. This year we’re changing the habit of a lifetime and measuring every ten days.
 
Sunday, June 12 View Page
DAP 20 for the 2356 is looking great at 176 inches and 127lbs. It’s a stonking good pumpkin.
 
Sunday, June 12 View Page
Here’s the 1940 x 2356 DAP 8
 
Sunday, June 12 View Page
This is the back of the 1940 looking absolutely fantastic.
 
Sunday, June 12 View Page
DAP11 an absolutely cracking 1885 x 2356
 
Sunday, June 12 View Page
One day older DAP12 the 1885B x 2356
 
Sunday, June 12 View Page
And a photo
 
Sunday, June 19 View Page
DAP 30 the 2183 is 424lbs and averaged 34lbs a day for the last 10 days. She’s not going to set the patch on fire but will be big and a beautiful shape shifter.
 
Sunday, June 19 View Page
Here’s a cracking tip. Skewer a cane through any leaves that need to be held up.
 
Sunday, June 19 View Page
Just a little tip that helps make life a little easier
 
Sunday, June 19 View Page
Unfortunately we couldn’t get a pumpkin to pollinate on the Schmitt plant.
 
Sunday, June 19 View Page
Every single root had mad it out of the top leaf joint.
 
Monday, June 20 View Page
Our 1885 B Werner has just obliterated our pb for DAP20 at 199 inches she’s 183lbs
 
Monday, June 20 View Page
The plants like all of our plants this year, STUNNING. You can find some short videos on my Instagram ianpaton2269
 
Tuesday, June 21 View Page
DAP 30 the 2356 is 581lbs and averaging 45lbs for the last 10 days. As we only have data for seven day intervals I will use Rubens 2551 as a comparison. So she’s six inches bigger.
 
Tuesday, June 21 View Page
And a photo
 
Tuesday, June 21 View Page
The 2885 Werner A has had a fantastic first 20 days she’s an incredible 201 inches and 188lbs. That’s 71lbs in front of the 2551
 
Saturday, June 25 View Page
DAP20 the 1940x2356 is a cracking looking pumpkin and a long way in front of anything we’ve grown before at 157lbs.
 
Sunday, June 26 View Page
Just after the pumpkins are set you tend to get very small, if any tertiary vines. They tend to be a real pain because you need to bury the vine as soon as possible. We try to flick them out with a knife. The plan all along has been to get good enough growers without relying on a bullet seed to get a world record. The patch is about to light up with probably 4 pumpkins on world record pace. Our feelings are that the 2356 will go very heavy. The Werner A, Werner B and the Urena will all go just a little heavy. Anyway the only thing to do at the moment is concentrate on the roots,shoots and don’t drop the ball. Yes we have one little runt and a patch quickly filling up with veg but the other 4 are going to look like a fairy tail.
 
Thursday, June 30 View Page
DAP 30 the 1885 Werner is looking good she’s averaged 45lbs a day for the last ten days. A pumpkin taping 629lbs at only 30 days doesn’t seem possible.
 
Friday, July 1 View Page
What can I say, the patch is on fire. DAP30 the 1885 Werner A is 720lbs up 532lbs in the last ten days. She’s going to be one stunning looking beast.
 
Friday, July 1 View Page
I forgot to take a photo of the 2356 so you have to have a fishing one. DAP40 she’s 1040lbs and averaged 48lbs a day for the last ten. What a patch and the Urena is only just getting going.
 
Monday, July 4 View Page
DAP30 the 1940 Urena is 605lbs and has averaged 45lbs a day for the last ten days. She’s going to be long, low and big…..Very big. So far the only chemical spray applied has been to about 12 leaves with aphids. We’re desperately trying not to spray and damage our plants.
 
Wednesday, July 6 View Page
Here’s a small tip. If the tendril is holding the vine up.
 
Wednesday, July 6 View Page
Just crack it and you will be able to bury the vine with no drama.
 
Wednesday, July 6 View Page
I just thought I would share this with you all. I tried to record when the two Werner’s hit 1000lbs but they both beat me to it. This is the Werner B DAP37 at 1101lbs and is averaging 60lbs a day for the last 7days.
 
Wednesday, July 6 View Page
Even more impressive is the the Werner A DAP35 at 1068lbs which is a staggering 70lbs a day for the last 5 days.
 
Wednesday, July 6 View Page
The plants are looking the business.
 
Wednesday, July 6 View Page
As I did a couple of typos it’s a good excuse to put another photo up. This time it’s a near 100lb giant trevally I caught in Oman in April. So the typos were. Werner B DAP30 729lbs not 629lbs. Werner B last 6 days not 7. Averaging 62lbs a day for the last six.
 
Sunday, July 10 View Page
DAP40 the Werner B is 1384lbs and averaged 65lbs a day for the last 10days. I only quickly measured her the other day and have obviously missed a foot or so because she’s where she should be and similar in size to the Werner A. She doesn’t have one scrap of cantalouping.
 
Sunday, July 10 View Page
You get a photo of my gorgeous granddaughters Polly and Etta instead of the 2183. DAP50 she’s 1178lbs and averaged a respectable 36lbs a day for the last 10.
 
Monday, July 11 View Page
DAP50 the 2356 is 1421lbs averaging 36lbs a day for the last ten days. She’s going to be one brute of a pumpkin and will probably never look particularly impressive until she’s lifted, hopefully for the Spanish show. Normally we would be getting excited about her growth and size for 50 days especially as Ruben has done a cross section of a small pumpkin on the same plant. His prediction is that she could go extremely heavy. The thing is that the next diary entry is going to blow your minds.
 
Monday, July 11 View Page
The Werner A’s growth rate is insane. DAP40 she’s 1421lbs and averaged 70lbs a day for the last 10 days. The 1940 Urena is measured in three days time and looking BIG
 
Thursday, July 14 View Page
The Urena has had a great last 10 days and DAP 40 is 1161lbs and averaged 55lbs a day.
 
Friday, July 15 View Page
I’ve shown photos like this before but wanted to add one important point. The area around the top root tends to get too dry before being fully developed. We water the last six feet or 2m to be covered over the top. Drip tape won’t cut it because you always get a dry V shape area between the lines.
 
Thursday, July 21 View Page
So here we are with a little up date. You will find one of these posts a little disappointing but wait till you read an extraordinary last one. DAP 60 the 2183 is 1431lbs and averaged 25lbs a day for the last 10days.
 
Thursday, July 21 View Page
And a photo.
 
Thursday, July 21 View Page
Good job it’s not a beauty contest but a solid pumpkin none the less. DAP 60 the 2356 is 1689lbs and averaged 27lbs a day for the last 10
 
Thursday, July 21 View Page
Sadly we lost the Werner B. The blossom end was painfully thin and wasn’t a matter of if it cracked but when. It wasn’t the watering but probably the shear weight squeezing down on the blossom end. When we lost her DAP50 she was 1888lbs and averaged 50lbs a day for the last ten. Whether your after a PB 1000lber or bigger we’re all fighting and bending Mother Nature and it’s not easy. It’s just another bump in the road.
 
Thursday, July 21 View Page
The back wasn’t looking so bad
 
Thursday, July 21 View Page
When you pull a plant get down and dirty. This is your one and only chance to see what is going on in the middle of the plant.
 
Thursday, July 21 View Page
I didn’t want to post about the Werner B and ruin peoples days when I new full well what I was going to post today. DAP 50 the Werner A is 2030lbs and yes we did measure her twice. She’s averaged 61lbs a day for the last ten days and we’re a lot more comfortable about the shape.
 
Saturday, July 23 View Page
Opps
 
Saturday, July 23 View Page
As we suspected this one had no chance of making it to the scales and definitely wouldn’t have gone heavy.
 
Monday, July 25 View Page
Because the the 1940 is so far behind on pollination day it sort of gets a little over looked. But now is her time to shine because DAP50 she’s 1709lbs and averaged 55lbs a day for the last 10days.
 
Sunday, July 31 View Page
It’s been a good last ten days and DAP70 the 2183 is 1689lbs and averaged 26lbs a day for the last ten.
 
Sunday, July 31 View Page
DAP70 the 2356 is 1908lbs and averaged 22lbs a day for the last 10.
 
Sunday, July 31 View Page
The sag line across the front is our only concern with the 1885 A. DAP just 60 she’s an incredible 2400lbs averaging 37lbs a day for the last 10. I think only two pumpkins have taped over 500 inches, Stefano’s 2701 and our 2593. The Werner was 499 inches morning so will be 500 by about now.
 
Wednesday, August 3 View Page
And finally the 1940 gets to DAP60. She’s 1918lbs and averaged 21lbs a day for the last 10.
 
Thursday, August 4 View Page
Sarah came in tonight to see what all the fuss was about and I got this great photo. Now that the huge growth rates are behind us we’re cooling the whole house down. We will also cut the watering from 50gall three times a day to 50gall twice a day.
 
Monday, August 8 View Page
DAP80 the 2183 is doing great and 1818lbs,up 129lbs in the last ten days. The plants been really poor for the last few weeks whereas the 2356 has held up well especially in the heat wave.
 
Wednesday, August 10 View Page
To say it’s all good in the patch would be a bit of an understatement. We have really pushed the plants and 3 days before the first pollination we put the venting temperature up from 18C to 26C for 30 days. We’ve been trying to find the sweet spot for cell division and cell expansion. I don’t think we’re far off the money but the because we grew two plants early for the Spanish weigh off the plants have had to endure this heat for 40 plus days. We are now venting at 18C and trying to calm everything down only to be blessed with a frigging heat wave. The long and short of all this is that the plants are looking tireder than normal but the results are outstanding. The 2356 DAP80 is 2009lbs and averaged 10lbs a day for the last ten. She’s going to be one heavy pumpkin for sure.
 
Wednesday, August 10 View Page
Ouch, these figures are going to make your eyes water and she’s a bit of a looker. The 1885 A DAP70 is 2607lbs up 207lbs in the last ten days. At 519 inches, if there was a world record for OTT she would win with knobs on. Stuart made me laugh today. He looked at the OTT chart and said “Well Andy was surely lacking ambition”
 
Saturday, August 13 View Page
And finally our Urena got to DAP70 and has put on 112lbs in the last 10 days. At 2030lbs she is another pumpkin that looks like going heavy. All of these pumpkins have really sunk down into the soft ground so there’s always plenty of spare inches to be had at lifting.
 
Saturday, August 20 View Page
After changing to measuring every 10 days I haven’t really been able to do the star of the week thing. I am however going to give the star of the patch to the 2183 which on DAP 90 is 1878lbs up 60lbs in the last week. We didn’t expect her to get this big and it just shows that you never give up and fight for every pound.
 
Saturday, August 20 View Page
It’s fan city where we’re trying to keep any old leaf stalks dry.
 
Saturday, August 20 View Page
DAP 90 the 2356 is 2051 putting on about 50lbs in the last ten days. We’re having all sorts of problems trying to jump through hoops to get this one to Spain.
 
Saturday, August 20 View Page
The 1885A is a real looker from the stem end and she’s impressively high. It’s been a good solid 10 days for her and DAP80 she’s 2731lbs and up 124lbs. She still has about 50 days left and the plant is in fantastic shape when you consider how hard we’ve pushed her.
 
Saturday, August 20 View Page
The diary is sadly lacking fishing photos so here’s a huge Orange spot trevally I caught on a top water lure in Oman
 
Saturday, August 20 View Page
And a massive 42kg or 92lb Giant trevally
 
Saturday, August 20 View Page
I caught some weird and wonderful fish like this puffer.
 
Saturday, August 20 View Page
My favourite was this Broom tailed wrasse which was even more pleasing as it was on my bucket list.
 
Saturday, August 20 View Page
Everything is big in Oman. Check out this Spangled emperor.
 
Saturday, August 20 View Page
It would help if you got a photo.
 
Tuesday, August 23 View Page
There are plenty of improvements for next year and this is one. We just confirmed what we thought with the aid of a leaf sample. We could see the potassium deficiency even though our soil sample indicated that we had plenty. The problem with potassium is that it bonds onto the clay particles and is not always readily available. We gave a little potassium nitrate just to give the plants a quick boost.
 
Friday, August 26 View Page
DAP 80 the 1940 is doing great at 2122lbs
 
Sunday, August 28 View Page
Well its a bit of a sad day in the patch. On a regular video of the blossom end we found a pin hole crack. Obviously were both gutted but that’s pumpkin growing. We will probably lift her out and weigh her in about ten days time when we lift the Spanish pumpkin. Let’s hope there are plenty of seeds.
 
Sunday, August 28 View Page
I’m afraid to say it was our 1885. We will be back because there’s no way we’re stopping growing until we have the WR.
 
Tuesday, August 30 View Page
So some good news in the patch. DAP100 the 2183 is 1969lbs and averaged 9lbs a day for the last ten.
 
Tuesday, August 30 View Page
The amazing 1885 will stay in the patch until next week when we lift the Spanish pumpkin. Today was DAP90 and tapes a mind blowing 2804lbs and averaged 7lbs a day for the last ten. I guess we would have had to cut her off anyway because there’s only one inch left on the OTT chart. Just saying. It’s going to take time for both of us to get over this pumpkin. The 1885 tends to throw out 50% white and 50% orange, well it did in our patch. Because of the fantastic shape and colour we are already working in cloning it for next year.
 
Wednesday, September 7 View Page
I don’t know how but I’ve clean forgotten to put the 1940 DAP90 results up. She’s 2193lbs and averaged 7lbs a day for the last 10. She’s turning into a world class pumpkin and the photos don’t show how big she really is.
 
Saturday, September 10 View Page
Well at 542 inches a certain couple of people are going to have to extend the weight calculator. The final weight was 2907lbs and we left over 200lbs in the patch.
 
Monday, September 19 View Page
DAP120 the 2356 Mendi is 2204lbs and is going to be one mighty pumpkin. After losing two pumpkins that would have smashed the WR I was trying to put this years patch into context. If our last two pumpkins get to the scales they will both be over, for me, the magical 485inches. Only 13 pumpkins have taped 485inches and above and 3 of them were ours. The bottom line is that we are doing a lot right and already have improvements for next year. So that’s us wonderful pumpkin growers, always picking ourselves up after a bad day in the patch and certainly optimistic.
 
Saturday, September 24 View Page
The 1940 Urena DAP110 hit the 485inchs and 2255lbs. She’s definitely capable of hitting 490inches.
 
Sunday, October 2 View Page
As usual when we lifted the 1940 she gained a load of inches and taped 497. When I pulled the car forward it was obvious that she was one heavy pumpkin. Stuart and I weren’t disappointed when we got a new personal best with 2656lbs just 47lbs off that illusive world record.
 
Friday, October 7 View Page
The 2356 is massive and we added another 7 inches to end up at 488 and truly world class.
 
Friday, October 7 View Page
So why did we save this pumpkin till last? Well Ruben asked us to cut various pumpkins in half and with a little witchcraft predicted that the 2356 could go between 15% and 18% heavy. We’re certainly not going to argue especially as the 2356 was the 2183 X 1686 Stelts’s (Team Munson) and that 1686 was a rock. 18% is sort of a WR Anyway we’re just going to enjoy the day with many friends and families. Good luck to all our extended family out there.
 
Friday, October 7 View Page
I took the 2656 to Sunnyfields for display on Tuesday and managed to have a small incident. Im not going to lie, it was a little stressful but it was right on the Sunnyfields doorstep so help was at hand. It’s now gone viral so if you want a laugh press any buttons on Google. Stuart and I have been offered one beer for every time we mention “Sunnyfields” on the radio or TV. I managed to get 5 on just one radio station.
 
Tuesday, October 11 View Page
We had a fabulous day at Sunnyfields with many pb’s. Sadly the 2356 didn’t weigh as heavy as we all thought but 2% heavy and 2332lba caps off a good year in the patch.
 
Tuesday, October 11 View Page
Mark. What can I say your a genius A new massive pb marrow which is way ahead on the GPC leader board. You will get that WR back for sure.
 
Tuesday, October 11 View Page
Ridiculous, he’s also top of the leaderboard on field pumpkins.
 
Tuesday, October 11 View Page
Gerald got a massive pb with 1769lbs
 
Tuesday, October 11 View Page
There were so many more amazing achievements and I can’t cover them all but Tiny Tim’s face summed up the mood of the day. Thank you Canna, Sunnyfields, all of our helpers and everyone else for making it a very memorable day.
 
Saturday, November 12 View Page
All the glass has been acid cleaned, all new yellow sticky traps and the soil double dug. With helping to do the steaming it’s been an awful lot of work not to mention the money steaming.
 

 

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