Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 28 Entries. Wednesday, March 2 View Page Testing my 904 with the idea that I will grow my own seed for the first time in 2022. Planted a dozen test seeds and all 12 came up. No soaking, no filing just thrown in some potting mix. 1791 x 2469 has promise!!   Sunday, April 10 View Page And we’re off! Growing my own seed for the first time. 1791 Werner x 2469 Daletas and an HDA winner.   Wednesday, April 27 View Page Planting day!   Tuesday, May 24 View Page New tank system is installed plumbed and operational. It works off a Wayne sprinkler pump and a battery powered Galcon timer/valve. Running 3 cycles a day right now for 20 minutes. This system will allow me to adjust the pH accurately which should be a big plus over prior years.   Thursday, May 26 View Page Down to one plant now. So far everything looks great. Main is a little over 5’ now.   Monday, June 6 View Page The plant is looking healthy and strong so far. Like my friend Chris, I have a lot of disease pressure and so I’ve been taking his advice on best practices to manage it.   Monday, June 6 View Page Here is another view of the patch from the stump side of the plant. I still don’t understand how some of you folks get these tree trunks for stumps. My plants always seem to have skinny stumps.   Tuesday, June 14 View Page This is the female at 15’. She should open in 2 or 3 days. Stubby stem won’t be fun. I term the main after the fruit; this will help manage the short stem.   Wednesday, June 15 View Page This years plant is sensitive to heat so I added some extra shade cloth over the new growth.   Thursday, June 16 View Page Female opened today at 15’. Disappointed to find a malformed blossom with seeds in it. Worst part is that I’m a good 10 days from the next attempt which is 21-22 feet out.   Sunday, June 26 View Page The 906 plant is growing very well and getting close to filling the patch.   Sunday, June 26 View Page The first pollination was at 15’. It didn’t grow much at all - wasn’t sure if it had taken. But it’s growing well now. It has a nice elongated shape.   Monday, June 27 View Page Fun picture from the patch today!   Tuesday, July 5 View Page Day 19 - This fruit has had a very slow start. The plant appears very healthy and is rooting in nicely. I had two small backup fruit on side vines; terminates both yesterday. Doing very little fertilizing these days. Compost tea with a few additives and a weekly bio drench.   Monday, July 11 View Page Best 24 hour gain so far - 28 lbs overnight. I would love to get this fruit into the 30’s.   Monday, July 11 View Page Patch view after cleaning out all growth after the fruit. I tried to keep a couple downhill secondaries growing but it just was a mess. It was going to cause problems and sooner rather than later. So whatever 400 square feet will get me is what I will have.   Tuesday, July 19 View Page On pace for a new personal best- if I can keep the disease pressure away…   Tuesday, July 19 View Page Fun picture   Wednesday, July 20 View Page Another 31’lbs overnight - she’s holding steady at this growth rate. 96 degrees here yesterday. The slow start has been surpassed and the fruit that was behind all other recent pumpkins is now my best on this date. Still 65 days left to get to the County record.   Monday, July 25 View Page Third Tissue Test results. My nitrogen levels soared and not sure why. My guess is that the 0-4-0 guano I applied had an NPK ratio different from what it was labeled.   Tuesday, July 26 View Page Day 40 - still gaining 30 lbs per day. She’s done 310 lbs in the past 10 days, well ahead of anything I’ve done. Maybe having a Nitrogen level of 20k is a good thing lol   Saturday, July 30 View Page Another move needed. I fashioned a system using a 12’ length of chain between two anchor points   Saturday, July 30 View Page I can move the pumpkin at any angle necessary to relieve stem stress. I’ve had to move the fruit 3-4” this week alone.   Sunday, July 31 View Page Still enjoying solid growth by my standards anyway. 28.6 lbs per day over the last 5. And the better news is that the plant is not showing any signs of premature die-off as it’s had in the past several years.   Monday, August 1 View Page Every year the squirrels and rats destroy my tomato crop. And the problem is only getting worse. No more!! Squirrel-free in 2023!! (And the rest of ‘22??).   Friday, August 5 View Page Still going strong at Day 50. She did 23.8 lbs per day despite heat into the 90’s. Hoping for another 100 lbs on day 55!   Sunday, August 7 View Page View from the other side of the patch- stunning orange color!   Wednesday, August 10 View Page Well a new thing happened this morning. I've never grown a pumpkin that taped over 1,000 lbs in my patch. She's tracking 26.2% above my personal best! The heat has stifled the growth. It averaged 19.2 lbs per day over the past 5 days.