Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 3 Entries. Tuesday, April 16 View Page It’s time! I’m a newbie to giant pumpkin growing, so this is my first season. I’m attempting the 150 challenge this year, with some adjustments based on my circumstances. My only growing space is on top of some artificial turf. Because of this, I built a pretty big closed bottom raised bed - 12 ft by 12 ft, so it’s a bit less than 150 sq ft. I obviously won’t be breaking any records with this setup, so I’m going to be absolutely ecstatic if I’m able to get to 100 or more pounds. My seed this year is from the absolutely gorgeously orange 823 Engel (Side note, I definitely recommend ordering from Engel’s. Packaging was perfect, and they even threw in some extra seeds!)! Seed started April 1st (filed, soaked for an hour, put in a damp paper towel in a plastic bag on a heating mat), sprouted April 3rd, transplanted today (April 16th). Photos attached of my growing space, with a standard 16.9 oz water bottle for size. Looking forward to this growing season!   Thursday, April 18 View Page Mini hoop house is up! My main concern early on is protection from raccoons and other animals, who have loved to eat my garden in the past. I've also put up a little cage around the plant for the time being, that I'll remove once growth starts ramping up. Fingers crossed that this is enough protection, and that the raccoons aren't too persistent this year!   Monday, April 22 View Page Had some transplant shock on the 823, but she seems to be recovering nicely! All new growth looks healthy. Started germinating a 1083.5 Schmit as my backup, and it appears to be successful so far! I can see a tiny bit of white peeking out. I'm thinking if all goes well with the 823, I'll keep the 1083.5 as a pollinator only, just grown in a large fabric pot. My previous foray into pumpkin growing was a much smaller variety of pumpkin (they ended up being approximately average grocery store cantaloupe size), but I did grow them in fabric pots, so who knows, maybe I would get a mini pumpkin from the 1083.5 🤣