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Entry Date
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Nick Name
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Location
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Monday, September 07, 2026
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Gardeneer-in-Training
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Sunny Okanagan
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Entry 28 of 28 |
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Despite great adversity, Indomitable remains unbroken. She outlasted Inimitable and has exceeded what I was able to accomplish in the same restricted space where I grew my 490-pounder last year. If I can just coax a few last pounds out of her by October 1st, I'm hoping I can get over 700 lbs and place in the top ten.
It's pretty amazing to see how resilient Indomitable has been. She was the first of my seeds to sprout, but due to her cotyledons being caught in the seed husk, she was late to emerge from the soil and when she did it became apparent that her stem was split lengthwise from the stress. Still, I didn't give up on her and she became the most vigorous seedling of the bunch. I could have given her the best spot in the patch but I let my judgement be clouded by what I thought would be a better pedigree, so she got the shaded, much narrower strip of patch.
The challenges arose all too quickly after planting out. First, our unusually warm spring led to a very early aphid hatch. Then the plants got hailed on while I was away camping, followed by squirrels chewing leaves off the vines. When it came to pollinating, I did what I could but didn't have much free time. The pumpkin I ended up with was on the end of a thin, terminated secondary vine. It grew right up against the netting I'd wrapped the patch in to keep the critters out, but as it grew the netting and surrounding leaves scratched at her tender skin. Then one day, she finally grew enough to shift her balance and she precipitated into the gutter of the patch, kinking and splitting her vine down the center and impaling her with dried clay and chipped wood. And still, she grew.
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