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Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 21 Entries.
Tuesday, July 5 View Page
I noticed this issue with the edges of the pumpkin leaf going grey/brown about 2 weeks ago. Now it seems to have spread to the two leaves next to it. Trying to diagnose the issue...
 
Tuesday, July 5 View Page
I noticed this issue with the edges of the pumpkin leaf going grey/brown about 2 weeks ago. Now it seems to have spread to the two leaves next to it. Trying to diagnose the issue...
 
Tuesday, July 5 View Page
Another shot of the leaves. (Trying to figure out if my plant has a disease, and if so, what kind?)
 
Wednesday, July 13 View Page
Here is one of my many blossoms with no pollen :( There have been 4 weeks of no pollen on the male blossoms. I have been feeding the plant bone meal, cal mag, soluble seaweed, compost tea, and humic/fulvic acid on a regular rotation. The plant looks great, so I can't think of any other reason that I am not getting any pollen. This week I will start asking around to see if I can outsource some pollen for my fruit blossoms. This is a sad turn of events, but it has been really fun growing this year for the first time, despite this bad news.
 
Tuesday, August 2 View Page
I've done a whole lot wrong this year, but I am hoping this lil guy sticks around! I am not expecting anything huge at this point, between the late pollination and the size of the plant itself, but I will be happy if I get any sized pumpkin for Halloween. I am growing in my backyard in Seattle, in a raised bed that sprawls out onto a lawn. This started out as a side project that I was getting a kick out of, but I really fell in love with it and I think I can set myself up for a much better situation next year, for a bigger plant! I won't be growing any competition pumpkins in this space, but maybe one day I will get myself a proper patch after a few practice years in the back yard. I had almost given up on pollination after a big struggle around pollen production, so shout out to the folks who helped me problem solve and to Dawn for encouraging me to keep trying!! This pumpkin is 8 DAP.
 
Monday, August 8 View Page
I got a lil stem splitting going on. I am guessing it is from overwatering, but I will post on the message board and see what folks think. I put some sulfur powder on this right after I took the photo and I didn't see any additional cracks this morning.
 
Friday, August 12 View Page
Not getting much weight on this guy as gains are small day to day, I am wondering if there is an issue inside. There is slight discoloration near the blossom end, which I will show in the next photo. This is 18 DAP, so its still pretty young and I will keep pushing. (just had some issues uploading, hopefully this isn't a double, or triple post lol)
 
Friday, August 12 View Page
Not sure how well you can see the color variation near the blossom end, but I am hoping this isn't indication of bad things to come. So far it isn't soft or anything, so I will keep on keepin on! This first year of growing really has me scratching my head a lot, but it helps to see other peoples grower diaries so I can see what the different stages look like for other folks. The splits that happened on the stem side seem to have healed (fingers crossed), so we will see what happens with this warm week coming to Seattle next week. I am hoping that 80 degree weather keeps it growin!
 
Tuesday, August 16 View Page
My pumpkin is a goner! I had a feeling that something was going on inside this guy that I couldn't see, so I had been checking for soft spots daily. I woke up a couple days ago, on my birthday no less, to find that overnight it had really drastically changed in appearance and was clearly showing soft spots. So it gooooes! It was a big bummer, but I also feel a bit of a relief, as the whole season was a bit of a rollercoaster ride. I can't wait to try again next year, better equipped with all of the knowledge I gained from this first season. Thanks for all the support everyone. I am looking forward to going to the weigh offs in Washington and seeing y'alls giants. See ya there!
 
Friday, August 26 View Page
Shoot, I'm not sure if this is a double post! Anyways, I am just here to post a couple happy photos of produce to cheer up my diary a little bit. I have 4 varieties of heirlooms going this year and they have all done quite well. Pictured here is mostly Pink Berkley Tie Die and some Brandy Wine tomatoes. I am also growing Black Krim and a yellow/orange striped variety that I have completely forgotten the name of and the piece of tape is long gone. I am turning these into tomato sauce!
 
Friday, August 26 View Page
This was my little sugar pumpkin setup. I just built a simple small trellis on the side of my house. I only got 4 out of this plant before the powdery mildew took over. This year I am experiencing the worst powdery mildew I have ever had! I am gonna try to do a really good clean up and do my best to do more preventative control next year.
 
Friday, August 26 View Page
I tried to eat a bunch of the baby AG's I culled and they were really tasty. I mostly ate them in my morning hash, but yeah they basically just tasted like a slightly firmer summer squash and I enjoyed eating them :)
 
Friday, August 26 View Page
Here I am in early spring turning over the cover crop! I don't know why I look so serious, I was having a great day hahah.
 
Monday, August 29 View Page
Gosh I hope this is right side up. I thought my others were right side up, but boy was I wrong! Anyways, here are some very tiny pumpkins. I call them my emotional support pumpkins since my giant never came to be. Hahah. Last year I stuffed some sugar pumpkins with rice, foraged mushrooms, gruyere, and small chunks of bread and cooked em in my smoker. They came out really tasty. I think I will try something like that again, but this time with some ground lamb!
 
Monday, August 29 View Page
Arrrrg, lets try this again...
 
Friday, September 2 View Page
Just thought this was interesting to see on my plant so late in the game. I have struggled all season with weak pollen output and pumpkins aborting on this plant. Now to see this male flower with no stamen whatsoever sorta supports the theory that this plant has some fertility issues in general. I am still fighting for a porch pumpkin lol. Can't tell if that is a fruitless (hah) battle. Anyways, I'm off to the Puyallup weigh offs tonight to see everyone else's pumpkins!
 
Monday, September 5 View Page
I got to meet Dawn at the State Fair Weigh Offs! She got that blue ribbon for a tall sunflower. Nice job Dawn, it was so great meeting ya! As you can see, I had to wear my jack-o-lantern shirt for the festivities and Dawn is sporting her sunflower shirt under that blue ribbon.
 
Monday, September 5 View Page
Let's try again for the photo...
 
Monday, September 5 View Page
Let's try again for the photo...
 
Monday, September 5 View Page
Well, looks like you got to see that last photo twice! I had to post this photo of Cindy Tobeck's giant zucchini next to this watermelon. I know its not her personal best, but it sure look huge to me hahah
 
Monday, September 5 View Page
Okay, I asked the airbrush guy at the fair to paint me a sinister pumpkin on a t-shirt for Halloween season, and boy did he deliver! hahaha. I think getting an airbrushed pumpkin tee at the fair will be my new tradition. I was trying to do metal horns in this pic, but it looks more like the sign language for "i love you" with that thumb sticking out. Not quite as sinister, but I tried.
 

 

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