Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 173 Entries. Friday, March 18 View Page Time to Kick off the 2022 growing season! I am breaking in a new patch this year which I am really excited about. I have never grown with more than a couple hundred square feet per plant. Looking forward to see how things grow with more space! This year I will be growing all Orange, I figure I may never be a heavy hitter but at least I can start racking up some Howard Dill awards. LOL   Friday, March 18 View Page My prize plant this year will be the 2350 Gienger. It wasn't much of a looker itself but has produced some amazing looking offspring with size and vibrant color.   Friday, March 18 View Page Here are the offspring from the 2350 Geinger that were grown in 2021. I'd love to break my personal best of 1223 and win a Howard Dill award with this baby   Friday, March 18 View Page My second plant will be the 1872 Sippel. Both the Gienger and the Sippel are selfed 1501 VanderWieilens. I love the shape of this one and it too has produced some great looking offspring.   Friday, March 18 View Page Here are the offspring from the 1872 Sippel. Lots of Big Beautiful Orange in this one as well.   Friday, March 18 View Page My 3rd Seed is the 1263.5 Montsma. It is one of the best looking pumpkins of this size I have ever seen. No one was able to get one to scale last year so its a bit of a risk but I am going to give it a try. This will be my Puyallup Fair plant that I start early.   Friday, March 18 View Page My fourth and Final seed will be the 1025 Bierle. No one has grown this one yet either but I love the color and the shape. This one is a selfed 1810 Werner so it should be interesting to cross those genetics into the pure 1501 Genetics in my other 3 plants. I will be growing this as part of the 150 Square foot contest. I won that contest in 2014 with a Howard Dill winner and want to see if I can do it again.   Friday, March 18 View Page Last week I gave the patch its first till.   Friday, March 18 View Page I spent last year prepping the patch. I tilled and added compost and amendments in the spring and then planted a cover crop and inoculated with Mycho. Then I repeated that again in the Fall. I've got my soil test back and I will be adding a bit more lime and Boron and then I will be ready to roll.   Friday, March 18 View Page And were off. I started my 1263.5 Montsma seeds this afternoon.   Friday, March 18 View Page I've got 3 Montsma seeds and one of my own 770 Radachs in the germ chamber. I filed and soaked the seeds for 4 hours and then planted them in a seed starting mix with a teaspoon of Azos and a Table Spoon of Mycho.   Wednesday, March 23 View Page All Three of the 1263.5 Montsmas germinated successfully. The two strongest will go into the patch and whichever one of those does the best after a few weeks will be the keeper.   Saturday, March 26 View Page It has been a busy week. All the amendments are tilled in and I got the framework up for the main greenhouse. It measures 37' x 20'. The 2350 Geinger and the 1872 Sippel will get planted back to back in it.   Saturday, March 26 View Page This area to the south of the main greenhouse will be where I put the 1263.5 Montsma. I will build a separate smaller hoop house for it.   Saturday, March 26 View Page I got the soil heating cable in the ground for the 1263.5   Saturday, March 26 View Page The 1263.5 Montsma seedlings have been transplanted to 1 gallon pots and are doing well. I was really happy with the amount of root growth that was already pushing up against the smaller starter pot. I used Azos once before but I haven't used it in several years. I think adding the Azos back in this year might really be helping things out. I will give them another week or so before they go out to the patch.   Friday, April 1 View Page Today I started the rest of my seeds. I have two 2350 Giengers and 2 1872 Sippels. Normally I would start both seeds so that I have a back up but since these are hard to get seeds, I decided to save the second ones to grow next year or to trade. Its early enough in the season that I figure if either of them fail to germinate, I can start the other seed in a week or so and not be too far behind.   Friday, April 1 View Page The Seeds are in the germ chamber now we wait...... Always the most stressful time of pumpkin season for me.   Friday, April 1 View Page The 1263.5 Montsma plants are doing well under the grow light. I will leave them in here until the new plants germinate and then I will move them outside.   Tuesday, April 5 View Page The 1872 Sippel has germinated successfully.   Tuesday, April 5 View Page One of the 1025 Bierle seeds is almost out of the soil. The other 1025 and the 2350 Gienger are pushing up the soil and about to break through.   Tuesday, April 5 View Page I planted two of the 1263.5 Montsma plants in the patch today. They showed fairly good root growth for plants of this size. I used soil from my patch when I transplanted them into the bigger pots. The new soil holds a lot more moisture than the soil at my old place. These have been in the pots for a week and a half. I watered them twice during that time and the soil was extremely wet. There is going to be a bit of a learning curve as I figure out the correct amount of watering on this new patch.   Tuesday, April 5 View Page The two Montsma plants in the ground. The one on the left is the front runner at this point. I am a little disappointed with the lack of vigor at this point but I think that can probably be attributed to the soil being two wet. Now that they are in the ground hopefully I can get things evened out and the roots can move out into the patch.   Tuesday, April 5 View Page All tucked in for the night with the heat lamp. It's already down to 40 degrees outside so it will be a cold one tonight. The soil is sitting at a comfortable 67 degrees with the soil cables going. I'd like to keep the air temp at least in the 50's but I also need to be careful not to get the lamp too close to the leaves and risk causing damage.   Thursday, April 7 View Page All of the seeds sprouted (sort of) and are transplanted into larger pots.   Thursday, April 7 View Page The 2350 Gienger had problems getting out of the shell. After 6 days in the dirt, only the stem was sticking out of the ground. It had been that way for two days and didn't seem to be advancing so I gently extracted the plant out of the shell. The ends of the cot leaves are damaged and sort of fused together. I will give it another day and see if it can open up and start growing but I am feeling that I may need to start my backup.   Thursday, April 7 View Page Pumpkin timelapse is back in business. My Camera that I used to use no longer works. The camera is no longer being manufactured but I managed to find one on Ebay. Looking forward to making more time lapse videos.   Sunday, April 10 View Page Well..... of all the challenges of pumpkin growing I want expecting snow to be one. I have lived here all of my 43 years and this is the first time that I remember snow accumulation in western Washington in April. It doesn't look like much in this picture but this is our super heavy wet slushy snow. It started while we were gone at church and it collapsed my small hoop house with the 1263.5 Montsma in it. This picture was taken after I propped it back up.   Sunday, April 10 View Page Unfortunately, I had the heat lamp on hanging directly above the plants. And it came down on them. This one is toast.   Sunday, April 10 View Page This one looks like it might pull through but it's too early to tell.   Wednesday, April 13 View Page Things went from bad to worse with my 1263.5 Montsmas. After the snow collapsed the hoop house, I used a 2 x 4 to prop it up. Unfortunately when the snow melted it took the tension off the hoop house and the 2 x 4 fell over and landed squarely on the plant that was in better shape, breaking it off at the stem in the process. My backup was still in the house so I pulled the broken plant and replaced it. I am hopeful that the burned plant on the right will pull through. If not, I will have to go with the smaller back up plant on the left. Not a great start to the season at all.   Wednesday, April 13 View Page I eventually got the first 2350 Geinger to open up by cutting off the fused leaf ends. I Think it was two late though and a true leaf never developed.   Wednesday, April 13 View Page I planted my backup 2350 seed on the 8th. And it has sprouted without any issues. I am happy to have this one growing.   Friday, April 15 View Page Today I planted the 1872 Sippel in the big green house. This has been my strongest seedling. I am looking forward to seeing what it produces.   Friday, April 15 View Page I am really happy with the green house. Even though it's a cool day, it's nice and toasty inside.   Friday, April 15 View Page outside view of the big green house.   Friday, April 15 View Page The 1025 Bierle is doing well. It's supposed to get down into the 30s the next couple of nights. And I dont have a soil heating cable in the spot where this one is going so I will wait until Sunday to plant it.   Sunday, April 17 View Page For the 150 SF contest, the rules are that the entire plant plus the pumpkin must stay within an area of 150 square feet. Here is my strategy for this year. The bone will start in the lower left hand corner and the pumpkin will be in the square . My goal with this is to maximize the length of the secondaries out toward the pumpkin.   Sunday, April 17 View Page Here is the 150 square feet laid out with twine.   Sunday, April 17 View Page here are the measurements so the contest judges can verify I am following the rules. This is the 3 foot leg.   Sunday, April 17 View Page Here is the 18 feet across the top   Sunday, April 17 View Page one edge of the 3'-9" square where the pumpkin will grow.   Sunday, April 17 View Page The other side of the Square.   Sunday, April 17 View Page here is the side of the patch angling away from the planting site.   Sunday, April 17 View Page here is the patch with the hoop house frame. I am going to start the pumpkin as close to the corner as possible so the hoop house extends outside of the boundaries of the 150 sf a bit.   Sunday, April 17 View Page the hoop house with the plastic on.   Sunday, April 17 View Page I planted the 1025 Bierle in the 150 SF patch. I put it way down in the corner to minimize the amount of unused soil within the 150 SF.   Sunday, April 17 View Page I have noticed over the years that the first side vines start a little bit away from the stump and that they naturally angle a little bit rather than coming off perpendicular. My plan is to have the first side vines angle and follow the ropes. Each successive side vine will angle a little bit less until the last ones are perpendicular. it will almost create a bit of a rverse fan withe the secondaries being very close together at the ends.   Friday, April 22 View Page The 2350 Gienger went into the ground today in the big hoop house.   Friday, April 22 View Page The 1872 Sippel is looking wonderful   Friday, April 22 View Page The 1872 on the right and the 2350 on the left. Only a week diference between them. These things grow fast!   Friday, April 22 View Page The 1025 Bierle in the 150 SF patch.   Friday, April 22 View Page The 1263.5 Montsmas are not looking great after the earlier mishaps. I am not sure they are going to pull out of it.   Monday, May 9 View Page We were away for a week and a half in California. While we were gone the weeds took over. Not going to be fun clearing those out.   Monday, May 9 View Page The 1872 Sippel is doing great. The vine has started stretching out and will be on the ground and running soon.   Monday, May 9 View Page the 1872 Sippel has some good sized healthy leaves already.   Monday, May 9 View Page The 2350 Gienger made some good progress while we were gone. Not sure why there is some wilting on that closest leaf. That is the youngest leaf and it was pretty sunny today so it may just be a little bit too warm for it today. I am thinking it will pull out of it.   Monday, May 9 View Page The 1025 Bierle in the 150 sf patch. I had to leave the hoop houses fully vented while we were gone and the weather was pretty cold and gray. This one has no heating cable or heat lamp so the growth is fairly slow. I don't mind that though because slower growth will keep the plant more compact which is good for the 150 contest.   Monday, May 9 View Page The 1263.5 Montsma is still looking terrible. It is growing and has a vine starting so there may still be hope but the leaves are small and yellow. I am not sure if it's from the damage earlier. The backup plant that I planted next to it seems to be having the same issues so I am wondering if there may be some sort of issue with the soil in that location. I went ahead and pulled the smaller plant and will focus on trying to see if I can get the bigger one to get going a little stronger.   Saturday, May 21 View Page the 2350 Giennger is having its share of issues. A couple of the leaves got some leaf burn on them.   Saturday, May 21 View Page Also as the 2350 was vining out it was really reaching for the sky and as it came down it split itself pretty seriously on the top of the vine. I was pretty worried about it but the vine tip and the leaves seem to be growing fine and not having any wilting issues or anything so I am hoping that there is enough intact tissue on the vine to move enough nutrients to still get a monster pumpkin. Still a less than ideal start though.   Saturday, May 21 View Page The 1872 Sippel is doing awesome. It's around 6.5 feet long and cruising. I have buried several nodes on the main vine. I am optimistic that I can break my personal best with this plant but there is a long way to go.   Saturday, May 21 View Page Nothing wrong with the 1025 Bierle in the 150 SF patch other than really slow growth. This one went in the ground at the same time as the plant in the last picture and it doesn't even really have a vine yet. Shows the difference that a soil heating cable and a heat lamp can make. We have had a pretty cold and gray spring this far.   Saturday, May 21 View Page The 1263.5 Montsma has a vine but it's still really messed up. The picture makes it look better than it really is. At this point I'll be happy with a pretty porch pumpkin and some good pollen to cross with my other plants.   Sunday, June 5 View Page The 1872 Sippel is doing awesome. I am really happy with this plant.   Sunday, June 5 View Page There is a female flower on the end of the 1872. It's going to be right at about 14' on the vine. I am shooting for this one as the keeper. Hopefully the 2350 has some Male flowers blooming by then otherwise I will need to self polinate.   Sunday, June 5 View Page The 2350 Gienger is a week younger than the 1872 Sippel. Its growth on the secondaries is not quite as aggressive as the 1872.   Sunday, June 5 View Page There is also a female on the 2350. This one will be at about 13' on the main vine. I am thinking I will skip this one and take a later polination to give the plant some time to fill in a little bit more.   Sunday, June 5 View Page Here is the 1263.5 Montsma. I was hoping to be polinating this one about now for the Puyallup Fair. Obviously that's not going to happen due to the setbacks earlier in the year. The newer growth at the top of the picture is looking a little more healthy so I am just going to keep growing it and see what I can get. The vine is a couple feet out the end of the hoop house.   Sunday, June 5 View Page The 1025 Bierle in the 150 square foot patch has started to run and is looking good.   Wednesday, June 15 View Page pollinated the first on the 1872 Sippel with pollen from the 2350 this morning. There was some slight deformation on the lobes and a couple of seeds in the blossom. Usually this is a bad sign but it was pretty minor compared to some I have seen so it may take.   Wednesday, June 15 View Page Unfortunately the next female isn't till 6 leaf nodes further up on the vine. It's still got around another week before it will bloom. We are already down to 79 days til the Puyallup Fair so if I have to take this one the fair is probably out of the question. Not much I can do other than wit for it and make my decision after the next one blooms.   Wednesday, June 15 View Page The plant on the 1872 is looking great. Should be able to produce a huge pumpkin.   Wednesday, June 15 View Page the 2350 Gienger is doing well. It has a very different growing pattern than I am used to. It's fairly spread out and low to the ground.   Wednesday, June 15 View Page Here is the hopeful keeper on the 2350 about a week out. All of the females on this plant are very long and football shaped.   Wednesday, June 15 View Page the 1263.5 Montsma. It is what it is. I thought it was starting to look a little bit better but it seems like the newer secondaries are stunting. I think their may be a genetic component contributing to this pumpkins poor performance I am getting a lot of weird flowers fused to vines.   Wednesday, June 15 View Page The 1025 Bierle in the 150 sf patch. Doing well. The secondaries are starting to run. It doesn't look that impressive in the photos but its doing exactly what I want it to. Its just moving slowly because of no heat. We had the most rainfall for the month of may in our areas recorded history and June has been no better. We still have not reached 70 degrees and we are already over the average rainfall for the month of June.   Saturday, June 18 View Page I have been in the habit of peeling the petals off when I cull female blossoms to check what the lobes look like and see if there are any trends or abnormalities with the plant. I pulled this one off a side vine on the 2350 Gienger today. It has 8 lobes. I have never seen anything like it before.   Saturday, June 18 View Page In addition to the 8 lobes the fruit portion of the blossom had an extremely wide flat shape. I almost wish it would have been on the main vine because it would have been interesting to see what this would grow.   Saturday, June 25 View Page The first polination on the 1872 Sippel isn't looking great. It's only at 8" circumference on day 10 and growing about a half inch per day. I am not sure if it took or not but even if it did. I am not crazy about the shape. It's already a little lopsided.   Saturday, June 25 View Page this is the second pollination on the 1872. It was pollinated on 6-23. I an really hoping this one takes because the ne. Available on the main is another 5 leaf nodes out. If this one fails I am probably looking at going with something on a side vine.   Saturday, June 25 View Page The 1872 is out the end of the greenhouse and the side vines are rapidly filling out the space.   Saturday, June 25 View Page Here is the first pollination on the 2350 Gienger. It is at 9" circumference on day 9. I wasn't planning on keeping this but I ran into some timing issues on my next pollination so we shall see how things develop.   Saturday, June 25 View Page Unfortunately the next two pollinations on the 2350 happened while we were out of town and I had no one to pollinate for me. This is the first that bloomed yesterday. It is a completely open pollination. The only other pollin in the area is the 1872 so if it takes it is either a self or an 1872 cross so I wouldn't be adverse to going with this one.   Saturday, June 25 View Page this is the second it bloomed today. I pollinated it with the 1872 but we didn't get home until almost 5:00 pm so no telling if it will take.   Saturday, June 25 View Page Here is the 2350 Gienger plant it is out of the end of the greenhouse as well.   Saturday, June 25 View Page Here is the 1025 Bierle in the 150 SF plant. It's looking fairly good with the side vines really starting to take off. I am putting a little bit of an S Curve in the vine so that the pumpkin lands in the correct spot. I want it to be right at the edge of the grass when I polinate. To maximize my 150 SF   Saturday, June 25 View Page Here is the hopeful keeper on the 1025 Bierle in the 150 SF contest.   Saturday, June 25 View Page Here is the 1263.5 Montsma.   Saturday, June 25 View Page here is the first female on the 1263.5. Its will be blooming early next week.   Saturday, June 25 View Page There is also this one a little farther out.   Friday, July 8 View Page I have been having a pretty rough time getting polinations to set. The 1872 Sippel developed this split on the main vine.   Friday, July 8 View Page So far the first two polinations on the main vine of the 1872 failed to set. This is the third one way out on the end of the main vine. It's at 7.5" circumference on day 7. It remains to be seen if this one sets but I am inclined not to use it anyway for several reasons. 1. It is out past the split on the main vine and I am concerned about an interruption in nutrient flow from the bulk of the plant. 2. Its not growing as quickly as some of the others on the plant have been at similar ages. 3. Its about 5 feet out of the greenhouse out on the lawn and not I'm a spot where I really want the pumpkin growing. 4. Its already pretty late In the season and it would be nice to go with an earlier polination even if it is on a side vine.   Friday, July 8 View Page This is the one that I am thinking will be the keeper on the 1872 Sippel. It is on a side vine that branches off just before the split in the main vine. It was polinated on June 27th and is measuring at 20.5" Circumference on day 11.   Friday, July 8 View Page Here is a view of the 1872 Sippel plant. I removed the end panel of the greenhouse on the left side to give easier access to the Pumpkin.   Friday, July 8 View Page All 3 polinations that I have done on the mainline of the 2350 Gienger have failed to set. I ran out of space and had to terminate the Mainnvine so I will have to go with something on a side vine on this one as well. This is the best early contender. It was polinated on June 28th and is at 14.5" circumference on day 10. You can already see that it's going to have nice color.   Friday, July 8 View Page This is another that I am keeping an eye on as a potential keeper on the 2350 Gienger. It is in a spot with better access than the previous one. It was polinated on July 3rd and is at 8.0" circumference on day 5.This is another that I am keeping an eye on as a potential keeper on the 2350 Gienger. It is in a spot with better access than the previous one. It was polinated on July 3rd and is at 8.0" circumference on day 5.   Friday, July 8 View Page Here is the 2350 Gienger plant.   Friday, July 8 View Page The 1263.5 Montsma also failed to set the first polination on the main. I polinated a second on the main on July 5th that it is too soon to tell about. This one here is on a side vine and is the only one on the plant so far that looks like it may have a hope of setting. It was polinated on June 30th and is at 9" circumference on day 8.   Friday, July 8 View Page here is the plant on the 1263.5 Montsma. There is another female out on the tip that could be a potential keeper but it will be a very late polination by the time it blooms.   Friday, July 8 View Page here is the keeper on the 1025 Bierle in the 150 sf contest. It was polinated on July 5th so it's to soon to know if it set. I really need this one to set because of the way that I set up my growing area. If I have to go with something on a secondary it would take some fancy gymnastics to get the pumpkin to grow out in my little box on the lawn.   Friday, July 8 View Page Here is the 1025 Bierle plant in the 150 sf contest. You can see the box on the lawn where the pumpkin is supposed to grow. If I cant get a pumpkin in there then I will be growing in 140 SF instead of 150.   Tuesday, July 12 View Page I have pretty much decided on this side vine Pumpkin as the keeper on the 1872 Sippel. I still have several others going just in case this one stalls but I am taking a couple off the vine every day and soon will be all in on this one.   Tuesday, July 12 View Page This is day 15 and it is measuring 34" Circumference and 86" OTT. Nothing spectacular but in the ballpark of all my biggest pumpkins at a similar age. I am liking the shape so far. Should be a stunner.   Sunday, July 17 View Page Day 20 on the 1872 Sippel. 52" Circumference 134.5" OTT Estimated weight 60 pounds. This is the point at which the Pumpkins usually take off and start stretching out toward their peak growth. Hoping for big things over this next week. The baby is only 19.5 pounds on day 374.   Sunday, July 17 View Page It always blows me away how fast these things grow in the early stages. Here is how much it increased in the last 5 days.   Sunday, July 17 View Page I don't think I have the nutrients in the soil quite dialed in like they should be. The plant is not as deep green and vibrant as I would like to see. I'd like to try doing a tissue sample but money is a bit tight at the moment. It may take me a few years to get this new patch dialed in.   Sunday, July 17 View Page possible keeper on the 2350 Geinger 40" Circumference on day 19. I like the shape and the color but it's not growing as fast as it should be and it's on a secondary that is more towards the middle of the plant rather than the end.   Sunday, July 17 View Page The other possible keeper on the 2350. Its at 27" Circumference on day 14. Its growing better than the first one and is in a better spot on the vine. But I dont like the color and shape quite as well. Going to be a tough decision.   Sunday, July 17 View Page The first two on the main vine of the 1263.5 Montsma didnt set. This is the third that is a few days old.   Sunday, July 17 View Page This is supposed to be the keeper on the 1025 Bierle in the 150 sf contest. It's way smaller than anything that I have ever grown to a decent size at only 13.25" circumference on day 12. However it is growing at an increasing rate. It did 1" on the 15th, 1.25" yesterday and 1.5" today so there might be some hope for it. I have a few started on side vines in case this one isn't viable.   Friday, July 22 View Page day 25 on the 1872 Sippel. 68.75" circumference 164" OTT Estimated weight 104 pounds 5 day average 8.8 pounds per day. Needs to kick it into another gear if I am going to get a personal best. This pumpkin is going to be gorgeous.   Friday, July 22 View Page I am a little obsessive with my measuring and I measure the circumference of each of my pumpkins every day. I have all that data written down so I decided to plug it into Excel so I can compare the growth curve of my pumpkins to years past and get an idea how big it will likely end up being. Circumference is not the best correlation to weight but in general it will give a good approximation of relative growth rate. This is a chart comparing my biggest three pumpkins to this years 1872 Sippel seed. You can that It got a better start than my personal best but at this point it is not growing as fast as that one was at this age and it's likely to get passed up. The 1872 is smaller than my second largest at this age but its tracking the slope pretty well. If it can hold its trajectory a little longer than my second biggest did it's got a chance to beat it. I am hoping that the larger plant size will allow it to maintain its peak growth a little longer than I have in years past. I think It could make it to 1000 pounds. It is well ahead of my third biggest but that one went 25% above its estimated weight so that's not a surprise. On another topic this makes it pretty clear to me that I should have left my 1223 on the vine a couple more weeks. It had plenty of room left in the growth curve. Probably could have pushed it towards 1500 with a few more weeks.   Friday, July 22 View Page This is a chart comparing the 1872 to my 4th - 6th biggest pumpkins. It's hard to see because they are all tracking close together. But it is right on target and has a actually gained a bit comparatively that past several days which means the potential is there for it to start out pacing them. At the very least this indicates that 800 pounds should be about the floor of what I could expect.   Friday, July 22 View Page I made my decision on the 2350 Gienger and went with this one. It is at 54" circumference and 132.5" OTT on day 24. Its estimating at about 59 pounds and it's probably not going to get anywhere near 1000 pounds unless it kicks it into gear like nothing I have grown before. I am disappointed with the size but it looks like it could turn out to be a good looker.   Friday, July 22 View Page looks like the last one on the main vine of the 1263.5 Montsma set. I have about 10 going on this plant and I am going to wait another week or so to decide on the keeper but I want it to be this one.   Friday, July 22 View Page well just when it looked like the keeper on the 1025 Bierle in the 150 SF contest was looking like it was ready to roll, this happened. I am not sure what I am going to do I have a few more polinated on side vines but they are all under 10 days old. This is way too late in the season to be pollinating if you hope to get anything decent sized. Overall this has been a pretty disappointing year.   Wednesday, July 27 View Page Day 30 for the 1872 Sippel. Circumference 86.5" OTT 208.5" Estimated weight 210 pounds. 5 day average 17 pounds per day 2 day average 23.5 pounds per day   Wednesday, July 27 View Page Game over for the 2350 Gienger.   Wednesday, July 27 View Page I have been growing for 12 years and this is the first time I have had a blossom end split like this. I have seen many other growers have this happen so I suppose it was only a matter of time.   Wednesday, July 27 View Page I positioned the new keeper on the 2350 Gienger. It's small and I dont like the shape but it's all I've got.   Monday, August 1 View Page Day 35 on the 1872 Sippel. 101.5" circumference 241" OTT Estimated weight 320 pounds 5 day average 22 pounds per day. Doesn't look quite as orange as previous pictures because the sun had already gone below the tree line in this photo but the color is still looking really good.   Monday, August 1 View Page Here is a zoomed out picture of the 1872 Sippel. It is 23 pounds ahead of where my personal best was on day 35. Its also keeping pace growth wise fairly well. That one averaged 23 pounds per day from day 30-35. I still think I have a really decent shot at 1000 pounds with this one and maybe an outside chance at a personal best. This is the point at which my personal best kept packing on the weight while my other Pumpkins started to flatten on the growth curve. I should have a pretty good idea in the next 10 days if this one is likely to keep its trajectory.   Monday, August 1 View Page The new keeper on the 2350 Gienger really took off after the one that split came off the vine. It's still small for day 21 but it averaged 3.7" per day in circumference over the last 5 days which is pretty good compared to the rest of my pumpkins of that age.   Monday, August 1 View Page Its looking like this will be the keeper on the 1263.5 Montsma. It is on one of the earlier side vines. On Day 25 it is at 60" circumference, 149" OTT for an estimated weight of 80 pounds and a 5 day average of 8.4 pounds per day.   Monday, August 1 View Page Here is the new keeper on the 1025 Bierle in the 150 SF patch. I like the shape and its growing decently. Unfortunately since it's on a side vine I had to take out significant chunk of the plant to make space for it to grow. On day 16 it has a circumference of 30 75".   Friday, August 5 View Page Day 25 for the backup on the 2350 Gienger. It was not a great week weather wise. We had a few days with daytime highs in the 60s and nighttime lows in the upper 40s. It also doesnt help that this was a late polination and missed out on the prime window for peak growth. Circumference 54" OTT 131" Estimated weight 57 pounds.   Friday, August 5 View Page Day 20 for the backup on the 1025 Bierle in the 150 SF contest. Circumference 38", OTT96 5" estimated weight 27 pounds.   Friday, August 5 View Page Here is the plant for the 150 SF contest. It's all filled out on the right side. I have a little bit of area in front of the Pumpkin that I am trying to fill with a secondary vine. I also put some dirt in the area that was supposed to house the original Pumpkin and I am training a tertiary vine to fill that space and take advantage of the whole 150 SF. PUmpconnis already near 1000 pounds with his so I probably wont be a factor in this competition.   Saturday, August 6 View Page Day 30 on the 1263.5 Montsma. Circumference 70" OTT 124" Estimated weight 124 pounds. 5 day average 8.8 pounds per day. This one has the worst plant behind it so I expect it to tail off pretty quick. It also looks like something took a bite out of it. This might be a candidate for the Puyallup Fair. Wont win anything. But I enjoy the fair the most of all the weighoffs and I would like to take an entry.   Saturday, August 6 View Page And the best for last. The 1872 Sippel on day 40. 113.5" Circumference, 265.5" OTT. Estimated weight 423 pounds. 5 day average 20.6 pounds per day. I couldn't be happier with the color. I think this is going to be the best looking pumpkin I have ever grown. I am also pretty happy with the growth considering the cool weather. It's supposed to be back into the upper 80s the next couple of days so I am expecting a bit of a rebound. My Personal Best 1223 pounder from 2014 was at 405 pounds on day 40 and did 21.6 pounds per day from day 35-40 so I am tracking very well. Just have to keep it going and sustain that growth.   Wednesday, August 10 View Page Day 30 on the 2350 Gienger 64.75" circumference 152" OTT Estimated weight 85 pounds 5 day average 5.6 pounds per day   Wednesday, August 10 View Page Day 25 on the 1025 Bierle 50.75" Circumference 124" OTT Estimated weight 50 pounds 5 day average 4.6 pounds per day. The shape is getting messy already but she sure has glossy skin.   Thursday, August 11 View Page Day 45 on the 1872 Sippel. 122" circumference 280" OTT Estimated weight 493 pounds 5 day average 14 pounds per day.   Thursday, August 11 View Page very disappointing week for all the pumpkins. This is a graph showing the circumference by days after pollination for my 3 biggest ever compared to the 1872 Sippel. The 1872 fell off the pace for my personal best. I am still hopeful for 1000 pounds but not super confident in it. All of the other pumpkins fell off even worse. Probably not even going to make 500 with any of them. I really think that missing my pollination target in the middle of June was costly. first of all the days are now getting shorter so we have less photosynthesis going on than we would have during the peak growing age of the pumpkins and secondly the plants are a couple weeks older and more beat down than they should be during the peak growing age.   Thursday, August 11 View Page Day 35 for the 1263.5 Montsma 77" Circumference 186" OTT Estimated weight 151 pounds 5 day average 5.4 pounds per day. I am still thinking I will take this one to the Puyallup Fair which is just 22 days away. It will take some luck just to get it to 300 pounds by then.   Monday, August 15 View Page pretty discouraging numbers throughout the patch. I guess I shouldn't have expected too much with all of the issues I had this year. Day 30 on the 1025 Bierle. in the 150 SF contest. 57" Circumference 140" OTT Estimated weight 68 pounds. 5 day average 3.6 pounds per day Probably only going to make a couple hundred pounds with this one. I did better than this last year without even trying.   Monday, August 15 View Page Day 35 on the 2350 Gienger 71" Circumference 168" OTT Estimated weight 113 pounds 5 day average 5.6 pounds per day. Hoping to get to 370 so that I can beat Travis' pumpkin from last year and not have the smallest progeny off the tiger king. LOL   Tuesday, August 16 View Page Day 50 on the 1872 Sippel 127.5" Circumference 289" OTT Estimated Weight 541 pounds 5 day average 9.6 pounds per day. She has dropped off fast. Pretty much no shot at 1000 pounds now. 800 is looking more likely.   Tuesday, August 16 View Page The older part of the plant is starting to look pretty rough. Looks like it might be some Downy Mildew. Probably should have been a little more proactive with spraying.   Tuesday, August 16 View Page Day 40 on the 1263.5 Montsma 81.75" Circumference 196" OTT Estimated Weight 176 Pounds 5 day average 5.0 pounds per day. 17 days until the Fair. I'll be lucky to get to 250. Once again I did better last year without even trying. So Frustrating.   Sunday, August 21 View Page Disappointing numbers but a really cool picture. Day 55 on the 1872. 131" Circ 297 OTT Estimated weight 581 Pounds Down to 8.8 Pounds per day over the last 5 days. 27 days till weigh off means I need to average a little over 8 pounds a day just to be estimating at 800 pounds. Its not going to happen. 6.2 per day to get to 750 might be doable.   Tuesday, August 30 View Page Day 50 on the 2350 Gienger. 85" circumference 206" OTT Estimated weight 203 pounds 5 day average 5.8 pounds per day. I am not sure what is going on with the shape but I like the color. This is my only plant that is somewhat healthy looking. Hoping I can put on another 100 pounds or so before weigh off.   Tuesday, August 30 View Page Day 45 on the 1025 Bierle in the 150 square foot contest. 73" Circumference 178" OTT Estimated weight 133 pounds. 5 day average 5 pounds per day. This one has the best color of all my pumpkins but the shape is not very nice. Steve Connely has a pumpkin that is already over 1300 pounds in the 150 square foot contest. That is pretty incredible.   Wednesday, August 31 View Page Day 65 on the 1872 Sippel 136" Cicumference 305" OTT Estimated weight 632 pounds 5 day average 4.2 pounds per day. I am really disappointed in how fast this one tapered off after it's great start. The plant is in really rough shape though so I am not surprised. I think I am going to have to ramp up my strategy for disease prevention next year. I'll probably be sending an e-mail or two to Chris Dunn.   Wednesday, August 31 View Page Day 55 on the 1263.5 Montsma 86.5" Circumference 208" OTT Estimated weight 209 pounds 5 day average 0.8 pounds per day This one goes to the Puyallup Fair on Friday. Not what I was hoping for but after frying the plant early on just getting a pumpkin was an accomplishment.   Friday, September 2 View Page Loaded up for the Puyallup Fair with the 1263.5 Montsma. I taped it at just over 200 pounds.   Friday, September 2 View Page The morning light makes it look a little bit more orange in the photos than it looks with the naked eye but it does have some nice color. This was before we left. It took a tumble when I slammed on the brakes in traffic on the way to the fair and ended up with some scrapes and a gauge where it hit the kids stroller. Should have probably strapped it in.   Friday, September 2 View Page The 1263.5 Montsma at the fair. They taped it estimating at 197# and it came in 21% heavy. It was a low turnout at the fair with only 5 pumpkins showing up. I was able to take 3rd place. I did not win the Howard Dill Award losing to a much larger pumpkin that didn't have great color but had a pretty nice shape with pronounced ribs. This plant was a huge struggle for me this year and I am glad I got one to the scale. I started early to plan for the fair and got hit with a surprise April snowstorm that collapsed my green house and dropped my heat lamp right on the plant. It never really fully recovered from that and the plant was slow growing and sickly the whole season. To top that off I was unable to get anything to set on a main vine so this pumpkin came off a secondary. The color didn't really come in the way I was expecting it to with the genetics of its parent but it was only 57 days old so it probably would have deepened with more time on the vine.   Friday, September 9 View Page Day 60 for the 2350 Gienger. 92" Circumference. 223" OTT Estimated weight 256 pounds 5 day average 4.4 pounds per day. Shooting for an October 1st or 2nd weigh off for this one. Hoping to get it to 300 pounds.   Friday, September 9 View Page Day 55 for the 1025 Bierle in the 150 SF contest. 81" Circumferrnce 195" OTT Estimated weight 173 pounds 5 day average 3 pounds per day. Not sure what happened to this pumpkin but it's almost like the stem side of the pumpkin grew normally and the blossom end was stunted. I gave my backup plant to my Dad and he says he has a beautiful pumpkin going on it. I guess I kept the wrong plant.   Friday, September 9 View Page here is the 150 SF plant with the 1025 Bierle.   Saturday, September 10 View Page Day 75 on the 1872 Sippel. 138" Circumference 310" OTT Estimated weight 662 pounds 5 day average 3.6 pounds per day. This one will go to the Christianson's Nursery weigh off next week. I have a feeling it will go a little heavy. Hoping for 700 pounds and a Howard Dill Award.   Saturday, September 10 View Page view of the patch on a smokey afternoon. The plants are in rough shape. Plant health is going to be where I focus my attention next year.   Saturday, September 17 View Page I took the 1872 Sippel to the Skagit Valley Giant Pumpkin weigh off at Christianson's Nursery. Weighed in at 784.5 which was 15% heavier than estimated. Finished in 5th place.   Saturday, September 17 View Page It was a beauty but once again failed to win the HD award.   Saturday, September 17 View Page I have another seed from the 1872 I will be growing it again next year.   Saturday, September 17 View Page All the pumpkins in a line. The one next to mine was the winner from Joel Holland at 1614 pounds.   Saturday, September 17 View Page This is the 6th biggest pumpkin that I have ever grown. Not exactly as big as I was hoping but I had lots of issues this year. The vine split on me about 15 feet out. I couldn't get any thing to set on the Main vine so this one was on a side vine. And generally speaking the health of the plant was about as bad as I have seen in any of my plants at this time of the year. So all in all getting a Pumpkin of this size and looks was a decent achievement.   Sunday, October 2 View Page Yesterday I took the 2350 Gienger down to Kent for the new Capanito Brothers weighoff. I was not able to attend the weighoff today because Inwas busy at church but Cindy Tobeck was kind enough to take some photos for me.   Sunday, October 2 View Page It weighed in at 345 pounds. I am not sure what the official measurements were but I had it estimated at 316 pounds with my measurements which would put it at about 9% heavy. I was getting ready to head down and pick it up when someone called and offered to buy it from. I sold it it which saved me a 3 hour round trip down to Kent but unfortunately I didn't really take any decent pictures of it off of the vine. It looked halfway decent from the blossom side.   Sunday, October 2 View Page I finished in 12th place. I had big Hope's for this plant but things just seemed to keep going wrong. I bent the main vine early on. Then I had 4 failed pollination on the main vine. I finally got one set on a side vine and then it had a blossom end split. This one was the only one left. It was a late pollination and it started showing a weird shape early on and never really took off. Ryan Ewing took the Howard Dill award with his 2350 plant. Its seems like almost every pumpkin out there off this seed was beautiful and then there is mine. Oh well.   Friday, October 7 View Page One last shot of the 1025 Bierle in the 150 SF patch. In the background preparations are going on for next season.   Friday, October 7 View Page Got her all loaded up and ready for the Christoferson Farm weighoff tomorrow on Camano Island.   Friday, October 7 View Page I have her measured at 93" Circumference, 219" OTT for an estimated weight of 243 pounds. All of my original goals have long been out of reach so I will settle for beating the 238# I got at the Puyallup fair.   Friday, October 7 View Page All of the heavy hitters are in California this weekend so I'll probably get some sort of ribbon for this one even though its tiny.   Wednesday, October 12 View Page On Saturday I took the 1025 Bierle to the Kristoferson farm weigh off. It was small but fun. And the kids had a blast running around.   Wednesday, October 12 View Page The 1025 Bierle in the 150 square foot contest weighed in at 246.5 pounds. Just a shade above chart.   Wednesday, October 12 View Page Came in 6th place.   Wednesday, October 12 View Page Getting a jump on next season. I decided I needed better depth of loose soil and dug a 5 foot wide trench 2 feet deep through the center of my planting zone. I then put down a layer of manure and tilled it in. Before filling back in the hole.   Wednesday, October 12 View Page Here is the pile of rocks that I pulled out of the trench.   Wednesday, October 12 View Page This boulder was sitting right under the main vine of the 1872 about 4 feet from the stump about a foot below the surface. Clearly there is still a lot of work to do to get my patch where it needs to be but I'll get there.   Wednesday, October 12 View Page This afternoon I bought a 275 Gallon water tote. I am going to completely cange up the way I water and fertilize next year. Gotta to do something to shake things up and see If I can get to the next level.