Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 74 Entries. Sunday, April 7 View Page Last fall I tilled in at least five yards of shredded maple leaves. Today I tilled up the patch. What a pleasant surprise. It was like tilling in butter. Nice rich fluffy soil. Looks like all that work last year paid off. I packaged up a sample of soil for the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station. A bit late, but they turned my sample around really fast last year. I've decided on one plant so far, its an 805 Pukos 2000 (Thanks Joe!) I need to narrow down the second seed soon.   Tuesday, April 9 View Page Don't let the rust on my modified Warren hoe fool you. I feel sorry for the first crop of weeds to hit my patch this year. Thanks Len!   Saturday, April 20 View Page I received the results of my soil test today from the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station. Soil Texture: Sandy Loam Organic Matter Content: High pH: 6.6 Nitrate Nitrogen: Medium Low Ammonium Nitrogen: Low Phosphorus: Medium Low Potassium: High Calcium: High Magnesium: High Suggested fertilizer application: Broadcast 20lbs of 10-10-10 per 1000 sq ft before planting. No Lime needed.   Saturday, April 27 View Page The Starting Line-Up. Thanks for the seeds Joe, John, and Alan! (Cleon looked on as I filed and soaked my seeds today)   Tuesday, May 7 View Page I had some bad luck germinating. Seems the seeds weren't warm enough. I didn't do as good a job as I should have monitoring the temp. The middle plant is a 466 Deary I did as an experiment with the "Advanced Seed Starting Method". You can see here that the tops of the seed leaves on the remaining plants were cut with sissors. I trimmed off the rot after removing the seed casing. I think they will survive, since the seed leaves are just there to get the true leaf off and running. I can see the first true leaf there and they look healthy. Some day, I'll get this right...   Thursday, May 9 View Page Day 13. Looks like I recovered from the germination problems. Top (L-R): 1107.8 Girgus, 805 Pukos Bottom (L-R): 868 Nesbitt, 466 Deary, 865.5 Nesbitt The 466 Deary looks the best, I am very impressed with the large seed leaves and liked the speed with which the "Advanced Seed Starting" method worked. I also like the looks of the stem on the 1107.8 Girgus. It is nice and stocky. With the stunted seed leaves, it is taking the others longer to catch up, but they are progressing. Will have to wait and see. I only have room for two in the patch. I may double plant the hills though.   Wednesday, May 15 View Page Day 19. I had hoped to have these in the ground by now. They will go outside this weekend. Top (L-R): 1107.8 Girgus, 805 Pukos Bottom (L-R): 868 Nesbitt, 466 Deary, 865.5 Nesbitt The 1107.8 has developed into a double leaf plant. So I don't think I will go any further with it. The 805 Pukos looks too stunted to continue with as well. That leaves the two Nesbit Plants and the 466 Deary. These plants look very good, especially the 868. It has a huge first leaf compared to the others.   Sunday, May 19 View Page Finally got the hoop houses together. This year, I shortened the width to make a 8'x6' box. This allowed the 10' pvc to bend into a higher arc. Hopefully this will keep them from collapsing under heavy rain. I also added some close-pin style clamps to hold the ends on. Last year I boldted them on with carriage bolts, washers, and wing nuts. Needless to say it took a while to open them up and I lost all but 1 wing nut in the soil. This should work much better.   Wednesday, May 22 View Page This is the 868 Nesbit. Since we had frost lately, I held off on planting until tonight. The second leaf is yellowing. The plant was a bit root bound in the pot.   Wednesday, May 22 View Page On the left is the 865.5 Nesbit, the right the 466 Deary. Both plants are distressed from being inside so long. A lot of roots in the pots. Hopefully they will flourish in the garden...   Wednesday, May 22 View Page Here is a shot of the garden. The closest hoop house contains the 868 Nesbit.   Thursday, May 30 View Page 868 Nesbit. New growth looks healthy. I haven't done much bit water lately.   Thursday, May 30 View Page On the left is the 865.5 Nesbit, the right the 466 Deary. Plants seem perky and new growth looks healthy. I expect thay will start to take off now that they have gotten over being transplanted.   Thursday, June 13 View Page I got some time to work in the patch tonight. I needed to till up the weeds that have taken off with all of the rain we had gotten. Turns out they were too tall for the tiller. So, I mowed the patch and then tilled it under. I added this guy for the kids.   Thursday, June 13 View Page I removed the hoop houses and put up the wind breaks. I am really happy with the design of these wind breaks. This is there third year of service, and only a couple peices of duct tape were needed. Here is the 868 Nesbit.   Thursday, June 13 View Page 868 Nesbit up close. This plant is doing well. The vine is pointing in the proper direction without any training needed. They are staked down for wind protection. I need to prune off some older yellow leaves. Other than that this plant is very healthy.   Thursday, June 13 View Page Here is the 466 Deary on the left and the 865.5 Nesbit on the right. I need to get in there and cull the Nesbit plant and do some hand weeding.   Thursday, June 13 View Page 466 Deary up close on the right (Orientation changed from last pic). This plant has done well since it was in the seedling stages. So, since it is from one of my pumpkins, I think I will stick with it and cull the 865.5 Nesbit. The decision was a hard one, but the 865.5's stump has quite a bend in it from when the vine dropped low. I think the 466 has a better placement. Also noticed a bunch of cuc beatles. I went to grab my powder, and realized that I don't have any more. Need to pick some up tonight. I also hope to get the corn and sunflowers planted this weekend. Hope it doesn't rain both days.   Tuesday, June 18 View Page Thunderstorms swept through on the 16th complete with hale. My plants faired Ok, only a couple of holes. I put down some Isotox and Daconil today. I don't intend on losing another crop to the borers this year. Should take care of the cuc beetles too.   Tuesday, June 18 View Page Here is the 466 Deary on the bottom and the 865.5 Nesbit on the top. I should really cull one at this point...   Tuesday, June 18 View Page 868 Nesbit. Some weeding is in order. This plant continues to do well. They seem to like all the free water they have been getting now that they are out from the hoop houses.   Wednesday, June 26 View Page Here is the 466 Deary on the left and the 865.5 Nesbit on the right. (Still didn't cull one) Put down more Isotox/Daconil last night.   Wednesday, June 26 View Page 868 Nesbit continues to be a vigerous plant. Need to start burying vines. It doesn't rain in CT anymore, it pours! Both plants were pounded for an hour last night.   Sunday, June 30 View Page Got some time in the patch this weekend. I weeded the patch and finally culled the other plant. Shown here is the surviving 466 Deary. It had better position on the hill and more vigerous growth. Found two SVBs sunning themselves on its leaves last night. I smashed one, the other got away. I sprayed twice with Isotox now, hopefully it does the trick.   Sunday, June 30 View Page The 868 Nesbit had one female pop already. I ignored it. Another is developing now and will be ready in a couple days. That one will probably kick off the early morning pollination season. I set up my overhead sprinklers as well as the misting system. The five day forcast shows a heat wave next week. I mist from 10 am to 5 pm. 2 minutes of misting with a 10 minute break in between mists. Since I have been seeing a lot of living cuc beetles and the SVB moths, I decided to add Malathion 50/50 to my Isotox regiment. That went on last night. I will put each down once a week, Isotox mid week and Malathion 50/50 on weekends.   Tuesday, July 2 View Page Self pollinated the second female on the main vine this morning. Here it is after I tied it closed with a tendril. Supposed to hit 95 degrees today.   Tuesday, July 2 View Page Here is the first female on the 466 Deary. It will go in a couple of days.   Tuesday, July 2 View Page My wonderful wife was kind enough to take a shot of the plants in the heat of the day (about 100 today) so I could see how well the misters were working. This is the 868 Nesbit.   Tuesday, July 2 View Page ... and the 466 Deary in the hot sun. Looks like the misters are working just fine. The plants are really taking off now in the heat. I don't think they are stressed at all with the cool mist on them every 10 minutes. I will need to nock down the duration of the misting cycles. The ground is still wet in the morning when I check on them. I don't want to promote any fungus or molds.   Friday, July 5 View Page We had a lot of wind come through today. 4 of my 6 windbreaks failed. I should have put fresh plastic on them. The stuff from last year looked good, but I guess it was too brittle.   Monday, July 8 View Page Had to take off 4 back vines on the 868 Nesbit plant. The wind split them up. This plant grows fast, but the vines are thin and frail. Rain is expected soon, so I anchored the remaining vines. This plant is vigerous, I hope this is only be a minor setback.   Wednesday, July 10 View Page The 466's vine is like a firehose. However, it isn't throwing any flowers. The female buds don't seem to mature properly. Hopefully this is just a temporary thing.   Wednesday, July 10 View Page Here is the a shot of the full 466 plant. I need to get on top of the weeds again. It seems this time of year I always get cramped for time.   Wednesday, July 10 View Page The 868 took some heavy damage from wind a few days ago. I had to prune the oldest secondaries off due to vine splits. It rained last night. Picked up about 2/3 of an inch.   Wednesday, July 10 View Page Here is a head on shot of the 868.   Thursday, July 11 View Page Pollinated the first female on the 466 Deary this morning. It was on a secondary main. It is about 2 feet from the edge of the patch.   Wednesday, July 17 View Page Here is a shot of the 466 Deary. The main vine stretches off to the yellow hose, and a secondary main runs to the left edge of the shot.   Wednesday, July 17 View Page A hopefull on the secondary main of the 466.   Wednesday, July 17 View Page I was finally able to pollinate one on the mutant main vine of the 466. I've got my fingers crossed!   Wednesday, July 17 View Page The secondaries on the 868 are long and healthy. Supporting plenty of females.   Wednesday, July 17 View Page This one is on the main of the 868. It is the current focus for Pumpkin Cam. Nice shape. Hope it holds on...   Wednesday, July 17 View Page A shot of the full 868 plant. I really need to get after those weeds again. Been spraying regularly with Isotox, Daconil, and Malathion. Hope to get some Sevin in the mix this week.   Wednesday, July 24 View Page 866 Nesbit plant is still doing well. Yesterday, I dead headed three secondaries as well as pruned off a lot of tertiary vines. I then buried all vines in preparation for a big storm system that moved in last night. The plant faired well. Only one vine took a hit, and it needed to be pruned anyway. I got all of the large weeds out of the patch last weekend. A lot of little ones remain…   Wednesday, July 24 View Page Here is "Clod" on the main vine of the 866 Nesbit. He seems to be a keeper. I measured today, and he is 54 inches around. I'll be putting some styrofoam under him and shading him by the weekend.   Wednesday, July 24 View Page This is the stem side of "Clod". Incidently, this year my pumpkin naming theme will be cuts of beef (In the spirit of "Fatback")   Wednesday, July 24 View Page Here are some other contenders on secodary vines on the 866.   Thursday, July 25 View Page "Clod's" new home   Monday, July 29 View Page "Clod" is 77.5 inches today.   Tuesday, July 30 View Page "Clod" is 83 inches today. That is a 1 day gain of 5.5 inches. Not bad for his 26th day. I checked my diary entries from previous years. This pumpkin is younger than my personal best at this time two years ago, and bigger. Lets hope this continues. Today was the third day in a row above 90 degrees. I guess this weather agrees well with him. Looks like only one pumkin this year. I guess the other good names will need to wait until next year.   Wednesday, July 31 View Page 27 Days old and 86 inches in circ.   Friday, August 2 View Page 94 Inches at 29 Days... wonder if I will hit 100 in 30 day? I did an over the top for the first time. Here are the measurements: Circ: 94 End to End: 64 Side to Side: 63 Total: 221 for and estimated weight of 227 lbs. This is the only fruit on the plant, and the only plant with a fruit. The phrase "all or nothing" comes to mind.   Friday, August 2 View Page Just realized I've been calling Clod's plant the 866, that was a mistake... it's on an 868 Nesbit.   Wednesday, August 7 View Page Here's Joe helping me with the measurements. Clod's OTT is 110C x 72EE x 71SS = 253 for an estimated weight of 333 lbs. I found leaf stalk bent over between the stump and Clod. When I cut it off, sure enough, borer damage. Luckily I caught it before it went into the main. I carved away the leaf at the base of the node going into the main slightly, but didn't go through thankfully. I burried it with dirt. Time will tell the tale.   Monday, August 12 View Page Clod's measurements are 121 C x 75 E x 74 S = 270 for an estimated weight of 402 lbs.   Monday, August 12 View Page This is a shot of the stump. I was surprised today by this white powder. Must be some kind of fungus. I mixed up a Captan / Daconil soup and treated the entire area. I will go back tomorrow and make fresh cuts on the appendages and apply some dry Captan. I will be away for the next two weeks. Keep your fingers crossed. The patch will be on auto-pilot.   Sunday, August 25 View Page Well, I came back from a 10 day vacation and this is what I was greated with. I need to get the weed-whacker in here this week to nock down these trees.   Sunday, August 25 View Page Here is a shot of Clod. Measured him this morning: 140 Circ 86 End to End 84.5 Stem to Blos = 310.5 for an estimated weight of 601 lbs! I am very pleased. Even if it weighed much lighter than the estimate, I should easily sail past my personal best.   Sunday, August 25 View Page Now for the bad news: This is Clod's Stem. I think I need to pop the two vines that are attached near the stem and run away from clod. I think that these vines are causing a little stress. Maybe I can keep them, if I jack them up with blocks like I do the main vine. I will treat with Captan tomorrow when I get home from work.   Sunday, August 25 View Page Here is the even worst news: What you are looking at is my completely rotted stump. The white powder is Captan. The stump is completely rotted out. I will cut the main vine back to healthy tissue tomorrow and bury it. The surprising thing is that Clod is still putting on weight, and this stump couln'd have rotted over night.... I wonder how much he will grow on tap roots only?   Thursday, September 5 View Page I mowed the patches weeds last night. Between stump rot and weeds it is a wonder it is still here at all. Here are Clod's measurements: 148 Circ 86 Stem to B 88.5 Side to Side = Est 672 The way it is shaped, I think it will weigh light... then again, it has a huge stem end...   Thursday, September 12 View Page Wind gust of 50 mph destroyed a lot of vines. Now the question is, "when do I pull him"?   Monday, September 16 View Page Clod is still growing ever so slowly. On Day 71 his measurements are as follows: 150 Circ 88 End to End 90.5 Side to Side = 328.5 for an estimated weight of 709 lbs! I've washed him down with a bleach solution to keep anything from growing on him.   Wednesday, September 18 View Page Dan Kain from Channel 3 stopped by to do an interview today. Ken and I are doing our best to promote this hobby!   Monday, September 23 View Page What can I say... I am blessed with a lot of reliable friends! THANKS! Ken helped me measure tonight. We did a real accurate job: Circ: 154.5 End to End: 89 Side to Side: 91.5 = 335 for an estimated weight of 755 lbs... I hope it goes heavy!   Thursday, September 26 View Page Clod and I after being weighed at the Durham Fair.   Thursday, September 26 View Page ..Ok, that was just Clod. Here I am next to it. Notice the nice sign!   Monday, October 7 View Page Clod was 701.5 lbs on the Durham scale which was enough for second place. However, there was some question to the accuracy of the Durham scales. On the 5th, Clod was weighed at Topsfield and came in at an even 695 lbs. This should prove that the Durham scales once used properly were fairly acurate. My tarp weighs about 4 lbs and there was some shrinkage. 695 was 28th place, and a personal best that shattered my previous 466. Here I am next to Clod the night I donated him to the Watertown Fire Department. Local High Scool kids in the art department will carve him up for display at the Annual Halloween festival. It was an absolute blast to drive around with him in my S10. A small pickup with a AG riding over the wheel wells on two pallets makes for a dramatic sight!   Monday, October 7 View Page Here is another angle. Like I said, dramatic...   Tuesday, October 29 View Page This is a great picture. Reminds me of the clown car at the circus..   Wednesday, October 30 View Page Today kids from the local high school's art club came to the fire house to carve Clod.   Wednesday, October 30 View Page ...progressing nicely...   Wednesday, October 30 View Page Here is the finished product. Thanks guys, I can appreciate how much work this is. Awesome job!   Wednesday, October 30 View Page Thanks again to these talented artists! Clod will make many a jaw drop tomorrow night at the fire house's anual Halloween party.   Thursday, October 31 View Page My boys and I pose for a few pictures... Tonight was a fine ending to a fantastic year. Clod was the third biggest pumpkin grown in the state this year. I am really looking forward to next year!