Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 138 Entries. Sunday, May 2 View Page I thought I would start my 2010 diary off with a couple vacation pictures from the Polynesian Resort at Walt Disney World. We just returned Saturday night May 1st so my 2010 season has a late kick off. Here is a picture from our balcony. Sunday, May 2 View Page Here is the garden fountain in the Great Ceremonial House at the Polynesian Resort. Sunday, May 2 View Page And lastly here is a picture of the "Volcano" pool. It had a cool slide and it over looked the castle at the Magic Kingdom. This was a nice relaxing resort with a couple of very good restaurants. Now on with the pumpkins........ Sunday, May 2 View Page The patch looks ok even though we got 17 inches of snow on April 28th. We were in sun and 86 degrees at the time, so it didn't bother us too much. Ha! I got everything added and tilled in today and will probably do one more pass through with the tiller before I add my electricity for the hoop houses. We are going to grow mostly orange this year starting with the 730 Dill and 603.5 Muller. We are also going to grow 3 of our own seeds from 2009. First will be our 648 Young 09 which is a 695 Young crossed with a 1385 Jutras. Next will be our 763 Young 09 which is a 1502 Wallace x 1385 Jutras. And at the Squires patch I will be growing our 700 Young 09, which is an 1161 Rodonis x 1502 Wallace. We will probably be planting around May 9th, which is about 4 days later than normal. Monday, May 31 View Page The official start of summer is here and the weather is starting to cooperate. Our spring has been full of wonderfull family activities but now it is time to start focussing on garden chores. Our plants are 1-2 weeks behind other years but it may even out by october if mother nature is kind. Here is a pic of the lg side of the patch. Monday, May 31 View Page Here is the pool side. I have to include a pic of the pool so my good buddy Duff can critique the water quality. LOL Monday, May 31 View Page Here is the 111 Urena LG. It is starting to pick up steam. This was the fastest to germ so it made the first cut. Monday, May 31 View Page 1102 Pukos. This plant is starting well and should be running by next weekend. Monday, May 31 View Page Next in the patch is our 648 Young (695 Young x 1385 Jutras) We are hoping this keeps its orange color and adds percent heavy to its genes. Time will tell. Monday, May 31 View Page Here is our 763 Young (1502 Wallace x 1385 Jutras) We have high hopes for this cross as well. We were going to have the 730 Dill in this house but it had germination problems. Monday, May 31 View Page The plant in the middle is the 700 Young (1161 Rodonis x 1502 Wallace) I believe the 700 will be our keeper. To the right is the 603.5 Muller which threw a club root and shot up a weird looking first true leaf. The 603.5 has not produced another leaf in the last week and will probably be pulled soon. Monday, May 31 View Page Here is our 700 Young we are growing at our good friends Dick and Ann Squires. They were kind enough to give me a spot to grow on their beautiful property. Monday, May 31 View Page Here is the 5.41 Harp 09 growing well in VT dirt. Monday, May 31 View Page And here is the 7.18 Harp doing its thing. I am not a tomato expert so no big expectations, but trying to grow a big mater is just fun stuff. Sunday, June 6 View Page Another week has flown by quickly and the plants continue to grow albeit slow. I will have to make final selections next week and cut off the back ups as well as take the hoop houses down. It is 55 degrees and rainy today with 1 1/2 inches of rain so far at 3pm. I dumped over an inch out of the rain gauge yesterday from the day before. Sunday, June 6 View Page Here is the pool side. The pool is filled up to the top and leaking, I think we have had enough rain. Sunday, June 6 View Page 111 Urena lg is growing well and should start climbing this week. Sunday, June 6 View Page 1102 Pukos. This guy is running and will be fully grounded soon. Sunday, June 6 View Page 648 Young. The fastest growing plant in the patch so far at around 3 feet long. Sunday, June 6 View Page 763 Young is coming along nicely and is running. Sunday, June 6 View Page 763 on left and 700 on the right. These were both back ups for the 603.5 Muller but unfortunately the Muller is stunted so I have to chose one of these soon. Sunday, June 6 View Page This is the 648 grown by Dick Squires. it is kicking the butt of the one in my patch but it is also 2 weeks older. Sunday, June 6 View Page Here is the 700 Young I am growing at the Squire's, it is doing well but not running in the straight direction I want yet. Sunday, June 6 View Page Onions and maters. You can see the standing water in this pick, boy do I need a few days of dry. Sunday, June 13 View Page Summer has arrived for at least a day or two and the patch chores got taken care of. The hail netting and water is in place and the hoops are down. Sunday, June 13 View Page Here is the other side of the garden. Sunday, June 13 View Page 111 Urena. This gourd should start climbing this week and is looking strong and healthy. Sunday, June 13 View Page 1102 Pukos. This plant has landed and is coming along nicely. Sunday, June 13 View Page 648 Young. This plant is currently leading the way in our patch although I would like to see more side vine growth. Sunday, June 13 View Page 763 Young. This plant is starting to grow fast and is trouble free so far. Sunday, June 13 View Page 763 Young (b) This was supposed to be a back up but ended as a primary. It will be interesting to see the differences of the genetics as it will be grown side by side with its sib. I am thinking of doing a sib cross. Sunday, June 13 View Page 700 Young. I am growing this at the Squires patch. It has a split stump, but is growing quite well. Sunday, June 13 View Page Here is a pic of the 648 Young growing very fast at the Squires. Sunday, June 13 View Page Here is a sample of the giant sunflowers. I have 17 in all planted in the patch. They are fun to watch grow and a lot less work and stress compared to the pumpkins. Sunday, June 13 View Page Here is the onions and tomatoes. I am growing both giant and regular onions but the two tomato plants are just for giants. (hopefully)(: Sunday, June 20 View Page Another week is behind us and it was quite seasonally cool. Starting with Friday we finally started to get warm summer like temps again. The green growth has been slow but everything is lined up well for warm weather and fast growth. Sunday, June 20 View Page Other side of the patch. I kept the hail netting up all day due to t-storm threats. Tomorrow is supposed to be a sunny day so the netting will be pulled back in the AM. Sunday, June 20 View Page 1102 Pukos. This plant is growing a bit slow but this weekend has been moving the main right along. Unfortunately we are a long way from pollinating. Sunday, June 20 View Page 648 Young. This is the most agressive in the patch and is doing ok at around 7 feet. Sunday, June 20 View Page 763 Young. This plant is really starting to take off. Hopefully the warm weather will stay for us. Sunday, June 20 View Page 763b Young. This is the second 763 we kept due to primary plant problems. It is a bit later than the other 763 but is starting to move quite quickly now. Sunday, June 20 View Page 111 Urena. This lg is finally starting to climb and it has grown a lot in the last 3 warm days. Sunday, June 20 View Page Giant sunflowers are really picking up the pace. Sunday, June 20 View Page Here is a pic of the 5.41 Harp. It is the thickest plant so far with huge leaves. Sunday, June 20 View Page Here is a photo of a mega bloom on the 5.41 Harp. Sunday, June 20 View Page 700 Young. I am growing this at the Squire's house and it is growing very nice so far. Sunday, June 20 View Page 648 Young grown by Dick Squires. This is by far the largest plant in his patch at about 10 feet and really throwing nice side vines. Sunday, June 27 View Page July is almost upon us and the plants are still slowly plugging along. My two week late start is taking a toll, but the plants do look healthy so I am still hopeful. Sunday, June 27 View Page Here is the other side of the patch. I saw my first svb today and she was a big fat female. I am hoping my spray does its job, it has not let me down yet. Sunday, June 27 View Page 1102 Pukos. This has been a trouble free plant and is starting to throw some nice secondaries growing a bit slow and is at 7 feet or so in length. Sunday, June 27 View Page 648 Young is the best starter so far at around 10 feet. Trouble free and sending out some nice secondaries. Sunday, June 27 View Page First 763 Young. Still growing strong and sending out some strong secondaries. Sunday, June 27 View Page Second 763 Young. A bit smaller and also got started a week later than the others, so still a very young plant. Sunday, June 27 View Page 111 Urena. This LG is starting to kick it in gear and is around 5 feet tall so far. Sunday, June 27 View Page Here is a pic of the 5.41 Harp which is growing very well. If anyone has suggestions on pruning please email me. Sunday, June 27 View Page 700 Young being grown at the Squires. I let the first blossum be open because it was only 6 feet out. I just wanted to see what she was going to look like and it was a nice 4 lober. Sunday, June 27 View Page 648 Young being grown by the Squires. It has a pollination sitting around the 10 foot mark that should be open by Tuesday. Sunday, July 4 View Page Happy July 4th to everyone. The pumpkins are starting to pick up the growth. I guess it is better late than never. Hopefully will be pollinating most in the next 7 days. Sunday, July 4 View Page Here is the other side of the patch. Saw a few svb's flying around yesterday. I am glad I am spraying every 7-10 days. Sunday, July 4 View Page 1102 Pukos. This plant has taken a bit to get rolling but has really put on nice growth with the warmer weather. Sunday, July 4 View Page 648 Young. Still the most agressive of the patch. pollinated one this morning at 8 1/2 feet with a 763 Young. Sunday, July 4 View Page 763a Young. Starting to really grow well. 1st secondary started as a flat vine but doubled and is now a nice single. Hoping to pollinate sometime this week. Sunday, July 4 View Page 763b Young. This plant is about 10 days younger than the rest but starting to grow nicely. Not as heat tolerant as the other 763 Young. Very interesting to see two seeds from same pumpkin act differently. Sunday, July 4 View Page 700 Young. This plant is growing well at the Squires patch. This is a brand new patch and we haven't quite got the soil where it needs to be, but the plants are doing fine. Sunday, July 4 View Page 648 Young at the Squires. This plant is still doing well and it looks like Dick has one pollinated at about 12 feet. Sunday, July 4 View Page 111 Urena. This lg is starting to grow very fast with the warm weather. When we had daytime highs in mid 60's last week our growth really slowed. Sunday, July 4 View Page 5.41 Harp. Best growing tomato so far. I need to prune it and look for mega blooms. Sunday, July 11 View Page The plants are starting to grow well with the past week of warm weather. We had a nice family vacation in York Beach maine this week and unfortunately lost a couple of pollinations to heat. Oh well! This has been a family focussed year with the kids in high school and will be gone before we know it. I am still hoping for a couple of pollinations this week as I return back to the work grind. So maybe not a monster this year but hopefully a couple of nice lawn pumpkins. Sunday, July 11 View Page Here is a picture of the rest of the patch. Pool has gotten a work out since we returned with all of the hot weather. Sunday, July 11 View Page Sunflowers seem to like the heat. Most of them are around the 6 foot mark. Sunday, July 11 View Page 1102 Pukos. This plant has been a solid grower. Unfortunately I lost a pollination to heat and the next one is not far from the bud tip. I fertilized with bloom booster yesterday in hopes to stimulate a few more females. Sunday, July 11 View Page 648 Young. This plant is growing awesome and again I unfortunately fried the first pollination so number two should be ready in a couple of days and I have it shaded as well. Sunday, July 11 View Page 763a young. This plant is growing very strong and should have a pollination in 2-3 days. Sunday, July 11 View Page 763b Young. This plant is not as heat tolerant than the other 763. Kind of funny how same genetics can act so differently. Sunday, July 11 View Page 111 Urena. This lg has made it to the top of the trellis and is approximately 15 feet long today. The first male flowers will bloom tonight, so hopefully some females in the next week to 10 days. Sunday, July 11 View Page 5.41 Harp. This mater is growing out of control and is about 5 feet tall and massive. Not sure what it will produce but it sure is fun to grow. Sunday, July 11 View Page Here is the first pollination off from the 700 Young I am growing at the Squires patch. The plant is growing ok, but we still have a soil issue that we will need to do more soil tests on. The ph was very low this spring and I am assuming that even after ammendments that it is still low. We will get a soil sample in August to help for fall prep. Sunday, July 11 View Page 648 Young grown by Dick Squires. The plant is about 20 feet long but its side vines are very slow to grow. This pumpkin is around 15 feet and seems to be growing well though. Sunday, July 25 View Page Wow! I can't believe how fast the summer is going by. This has been a very challenging summer in terms of pumpkins but a very fun summer for the family. With early aborts that I think were due to heat and our vacation to low potassium levels that have slowed down everything it is a bit stacked against us to grow a huge pumpkin but we are not giving up and fighting all the way to the end. Sunday, July 25 View Page Here is the other side of the patch. We have had a great raspberry and blueberry season with our freezer full of fruit for the winter. We freeze the berries on trays and seal them with the food saver system and they are great to cook with all winter. Sunday, July 25 View Page Here is a picture of my 2 sons on York Beach in Maine. The point behind them is were Nubble Light house sits. We had a great vacation with lots of beach time. Sunday, July 25 View Page 1102 Pukos. Two aborts on this plant and another hopeful pollinated on the 24th. Sunday, July 25 View Page 648 Young. Pollinated on the 19th and seems to be starting to grow. Fingers crossed. Sunday, July 25 View Page 763a Young pollinated on the 21st and slowly starting to look bigger. Sunday, July 25 View Page 763b Young last pollination on the main this morning and sure hope it takes. We are running out of garden space and time. Sunday, July 25 View Page 111 Urena Long Gourd. This is the first female I could find and should be open this coming week. We had a real bad storm last Wednesday and it snapped the tip of the main off. At least it was at the end of the top of the trellis and there are lots of secondaries in good shape. Sunday, July 25 View Page I am also helping my Dad with 4 plants at his house and here is the best pumpkin so far. He had a real rough year last year in losing my Mom to parkinsons and a whoops in the patch which killed all of his plants. We are hoping that he will have a nice large pumpkin for the weigh off this year. Sunday, July 25 View Page Here is our 700 Young that we are growing at the Squires patch it is just under 100 pounds today but the plants are real small so who knows. I will put a picture of our 648 there next weekend but forgot today. Sunday, July 25 View Page Here is a pic of some long beans growing up our cucumber trellis. These are a nice diversion and easy to grow. Hopefully next week I will show success in the pollinations from this week as it has been a rough venture so far. I want to thank Tom P. for his support and prompt service to help me try and salvage my season. Sunday, August 1 View Page August is here and I do have pumpkins pollinated but just barely with my oldest set being 13 days. I am still hopeful of a decent size pumpkin for the fall and with the right conditions maybe even one big enough for a boat in the regatta. Sunday, August 1 View Page The rest of the patch. Sunday, August 1 View Page 1102 Pukos. I am real bummed I got such a late start with this guy. I like the shape and think it could have made a great boat. I am still hoping but the chances are it won't have time to get large enough. Sunday, August 1 View Page 648 Young. This is our earliest pol. this year and is growing nice. I like the shape and color of this one. Sunday, August 1 View Page 763a Young. This is our second oldest pumpkin and is growing good. Not sure if I like the shape but lots of things can change in the next 30-40 days. Sunday, August 1 View Page 763b Young. This is the latest of my main vine pollinations and is starting to fatten up a bit so hopefully it is good. Seeing I have had such a late year I am keeping a couple of side vine pumpkins for different crosses. Even if the get to a couple of hundred pounds they will make nice lawn pumpkins. Sunday, August 1 View Page 648 Young grown by Dick Squires. This pumpkin is growing fine on a pretty small plant and is sitting around 250 pounds. Hopefully will be Dick's personal best by next weeks diary. Sunday, August 1 View Page 700 Young being grown at Squires. This pumpkin looks exactly like it's momma and is around 180 pounds so far on a very small plant. Sunday, August 1 View Page The boys and I are helping my Dad in his patch and this is his best so far. We are not sure of the seed he planted but it is growing well at around 70 pounds. Sunday, August 1 View Page Here is a pic of the first lg from the 111 Urena. Not sure if it has taken but will tell in a couple of days. We have pollinated 5 lg's on this plant all within the last couple of days. Sunday, August 8 View Page Another week has flown by and the summer seems to be on the short end. I have finally got a couple of pumpkins growing so perhaps not all is lost and will be rejuvenated to start a bit more agressively next spring. I am starting to get my soil imbalance figured out and will put the necessary nutrients in this fall. But in the mean time I will still be trying for a couple of nice lawn pumpkins for Halloween. Sunday, August 8 View Page Here is the pool side of the patch. Sunday, August 8 View Page 1102 Pukos. Day 15 and just starting to hit the OTT chart. I have crossed our 648 into this seed and am hoping to get mature seeds for next year. This is starting out nice and long with a long stem. Sunday, August 8 View Page 648 Young. This is our first day 20 pumpkin and is sitting just under 100 pounds. I like the shape currently and it looks like it will have nice color. Sunday, August 8 View Page This little girl is from our 763b Young plant and is just starting to grow. I am guessing she won't get very big but am hoping for 3-400 for a nice decoration. Sunday, August 8 View Page Here is the pumpkin off from our 763a Young plant. It is not as agressive as our 648, but we also left a couple side vine pumpkins on this plant for some crosses I wanted. Pumpkin is around 50 pounds. Sunday, August 8 View Page Here is the 648 Young grown by Dick Squires. It has very little for shoulders but definately has a butt. Currently it measures 369 pounds and is a PB for Dick. His season goal was 500 pounds so I hope this gal keeps growing. Sunday, August 8 View Page Here is my pumpkin at Squires on the 700 Young. It is currently around 265 lbs and growing slow but steady. It is white and the same exact shape as its momma which was an 1161 Rodonis. Sunday, August 8 View Page Here is the biggest so far at my Dad's patch measuring at 205 pounds. Sunday, August 15 View Page We had a fun patch tour this past weekend with lots of good friends and great conversation. Around 20 growers and family members got together for our Vermont summer BBQ and patch tour. Here is a pic of the patch by the long gourd trellis. Sunday, August 15 View Page Here is the pool side of the patch. The pumpkins are plugging along and I am happy with the growth for such late pollinations. We are not expecting anything large this year but I believe we will have some nice "kins" for the front lawn. Sunday, August 15 View Page 1102 Pukos. This pretty little pumpkin hit 100 pounds this weekend and is starting to gear up. Sunday, August 15 View Page 648 Young. This is still our biggest of the patch so far and is in the low 200's. I think she will be pretty with nice color but time will tell. Sunday, August 15 View Page 763a Young. This could be a real wide pumpkin because it sure isn't getting longer. Ha! About 140 pounds today. Sunday, August 15 View Page Here is our largest tomato so far. I believe it is a single bloom and a little over 16 inch diameter. I will be picking it the 27th for our local fair. Sunday, August 15 View Page 700 Young. We are growing this at the Squires patch. It is right around 350 pounds and still slowly plugging along. Sunday, August 15 View Page 648 Young grown by Dick Squires. This is a new pb for Dick at 466 pounds and is still putting on weight just not very fast. I think it will have nice color though. Sunday, August 15 View Page Here is the best out of my Dad's patch sitting at 358 pounds. Monday, August 16 View Page Here is the 763b Young pumpkin. We nicknamed it "pokey" because it is just growing at its own sweet pace. Not expecting alot from this but who knows. It is at 80 pounds today. Monday, August 16 View Page Finally got one pollinated on the 111 Urena. Not sure if we will get enough nice weather, but at least we should have one LG. Sunday, September 12 View Page It has been a few weeks since I have posted due to crazy schedules and lots of fun events. The pumpkins are also not cooperating growth wise and seem to be a bit camera shy. LOL. Here is part of the patch. Sunday, September 12 View Page Here is the other half. The pool has been stopped and will be put to bed in a couple of weeks as the weather is typical VT fall which is cool and rainy. Sunday, September 12 View Page 1102 Pukos. This pumpkin is sitting at 500 pounds and would make a good boat, but I am afraid it is not going to grow enough to be big enough. The late pollinations this year hurt alot but this is going to look nice carved on the lawn. Sunday, September 12 View Page 648 Young. This pumpkin is a little over 700 pounds which is decent for a late pollination and has a nice color to it, although the photo doesn't do it justice. Sunday, September 12 View Page 648 Young side view. It is a tall pumpkin which might help it weigh, but it doesn't make it very boat friendly for the regatta. Sunday, September 12 View Page 763 Young. Another 500 pounder that is still plugging along. If we have a heat wave this may make a boat. Sunday, September 12 View Page 648 Young grown by Dick Squires. This pumpkin taped 700 pounds yesterday. This is a nice pumpkin for a new grower and has nice color. I am not sure it will weigh to tape due to its low profile, but we will find out in a few weeks. Sunday, September 12 View Page We harvested the 111 Urena LG today and unofficially measured it at 93 inches. We will bring it to the VT weigh off for the official measurement. We also taped my Dad's pumpkin today at 660 pounds. Sunday, September 19 View Page Fall is upon us and we survived our first light frost a couple of nights ago. The plants are still slowly plugging along and I am ready to cut and start fall prep. I think this is the hardest time of the season to be patient and just keep everything as happy as possible. Sunday, September 19 View Page Here is the other half of the patch. Sunday, September 19 View Page 1102 Pukos. This pumpkin is still growing slowly but I am afraid it won't get large enough to be a boat. I do like the shape though and we crossed it into the 648. It is in the low 500's right now. Sunday, September 19 View Page 648 Young. This guy is still growing slowly and has been our best grower so far. Unfortunately we left it covered for 5 straight days of gray skys and cold and we had a little mouse friend start to eat one of its lower sides. This should not impact the fruit for the weigh off but I will need to apply captain to slow down any rot before Halloween. Sunday, September 19 View Page 763 Young. This was another late pollination but it is still doing well. Sitting around 540 pounds now so unfortunately will be too small for a regatta boat as well. But this should be a pretty pumpkin for the front lawn. Sunday, September 19 View Page 111 Urena LG. We harvested this a couple days ago and it is 93" long. We will measure it officially at the VT weigh off. Here is a picture of the stem end which was unusually small. (a half dollar was used for comparison) Sunday, September 19 View Page 111 Urena blossum end. This is quite large but yet seems normal compared to the stem end. Sunday, September 19 View Page 700 Young growing at the Squires. This has finally reached 500 pounds but thumps like a rock. I think Dick may weigh this as an exhibition at our weigh off. Sunday, September 19 View Page 648 Young at the Squires. This is a very low and wide pumpkin compared to the tall and wide I have in the back yard. This does have nice color though and weighs a bit over 700 pounds. Sunday, September 19 View Page Here is the largest at my dads patch and is turning out to be a real pretty pumpkin. It is taping just shy of 700 pounds. Sunday, September 19 View Page Here is a picture of a couple of long beans. The longest we have harvested was 32 inches. We have been drying and saving seeds if anyone is interested.