Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 46 Entries. Sunday, June 9 View Page i been reading a lot about growing pumpkins over the last 18 months and decided it was time to start a diary. thought it was best to introduce myself so that all would know something about me (you all seem like a friendly bunch). first thing i want to do is thank whoever is responsible for starting and maintaining this web site. you're doing a good thing. second, i want to thank all that have contributed to this web site, you've increased my knowledge 100 fold.   Sunday, June 9 View Page last year i barely got 3-4 pumpkins to grow without much effort, threw the seed out and let them do their thing, i think the biggest was 10 lbs, they were local bought seed, nothing special. this year I decided to try for something bigger and ordered AGs from johnnyseeds.com (anybody ever try them?). then of course i found your web site and have learned a lot(read, got hooked). i don't expect to grow a 500 pounder, but, would be more then happy with 100.   Sunday, June 9 View Page i germinated my seeds in a cold frame the first week of May and planted them the second week. they all started very good (all germinated, beginners luck?) but have slowed down since. i am presently on my third true leaf on the ones I haven't culled (cull, what does that mean?) and am happy with the growth so far. last year i planted directly in the garden and didn't have any germination till the middle of june (germany is not exactly your hotbed of pumpkin growers, isn't that right, Floh?). i do have root growth fertilizer but don't have things like fish emulsion or rabbit turds available. any suggestions are wilkommen (welcome). my home email address is maroon@bunt.com   Sunday, June 9 View Page last entry for tonight, want to thank all for their input to this site Pappy - cuz he's funny(you ought to see my hoe:-), Jeff352 (man i was fevering with you and the problem you had recently, congrats on yor recent growth) and Flohberger (he has already given me some good advice). owen   Monday, June 10 View Page 8:41 a.m., 54 degrees, raining, cold, my kingdom for some sunshine......   Tuesday, June 11 View Page 11 jun 19:20, just got done giving the plants some water and miracle grow, been dreamin about it all day. i have one plant with a fifth leaf showing it's proud self, man is this fun! i do have a question, see message board....owen   Friday, June 14 View Page 14 June 2002, I have 99.9% confirmed Mosiac Virus in 3 of the 5 plants I have growing. For three days now I have been monitoring them and the new leaf growth looks exactly like the pictures that Bruiser submitted in his 2001 diary. The attached picture is his as I do not have a digital camera.   Wednesday, June 19 View Page This is the AG closest to the plants I got rid of. Is this anything like Mosaic? I have a feeling like I made a rookie mistake as it is doing well except for the yellow edges and markings…..owen…FOS   Wednesday, June 19 View Page So you can get to know us a little better. Here is a picture of the upper garden with my soulmate martina and our yellow lab luke….owen….FOS   Wednesday, June 19 View Page Here is the punkin patch I started after I realized how much room I will need next year. I am building it as I go. You can see a willow tree to the left. That is one of .the things I miss the most from the USA…..owen…FOS   Wednesday, June 19 View Page this is the AG on the lower patch. it has a tendril attached to a leaf. should i let it grow, or cut it?...owen...FOS   Saturday, June 29 View Page We just found a length-wise main vine split about 3 feet from the stump. It is about two inches long. We have had good growth on the other side of the split, see next picture.   Saturday, June 29 View Page Here is a picture showing the emergency medical attention we have applied. You can see that the vine has grown another foot and a half with a female on the end of the vine. What do ya'll think? See new growers forum.   Saturday, June 29 View Page Here is a picture of me with the plant I moved down to the new patch I am building. I have the patch built to about 400 square feet and am working on another 300 square feet. This plant is about five and one half feet long with 4 females. I hope to pollinate in about 4-7 days.   Friday, July 5 View Page correction to previous entry. the new patch was at 200 sq. ft. when it was taken and i have built it up to over 300 sq. ft. now. i started this patch on 15 june and am pretty happy with how it is doing. considering i'm a newbie and that i hadn't prepared it with anything special the plant i put there on 15 june is doing good. it has a 7.5 foot main vine with 4 females. one of the females opened today, unfortunately from the dozen or so mails, none of them opened. i will let the bees do their thing and then see if it sets. by the way, the wheelbarrel and spade are in the picture cuz i've been spending more time with them then my soulmate LOL :-)....thanks for all your help bp.com and everyone that has given me any advice...you're the best...owen   Friday, July 5 View Page here is another view of the same patch. you know, it really doesn't matter if this AG produces a big pumpkin, i've had a blast just learning and trying me best....owen   Friday, July 5 View Page well, i finally got the wind protection up. i'm tired, ya'll have a great day...owen   Sunday, July 7 View Page the main vine on the lower patch is over 8 and 1/2 feet, great growth in the last two days for this plant. still observing the female to see if it has set. the upper patch has a female that should open tomorrow. still no males open!! gotta got to work tomorrow...uuuggghhhh!!!!   Wednesday, July 10 View Page Got some much needed rain today. New patch has 4 females that I am watching. Finally had a male open that I used on a female in the old garden. Another male should be opening tomorrow. The main vine in the new patch has gotten a growth spurt, over two feet in the last couple of days, more then 10 feet total, all secondaries are doing well also.   Thursday, July 11 View Page pollinated a 5 lober this morning at about 8 feet out on the lower patch main vine. nice surprise, had two males open, wasn't expecting that, put one in the fridge, hoping for another female to open in the next couple of days. the female i let the bees pollinate on 5 jul doesn't look like it set, probably wasn't meant to be, only 5 feet out and no males to pollinate with. BTW them Canadian guys are getting it going huh? Go Ernie, Go Darby2, Grow em real BIG!   Friday, July 12 View Page i pollinated another female at 10 feet out this morning. it was another 5 lober. hope that one of these babies sets....owen   Monday, July 15 View Page pollinated a female on a secondary vine this morning as a backup should something happen to the main vine.   Thursday, July 18 View Page pollinated a 4 lober abut 12 foot out on the main. this will be the last pollination. have had two solid days of rain, night temps in the 50's day temps in the 60's. the newest leaves look like they are soggy, full of water. need some sun.   Friday, July 19 View Page temps hit the 70's for the first itme in over a week. i'm sure the first pollinations won't be very big at the 10 day measuring due to this.   Sunday, July 21 View Page you guys think you have pest and disease problems! my patch is being attacked by wild elephants.....LMAO the left pumpkin is at 10 days the right one at 9 days. i know that they are to close, but i don't know which one to cull. if ya have a mind to help a newbie, feel free....owen   Tuesday, July 23 View Page well, i finally decided that the two pumpkins were too close together. decided to cull the right one, it was growing slower and i went with my gut feeling. today will be a big lesson learned for next year...don't forget that my "liebe diary"....   Tuesday, July 23 View Page training the main away from a potential about 13 feet out.   Wednesday, July 31 View Page this is Leroy Brown. he is 20 days old, 44 Cir, 33 BS, 34 SS = OTT 111 = 35 lbs. he is accompanied by PumpkinBelly. PlumkinBelly showed up today, not as famous as Cleone, however has been known to protect pumpkins for newbies, guess he found a home!   Saturday, August 10 View Page Leroy Brown with protector PumpkinBelly at 30 days old. 61.5 circ, 154.5 OTT = 84 lbs. I'm thinkin thats pretty darn good for a first year AG grower! Been puttin on 5 lbs per day for the last 10 days....hope all are having as good a year as Leroy and I!   Wednesday, August 14 View Page Looks as though the cold nights and below average temps during the day have taken its toll. Any significant growth has stopped. I've deadheaded everything but the main and loaded up on the fertilizer as they are predicting better weather in the next couple of days, hope to put on a few more pounds. Estimating these two at about 90-100 lbs.   Wednesday, August 14 View Page A picture of my upper garden, pretty busy here, I am growing tomatoes, bottle gourds, leeks, cucumbers, sunflowers, lettuce, pole beans, bush beans, jacob cattle beans, (yea, I love beans) zuchinni, corn, already harvested the peas, man where they good. On the far right you can see a pumpkin that I didn't pay much attention to this year, it showed me as it is at least 80 pounds!   Thursday, August 15 View Page looks like the weather has done the trick. i got one pumkin that picked up about 15 lbs and another the got over 18 lbs in the last 2 days...summer is back...hope it stays. by the way, want to publicly give my condolences to those in Europe that have had to put up with the horrible flooding. i thank God every day for my good furtune....owen   Saturday, August 17 View Page Leroy Brown - Day 36 - OTT 170.5 = 109 lbs Peggy Sue - Day 31 - OTT 165 = 101 lbs ForGetMeNot - Day Unknown - OTT 167 = 104 lbs I have already me my goal, 3 times over, this has been a great season. Thanks all for sharing....owen   Tuesday, August 20 View Page my better half, Martina and I made it home in time to harvest these bush beans, man is that gonna be some good eatin'   Tuesday, August 20 View Page here is pic of some of our harvest, the zuchinni on the far left is about 16" long. there is also maters, cucumbers two jalapenos. by the way, as i type the big zuchinni is being cut into 1/4" slices, laid in a beaten egg, breaded and fried like a schnitzel. man am i in hog heaven!   Thursday, August 22 View Page looks like my pumpkins survived the storm that split open Floh's Deary. decided that if they could handle that then it was time to just see what they are made of. put down about two pounds per plant 0-0-40 and 10 gallons of seaweed/fish fertilizer. don't know if this is hitting them too hard or not, guess they'll either grow somemore or bust wide open. Since the storm hit: Leroy Brown has picked up 14 lbs and is at 185.5 OTT = 139 lbs ForGetMeNot has picked up 19 lbs and is at 183 = 134 lbs this is like riding a rollar coaster....   Monday, August 26 View Page all pumpkins have slowed down considerably. only picked up a couple pounds over the last 3 days. we are expecting some rain showers the next couple of days. the last time we had a lot of rain there was significant growth, hoping the same happens again...time will tell.   Wednesday, August 28 View Page the rain as anticipated has been steady the last two days. the growth as hoped for just never showed up. figure that a combination of not having good seed and not enough organic material has limited the potential for growth. pushing 160lbs on ForGetMeNot which is still way more then i had expected. being a first year grower it looks like a giant to me! can't imagine what it would be like to have a 500 pounder sitting there. learned a lot this year, will try to put that knowledge into practice next year.   Wednesday, September 4 View Page Blossom end view of ForGetMeNot, very generous OTT of 201 equals 173 lbs estimate. Still adding some inches, just very slowly. Hoping she will fill out some more. Season is almost over weather wise. I am very happy with this years result. Thanks to everyone for all the advice. Hoping everyone else had as much fun as I did……owen   Tuesday, September 10 View Page growth continues, very slow, but ForGetMeNot hasn't quit yet. She is at 204 OTT = 180 lbs.   Sunday, September 15 View Page here is a stem view of ForGetMeNot. i really like the shape of this pumpkin.   Sunday, September 15 View Page this summer Heinz and I decided to build a greenhouse from old, leftover, thrown away, wood, picture windows, you name it. we work on it a couple hours each week. almost done. this is where next years German record pumpkin will get its start. i hope.   Tuesday, October 1 View Page OTT 207.5 = about 190 lbs. really interested in seeing what the weight will be when it goes on the scales this Sunday. regardless of what it weighs, this estimate is 90 lbs. more then I expected my first year. Man, I can't wait till next year.   Friday, October 4 View Page finally got my little beast loaded into the back of the station wagon with the help of a neighbor. see you on Sunday Ingo!   Monday, October 7 View Page what a great day yesterday was! my first weigh-off, seeing the German record get beat. meeting some of the great people from this web site. a true gran finale to my season. going to the wiegh-off also has really gotten me pumped up and looking forward to next year. will post some pictures as soon as i can. owen PB 165   Wednesday, October 16 View Page took the smallest pumpkin i had this year to work as some seasonal decoration and you wouldn't believe some of the reactions. this one weighed on a bathroom scale in at 123 pounds. most people said they had never seen anything so big. one of my colleagues decided to post the sign you see behind it. makes one feel good that others get such happiness out of something another has grown, regardless of how small. this is my last diary entry for 2002. may each an everyone of you have a wonderful fall and winter...see ya on the message boards and the chat room....owen