Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 106 Entries. Thursday, January 31 View Page Back by popular demand, O'Canada.....!! Sunday, February 3 View Page Chad (gilmore) and Lawmen are both so dumb-founded at the Superbowl loss by Brady and the Boyz from New England....I can't decide who looks more mad!! Friday, February 22 View Page The Lawman and his "Partner" are negotiating with a supervisor for some extra time off for spring patch prep.....I think that maybe they will get some needed time off. Tuesday, April 29 View Page A sign that it is planting time in the patch in my area is when the tulips are out...should be no more frost. Tuesday, April 29 View Page In the hoophouse I've got my heater behind a bucket filled with water and a couple of left over floor tiles to deflect the heat....seems to work nice as the hoophouse is kept at about 15 degrees C (about 60 F) even when the overnight outside temps are much lower. Ready to plant! Tuesday, April 29 View Page Watered, wired and ready for the 1420.5 Larue. In a smaller patch area, I will have the 1142 van Kooten to pollinate the Larue...looking forward to this cross. Tuesday, April 29 View Page Here are 2 - 1142 van Kooten plants (one for me and one for a friend) and a 788 Companion for my buddy Steve to grow (thanks for the seed Ron). The 788 grew Steve's personal best and it was a great looking brilliant orange fruit so I figured he'd like to grow it again. Also have a 689.5 Sandercock for my Uncle Chris that will be delivered and planted soon. The 1420.5 Larue is hardening off for a couple of days in the hoophouse and will hit soil by May 1st. Game on Lawman and Gilmore!! Sunday, May 4 View Page Here is the 1142 van Kooten snug in it's glass coldframe in the far end of the patch. Not going to post any pictures of the 1420.5 Larue yet as it has had somewhat of a slower start than the van Kooten plants and I don't want to give Gilmore any reason to boast "my 1420.5 looks better than yours" till he at least updates his diary with some more information and pictures. Chad and I are both growing the 1420.5 this year so it should be interesting at the least. Don't know what the Lawman is planting this year even though Chad and I offered him some world class seeds for him to grow...cops...can't trust them! Saturday, May 17 View Page This picture is from 6pm yesterday when I was closing the hoophouse for the evening. A whopping 91 degrees outside. After the coldest April in 36 years, our weather has gone nutty and again setting new records for high temps for this time of year. Saturday, May 17 View Page And in the shade it was a warm 85 degrees as well. Saturday, May 17 View Page Here is the 1420.5 Larue that is liking these warm days and nights and now is starting to show signs of vining. Can't see it in this pic, but there is the first tendril starting to show. Tuesday, May 20 View Page Three days of great weather has made a big differance for this plant. We have a few days of coolish weather with random rain showers and then back to nice again for the weekend. Friday, May 23 View Page Timber...looks like the 1420.5 Larue will settle down its vine this weekend. The Lawman figures he is "about a week or 2 behind" but did not even start his seeds till May 9th....uh...most normal growers in these parts start seeds last week of April and have them in the ground by first weekend in May....however, not my uniformed friend. Monday, May 26 View Page I've had my squirrel trap baited and ready but this spring there have been alot of red tailed hawks and other preditors that have been keeping the rodents away. Then out of nowhere, I have caught 3 of them by 9:30am....not one of them opted for the fins, snorkel and mask....very unsuccessful swimming lessons for them today!! Tuesday, May 27 View Page 1420.5 settled down nicely over the weekend and is putting on several inches per day on the main vine now. Secondaries are popping out as well. With the micro-climate inside the hoophouse, the aphids have already arrived so today I treated with systemic orthenex and will follow up every month or as needed. Will give a couple of gallons of a weak fish/kelp cocktail tonight. I've not been watering inside the hoophouse very often to encourage the roots to go deep and spread out...seems to have worked out well so far. Thursday, May 29 View Page Yesterday, out of nowhere, I caught 5 squirrels over the course of the day. Today, I have already shown 2 into the swimming pool and I am sure that more will join the party. Its all out war when they dip into my Bud!! Sunday, June 1 View Page The 1420.5 is growing fast and I needed to move the heater, bucket and fan to one side to make room for the main. I removed the back main (thanks pap) and the first couple of secondaries are hidden under the canopy but are about 1' out now. I'm going to move the hoophouse forward a couple of feet to keep it inside for as long as possible, I may even add onto it if needed. The squirrel trap remains in place and I will keep the swimming bucket available as well. How are the Lawman and Gilmore doing? Sunday, June 8 View Page I'm quite proud of our 1 year old black bengal cat that has taken his sencond squirrel in just 2 days. He caught this one today and brought it home to eat it....what a good boy!! Sunday, June 8 View Page Weather has been cool and rainy for the past week however the 1420.5 is still growing nicely. Secondaries are coming in nicely now and if the weather would warm up, I will take off the hoophouse and let it consume the patch. Thursday, June 12 View Page I think that this is fair warning....especially when you have...... Thursday, June 12 View Page ...this nice little beauty has shown up with all the other Ladies to the party.....she's so purdy!! Sunday, June 15 View Page One day after taking the glass greenhouse off my 1142 van Kooten....yup a squirrel decided to nip off the main vine growth tip. Today, I am going to be forced to take the hoophouse off the 1420.5 Larue as it has now totally outgrown the space. While I will continue to do battle with the squirrels, if this is a battle that I cannot win, the pumpkin patch will be turned back into a very large vegetable garden for my wife until such time that we can move from the North Shore of Vancouver away from the retarded squirrels that have ruined my past 3 seasons. I appologize for my attempt at humour with regard to the way that I deal with my rodent problem....but as you can see...I think it is justified. Thursday, June 19 View Page Caught my new best friend sleeping in the patch....still proud as punch that he likes this pumpkin stuff as much as the rest of us do! Sorry in advance to Eric but, BIG24NUT....that was some good humour in your diary entry on June 16th...good for you!! Friday, June 20 View Page This is what we woke up to this morning. Guess while my guard cat was snoozing, something decided to now nip off the end of the 1420.5 Larue....with a perfect female that would have been at about 14' and pollination date might have been perfect. In the previous picture, you can see a female that will be open in a few days so I am going to have to go with that one and let a secondary take over as the main. Not ideal...but that is what it is. Saturday, June 28 View Page Pacific Northwest Weather reports in today with a major heatwave.....just in time for the Canada Day celebrations. This is a wierd turn of events....but we will take it. Plants are loving it right now and pollination time will not be too far away. Tuesday, July 1 View Page This pumpkin community proves again what a small world it is. A friend of my daughter's father was visiting relatives and mentioned to his family that he had someone in North Vancouver that he knew that grew Giant Pumpkins. Turns out, my friend is related to the Greer family and they had an extra Pumpkinfest sweatshirt for Glenn from the North Shore Boyz....what a nice surprise!! Tuesday, July 1 View Page The 1420.5 has recovered from losing the main vine tip and now all the secondaries at the leading edge of the plant are trying to take over as the main. The one in the centre has been re-positioned and is set for a pollination soon. There are females on the secondaries that I will pollinate while I wait for one on the main....should not be long now with this great weather we are having on the coast of the Pacific Northwest. Thursday, July 3 View Page This little lady on a secondary of the 1420.5 will get a rub and tickle in the morning from the 1142. There are female flowers on both mains of the 1420.5 and the 1142 so pollinations will most likely be happening every second day now for the next 10 days. Friday, July 4 View Page My daughter and a few of her gal-pals in the back of a truck on a washed out road in Gales Point Belize. Her youth group is on a mission there very soon after the area was hit by a few nasty tropical storms. Gales Point is an isolated area of Belize with a population of 500 and her youth group is there to hold sports camps, entertain the kids and do other work around the town and mission. Wednesday, July 9 View Page I was cutting my lawn on monday, thrilled with a couple of recent pollinations when I tripped over the garden edging and fell backwards into my glass greenhouse/hothouse. I knew that I was injured when I saw the blood spurting from my wrist. Fortunately my neighbour was home, came out to check and immediately called 911 for me while I applied pressure to stem the flow. At the emergency they temporarily stiched up the wound and advised me that I would need the services of a plastic surgeon to hopefully repair damage to some severed tendons and an artery and to close it up properly. Today I had surgery to repair the damage and was told not to use my left arm for 6 to 8 weeks while it repaired. My wife immediately said "don't worry hunny, I'll pick up the slack in the pumpkin patch for you"....wow...what a doll!! Say what you will about the Canadian medical system, but when you have an injury that requires attention right away, you get to skip the line-up and go right to the front to get it done and for that I am thankfull. More pictures from the patch soon. Thursday, July 17 View Page I did not ask for permission, so I hope that Mr. & Mrs. van Kooten and Mr. & Mrs. Larue are OK with the forced union between their offspring. This is the 1142 van Kooten sealed up after its union with the 1420.5 Larue. Thursday, July 17 View Page 1420.5 Larue x 1142 van Kooten on a secondary. It is 20" at 10 days so is a keeper for now while I monitor the other pollinations. Thursday, July 17 View Page This is the 1420.5 that is slowly filling its space. I have 2 pollinations on secondaries that are are far enough out to be keepers but am waiting on that female on the main to be ready in a few days. The squirrel attack set the main vine back by about 2-3 weeks but I am still going to pollinate it anyways and see how it goes. Thursday, July 17 View Page And this is the flag pattern 1142 van Kooten. There are 8 secondaries on this plant that can continue on under the rhoto bush and continue to grow out to 25 feet each. I have one pollination on the main and there will be one more in the next few days. This one is also a few weeks late due to squirrel attack but is progressing nicely. Now if we can just get our awesome Indian summer in September and early October....I still might be able to have something decent to take to weigh-off. I sure wish that Chad Gilmore would update his diary but he has learned some sandbagging lessons from someone and is strangely absent in the diary section right now. The Lawman posted a sandbagging "recent" photo lately that nobody is buying...nice try James!! Saturday, July 19 View Page This is the last pollination on the 1420.5 and again I used the 1142. It is a little over 14' on the main and has good position (I've been doing my S-turns) and once I am sure it has taken I will endeavor to swing the vine over to give the fruit the best angle possible. Of course my earlier pollination from July 4th on a secondary is roaring along at a good pace and will be tough to cull. I may switch my original plan to grow 1 fruit on the 1420.5 and 2 fruit on the 1142 and do the reverse....time will tell. Still lots of room in my patch for addition main vine growth and secondaries after the fruit. I am going to train some of the secondaries behind the fruit forward now into the available space and allow them to grow past the other secondaries that are being terminated at 12'. Sunday, July 20 View Page My good buddy Steve made this copper extension for me that has a 1 gallon per minute mister on top that we use every year. As Andrea and I sat in the pumpkin patch viewing area with the mister on, letting the wind blow where it may, occasionally drifting our way and cooling us off nicely but not getting us wet....we thought of Steve. I'm pretty sure that Steve enjoys the pumpkin thing, but mostly thinks we (growers) are all crazy, but I know I can count on him every year for help with anything that needs to be done. He is the one that gets the credit when some asks "where is Glenn" and he would say "is he outside Pumpkinating" Thanks Steve, you are a good friend!! Sunday, July 20 View Page Here are the contenders. On the main is the newly pollinated 1420.5 x 1142 then on a secondary is another 1420.5 x 1142, the on the other secondary is a 1420.5 x self. Going to cull the self pollination so that I can move vines around a bit in anticipation of needing a path to the chosen fruit. Sunday, July 20 View Page Then there is the early pollination on the 1420.5 that has such a short stem and not the best vine position (I can fix that) and is also on a secondary vine. It is growing great now and as I begin to terminate secondaries, it is tough to believe that I may cull it in favour of much smaller, later pollinated fruit that are all way further out on the plant....tough call! Monday, July 21 View Page A 6 lober on the main of the 1142 at 12' just shortly after a rub and tickle from 2 males from the 1420.5. This is also a couple weeks behind my intended schedule but mother nature was acting wierdly this spring and just about everything is a few weeks behind in our area this year. Thursday, July 24 View Page Secondary fruit at day 20 pictured with my favorite new Belgian beer. I'll need to do some vine adjustment if this one is going to be kept. Tough call as my main vine pumpkin is only at day 5 but has perfect vine postion. This one started out nice and round and now at the blossom end is starting to bulge out. Friday, August 1 View Page Started out so nice and round, and now over the past week, even Sir Mixalot would love this pumpkin cause Baby Got Back. I am a bit concerned about a couple spots in the butt creases, but it has nice large shoulders and has been getting better daily gains, but am still far behind others. Really hoping for great weather in September and early October!! Tuesday, August 5 View Page My buddy Steve has this nice one on his 788 Companion (810 Dill 99 x 995 Carter 01) that we crossed with my 1420.5 Larue....seeds from this will grow very nice orange fruit. He has gone away to his cottage for a week and has left me in charge of patch duties. I sure wish he had done some main vine adjustments before he left....but no....he left it for me to do. Steve always does such a great job in his limited patch area and I hope that this one gives him a PB this year....he has been chasing 500 lbs for a few years so I hope this is the one. Tuesday, August 5 View Page We were away for the BC Day long weekend and came back to happy plants. The 1420.5 on the secondary continues to grow well and the later pollinated fruit on the main is liking this good weather we have in the PNW right now. Tuesday, August 5 View Page ....and here is the pic.... Wednesday, August 6 View Page And I was concerned about the crease near the blossom end....oh well. Went out to measure this morning and when there was no increase on the circumference, I leaned over for a better look at the stem and sure enough, it had split and right into the cavity. This is the fruit on the secondary, so now I am down to one on the main vine. Wednesday, August 13 View Page The late pollination on the main of the 1420.5 (July 19) is the last one I have on this plant. I'm wondering about the main vine that only has grown 5' and has 10 small leaves on it after the fruit. As you can see the vine has lifted quite abit and I've been supporting it along the way, however I am concerned that being so short after the fruit, it may cause additional stem stress along the way. Today it was blowing in the wind slightly and I was tempted to terminate it after the pumpkin to avoid an issue. Any thoughts? Glenn Thursday, August 14 View Page Went fishing today with my Uncle Chris and we managed to catch our limit of crab in the first hour. 5 large crab each but no Salmon....will try again tomorrow. Just waiting for my Uncle to sent me a picture of his 689.5 Sandercock that he has going in his backyard. Not setting the world on fire, but will have a very nice pumpkin again on display this year. Good fishing and alot of fun today! Friday, August 15 View Page After about 10 days of sitting on my lawn, I decided to cut up the 1420.5 that stem split on me to put in the recycling that the city was picking up today. Much to my dismay, you can see how thick it is, and this is at the stem end where it split...I just don't understand. Friday, August 15 View Page Steve's 788 Companion x 1420.5 Larue. After a slow start and a lack of time, he allowed a field pumpkin and zucchinni to share his patch, resulting in a very small plant with just the main vine and a couple of short secondaries on each side. It past day 30 awhile back now and is chugging along at 4.5 lbs per day. Just to show other growers that you can grow in a small space....Steve gets a nice pumpkin every year. Monday, August 18 View Page Day 30 for my 1420.5 gave me a rotten surprise. After ramping up the daily growth to 15 lbs per day, it decided to split on me. It was a pleasure to grow the 1420.5 Larue and was one of my nicest plants ever and I am disappointed not to be able to grow one out to completion. Would have been a beauty and was the largest 30 day fruit ever from my patch. Still have one on the 1142 van Kooten that is growing nicely and will hit day 30 in 2 days. After a week of blistering hot and soaring temperatures...we have a few days of rain...hope the 1142 holds up for me. Wednesday, August 20 View Page Our patch buddy Cole doing his job. The weather has turned cool (line everywhere it seems) and we just had 2" of rain in the past 24 hours so my patch buddy is keeping an eye out for the return of the squirrels. Usually, once the weather starts to cool off, the little fuzzy tailed rats return to lower ground to feed again. Wednesday, August 20 View Page I was going to take out the 1420.5 plant and cut off the main after the fruit and then noticed another female flower on a secondary (must have missed it when trimming). Steve does not trim (or for that matter take care of his plant at all) so I think that I may be able to get some pollen from his 788 Companion in the next day or 2. Failing that, I froze a bunch of pollen "just in case" so now I may get a chance to test that theory. Wednesday, August 20 View Page Despite that nasty gash, this fruit has put on 30 lbs in the past 2 days but I am sure it will shut down soon as there is no question that it goes into the cavity. Upon further inspection, the walls are quite thick except for that little crease where it split. Jack/Sherry....I'd love to grow this plant again and if you happen to have any extra seeds, I'd love to give it another shot next year. Wednesday, August 20 View Page The 1142 van Kooten has now inherited the umbrella and larger white sheet from the 1420.5. With this cooler weather I may even incorporate a blanket for overnight. This one is at day 30 and over the past couple of days (despite the cooler weather) has picked up the pace to 10 lbs per day. If the weather gets better and we have a good September, I'm sure it will pick it up to 15 lbs per day and hopefully take me to a weigh-off. Friday, August 22 View Page Ned, here is the late pollinated 689.5 at my Uncle's house. Uncle Chris plants in about a 10 x 6 foot raised bed and lets the plant spill out mostly on one side and always gets a nice pumpkin every year. We terminated all vines today and all systems seem to be go. Went fishing again and once again caught our limit in the first hour. Was an awesome day on the water and laughed till our bellies hurt. Friday, August 22 View Page With some nice leaf cover, the 1420.5 looks nice. Still is gaining 9 lbs per day for the past 5 days since splitting. Friday, August 22 View Page From the 1142 looking towards what will be an empty space soon. What a shame... but part of the game. Saturday, August 23 View Page This is the first year that have experimented with one plant and have terminated the main vine past the fruit. Now I am worried about stem stress. I usually support the vine before and after fruit with styrofoam blocks as the vine/stem rise as the pumpkin grows. With this fruit, the vine has only raised slightly off the ground and the stem is pointing down and is low to the ground while the blossum end of the fruit is up higher than usual. I had a small piece of syrofoam directly under the stem however in the past couple of days, it was getting tighter and tighter and I was worried that I might be creating stem stress rather than trying to relieve it. Any advice? Feel free to email me at [email protected] Thanks/Glenn Tuesday, August 26 View Page Well, not a pleasant surprise in the patch this morning. So far, in all these years I've only caught one raccoon in my squirrel trap and now this....a full grown skunk. This one is so fat, I was worried that it was not going to be able to turn around to get out of the trap when/if I opened it. I pondered swimming lessons....threw a blanket over the trap, devised an opening tool with a coat-hanger and lifted the trap door open. It wandered out, looked at me and then waddled over the forested area behind my neighbours house. Not once did it spray, hiss, bare its teeth or anything....hope it learned its lesson and will not return. Thursday, August 28 View Page This is part of the reason we don't have too many squirrels this time of the year. We have a couple of resident Coopers Hawks and this one was resting, and cleaning itself. Thursday, September 4 View Page Here is my Uncle Chris's 689.5 Sandercock that is growing quite nicely. Our weather has finally gotten back to summer and long-term forcast looks good. He needed to loosen the top board on his raised bed as the pumpkin was out-growing its space. I think he will need to remove that top board as it continues to grow...time will tell. Saturday, September 6 View Page Patch buddy Cole sitting between the two plants keeping an eye out for squirrels or anything else that moves. September looks good so far and the daily gains have improved slightly....wonder how Chad is doing way up the mountains in Pemberton? Sunday, September 14 View Page This pic is from a few days ago and compared to the previous picture with the cat, you can see that it is starting to get lumpy and is still growing nicely. Sunday, September 14 View Page In recent years using the belting under our pumpkins, the fruit have either been flat on the bottom or sometimes a little concave. This one is lumpy and bumpy on the bottom and is part of the reason why that it is growing forward to the stem. I got some good advice to remove the foam pieces that I had directly under the stem and under the main vine near the pumpkin because as the stem side got nearer the ground, it was creating some stem stress. We dug out under the belting in order to roll the pumpin back slightly in order to re-raise the main vine and stem up off the ground. When the pumpkin was younger, the vine and stem were at least 6" off the ground so I knew that I had the extra slack in the vine. Sunday, September 14 View Page As my buddy Steve pushed gently back on the pumpkin, I excavated the soil from under the fruit to allow the pumpkin to settle and raise the vine/stem up. He then shaped that piece of styrofoam to fit at the base of the fruit to prevent it from rolling back forward toward the stem. Sunday, September 14 View Page A closer shot of the stem after our proceedure. I can now really understand why alot of growers use the belting along with sand under the pumpkin. If I had starting using sand earlier, we most likely would not have needed this adjustment. It has been several days now since digging out under the fruit and I am amazed how much the pumpkin has expanded in the area that we dug out. Like all 1142 van Kooten fruit, this one is sure to go heavy...just heavy enough to out-weigh Gilmore in Nanaimo!! Wednesday, September 17 View Page Ned, here is my Uncle's 689.5 that is still growing. Was a late set so hopefully will put on some more weight. He finally broke down and took the hammer to the upper board to give more room. Wednesday, September 17 View Page This picture shows that the 689.5 was grown on the first secondary and is on a short vine of only 3' Kind of proves the backfeeding theory as all the plant growth is in ahead of the pumpkin and the vine it is growing on needed to be terminated to relieve vine stress. Wednesday, September 17 View Page Near the end of August, when the last fruit on the 1420.5 plant split, I was going to rip the plant out when I noticed a couple of female flowers at the end of the last secondaries that I had not terminated yet. For an experiment, and to have a couple of nice carvers, I used frozen pollen as I had no males left on either plant and my buddy Steve did not have any on his 788 Companion. Well, the experiment worked as the fruit were growing, but this must be the smallest AG ever to get a blossom end split...this was a great plant..but I was cursed with it!! Wednesday, September 17 View Page Then, on the other fruit pollinated with frozen pollen, I get this fruit which again must be the smallest AG to have such a huge Dill ring...and it splits on a rib....go figure!! Wednesday, September 17 View Page To top it off, Steve comes over with his lovely 9 year old daughter for a patch inspection (and of course a quick beer) and she says "Wow Daddy, this one is way bigger than ours" and Steve quips back "hey, your growing another grub this year." Well, I am happy to say that the 1142 is still gaining good inches every day and is even starting to show some colour now as well. There may be a little green there on the blossom end but the nice shiny yellow skin is also starting to show some orange...we will see what it looks like come weigh-off time...don't really care as long as it weighs heavy. Love the latest diary from Dave Pley aka pumpkinpley...he looks to have a beauty and will give the Island Bozy a run for the money again this year....great job Dave!! Thursday, September 18 View Page I pulled the 1420.5 plant yesterday and thought I'd post a picture of some of the roots. Alot of people wonder how deep the roots go and as you can see these ones are well over 2 feet long. I'm going to till, take soil samples and send them off before doing any ammendments or additions. Saturday, September 20 View Page The 1142 with its first beer can on the top picture. It is at day 60 today and continues to grow 6.5 lbs per day. Our weather has turned back to wet and cool so I am keeping the fruit covered with a blanket and may have to add a small tarp over the top as my beach umbrella is too small now. Sure wish Gilmore would update his diary...but he is most likely too busy with harvest time. Lawman...pretty shy on the diary entries too...must be a good reason. Tuesday, September 23 View Page These are the main crown area roots that were well over 6' long. They went down into the soil about 1' and then ran out sideways like a secondary with runner roots all the way along. Tuesday, September 23 View Page Rats, just realized I better cut my lawn while it is still sunny and dry. Another pic of the crown roots. Tuesday, September 23 View Page The 1142 basking in the cool sun today. A beauty day today but fall has most definitely set in now and the rains will start soon. Sure hope that the Nanaimo Pumpkinfest is going to find a new host site this year. I heard from Gilmore a few days ago and either he has something up his sleeve again this year or we might both be battling it out in Nanaimo come weigh-off time. If it is the cold in the hills of North Vancouver, it must be getting pretty chilly in Chad's hometown of Pemberton...just a short ride from the 2010 Olympic mountains of Whistler/Blackcomb. Thursday, September 25 View Page Jake, here are a couple of secondaries on the 1142 that I allowed to grow under a rhodo bush and out to the fence at the 25' mark. They are still very lush, and nice. Thanks again. Monday, September 29 View Page Here is my buddy Steve's pumpkin on the 788 Companion (810 Dill x 995 Carter) that we crossed with the 1420.5 Larue. Grown on a very small plant, Steve has done a good job to get this one to this size. Monday, September 29 View Page And a side shot of Steve's fruit...so and round and a very deep orange colour. Hopefully we will take this one along to Nanaimo to get an official weight. Wednesday, October 1 View Page We've had great September weather, but now it is going to change to chilly and wet now for the next few weeks. Covered up with a couple of moving blankets so it looks way bigger than it really is....don't worry Chad!! Weighoff is not till Oct. 25th so we are all hoping for no surprises for the next while. Wednesday, October 1 View Page Part of the reason why we continue to try and grow these things....all started by just growing big carving pumpkins for the ones we love. My daughter Sydney still gives me the chance for the yearly pumpkin picture...it has been a long time since I've had one big enough for her to sit on....maybe next year! Sunday, October 5 View Page Covered up for a few weeks till Nanaimo. Gonna keep it plugged in for as long as I can....I guess Gilmore (Chad) has given up for the year....the Lawman....he must be out too!! Tuesday, October 21 View Page This year we also grew some giant flowers for the first time and will do it again next year. These are angel's trumpets aka Brugsmania plants. I got a couple of cuttings from my brother and put them under my germination lights and grew them all winter. These plants were only about 1 foot tall when I put them outside in June....the plant in the foreground is about 5' tall and the one in the background is about a foot taller. Beautiful big and fragrant flowers....will take more cuttings and grow again for sure next year...they will not over-winter here in my part of B.C. Looking foward to the Nanaimo weigh-off this weekend, a bit of a road-trip for us mainlanders, but it will be a good time and I want to get an official weight on the 1142 van Kooten x 1420.5 Larue. Tuesday, October 21 View Page After this weekend, I'll clear the remaining 1142 plant out of the patch and complete prep for next year. I stock-piled some compost and a bit of manure from last year but won't add anything till after a soil test. I've got gypsum, greensand, kelp meal, humic acid, alfalfa meal, and my other organic additives that will go in should the soil test indicate any more balancing needed. Cutting and loading day is friday....this year I won't need as many friends as in the past and I won't need to construct a tri-pod like Dave Pley needs for his monster....my official Howard Dill pumpkin lifting tarp will do just fine for me this year. Monday, October 27 View Page Here is Jake and my Uncle Chris in front of Jakes 1536.5 monster Canadian record. Not only the new BC and Canada record but the largest pumpkin grown in the world in 2008....is Jake going to look good in the coveted orange jacket or what!! Well deserved record and quite frankly could not happen to a nicer guy!! Monday, October 27 View Page Was great of Jake to bring his beast to the weigh-off in Nanaimo...the crowd sure like it. Monday, October 27 View Page Yes, it is true...the North Shore Boyz brought the two smallest pumpkins to the Nanaimo Pumpkinfest Weigh-off. I can tell you, it was well worth the trip and further confirmed to me that when the time comes, my wife and I will move back to Vancouver Island....what an awesome place to call home!! Look at that beauty orange pumpkin next to my ugly beast.... it is Steve's 788 Companion x 1420.5 Larue that weighed in at 146 lbs...estimate was 140 so that is OK. Hopefully will throw other nice round and orange fruit from the seeds....time will tell! Monday, October 27 View Page Here is my 1142 van Kooten x 1420.5 Larue that tipped the scales at a mighty 314 lbs. Was estimated at 310 lbs, however I thought that it may go heavier as most 1142 fruit do...not the case here. Not a personal best for me or any of the North Shore Boyz this year....but there is next year! Monday, October 27 View Page Just having a chat with Jake and Craig and trying to absorb as much info as I can without asking too many questions.....jeez....I have a beer belly that needs some taking care of!! Monday, October 27 View Page A couple of years ago, Craig Sandvik took the honours and first place money with a very nice pumpkin but it did not top 1000 lbs....this year he won again with a very nice pumpkin that topped out at 1222.6 lbs and gave him a personal best. Was great to see Craig and Darlene again....looking forward to some salt water fly fishing for coho with Craig and Darlene sometime...sounds like good fun. Monday, October 27 View Page And then there is Dave Pley and his entry from the 1385 Jutras. We were all hoping Dave would surpass 1000 lbs for the first time and it was taping slightly over the 1K mark so everyone was waiting for it to hit the scale. Not only did Dave reach his goal of 1000 lbs.....he smashing it as his pumpkin went a whopping 1171 lbs and secured him with second place honors behing Craig's winning entry. Great to see Dave, Leslie and Julianna...what a super nice family....always nice to see you guys!! Monday, October 27 View Page A side shot of Dave's beast...really nice orange fruit! Monday, October 27 View Page Waiting for my soil test results, but I did add three 50 lb bags of alfalfa meal for some fall/winter green manure for the worms to take care of. Got rid of all the vines and leaves and tilled my 35' x 25' patch and worked up a good sweat in the nice fall weather. My rented honda tiller sits waiting for the final couple of passes...I rent this little baby once in the spring and once in the fall....beats buying one...I think! Monday, October 27 View Page And yes, I did listen to my Island mentors and went to the garden supply store today and picked up my fall rye that has now been spread and waiting the impending rain that we have coming our way. I also mixed up a final batch of humic acid along with some molasses, liquid fish and liquid kelp and gave the cover crop seeds a good soaking to assist with germination. Good night to the patch now for a couple of months. Sunday, November 2 View Page Our carved 314 Dixon... Sunday, November 2 View Page ...and the 314 lit up to lure the trick-or-treaters. We had alot of kids this year and many many regulars that come to see the big pumpkins...bigger next year we hope! Sunday, November 2 View Page My daughter and her buddies just before heading out for a night of Halloween fun....gosh...all grown up (almost)!! Tuesday, November 25 View Page A late photo from my buddy Steve who grew this nice pumpkin from the 788 Companion (810 Dill x 995 Carter) X 1420.5 Larue (1104 Hester x 1180 Daletas). Anyone want seeds with these nice orange genetics, let me know. Tuesday, November 25 View Page On the left are the tan seeds from my 314 (1142 van Kooten x 1420.5 Larue) and the white seeds from Steve's 146 Perrault (788 Companion x 1420.5 Larue). I was surprised how large the seeds are from Steve's pumpkin...the are the largest seeds I've ever seen from a fruit this size. Anyone want these crosses, let me know and I'd be happy to send them out. Wednesday, November 26 View Page After about a month, the cover crop is doing pretty good and filling out more and more. Looking forward to the 2009 growing season and feel that I am getting a better handle on the condition of my soil. Now to decide what seed to grow!! Monday, December 1 View Page The Wiz and Biz were stopping by on their road trip so I wanted to make sure we were loaded up on beer. None left after those good ole boyz left and continued the road trip....I hope they find a way off Vancouver Island. Tuesday, December 2 View Page After the Biz and the Wiz left and continued the road trip, I am left pondering if I should grow the 1016 again next year....the Wiz sure grew a nice one!! Sunday, December 14 View Page The West Coast Rainforest is getting dumped on tonight with snow. More to come.....? Wednesday, December 17 View Page Yes, we have alot more snow falling and it looks like we will get a rare white Christmas. Over a foot of snow is expected today and then a few clear days....then another massive snow storm. The only one in the patch right now is our cat...but he does not like the white stuff too much. Monday, December 22 View Page Alot more snow has fallen and another storm is expected the day before Christmas. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all our pumpkin friends. Friday, December 26 View Page Still in heavy snow and more falling...2008 will be a White Christmas to remember for all of our area in the Pacific Northwest. Most records have fallen for cold temperatures and now all this white stuff. Is all supposed to melt in the next few days at it gets back to normal temperatures.