Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 120 Entries. Tuesday, February 27 View Page Hope everyone has a great 2018 growing season. Portland Convention has us more prepared to move forward with newfound knowledge and proven techniques, technologies and systems. I’ve got the OK for a new screenhouse, I’ve got growing partner Andrea convinced it was her idea, so the seminar from Russ proved very useful. We are growing 2032 Mathison, 1949 Paton, 1937 Urena, 1985 Miller, maybe one other, and maybe a greenie. Thanks again to Tim, Ian & Stewart, Leonardo, Gary, and of course Eddy, much appreciated. 4000 is the goal.   Tuesday, February 27 View Page A huge moment in our Province of British Columbia as Jake passed the honours to Scott.   Thursday, March 1 View Page Got some Calpril and Gypril spread/topdressed today over the cover crop. Overnight lows seem to have stalled out and the Rye crop is growing in, filling out and will need a mow soon enough. My father in law gave me a rototiller which I can use on the veggie garden and my planting spots, but I’ll get the tractor & rototiller man back when I’m ready to turn everything under. I need to bring my PH up a bit, so want to do it gradually and will soil test again in a few weeks and then once more before final amendments and tilling.   Tuesday, March 6 View Page Now, if this phot works and is not upside-down, then I’ve figured how to post using my iPad instead of the old method of downloading from the camera. If not, I gotta figure it out, ipad seems so much easier and we get good wifi in the patch. Spread some 20 Mule Team Borax today, along with some Kmag in an effort to slowly raise my boron levels, Potassium and Sulphur levels and also tweaking the magnesium slightly. I’ll do another soil test in 3 or 4 weeks and do one more ammending if needed before putting up my hoophouses and getting things happening. I’ll be running more power and water, and re-building and expanding the existing pumpkin shack, so that we’ve got room for more equipment and supplies. I’ve also t a ked down a 1500 gallon tank that will live up in the forest above the pumpkin patch, and we will download from the large tank into 270 gallon feeder tanks. Thanks again to everyone in Portland, really learned a lot.   Wednesday, March 7 View Page Thanks for the photo tips everyone, this should fix the upside down issue.   Wednesday, March 7 View Page We are getting nice warm days now, Won’t be long.   Wednesday, March 7 View Page I wonder if he will get time to have it engraved. Kirsten take the trophy to get engraved and place prominently in that beautiful home. I hope to have it on my mantle in 2018, but our buddy Richmond Dave is going all out this year. Heat cables, screened in house, warmer water, quality proven seeds and a whole lot of determination, and he has a nice mantle for that trophy too. Chad is going to grow this year, Jeff is knocking on the door and Kate keeps growing bigger and bigger pumpkins each year.   Wednesday, March 7 View Page ...and the photo...   Wednesday, March 7 View Page Luke, this one is for you. Part of the reason we moved here was the gravitational pull you mentioned in a post. Vancouver Island has been calling us home for the past few years, and we found our little piece of heaven, with a pumpkin patch.   Friday, March 9 View Page We are doing our best to raise funds for a new Weighoff on Vancouver Island and are doing a circuit of shows called “seedy Saturday “ that are done in a bunch of local communities all over our Province. The first one we attended was in Victoria, while we were happy with the results in sales, the biggest drawback for the city dwellers was a lack of space to grow in. We are in another event tomorrow in a smaller town, more of an agricultural area where the average lot size is larger, and folks have more land to play with. Our hopes are to raise enough funds for inclusion in the GPC, and maybe add to the prize money. Either way, the event in Victoria was fun, and we are assuming the event in Cobble Hill will be equally interesting. Scott Carley kindly donated some seeds from his Record Breaking and new record setting 1543 Carley, so we are adding his seed as a show special, “Grow a Giant Pumpkin from the biggest pumpkin ever grown in British Columbia”   Tuesday, March 20 View Page We had the main patch tilled yesterday. We’ve had some great weather and things dried out enough to work the soil. Rain is in the extended forecast, and with our silty soil the moisture stays in for quite awhile and I was worried that it would be weeks before we could work the soil. We need to test and amend one more time to make sure PH is correct and base saturations where we want them. There is an early Agricultural Fair in Victoria, BC that hopefully we will take a pumpkin to this year, so we are starting an early plant with soil heat cables and night-time heat.   Wednesday, March 28 View Page Got the first of two small hoophouse frames done today, and will put together a larger one for two back to back plants in the next day or two, wrap them, wire them and let the soil start heating up. Going California style and starting my first seed April 8th and then will stagger seed starts by about a week for the next few. Normal planting time for me is last weekend in April and I’d like mildly larger seedlings going in this year. Feverishly on the prowl for a water tank, 1000 to 1500 gallons will be just right for my needs. Next year we will go with a drip system, but for this year overhead and hand watering is gonna have to work.   Sunday, April 8 View Page New seed starting area with heat mat, so we did a couple test seeds first, before filing our chosen seeds. On the heat tucked into the blanket are the 1985 Miller & 2032 Mathison. Great to meet both of you this year, thanks again, I hope I can do you both proud with your seeds this year. I’ll start our other seeds later, I’m going to stagger planting’s this year. It seems to work for Spambie (Scott) and cant argue with his success in the patch. I’m gonna miss patch tours on the Mainland, I sure hope more growers come out of the woodwork on the Island.   Sunday, April 8 View Page Also, great news today that The Old Farm Market on Vancouver Island has been approved as British Columbia’s 2nd Official Weighoff, thanks GPC for all your support.   Thursday, April 12 View Page New tank got delivered today, thanks baitman and RickJ for the tips for setting up my watering system. We have other distribution tanks for watering overhead and by drip system, this will be the warming/holding tank. Andrea and I have a spot picked out for the tank in the forest above the pumpkin patch. I’ve done some preliminary calculations and we might just have enough natural slope & enough distance between the main tank to run the drip system and I’ll use a pump for the overhead. We wrapped another hoophouse today, won’t be long now.   Sunday, April 15 View Page 2 week old test plants in front and 2 of the chosen ones in back after 36 hours to sprout in moist paper towel & zip lock method, and 2 days to push up the soil.   Monday, April 16 View Page Transplant day today into 1 gallon pot, another 5 or six days and I’ll plant them. 2 other seeds will get started soon also, good timing as the weather is warming up, but our overnights are still chilly. Changing from heaters to soil cables in hoophouse, see how that works.   Tuesday, April 17 View Page Come to the Vancouver Island Weighoff at The Old Farm Market and enter to win cool prizes including NPK Industries Canada, RAW Products. Big shout out to Mark Hooper of NPK Canada for stepping up as sponsor for the Island event. Canadian buyers can now contact Mark at 855-447-2774 or Mark@npkcanada.com and mark@nugsville.com Be sure to identify yourself as a Giant Pumpkin Grower. Checkout NPK Industries on Utube and watch Harley Smith in great, informative videos.   Thursday, April 19 View Page Old Farm Market Giant Pumpkin Weighoff proud to welcome another sponsor to the team. This company was at an agricultural trade show we went to locally, they were swamped by farmers and we couldn’t even get to the table to talk to them. After more research on the product, I had to get some and get them involved with our event. Welcome to Vitazyme, a cutting edge biostimulant and thankyou for sponsoring our Weighoff with your product as a prize, we appreciate it. http://vitalgrowdistribution.com/ Please visit the website and checkout this amazing product.   Tuesday, April 24 View Page Mr. Miller (1985) gets transplanted today into its spot in the new patch. Thanks to the crew from Coolterra at this years Convention, informative seminar, detailed information and one to advice on their product. Mr. Mathison (2032) also got transplanted today, both seedlings are a good size and being put in above soil cables that seem to be doing the trick. 1949 Paton and 1937 Urena are both up out of the soil today, both will get transplanted from 4” pots into 1 gallon pots in the next day or two. They will stay under lights till May 1st and get planted back to back in a spot I’ve dreamed about for years. All the room in the world to stretch out and grow. We might also plant a few rogue plants in a few other spots on the property when it warms up, and see what happens.   Thursday, May 3 View Page I don’t normally include many seedling photos, but here is our 1985 Miller plant after about a week in the patch. Looks happy.   Thursday, May 3 View Page 2032 Mathison at 7:30am this morning enjoying a nice 61 degrees, while its 49 degrees outside. The smaller hoophouses that we are using, definitely hold in some residual heat inside the small structure. We haven’t planted our other plants yet, there are some tough choices being made for the remaining spots as the second round of seeds are not all equal in vigor. Double hoophouse will go up in a day or two, final cuts will be made and rest of seedlings given away.   Friday, May 4 View Page Final hoophouse with back to back plants done today. We have a soil cable mat installed and then covered the hoophouse with remay and have plastic covered doors on each end that we can open on warmer days. 1937 Urena went double/triple vine on us right away and the 1949 Paton was stunted and suffering. Our own 789 Dixon and 1126 Dixon seedlings were all fantastic and the best of the bunch by far, so that’s what got planted. I kinda failed to plan proper backups, but our genetics on both theses seeds are as good as anything else out there, and should get the job done for us.   Sunday, May 6 View Page 7:30 pm and all 3 huts are getting the last few rays in before getting sealed up for the night. Wow the weather has been outstanding in our Region and surrounding areas.   Monday, May 7 View Page Mr. Miller is leading the pack. I’m not gonna change too much this year (other than new patch, totally different soil and growing conditions, climate) but I am adding some of the RAW Products from NPK Industries like Microbes, Biostimulants, and a few others later on in the growth cycle. I will get more frequent tissue tests done this year as I believe it helped me be a better grower and gave me a solid understanding regarding the science and biology of what we are trying to achieve. Also, there are some awesome diaries with incredible growers who are sharing their techniques and best practices, with photos, in their diaries. Thanks to all the growers who take the time to share.   Wednesday, May 9 View Page I almost always do a few “just in case” seedlings for backup, and if not needed for giveaway. We didn’t sprout any 1068 Dixon seeds (1124 Dixon x 1126 Dixon) and I knew they were vigorous and easy to germinate from previous experiments. Wow, this one was ready to go after 36 hours in paper towel in zip log bag method. Just in case something happens, nice to have a backup or 2 but I’ll likely find a spot anyways for 1 of these plants, I haven’t grown this seed yet.   Thursday, May 10 View Page New toy, got a 24” wide broadfork with 12” tines. So far, I really like it, won’t be long till I shed my extra winter girth. This tool really loosens the soil deep, mixes in amendments nicely, and fluffs the soil deeply in advance of the coming vines. It’s a keeper, now if I can teach Andrea how to use it, I’ll be set.   Tuesday, May 15 View Page 1985 Miller had the kickstand leaf removed a few days ago and he’s off to the races. Will be the first out of its hoophouse, but the Mathison plant is not too far behind. Everyone in my Province must be having a great start, the weather has been very nice. I think the big difference from the Mainland of Vancouver, to where I am now on Vancouver Island is that the overnight temperature lows are not as low, as in the hills of North Vancouver.   Thursday, May 17 View Page It’s out first spring on our new property and we are being pleasantly surprised by all the flowering trees, shrubs and bushes. This photo shows the huge flowering Laburnum tree behind te patch. 1985 Miller on the right, 2032 Mathison on the left and 1126 Dixon along with 789 Dixon back to back in the centre remay hooptie hut. Each plant has roughly 30’ x 30’ and I’ve got 2 piles of vine burying mix stockpiled to make it easier.   Friday, May 18 View Page Mr. Miller is busting out the front of his hoophut. I’ve used a bit of vine burying mix along with some RAW Microbes and Mycorrhizae, on tap roots that have already showed up on this plant.   Monday, May 21 View Page Happy Victoria Day. Pictured in the centre are the Dixon seeds back to back, 1985 Miller on the left and 2032 Mathison out of the shot same side as Mr. Miller. We’ve got stellar weather on the West Coast for now. After extensive research with Environment Canada, historical charts, farmers almanac and other reliable sources, we are happy to note that the Mill Bay/Cowichan Valley Area does experience warmer overnight lows than my competitors over on the mainland of Vancouver. Spambie mentioned to me at Convention that he thinks it’s mildly warmer over here overnight, and he was right. Average spring, summer and fall evenings are historically 2-6 degrees warmer than where we were growing. Basically, I have no real excuses this year if we don’t achieve a PB...no pressure.   Friday, May 25 View Page 2032 Mathison with front and rear doors removed. Hoop will likely be taken off in a few days.   Friday, May 25 View Page 1985 Miller freestyle now, will take away the ribs of the hoop in a day or 2 with the rest of them. I re-use them for fruit covers later, covered with a different tarp system for easy access. Never had a plant this size at this date, or had plants as far ahead as they are now. Usually they are just starting to lay down and get secondary growth nubs...we’ve got full on vine burying and root stimulating going on and new secondaries every day. We trimmed tertiary growth on secondaries. The other 2 plants ar doing well, also ahead of previous years pace, but also planted 10 day’s layer than the Miller & Mathison plants.   Tuesday, May 29 View Page Yikes, me too Scott. Way too early, I think this plant has or is experiencing some kind stress, and has gone into flower mode to quick. These are from the smallest plant in the patch. Ummmmm, and they are green too?   Sunday, June 3 View Page Vitazyme and RAW Grow Microbes got into the rotation today. I’m following out on the main vine at the secondaries, and watering in where roots are forming and covered with soil mixture.   Saturday, June 9 View Page 1985 Miller is starting to pick up the pace, despite the coolish weather we’ve had for the past week. A little rain has told me that the plants are thirsty, so I’ll expand the reach of the watering system soon. We will also do a tissue test soon to see what the lab says, but will leave it for 10 days or so and let the plant get larger first. I’m likely going to be low on Nitrogen, especially after seeing some Tissue tests in some diaries lately, thanks for posting your results.   Tuesday, June 12 View Page We are using a broadfork this year to deep loosen the soil, as the vines approach. Once I’ve raked small trenches for the vines to settle in, I’m going back and using the broadfork and I’m really happy with the results. It’s labour intensive, glad we are team growers Andrea and I. When the soil is the right moisture, this is an easy tool to use but I’m afraid not all plants will get this royal treatment. Need more secondaries before setting any pumpkins, weather is gonna kick it up back to normal after a chilly June so far and plants are in high gear so that will all happen soon.   Sunday, June 17 View Page Mr. Miller is liking the warm weather, starting to stretch out and get wider now.   Sunday, June 17 View Page Mr. Mathison has started to pick up the pace also, I need to put in some walking boards and get ready to do some vine maintenance and burying.   Sunday, June 17 View Page In the foreground to the left is our 1126 Dixon and to the right is 789 Dixon. Plant in the background is 1985 Miller. We had the driest May on record ever, now we’ve got some of the warmest June days happening and ahead of us in the near future. I’m going to take a tissue sample in the next 7-10 days, and likely will have pollinations happening shortly after that. I’m going to lean on a few growers to ,enter me with the tissue sample results, and any adjustments or amendments that need to take place, so thanks in advance to all my mentors.   Monday, June 18 View Page 2032 Mathison and 1985 Miller plants are loving this warmth, they will share this side of the patch.   Saturday, June 23 View Page Not photoworthy until now, 789 Dixon starting to stretch out. Small compact leaves just like Momma, Hopefully pollinated before end of June.   Saturday, June 23 View Page 1126 Dixon (Momma of the 789 Dixon) is the runt of the group, small compact leaves just like her daughter. No females on the main yet, plant has lots of room to fill out and likely not poll8nated till July. Might grow 2 on this plant, one for the Saanich Fair and another for a Weighoff Sponsor, Enrico Winery ( enricowinery.com )   Monday, June 25 View Page 789 Dixon x 1985 Miller at 12’ on the main vine this morning. There is another at 15’ that will get the rub and tickle also, but I like this early (for me) pollination and we will re-evaluate when others are also on the vine and growing. 1985 Miller should have one to pollinate in a day or two, 2032 Mathison by first week in July along with the 1126 Dixon.   Thursday, June 28 View Page Well, I’m a few days behind Richmond Dave with the pollinations (I like to give him a head start) but happy that we have pollinations on larger plants than normal for us, due to this incredible May and June weather we’ve had here in British Columbia. California all the way this morning, perfect five lobe female at around 16’ on the main of 1985 Miller pollinated by his buddy, the 2032 Mathison. Perfect timing since I sent in a tissue sample to Western Labs for analysis yesterday.   Saturday, June 30 View Page Some yellowing, on one side, only on a few of the first secondaries, plant seems to be growing out of it. What do you think it is caused from? Environmental, nutrient deficiency or nutrient imbalance? Macronutrients or Micronutrients misssing or imbalance? I’ve just sent in a tissue sample to Western Labs so we should have a little Science to help us out with an answer. We’ve had plants previously that have done this, and I do believe Jake van Kooten consulted me on this very issue 12-15 years ago. I can’t wait to see the Lab results and conclusions.   Saturday, June 30 View Page Other than a few yellow blotches, the 1985 Miller is looking good.   Saturday, June 30 View Page 789 Dixon plant has 2 pollinated on the main, another in about a week. We will decide the keeper as things start to fill out more.   Wednesday, July 4 View Page Happy July 4th to everyone. Got the 1126 Dixon pollinated today, meaning if it sets, we have something set and growing on all plants and are a little ahead of schedule from previous years. 789 Dixon in the foreground and 1985 Miller in the back. Both are lading the packand growing well, vine termination has begun and access strategies are being worked out. Sun and water protection huts will be built and installed soon, good luck to everyone.   Monday, July 9 View Page Well, despite my best efforts, it appears that Richmond Dave and Spambie are out of the gate early and have the early lead on me again. We are again forced to “Do the Delta Colleen” to the rest of the field, and keep my plants and pumpkins growing later in the season, when I usually catch up a bit. I know there are more than a few thoroughbred horse racing fans here, and if you watch this tube video on “Delta Colleen” you will understand the local racetrack term for “Doing the Delta Colleen”. https://youtu.be/bL7__YayOiU   Monday, July 9 View Page 2032 Mathison finally startIn to widen and fill out. Has been sun sensitive and scorched a bit in a few spots while I was golfing...price to pay.   Monday, July 9 View Page 789 Dixon also stretching out. Small compact leaves, low to the growing and very heat and sun tolerant. No burning, no scorching, tough as nails with lots of secondary rooting which must be keeping it hydrated and happy. Day 20 pumpkin on it, with adequate numbers so we are starting to lay the groundwork for access and determining where secondary growth will go.   Monday, July 9 View Page 1126 Dixon, also a short compact plant with tons of secondary rooting. Also, no burn, scorching or sun sensitive at all. The 2 Dixon plants have not needed misting or cooling so far.   Monday, July 9 View Page And here is all 4. Mathison in foreground, Miller in the back and the 2 Dixon plants off to the side. Next picture the patch will be full and we will have all our rain/shade structures installed and final irrigation placement figured out. Learning curve on the new land, but loving it so far. Golfing a few days a week is keeping me from over-pumpkinating, and Team Growing with Andrea certainly makes shorter work of playing in the patch alone.   Monday, July 9 View Page Darn fat fingers, of course that is a day 10 pumpkin on the 789 Dixon, not day 20.   Sunday, July 15 View Page Day 20 for the 789 Dixon, way behind Spambie and Richmond Dave, but well within my expectations for anything at 20 days. We’ve all been experiencing bugs this year in British Columbia like never before. I’m seeing bugs in the patch I’ve never seen before, and the whitfilies are passing by in swarms. We are across from the ocean, and quite ten have winds that keep them away, or blow them away in the evening. Really nice weather in long term forecast, pump for watering system failed, new one being delivered this week. Will have to water 4 plants, by hand for the next few days. 1985 Miller plant aborted the first pollination just before day 20, and about 2 days prior to me cutting off a second pollination further out “the backup”. Whew, dodged a bullet there, I can’t remeber the past time a pumpkin did not get past the day 20 Mark in our patch. Usually after 10 days, I’m pretty confident that they are set and growing. No backups on 789 Dixon, 1126 Dixon or 2032 Mathison...we are all in on these plants and pumpkins are just past the 10 day mark, set, shiney and growing.   Friday, July 20 View Page 1985 Miller on the right. Beautiful big plant, but has aborted 3 fruit on the main and one on a secondary. We are down to the last pollination on a secondary but they all stopped at about Day 15. Unfortunately, this plant may get torn out.   Friday, July 20 View Page 1126 Dixon plant with 2 pollinated on the main, one will get the chop after they both pass the 20 day mark. Plant filling in great.   Friday, July 20 View Page 2032 Mathison also has 2 on the main and will get culled down very soon tothe keeper.   Friday, July 20 View Page Day 25 on the 789 Dixon and it is finally getting decent daily gains to the circumference and will get an OTT measurement in 5 days.   Saturday, July 21 View Page Patch is filling in and plants have really taken off again since pollinations. Experiencing pumpkin aborts this year on 2 plants, that’s new for us. Looks like we have fruit growing on all plants now, sure lucky to have the room that we have now. In our backyard patch, we may have been down and out by now. Nothing has reached day 30 yet, so I’m still not booking extra golf tee off times yet, 4 plants are keeping us busy.   Saturday, July 21 View Page New pump attached to our solution tank, thanks ww5flute (Jeff) for referring me to the company. I’ll re-plumb it more permanently with the 4 way splitter when we build a new pumpkin shack back there. This 250 gallon tank is fed by our 1000 gallon holding tank, which is then also attached to another 250 gallon tank that collects rain water, and refills the main tank. I’ll use this overhead system next year mostly to run a misting/cooling system because the end plan was to install drip tape also connected to my system of tanks.   Tuesday, July 24 View Page Day 30 tomorrow for the 789 Dixon. Will get the sheet taken off for OTT & photo day, is the same low, wide and long shape as the mother seed (1126 Dixon). Plant growing in nicely, I’ll be happy when the sink/source relationship changes and the plant realizes it’s got a big pumpkin to grow.   Tuesday, July 24 View Page 1126 Dixon on right and 2032 Mathison on the left. Both had pumpkins abort before day 30 and I’m lucky that I extended my culling day by a week to 10 days, or we would have nothing on these 2 plants. I was stubborn and did not set fruit on sidevines as backups, but did set second fruits on mains this year instead. Both are late pollinated on July 10, locked and loaded...all in.   Tuesday, July 24 View Page 1126 Dixon plant and the July 10 pollinated lone survivor. Plant is great, also looking forward to the sink/source relationship shifting to the pumpkin soon.   Tuesday, July 24 View Page Also the lone survivor on the 2032 Mathison, this plant also aborted a fruit on the main and was lucky to have another one further out (nicer shape anyways), also no side vine backups, rookie mistake. I will need to add a shade curtain to my patch using the existing infrastructure of the deer fencing. Something I can put up (string it on guide wires) like a curtain because we are semi-rural and I can’t install a permanent structure over a certain size, and that regulated size is too small for my needs. Need to get back in touch with Russ in California to get supplier of the fabric he uses on his screen house. I’ll likely want to screen and area 40 x 50 so at least I can shade 1/2 the patch during our wicked dry/hot spells. Talking with other growers in my area and I’m not the only one losing fruit this year, not a coincidence.   Wednesday, July 25 View Page Day 30 today for the 789 Dixon today, looks like I’m growing porch pumpkins this year. OTT is 87-50-50 so far, and I really need those numbers to be double that at the end of the season to hope for a PB. 1985 Miller plant aborted its last pumpkin, and I will try no more, so down to 3 plants. 2032 Mathison and 1126 Dixon plants have pumpkins set on the mains that are 15 days old today with (for me) massive plants behind them that are still growing. Not sure when Mother Nature will shift our plants into fruit growth, but I will be patient and wait for her to let me know. I   Friday, July 27 View Page Working in the patch and Andrea comes back from the mailbox and says “there’s a surprise package in the mail for you, what did you order?” Well, I didn’t order anything but my buddy Spambie (BC Record Holder Scott) sent me a sweet remote sensing unit for the pumpkin patch that monitors, records and graphs soil moisture levels, soil fertility (EC), light intensity (LUX) and air temperature. This unit records hourly and daily and provides an incredible readout that I’ve already found really useful. Thanks Scott, I really appreciate you trying to make me more aware, and in turn, a better grower.   Saturday, July 28 View Page 2032 Mathison with an 18 day old pumpkin that will get some measurements in a couple days, a larger hooptie house for rain/sprinkler/shade structure and will allow a few secondaries to continue to grow.   Saturday, July 28 View Page 1126 Dixon also with an 18 day old pumpkin that will join the Mathison and the older 789 Dixon pumpkin plant, in chasing down the front running Richmond Dave with the monsters that he already has going in his patch. It is always kinda nice to have an early lead in a race, but there is always a closer or 2 that will have something to say at the end of the race when everyone else is outa gas. After the 30 day mark, I will be excelleratong the pace again as I think that over fertilization coupled with above average temperatures at pollination resulted in pumpkin aborts like never seen in the Dixon patch before. The result has been much larger plants, but so far not much else to report in the way of growth numbers, but I expect that to change soon as the patch fills and more secondaries get terminated.   Saturday, July 28 View Page Excavated out the heat mat from the 1985 Miller plant and found all these big roots under the cables/mat, entwined with the mat and everywhere else. Also, the soil down below the 6” level, had more moisture than the top 6” layer. We will need to get longer soil probes moving forward with this patch.   Sunday, July 29 View Page 1985 Miller’s last 4 secondaries. The main vine and all secondaries were chopped, these are growing freestyle, no water, no nothing, each vine with it’s own system of secondary rooting... I will leave these, I find it fascinating that they are not wilting or suffering from no water. Big learning curve this year in this new soil and different growing environment   Monday, July 30 View Page Day 20 for the 2032 Mathison @ 59-39-39 = 137 OTT and the 1126 Dixon @ 50-36-36 = 128 OTT Feels slightly wierd posting such small numbers when my buddy Richmond Dave has at least 1 pumpkin in his patch pushing 700 lbs for the end of July...go get’em Dave we are all cheering for you. Janet, if you need someone to talk to or a place to stay, Andrea and I will support you 100% in what must be a daily burst of pumpkin patch ups and downs from the good Doctor.   Tuesday, July 31 View Page Same secondaries on the Miller plant, no water for a week, 80 degree weather and is in survival mode throwing out female flowers everywhere it can. Each secondary/leaf must be fueling the growth right now from reserves from within the plant, or I’m watering the other plants too much and we have an artisan spring running underground feeding the plants. We have been growing since 2004 and it’s neat that we are still discovering and learning as we go. I thought these individual vines, would last a few days before they started to wither and die.   Tuesday, July 31 View Page 789 Dixon didn’t quite make it to 300 lbs for the end of July, but at DAP 36, the growth chart is still on the increase and we have not seen peak growth outa this gal yet. Growing out a few secondaries from each side over and up the patch...when is enough enough? When are secondaries too long?? First 8 secondaries from each side are terminated at 15’ each, then the ones looped forward outside and to the side of the fruit are 25’ plus with another 10’ to go.   Tuesday, July 31 View Page 2032 Mathison (under the black roof) changed so drastically in 24 hours I had to wrap the tape around it and see what was happening, yup it’s growing fast. 1126 Dixon to the right is now our biggest and nicest plant by far. Early in the year I was going to pull it in favour of another one I had ready to take its place. Sure glad we stuck with it, this plant is a beast that is a pleasure to grow...rooting like I’ve never seen. Also has secondaries on one side, that have been allowed to loop around and fill in another large space in front of the fruit. Obviously we didn’t hit our minimum of 300 lbs with these 2 plants by the end of July, but if we can keep them growing, happy and healthy...then I’m pretty excited about what might come out of this patch for us.   Tuesday, July 31 View Page So, we removed one of the 4 remaining Miller secondaries and I immediately dug about a foot down to see if there was any moisture and what the texture of the soil was like. Look at the masses of roots and root hairs immediately below where the vines tap roots were... amazing. I’ve excavated plants before, but haven’t seen this kind of rooting at my old patch in North Vancouver.   Tuesday, July 31 View Page ...and the root photo...   Saturday, August 4 View Page Hey Pumpkin Friends, we have a self contained small cottage on our property that is available for rent, trade or swap if you are planning a visit to Vancouver Island.   Saturday, August 4 View Page 789 Dixon on day 40. Certainly not setting any pace records and now sits at 107-59-59 for 225” OTT, up only 107 lbs in the past 10 days but put on 16 lbs in the past 24 hours so the curve is in the right direction. I’ve gotten some great advise from my mentors Ron, Ian, Chris, Steve, Dave, Scott and others, and really appreciate the input, scientific data and years of trial and error wisdom. Our other 2 pumpkins are at day 25 today, and show the signs of wanting to grow up quicker than the patchmate in the upper part of the patch. Time will tell, but pretty optimistic about our new patch. I’m certainly chasing Richmond Dave and Spambie, but plants will be plenty healthy in September when the real growing starts.   Sunday, August 5 View Page Last remaining individual secondaries from the 1985 Miller still want to produce pumpkins. Main vine and rest of plant removed almost 2 weeks ago, no water except maybe for a little overspray from the other sprinklers. My apologies Gary, this seed/plant was too much for me, but I’m taking away something from the whole experience. Mostly, I need deeper soil probes, this plant must be getting fed, or it’s just using itself up internally and will shrivel away in due course on leaf at a time. If not, that part of the patch has a high water table or underground aquifer running underneath.   Wednesday, August 8 View Page Day 29 for the 2032 Mathison under the black roof in the foreground and the white-ish pumpkin on the right on the 1126 Dixon plant, both did 30 lbs in the past 24 hours. In the back part of the patch glows orange with the 789 Dixon at day 44 and has not hit 20 lbs a day yet but continues to put on the inches.   Thursday, August 9 View Page Day 30 for the 1126 Dixon (in photo) and 2032 Mathison today. The growth curve is definitely heading up sharply and things look encouraging. 210” OTT on the Mathison and 209” on the 1126 Dixon. Now all I need is for the OTT to double in the next 6 weeks and I might be able to contend with the rest of the growers in our Province. Plants each have multiple secondaries on each side, that will be culled in an orderly manner over the next few weeks. Hopefully the next 10 day growth report will have something more significant to report than average growth.   Tuesday, August 14 View Page 789 Dixon today, sits at 350 lbs and doing a steady 12 lbs a day. Saanich Fair is September st long weekend and this one will likely be headed there to be entered. The other 2 pumpkins down below are day 35 each, and ramped up to around 30 lbs a day.   Tuesday, August 14 View Page The 2032 Mathison on the left is what I think Ian Paton calls a shape shifter. This one certainly looks different everyday and started out as the pretty one. The other one on the right is 1126 Dixon, a surprising white-ish yellow, but pretty certain will turn orange later on.   Tuesday, August 14 View Page 1126 Dixon at day 35 doing around 25-30 lbs a day. We’ve had extended great weather, but our overnight lows are still chilly down in the low 50s. Daytime highs are mid 70s to low 80s and that is just a wide spread in the temperature between day and night. Hopefully the overnight lows will moderate, I need another 40-50good days of growth growth n these 2 young ones.   Sunday, August 19 View Page Tall sunflowers are just starting to bloom. Deer fence is 6 foot tall, so this must be around 11’ tall and still growing. Multi head plant, will be beautiful for quite awhile.   Sunday, August 19 View Page Day 40 today for the 1126 Dixon (pictured) and 2032 Mathison. Day 30-40 gains have been moderate (around 25 lbs a day for past 10 days) but the last 3 days gains have been Spambie like with Andrea saying “are you sure” regarding today’s measurement over yesterday’s. While we are about 500 lbs behind schedule and about the same weight behind Spambie and Richmond Dave, we are now living in Canada’s only Mediterranean Climatic Zone, and will enjoy considerably more sun, warm weather and an extending growing season over my mainland counterparts.   Monday, August 20 View Page Romantic right, view from our bedroom window. We would like French doors instead of the window, then a deck in the pumpkin viewing zone, perhaps a hot tub, some lifts, bbq area, fire pit and maybe a couple of hammocks. Really Smokey and hazy right now, far too many wildfires and no rain since early June.   Friday, August 24 View Page Day 60 for the 789 Dixon now at 267” OTT and 424 lbs by the 2013 chart. We had decided this slow steady grower would go to the local Saanich Fair on September 1st only if it was less than 300” or less at the end of August. Last 10 days she gained 75 lbs, so a modest 7.5 lbs a day. Both other pumpkins are at day 45 today, and both are already bigger than the patchmate leaving for the Fair.   Sunday, August 26 View Page Weather changed (from mid 70’s day and 60 overnight, to mid 60’s in day and low 50’s at night) a few days ago and I’m a’scared to measure because I know what the answer will be. Day 50 on the 2 lower pumpkins in a few days and they will get the measure tape wrapped around them then, and harvest time soon for the orange one if I can find a sponsor that wants an early pumpkin. Then, if I can secure a top 3 sponsor we will go to the Saanich Fair, if not the orange one will stay plugged in till Weighoff.   Wednesday, August 29 View Page Day 50 for both of these today, and the cool weather change has taken its toll on the numbers. 2032 Mathison (lumpy) under the cover gained 112 lbs from day 40, so an average of only 11 lbs a day at what should be a critical weight gaining time. The other pumpkin, 1126 Dixon gained 223 lbs over that same 10 day time, so averaged a little better at 22 lbs a day. Weather forecast is for good, continued sunny weather, but cooler temperatures are here to stay. If I can find a truck, and some man-power we will harvest the Mathison pumpkin for the Saanich Fair. We were going to harvest and take the other pumpkin (789 Dixon) but it keeps chugging along at about 10-12 lbs a day and will likely have a better chance than the Mathison of continueing to grow for another month. All 3 pumpkins are currently under 700 lbs each.   Friday, August 31 View Page All of a sudden, over a period of days, the blanket on the 1126 Dixon got too small. Sun is out, warm days are back with mid 70’s in the day and 50-54 overnight. Thanks Spambie for the monitoring device for my soil moisture, air temperature, accumulation of light and EC. It works great in conjunction with some other awesome advice I got from a few other mentor/growers about soil moisture content and the range to shoot for. Anyways Thanks again. And Richmond Dave, thanks for your help securing growing supplies and stuff that was a rip off over her on Vancouver Island. “Additonal Transportation Costs” are way too high and make the cost of some common products we use, 3 times as expensive as on the Mainland of Vancouver...crazy. So thanks again Dave.   Monday, September 3 View Page 789 Dixon pumpkin that was supposed to go to the Sannich Fair, but logistics got in the way (no transportation) so, that will have to wait for future years involvement. Day 70 for this long, slow grower, but in fact it gained 103 lbs in the past 10 days and is showing me the signs that it will continue to grow until harvest day. Plants are so healthy, I think I am to vanilla when it comes to my fertigation program, but I will continue to use science, common sense and advice from my mentors rather than becoming a more-on grower.   Monday, September 3 View Page We were a day late buying a pumpkin hauler, and our borrowed truck fell through at the last moment, resulting in us not making the Saanich Fair at the deadline for deliveries. So we bought a nice used Dodge Ram 2500 Magnum Quad Cab that is fully ready for duty... The 1126 pumpkin continues to grow like a good one, forgetting that August is over and that the nights are cooler, it is packing on weight and narrowing the gap between Spambie and Richmond Dave. Game on Boyz!!   Thursday, September 6 View Page Just before sun down, and this dragonfly gave us quite a display of hunting, flying, hovering and protecting a territory in the patch...quite a sight and we got some amazing close up photos.   Thursday, September 6 View Page This dragonfly was not shy, and was picking off mosquitoes stupid enough to leave their hiding spots and fly towards the humans.   Saturday, September 8 View Page Thinking that we would harvest the 789 Dixon pumpkin early, we pollinated Avery late one on August 31 to take its place. Decided to leave it and see what will grow in time for Halloween since all my pumpkins will likely go to sponsors.   Saturday, September 8 View Page This is the pumpkin from our 789 Dixon seed (1126 Dixon x 1124 Dixon) which continues to grow at a blistering 8 lbs a day on day 75 today. The parent seed, 1126 Dixon is the yellowish largest in the patch this year that is starting to turn orange, but not like her daughter in this photo.   Saturday, September 8 View Page Day 60 for the 2 lower pumpkins, 1126 dixon on the left and 2032 Mathison on the right. While I’m pretty happy to get 3 out of 4 plants to have pumpkins on them still growing in September, I don’t feel I got the most out of the patch this year in our rookie year on the new property. That’s OK too, we will do a little something each season and improve on a good start. Growing pumpkins is a lot like golf, you walk away thinking you could always do better, and will strive to improve.   Saturday, September 8 View Page Day 60 for these pumpkins today, sure wish I had gotten them pollinated 10-15 days earlier, Spambie and Richmond Dave are right, we need outer screen-house and inner hoophouses early in the season to get an early pollination. July 1-10 used to be the golden standard for ideal pollination where we grow, but that has changed it seems. 1126 pumpkin grew 181 lbs in the past 10 days, maintaining a nice steady daily gain even with the cooling temperatures. 2032 pumpkin grew 114 lbs in th same 10 day period, but also started a faster decline in daily gains than its bigger patchmate. Looks like I might have one pumpkin that can get me close to 1K this year, and 2 other pumpkins that Andrea now refers to as “great porch pumpkins”.   Monday, September 10 View Page Day 77 on the slow consistent growing 789 Dixon. As turns out, we should have made a better effort to get this one to the Fair, but in my wildest dreams I didn’t figure that it would be this pumpkin to have an issue. There was some discussion about temperature shifts and overnight fall lows adding to causing late splits, but this is a first for me losing a fruit so late in the game. I had a fruit rib split on me, in a different dill ring spot, but never blossom end split. Oh well, it’s a silicone butt display pumpkin now.   Friday, September 14 View Page We knew that when we moved back to Vancouver Island, we had found our pot of gold...who knew it would be in the pumpkin patch. Our 1126 Dixon continues to grow and has gained 254 lbs in the first 2 weeks of September, so still about 18 lbs a day. We can keep this one plugged in until October 12th which is a full 3 weeks away. I haven’t needed to water in the past 10-12 days but we are headed into dry and warm spell for a week to 10 days and I might give the plants some more TKO, some liquid 0-0-25, RAW 0-0-50 and now Richmond Dave has introduced us to MPK (mono potassium phosphate). In reality I will likely try and give the plants a well balanced drenching or two including some mild nitrogen since both our last tissue tests showed a steady decline in Nitro. I’ll also try and give a last foliar feeding or 2, plants are super healthy.   Friday, September 21 View Page 1126 Dixon cruising along, at day 74 today and is now well over 1000 lbs with 3 weeks till The Old Farm Market Giant Pumpkin Weighoff on October 13th. From day 60-70 this fruit gained 121 lbs for a decent average of 12 lbs a day. So far in September this fruit has put on 303 lbs, I’m hoping for only another 50-75 lbs which looks pretty possible with current results. I’ll be taking the 2032 Mathison to support the Vancouver Weighoff, and save the 1126 for Vancouver Island.   Friday, September 28 View Page Day 80 today for both pumpkins, we had the third fruit delivered to our Weighoff Sponsor at The Old Farm Market to display in advance of the Event on October 13th. No tripod lifter, no chain hoist so I’m in a bit of a pickle this year, but for next year I’ll have the Steve Handy original tripod lifter for action. But for this year it’s gonna have to be done some other way. 1126 Dixon gained 118 lbs over the past 10 days, so is still gaining nicely, and so far in the Month of September has gained a whopping 382 lbs. The 2032 Mathison has gained 77 lbs in that same 10 days and also gained a healthy 231 lbs for the month of September. Too bad they were slightly late pollinated on July 10th, but that is what Mother Nature offered me this year.   Tuesday, October 2 View Page Things are starting to come together nicely for the Vancouver Island Weighoff at The Old Farm Market. Sponsors are stepping up and providing prizes, and the community is being super supportive, we expect a great event and will build on this year going forward. I’d like to personally thank all the growers who are committing to coming to support our efforts in starting a new event on Vancouver Island. Scott and Kirsten Carley have been especially helpful and a shout out to Mauritzio Camparmo for stepping up and personally helping me secure a new tripod part from Steve Handy while he was down in Seattle for the Elisyian Weighoff. And also, thanks to Scott for driving out to the Ferry Terminal to meet me and deliver the tripod part so I can, in turn harvest a pumpkin and come to the Vancouver event and support all the hard work that everyone does for that event.   Wednesday, October 3 View Page So first off, I’m shocked that I would even consider using my golf practice mat for pumpkins. We will replace it with something more pumpkin suitable. I’ve got a great area that has a little 55 yard chip shot and a further pitch shot at 80 yards beside the pumpkin patch. Second, I made patch shoes for the tripod legs as suggested, moved the truck into place in order to make it easier to erect the legs, got things organized enough and realized that I need to wait for Andrea to get back from another appointment. Lastly, I knew that I should re-read the email instructions from tripod head maker Steve Handy, thanks for the volley of emails and details to make the job simpler. I also viewed some great photos in the Team Gadberry diary, that really helped also.   Wednesday, October 3 View Page This ugly pumpkin doesn’t deserve to ride on a golf mat, rigid insulation is about all it will get for the journey to Krause Berry Farm in the big city of Vancouver. When Andrea gets home, we will both re-read the instructions, view some more photos and use this pumpkin lift as our trial run for the next one.   Wednesday, October 3 View Page After some super instructional photos from tripod maker Steve Handy, Andrea and I had no issues or struggles putting this tripod up, setting the legs, measuring twice and hoisting this pumpkin up with our brand new chain hoist. Thanks again, Team Pacific Northwest pulled it off.   Wednesday, October 3 View Page In slides the truck (on plywood of course) easy peasy just like I was told.   Wednesday, October 3 View Page Lowered down onto the pallet, will get secured and tied down and we are ready for Krause Berry Farm & Estate Winery Weighoff. This tripod is so easy to use and did not break the bank to set up, can be easily operated by 2 persons and gets top marks from Andrea and I. Anybody that needs a lifting solution that does not have a tractor or other mechanical lifter, this unit is for you. That’s again to all the persons involved in this, very much appreciated.   Sunday, October 7 View Page Day 90 today, haven’t measured in awhile but I know growth has slowed to a crawl, it’s cold overnight now. The 1126 Dixon is our last hope for a 1K plus fruit this year. Lessons learned for next year...   Monday, October 8 View Page Yes, that is a can of hey y’all souther style hard ice tea in the photo, left in the fridge by some young’ins im pretty sure.   Tuesday, October 9 View Page Lifting day soon, Weighoff soon, soils sample soon, work the soil soon, spread cover crop of winter rye soon, put away all pumpkin gear soon, relax until the cycle starts over again and that will be soon enough.   Thursday, October 11 View Page A new grower was asking how far the roots went down, so here is a tap root from a secondary vine that went straight down is 19” long and I broke the tip. No telling how deep and how far out the rest of the root system went from just this one root node. I’m seeing rooting like I’ve never seen before, pulling the vines out is tough each leaf node has 2-4 root nodes like this.   Thursday, October 11 View Page Ready to load, will cut the main vine tomorrow sometime and lift it into the truck. We’ve already lifted to look under, and all is OK and flat as a pancake. Never again will we worry and fret on lifting and moving day (unless it’s wet) and I’ll likely get some heavy duty plywood to drive on rather than my assortment of walking boards and random leftover lumber. If I were Spambie, I’d be using my inline scale with the chain hoist and lifting ring, to determine if my chosen pumpkin was gonna be heavy enough, but this is my last one and I like to be surprised when the weight is revealed so I haven’t got a scale I can use...yet.   Monday, October 22 View Page Soil sample taken, gypsum, humic Acid and kelp meal spread before a good rototilling. It was a good learning lesson to see where in the new patch was moist and where it was drier. Areas that need amending and other areas that were obviously previously cultivated and are deep and rich with amazing soil and depth. An adequate seeding of winter rye was spread and we will likely over seeding again if needed because the birds tend to get some of the seed. No PB for Andrea and I this year but we did manage to keep our streak alive at 7 years in a row with a pumpkin over 1000 lbs with our 1074 Dixon this year.   Wednesday, October 24 View Page Since retiring, my new passion (obsession) is this fun game. I’ll try not to let it get in the way too much of the pumpkin growing, but I won’t miss a game of golf because I have things to do in the patch. I may never set a record growing pumpkins, and I’ll never make it on the pro circuit but setting PB’s in both sports is really all I am after. Pumpkin patch is tilled, soil sample taken and fall rye cover crop has been spread with some other amendments (kelp meal, granular humic Acid, granular gypsum).   Wednesday, October 24 View Page Here is the patch all tilled, prepped and amended. Looking forward to growing in 2019 but will cut down to 3 plants, in order to lower my golf score significantly.   Sunday, November 4 View Page 10 days later, with a few days of rain mixed in, along with very mild temperatures and the cover crop of rye is up and growing. We tilled in a cover crop of hairy vetch that grew in very quickly before our final fall prep. Soil sample taken with the custom soil core sample tool that Richmond Dave made for me. Works fantastic Dave, thanks.