Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 94 Entries. Sunday, March 24 View Page Finally the Ground is not frozen today. So I can start working the soil   Thursday, March 28 View Page Took down a couple more big White Pines for afternoon sun. Now grinding out the stumps   Thursday, March 28 View Page Line up is set for 2019. Growing Giant Tomato's, Bushel Gourds and Pumpkins this year.   Sunday, March 31 View Page Lots of rain coming this afternoon, so I dusted the garden with a Spring Snack of Neptune's Kelp Meal, ground Crab and Lobster, plus 60 lbs of Wood Ash that Michael Fleming cooked up. The Beneficial microbes in the soil will appreciate this and a I get a calcium boost in the patch too.   Saturday, April 6 View Page most of my Giant Tomato's are up. I planted 10. including the 5.95 and 6.23 Koniezcny, plus the 6.06 Schmit. Not much to look at yet...   Saturday, April 6 View Page First garden till and amendment additions are done...   Sunday, April 7 View Page Got all the Heater Cables in today. 60 ft each 8" down. Should help with my early start.   Sunday, April 7 View Page Got all the Heaters Cables in today 60ft each.. 8" down. Should help with my early starts this year.   Friday, April 19 View Page I set a few of my plants out today (in a greenhouse). Foliar sprayed them with just a few ounces of diluted Fish and Humic/fulvic. It was about 82F in the greenhouses. The rest are in the house under T5's.   Sunday, April 21 View Page Got the Boards out and the cable Heaters have the soil at 74F   Monday, April 22 View Page First casualty. Back a few yews and I would try to nurse this along. But now I know its a Ribbon Vine. So I'll dispose of this plant. I Still have plenty of plants so no problem   Monday, April 22 View Page Some of my plants soaking up the Rays....These plants love the lumen level of my T5's.   Tuesday, April 23 View Page They are all planted. The pumpkins are in the ground. My heaters are working overtime to help warm up the soil.   Saturday, April 27 View Page My nice yellow plants need some sun.   Sunday, April 28 View Page Nic and Frosty outside this morning. The Heaters earned their keep last night   Friday, May 3 View Page Ibrought some of my Giant Tomato plants out to the Greenhouse today. Finally warm enough. These are the 5.95 and 6.20 Konieczny, and the 6.06 Schmit.   Saturday, May 4 View Page Plants are starting to vine out , so I am starting to cull. Kept the 2433 Paton in this picture.   Saturday, May 4 View Page Plants are starting to vine out , so I am starting to cull. Kept the 2433 Paton in this picture.   Wednesday, May 8 View Page The plants are starting to vine out. Shown is the 2528 Geddes   Wednesday, May 8 View Page The 2433 Paton is very close to landing. Going to be in the high 30s tonight. Will need to keep the heaters on. Today I buried a bunch of WOW Pumpkin Pro, plus Azos and Rootshield around all the plants, and started them on a slow minimal protein diet of Origin 360 mixed with Neptunes Fish plus Stollers Urea Mate 5-10-27, plus a few WOW Starter Packs   Wednesday, May 8 View Page The 2469 Daletas looks strong. And is vining out. Some natural kickstands on the plant will help cushion its fall. Added bamboo to help position the main vine in the correct direction.   Friday, May 17 View Page Bushel Gourd planting time is coming up tomorrow. Mike Fleming gave me a 189.5 Fleming Bushel Gourd plant which I'll cross with one of the 2 smaller 384.5 Terry plants   Saturday, May 18 View Page Getting ready to plant my 189.5 Fleming and 384.5 Terry, Giant Bushel Gourds today. Starter packs are in the soil too.   Friday, May 24 View Page Planted 4 Tomato plants outside. Will plant more tomorrow.   Friday, May 24 View Page Planted 4 Tomato plants outside. Will plant more tomorrow.   Saturday, May 25 View Page My 189.5 Fleming Bushel Gourd plant has a 3 foot main. Looks healthy in its heated green house. The main vine on this plant is starting to kick into gear and grow.   Saturday, May 25 View Page Was cold outside last night. Around 45F. I bundled up the Pumpkin plants, Tomato's and Bushel Gourd plants and turned on the heaters. They seen to be doing fine, with temps around 65 inside the makeshift green houses.   Wednesday, May 29 View Page Was so cold last night (47F) that I had to re-install my Green Houses and Heaters over the Busherl Gourds and the Tomato's.   Friday, May 31 View Page My 2469, has a 12 ft main and is growing about 6 inches per day in all directions.   Friday, June 7 View Page Today I'll be spreading some fish compost (aged 2 years) throughout the outer perimeters of the patch. About 10 ft away from the stem. Very Good for Calcium.   Friday, June 7 View Page Set out my first phermone trap for the dreaded SVB's. They will come....Supported a research study for George Hamilton at UNH.   Saturday, June 8 View Page Got several Brews going at once for the Pumpkins , Bushel Gourds and Tomato's. That Neptune's Harvest Liquid Crab and Lobster, plus the WOW Brew looks real nutritious.   Saturday, June 22 View Page The 2528 plant if really taking off now. 3" of rain in the lat 5 days. And now sunny and almost 80F. Plant is growing about 1 ft per day in all directions. Main is about 28 ft long and a pumpkin is set on it at 18ft out.   Saturday, June 22 View Page Gene Lariviere gave me some Caster Bean Seeds. All 10 seeds came up in various locations on the edges of the garden. These plants are cool. They will have massive Leaves in a few weeks   Sunday, June 23 View Page This WOW Brew has bee fermenting for 24 hours and it has a good head on it. Mixed in some Lobster/crab juice to add some taste. I add a teaspoon of Ranman fungicide to each 5 gallon bucket too.   Thursday, June 27 View Page The Pumpkins are strting to kick into growth gear. This is the 2433 Paton x2528Geddes The plants all have small back ups growing on them just in case.   Thursday, June 27 View Page A foggy day in the patch 189.5 Fleming Bushel Gourd is closest. To the left is the 484.5 Terry Bushel Gourd. I'm growing them in a flag pattern.   Friday, June 28 View Page Nice and hot today. 94F in Sharon. I have 8 sprinklers which cover almost the whole patch, on timers set for 1 minutes each. But a few leaves (like these on the edges of the patch) got a slow burn and started to wilt until I sprayed them with cool water.   Friday, June 28 View Page These new Vine Lopers are nice. Got the idea from Steve Daletas and Ian Paton. No more walking in the patch to get out sucker vines.   Tuesday, July 2 View Page This is my 2469 Daletas x 2528 Geddes, 11 DAP, at 17ft out on the Main. I hope this one takes. I lost an earlier one on this plant a couple days ago. It went down for no apparent reason.   Tuesday, July 2 View Page Here is the picture of the 2469 x 2528 for the previous entry   Tuesday, July 2 View Page My 2433 Paton x 2528 Geddes pumpkin is starting to enter its rapid growth phase I think. Its set at 18 ft out on the Main.   Sunday, July 7 View Page My Caster Bean Plants from Gene Lariviere, are starting get big leaves.   Sunday, July 7 View Page My 2469 x 2528 cross is covered and sitting an igloo. I do this to shade the pumpkin while giving it some air flow.   Sunday, July 7 View Page This 2433 x 2528 is staying cool in its igloo.   Sunday, July 7 View Page The plant for my 2528 is massive, so the fruit growth has been slow. Hopefully that will change now that the secondary vines are being terminated. On the left is my fig tree, thanks to Russ Klowan   Saturday, July 13 View Page My 2433x2528 is starting to grow fast. Taping at 425 pounds   Sunday, July 14 View Page The 2469x252 is going to be a tall pumpkin. Will need to keep a close eye in this one to make sure it doesn't begin to slide forwards and become a blossom under pumpkin or backwards and become a stem under pumpkin   Sunday, July 14 View Page Here is my other plant with a 2433x2528 cross pollinated June 23rd. Good shape I think   Monday, July 15 View Page Caught a ton of Squash Vine Borer (males) last week. Geez, where do these things keep coming from.   Thursday, July 18 View Page Bushel Gourds are stating to set. This is the 384.5xself. Incredibly long stems on these BG's. Guess I won't have any vine stress problems with this fruit.   Thursday, July 18 View Page I think I have a solid set on this plant so I put it on a Mill Cloth. This is my 189.5 x 384.5   Thursday, July 18 View Page I think I have a solid set on this plant so I put it on a Mill Cloth. This is my 189.5 x 384.5   Friday, July 19 View Page My patch is almost full. The 189.5 Fleming Bushel Gourd is closest, and there are 3 Atlantic Giant Pumpkin plants beyond that. There are 5 Giant Tomato's on the left.   Tuesday, July 23 View Page A few of my Tomato's are starting to ripen. Here is one of the smaller ones from the 5.97 Konecenski. Weighed in at 2 lbs 7 oz.   Thursday, July 25 View Page The 189 Bushel Gourd got a good surge in size after 3 days in the high 90's. Its on a weekly diet of Wow Brew and Fish and Origin 360, and Stollers 5-10-27 Urea Mate.   Friday, July 26 View Page Drove over to Matt Debacco's patch in CT to pick some blueberries. He has 3 varieties in a netted enclosure. I ended up seeing one of his massive pumpkins as shown. This baby is huge.   Saturday, July 27 View Page The 2469x2528 has taken over as the new alpha female in the patch. At 37 DAP, she is taping 939 lbs, and putting on 48.9 lbs per day.   Saturday, July 27 View Page Oh and the Blueberries. I cooked up a ton of Blueberry pancakes with his bumper crop. Thanks Matt!!   Sunday, July 28 View Page Due to nasty mid 90F's heat I put out the 6ft x 6ft pop tent. Great for shade and cooling the pumpkin. These small tents are light weight for moving around. Not good if its windy though.   Wednesday, July 31 View Page The pumpkins are all through the canopy. Got 4 pumpkins this year.   Wednesday, July 31 View Page This is my 2433x 2528. She seems to have accepted her #2 status in the patch. Still putting on 31 pounds per day. Will get measurements this weekend   Wednesday, July 31 View Page This year I think my Bushel Gourd will be rounder than those from previous years. Its my 189x384. 20 ft out on a side vine. I hope she breaks 100 pounds this weekend when I get my weekly measurements.   Wednesday, August 7 View Page I need to pick this Tomato. Its a 7.23 Menting x open cross. I never could get a real mega bloom, but I am still learning about tomato's. I will post weight when I get it tomorrow   Thursday, August 8 View Page Season is half over. Hope I can hang onto these 4 pumpkins for the weigh-offs   Thursday, August 8 View Page My 7.23 Menting x self weighed in at 4.00 pounds. Not bad, but still not nearly as good as the expert Mater Growers.   Thursday, August 8 View Page I was finally able to set a Bushel Gourd on the 384 x 384 Terry at about 20 ft out on a side vine. This one appears to have taken. Unique shape is interesting. It will be a challenge to get an accurate OTT on this one shown at 15DAP.   Thursday, August 8 View Page My 189 x 384 Bushel Gourd, still has smooth skin and is gaining 10 lbs per day according to the chart. Its taping at 126 pounds   Thursday, August 8 View Page My 2433 x 2528 #1 is still slowly chugging along at 24.5 pounds per day. Its OTT is 352 so she's taping 994 pounds. Good shape on this one. Some powdery on this plant   Thursday, August 8 View Page This is my 2433 x 2528 #2. She's has an OTT of 322, so estimated weight is 769 pounds, with daily weight gains of 20.5 pounds per day.   Thursday, August 8 View Page I'm embarrassed to show this one. Its my 2528 x 2469. I remember thinking the top lobe looked a little off when I pollinated it but I let it ride. I should have culled it. Who knows what it weighs. Shape is too odd to get a good OTT. My goal it to keep it in one piece and to the scales. We will see.   Thursday, August 8 View Page This is my 2469 x 2528 at 49 DAP. She is a tall one with an OTT of 392 and daily weight gains of 50 lbs per day for the last 18 days. Set at 17 ft out on the main. I keep checking the blossom to see if she has blown yet. We got 2 inches of rain last night. Next couple days will be very interesting to see if she can take the stress of rapid growth after all that rain.   Sunday, August 11 View Page My 2469 x 2528 is OK so far. She is a tall Steady Eddie and averaging about 32 lbs per day with an OTT of 415.   Monday, August 12 View Page The neck on my 189 Fleming x 384 Terry has disappeared as the Bushel Gourd has now become spherical in shape. Its closing in on 200 pounds and putting on about 11 pounds per day.   Tuesday, August 13 View Page My 384.5 Terry started as a very light colored Bushel Gourd. I blocked all sun from getting to it. Very slowly it is starting to become a darker green as it gets exposed to a little more sun and matures   Friday, August 16 View Page Gene Lariviere. Thank you! I love my Caster Bean plants They are getting huge.   Saturday, August 24 View Page At the NEGPGA Patch tour in Topsfield,MA. Wody Lancaster (our PC Rep) held an impromptu meeting to keep is up to date on the latest GPC news and shared lostd of growing techniques.   Sunday, August 25 View Page This pop up tent has served me well on several pumpkins. Been raining here for the last 2 hours and the pumpkins are dry   Sunday, August 25 View Page At the NEGPGA Patch tour yesterday in and around the Topsfield, MA area, we got to stop at Woody's patch. He has a couple big ones growing.   Thursday, August 29 View Page We weighed our first pumpkin of 2019...... at the Woodstock Fair on Aug 29th It is our 2528 Geddes x 2469 Daletas cross. Came in 4th place with a 1216 pounder.   Monday, September 2 View Page Well we lost a good sized pumpkin today. It was my 2469 x 2528 cross. We have an inline scale So I got a weight. It was 1842 pounds and developed a soft spot.   Sunday, September 8 View Page Decided to give my 384.5 a sun bath today. Look at the snout on this monster   Tuesday, September 17 View Page We have a couple more nights in the 35-40F range coming up. I built 19ft long heated tunnel to keep the Bushel Gourd warm, since it was still growing. Checked it this morning. It was 45F outside and 65 inside. Might help it keep growing.   Sunday, September 22 View Page Lifting a Bushel Gourd is a throw back to the old days, over a quarter century ago, when I used a tarp with friends, to lift monsterous 500 pound Giant Pumpkins...back in the 1990's.   Monday, September 23 View Page We are loaded up and ready for The Durham Fair Weigh-off, with our Bushel Gourd. (from the 384 x self Terry Seed). Looking forward to a great time with friends tomorrow.   Tuesday, September 24 View Page My Bushel Gourd weighed 215.5 pounds at the Durham Fair. It had an OTT of 209 inches. Pretty much went to chart estimate of 226 pounds   Thursday, October 3 View Page Loading up out pumpkin for the Topsfield Fair tomorrow. I think its a 1200 pounder. Grew it from the 2433x2528   Friday, October 4 View Page and then there was one....We are down to the last fruit in the patch. Its a 189 Fleming x 384.5 Terry Bushel Gourd   Friday, October 4 View Page Hey Bill Sullivan. Thanks for your help with the lift for the Topsfield Fair.   Saturday, October 5 View Page We got the weight of our Topsfield entry. It weighed 1257 pound. This is a great Fair and the top 3 were over 2100 pounds....Alex Noel won with a 1294 pounder   Saturday, October 5 View Page Typo on last entry. Alex's pumpkin at Topsfield weighed 2294.5 pounds.   Sunday, October 6 View Page We went back to the Topsfield Fair on Saturday after the weigh-off. Stopped by to see Alex Noels pumpkin. It looks bigger than the day it was weighed. I think its still growing...lol   Sunday, October 13 View Page Just got home from the SNGPG Frerichs Farm Weigh-off. Had a great day, and it was good to see everyone. Our Bushel Gourd went over chart. It weighed 320.5 pounds   Tuesday, October 22 View Page Brought our pumpkin to he Roger Williams Park and Zoo. They gave it an new Octo Face and put it on display with about 500 other carved and painted pumpkins. Very cool to see it at night.