Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 132 Entries. Tuesday, January 1 View Page Happy new year,and good luck to all pumpkin growers in 2008. Friday, January 18 View Page This will be our patch for the coming season,has previously been part of a chicken/goose pen for several years so the soil is relatively poor. Not had the time to do any preparation to the patch just yet,with the days being so short weve just not had the time. But with the days starting to draw out a bit now we hope to soon get started. Friday, January 18 View Page We have some topsoil to spread over the new patch from last years patch, all that manure we brought in last year has now rotten down and will be great for this year. Of course we will bring some more manure in too but not in the quantity we did last year! Friday, January 18 View Page After the disappointing season we suffered last year due to the terrible wet summer we had we have now decided to grow our plants under cover . We were lucky enough to find a 30ft by 90ft polytunnel on ebay in which will we plan to grow three 750sq ft plants and being nice and wide we can have a decent pathway either side of our plants which will be good for tending to the plant. Hoping to beat our pb of 855lb this year. Tuesday, February 12 View Page We got the tractor in the patch today and ploughed it over, next job is to cover this poor topsoil with a good thick layer of the good topsoil. We will have to buckle down to it now as seed starting is only 8 weeks away! Wednesday, February 20 View Page We now have our soil moved on to the patch, We must have moved about 50 tons or so from off of last years patches. This has given us a good spade's depth of good fertile soil all over the patch. Wednesday, February 20 View Page Heap of three year old cow manure ready and waiting lol. Tuesday, March 11 View Page We finally got round to putting our tunnel up last weekend, things were not looking to good to start with. Tuesday, March 11 View Page However once we got the hang of it things were looking a little better. Tuesday, March 11 View Page And by the end of the afternoon we had all the hoops up. Tuesday, March 11 View Page We also have the manure spread over the patch, about 4 tons per plant this year roughly. Sunday, March 30 View Page Well the tunnel is ready for sheeting now, door frames in place, trench dug. We have even put wind break net all the way round to try to hide it from view of the road a bit, dont want to cause too much attention! And of course this will also prevent the sheet from getting caught on the barbed wire! And it also keeps the soil from going through the fence. Thats enough about the shade net, i could go on about the advantages of it all day, its great stuff hehe. oh it will also keep some of the wind off the tunnel! lol. Just got to wait for a calm day so we gan get the cover on. Thursday, April 3 View Page We put the cover on the tunnel today, we thought the best way to go about it would be to roll the sheet out on top of the ridge. Tuesday, April 8 View Page This worked very well, roll it out and then unfold it. Easier than dragging the sheet from one side up over the hoops to the other side anyway. Tuesday, April 8 View Page Oops forgot to backdate the last post, not to worry. The tunnel all sheeted down. Tuesday, April 8 View Page The dung has also been tilled in now, the soil looks good. Tuesday, April 8 View Page Started our seeds off yesterday morning, This year we are growing 1188 and 963 Paton seeds and also a 627* Hume squash. The 1188 and 963 look to be some very good crosses and im sure they have great potential (thats if we can grow them right this year) and the 627* obviously having proven itself by growing Daniel Hume's british record squash in 2005. Many thanks to Ian and Stuart Paton and to Amber Hume for giving us the seeds. Tuesday, April 8 View Page Oops Daniel Humes british record was 2006, 2005 was my year as you can see from the picture i just dug up from dorset farmers archives lol. Ah they were the days. Friday, April 11 View Page We finished putting the last small tunnel up inside the big tunnel this evening. The reason we are putting these up is so that we can keep the temperature up at night using small electric fan heaters. So far we have got two out of three 1188's up, three out of three 963's up but no squashes up. There is still time for them yet but i have also started off 990* 657* and 602* Hume's just in case. Saturday, April 12 View Page 963 and 1188. Tuesday, April 29 View Page Well the plants are all growing on ok. A little yellower than we would like, maybe they need some more sun too green them up a bit. First up is the 1188, growing along steady. Tuesday, April 29 View Page Here is the 963, now this plant is growing fast and i think it is probally two days ahead of the 1188 already. On the down side though there is a certain ammount of yellowing starting to appear on a couple of the leaves. Tuesday, April 29 View Page Unfortunately the 627* Humes failed, this plant being a 602* Hume, the cross is 740* Hume which was pollenated with 1055* Pitura. We also have a 990* Hume growing as back up. Friday, May 16 View Page Finally got round to taking some photos today! This is the 1188, not growing at a great pace at the moment but quite happy with this plant so far. Friday, May 16 View Page 963 growing very fast, almost too fast! The plant seems to be a little wilted for some known reason, its been quite cool here the last couple of days so its not the heat. Friday, May 16 View Page 602* growing ok. Friday, May 16 View Page Putting up an overhead irrigation system which will be good for cooling the plants down when the weather turns hot again. Friday, May 16 View Page Im going to grow a couple of marrows again this year, they are only from open pollenated seed so i dont really know what they are going to do yet but time will tell. Monday, May 26 View Page Time for some more photos! First up as usual is the 1188, not the fastest grower but looking nice and healthy. Overall quite happy with this plant. Monday, May 26 View Page Now for the 963, still growing very fast. Both of the pumpkin plants this year have nice manageable vines therefore keeping the heads down is a piece of cake :) Monday, May 26 View Page On the down side however the 963 has had a few leaves get a bit scorched up by the sun, at least thats what i hope it is. Will have to keep the sprinklers going when it gets hot! Monday, May 26 View Page The female flowers on all three of our plants are on nice long stems, If they keep coming like this then stem stess wont be an issue this year i dont think. This female is about 12ft out on the 963 and will be the first one we pollenate. I have removed the two previous female flowers on this vine. Monday, May 26 View Page 602* Growing ok, seems to be double vining a bit, growing more leaves,laterals,tendrils than it should. Hopefully it will grow out of it. Healthy looking plant though. Monday, May 26 View Page Were also running a fan up one end of the tunnel when its hot. Blowing some cooler air in to the tunnel is bound to help. Monday, May 26 View Page Finally, the marrows are growing on ok. Look quite healthy young plants. Saturday, May 31 View Page Well this afternoon we decided to get the tape out and measure the vines. Here is the 1188, main vine just under 14ft. Nice sturdy plant. Saturday, May 31 View Page Now this is the 963, we will have to call this one the rocket! hehe. When we measured this one we had a real shock, 19ft main vine length! That female we had at 12ft turned out to be more like 14ft out, the flower opened this morning however it was only a 4 lober and i wanted to use the 1188 as pollinator. Well the 1188 has not had any male flowers open at all yet so that was not possible, We wont be going with that one. We will pollenate the next female which is about 17ft out in about another 6 days i would think. Saturday, May 31 View Page And last but not least the 602*. This plant is a little hard to manage as its growing multiple leaves,tendrills and laterals! Its got too many vines going out of one side of the plant and were a little lean on vines on the other side. 14ft main vine length, nice green females with nice long stems coming on this plant. Im very pleased with how the plants are coming along. The 963 can be seen behind this plant, also we have just started terminating the first secondaries on the 963, roughly 12ft each side making it 24 ft wide roughly. Thursday, June 5 View Page Good news, bad news and really bad news! The good news is the female flower we have on the 963 opened this morning and its a nice 5 lober, the bad news being that its been open pollenated. I Didnt get round to covering the flowers over last night. Thursday, June 5 View Page The really bad news! The main vine has split about 12 inches after the pumpkin so were really really hoping that this fruit sets! The male flowers were limited on the 1188 anyway, could only reach one fresh one without walking over the plant so i also used 963 males. Im not bothered about keeping seeds anyway. So the plan now is to cut the main vine off immedietly after the pumpkin and train the next vine back as the new main vine. Shame this plant was going really well up to now. Note the bee, just doing his bit to help. Tuesday, June 10 View Page The 1188, its been very hot in the tunnel for the past week or so and we have a little bit of scorch on some of the leaves. Tuesday, June 10 View Page Female flower on the 1188, 18 ft out on the main vine and should be open for pollenating in the morning. I have bagged this one and 6 963 males and hope to pollenate tomorrow morning. Tuesday, June 10 View Page The 963 plant. Tuesday, June 10 View Page And the pumpkin, 6 days after pollenation. I think its set. Tuesday, June 10 View Page And the hume squash, still looking a little skinny but the vine is growing normal now. Tuesday, June 10 View Page And the female flower which is at 15ft and will open in a few days. Tuesday, June 10 View Page We had a couple of herring gulls pay us a visit last week, they were very interested in the polytunnel and pecked a load of holes in the polythene. Maybe they thought the plants needed more ventilation? i dont know if the holes are visible from this pic or not but we now have preforated polythene! Tuesday, June 10 View Page The marrow plants are coming along nicely, heres one Tuesday, June 10 View Page and the other. Wednesday, June 11 View Page 1188 pollenated this morning, another 5 lober. Thursday, June 12 View Page And the squash pollenated today. 4 lobes this time. Saturday, June 21 View Page Time to post some more pictures. first up is the 1188 pumpkin pollenated on the 11th june. Not sure if were going to keep this one yet as i accidently grazed it up a bit with a trowel and it also has some splits on the blossom end of the fruit. Saturday, June 21 View Page A closer shot of one of the splits, i have two other pumpkins further down the vine. The next one has gone the same as this. Maybe the third one will be better, its too early to tell as it was only pollenated yesterday though. Saturday, June 21 View Page And so on to the 963, pollenated on the 5th of june. Not growing at too great a pace yet, however this one has a great shape to it and im sure we will keep this one. Saturday, June 21 View Page The squash also seems to be a slow starter, maybe im too impatient. Nice long stem. Saturday, June 21 View Page Unfortunately the stem on the squash has got a bit of rot set in, so we have two fans on it now and gave it a good powdering up with some yellow sulphur powder so fingers crossed. We have also got all three stems trimmed out now and im puttimg umberellas over the stems when we water to keep them dry. This has been a real warning to us and we will keep a close eye on em now. Saturday, June 21 View Page The 963 stem is getting fairly thick now, both pumpkin stems remain healthy. Saturday, June 21 View Page Both marrows are a good 6ft long now, one Saturday, June 21 View Page And the other. Sunday, June 22 View Page Had a bit of a set back this morning when we noticed the 963 had split. We now have to go with one pollenated yesterday on a lateral. Monday, June 30 View Page 1188 pumpkin at day 19, growing very well. Total inches ott 152 for an estimated weight of 85 lbs. Monday, June 30 View Page The 963 is up and running again, now at day 9. Monday, June 30 View Page And the squash at day 12. Monday, July 7 View Page Ups and downs this week, sadly the 963 was beginning to show its age. This plant grew very fast early on and now its aged very fast thus leaving it more susceptible to diseases and pests, with blackfly starting to get on the plants it was time for it to go. It was never going to outgrow the 1188. Monday, July 7 View Page A closer shot of the 963's old leaves. Monday, July 7 View Page The 1188 on the other hand is growing really well and has got off to a really good start! I have sprayed the plants for the blackfly so hopefully that will sort them out. At day 26 the 1188 is a total of 221 inches OTT for an estimated weight of 237 lbs, thats a gain of 152 lbs for the week which is very good i think. Monday, July 7 View Page Another shot of the 1188, its better looking from this side. The stem on this one looks great, not one little split or crack. So all our hopes for a big pumpkin this season lie with this one now. Monday, July 7 View Page Day 19 for the squash and its 93 inches OTT for an estimated weight of 23 lbs. Not off to a very fast start but its early days, we will see. Monday, July 14 View Page 1188 Day 33. Total inches OTT 268, estimated weight now 412 lbs. 175 lbs for the week. Monday, July 14 View Page Squash day 26. Total inches OTT 175. Estimated weight now 124 lbs. Has gained 101 lbs for the week. Monday, July 14 View Page The marrows are doing ok, the weather has been wet and very windy the last few weeks but the plants are looking good. Have a couple marrows just pollenated but i will be trying to pollenate the ones i want to keep early next week. Monday, July 14 View Page The other marrow plant. Monday, July 21 View Page Pumpkin day 40. Total OTT 299 inches for an estimated weight of 566 lbs. Monday, July 21 View Page We are a little concerned about these small splits starting to appear on the stem end of the pumpkin, we have a fan on them so we will have to just hope for the best. The pumpkin gained 154 lbs for the week. Monday, July 21 View Page The squash now measuring 224 inches OTT for a weight of 246 lbs, 122 lbs for the week. Monday, July 28 View Page 1188 day 47, 328 inches OTT - 743 lbs estimated and a gain of 177 lbs for the week. We thought last week that the growth was slowing down but the weather here the last week has been sunny and very hot which has been good for growing. The pumpkin has some netting showing now so we expect growth to slow down now. I found an area of rot on the main vine this evening so scraped the rot off and put some sulphur powder on it and put a fan on it and an umberella over it so fingers crossed. The pumpkin is starting to look big and ugly. Monday, July 28 View Page There are 3 small splits on the pumpkin now, however the fan has done a great job drying them out and i dont think they will be a problem. Monday, July 28 View Page The back end of the 1188 is showing its age now to say the least, we think maybe the water is ageing the leaves prematurely. Monday, July 28 View Page The squash now at day 40. Measuring 257 inches OTT - 365 lbs estimated weight. A gain of 119 lbs for the week. Monday, July 28 View Page One of my giant marrows. Pollenated about two weeks ago, its got a long way to go yet but im expecting it to pick up the pace this week. Monday, August 4 View Page 1188 day 54. Now 347 inches Ott - 877 lbs estimated weight and a gain of 134 lbs for the week which beats our personal best! The pumpkin now has a dill ring towards the back of it and the splits around the stem are getting longer so i have got another fan on them. Monday, August 4 View Page The squash now at day 47 is 280 inches ott and 467 lbs. 102 lbs for the week. Monday, August 4 View Page The marrows are doing ok, this one at three weeks old. Monday, August 4 View Page And this one just over two weeks old. I think this one will be the bigger of the two. Monday, August 11 View Page Well the weather here has been unsettled all week, and with more of the same forcasted for this week its not good for pumpkin growing! The 1188 pumpkin now at day 61 measures 359 inches ott which is 970 lbs estimated weight. A gain of 93 lbs for the week is not bad given the weather we have had. Our main concern with this pumpkin is that dill ring. Monday, August 11 View Page Another shot... Monday, August 11 View Page and another! Monday, August 11 View Page The squash now at day 54 tapes 287 inches ott for an estimated weight of 502 lbs. Only 35 lbs this week. Monday, August 11 View Page And thats why, the stem has nearly rotten right the way through. Even with a fan on it all the time. Monday, August 11 View Page The marrows have not had a very good week being outside in the weather, they should have been in peak growth but they have hardly grown a bit. Monday, August 11 View Page I have some more just set but unless the weather improves soon then they wont do any better. Monday, August 18 View Page 1188 day 68. 366 ott - estimated at 1027 lbs, a weight gain of 57 lbs for the week. The age of the pumpkin combined with the weather we are having here at the moment is really slowing it down now however this is our first pumpkin to go over the 1000 so were very happy with it :) Monday, August 18 View Page 602* at day 61 is 301 inches ott which is an estimated weight of 577 lbs. Its had a good week and put on 75 lbs which was a bit of a surprise as the stem on the fruit has rot set in. I dont know how accurate this estimate is however as the squash is a funny shape. Monday, August 25 View Page 1188 day 75. 373 inches ott - 1086 lbs, 59 lbs for the week. Monday, August 25 View Page The 1188 plant is getting a little out of hand. Monday, August 25 View Page Day 68 for the squash. 310 ott - 629 lbs. 52 lbs for the week. Monday, September 1 View Page 1188 day 82, now estimated at 1104 lbs. Had a slow week and only grew two inches which is a gain of 18 lbs. Monday, September 1 View Page The squash only managed an inch this week bringing it to an estimated weight of 635 lbs a gain of 6 lbs for the week. The squash and two marrows will be harveted for the national amateur gardening show at shepton mallet on thursday. Friday, September 12 View Page The squash at shepton mallet last weekend, it weighed in at 757 lbs to take first prize in the squash class. Dave Thomas won the pumpkin class with 464 lbs. Friday, September 12 View Page Two world records fell at the show, the heaviest marrow weighing 143 lbs grown by Ken Dade which beat my old world record by 7 lbs Friday, September 12 View Page And Alfred Cobb beat his own world record for the longest cucumber with a length of 36.1 inches, beating his old record by one inch. Friday, September 12 View Page After the show had finished we loaded the squash and a few other exhibits that other growers didnt want in to Clive Bevans van. Clive is going to take the squash to other shows. Friday, September 12 View Page Back in the patch we have a small hole in our pumpkin. I found a small rotten area on the side of it, we have now cut out all the rotten flesh and have a fan on it so we can only hope it will hold out until weigh off day in 4 weeks time. I dont know what caused it. Friday, September 12 View Page We also have cleared the vines from around the pumpkin to improve ventilation around it. At day 93 its measurements are 105 inches from one side to the other, 106 inches from front to back and 171 inches circumference for a total of 382 inches or an estimated weight of 1166 lbs. I think its just about done growing now, There is some rot creeping in on the vines also. Friday, September 12 View Page My fiancee with the pumpkin. It has some green markings coming on the front of it. Wednesday, September 17 View Page 1188 is up to 1193 lbs on estimate now, gained another three inches on the circumference. Its a long way around there now and maybe the tape was in a slightly different place. Wednesday, September 17 View Page The hole is much the same, not dried up yet but its not getting any worse. Tuesday, September 23 View Page 1188 est 1202 lbs. The hole that we was worried about has dried up nicely now and shouldnt be a problem. Monday, September 29 View Page Well we decided to harvest the 1188 and take it to the malvern show last weekend. We were not happy with the area around the hole as there were some black spots appearing around it so we wanted to get it weighed. Here are some pictures of the pumpkin. Monday, September 29 View Page My brother with the 1188 Monday, September 29 View Page Our lift ring made from a tractor wheel rim and we have a handy invention on the back of the tractor which will take the weight of the pumpkin when we winch it up. designed by Jeff, in the middle Monday, September 29 View Page Getting the wheel in position Monday, September 29 View Page ratchet straps on Monday, September 29 View Page so far so good Monday, September 29 View Page checking the under side, slightly concave but looks fine Monday, September 29 View Page on the pallet which is on a buck rake Monday, September 29 View Page hitching up Monday, September 29 View Page Were off, but why are they on the bonnet? Monday, September 29 View Page going out Monday, September 29 View Page it must be heavy! Wheels off the ground with a little help Monday, September 29 View Page another shot Monday, September 29 View Page up on to the trailer Monday, September 29 View Page strapped down and ready to go Monday, September 29 View Page it was dark by the time the pumpkin got to the show Monday, September 29 View Page another shot Monday, September 29 View Page i never actually went to the show as i had other things on which was a shame but at least i didnt get hounded by this lot lol Monday, September 29 View Page my father posing for photographs Monday, September 29 View Page Clive Bevan doesnt mind having his photo taken lol Monday, September 29 View Page view from the showground, impressive Monday, September 29 View Page impressive parsnips too Monday, September 29 View Page and carrots. Monday, September 29 View Page 1341.67 Baggs 08.