Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 273 Entries. Tuesday, January 1 View Page Happy New year! Good luck to all this growing season. Cant wait to start off the seeds i have. We seem to be lacking snow and at this point i think its time for it to warm up now, but yet its still to early .We only had like 1 inch so far. Temperatures in the teens tonight. Gardens are so bare. Tuesday, January 8 View Page 68 degrees today here in philadelphia in January. What is this. I sure am loving it though. Monday, January 21 View Page Well i got this back in like november but figured id post it showing the soil test. Friday, April 18 View Page Turned 19 today. Man these temperatures here are really crazy so im going to start planting my pumpkins. 86 degrees yesturday and today. with the rest of the week being 75 average as highs and night temps are only going to about 55 so it cant be a better time. Update real soon with pictures of my tomatos, peppers and all my other crops as well as when my Pumpkins, melons, and canteloupes begin to grow. Monday, April 21 View Page heres my pumpkin seed for 08. Also will be growing giant watermelons, cantaloupes some long gourds, giant corn and sunflowers Thanks to everyone who gave me seed. I will begin planting tonight. Will continue posting an update. Monday, April 21 View Page well intersting enough i finally cut open my 85 pounder from last year which i wont wait this long ever again. Its still pretty solid but i didnt want to lose the seeds. Well i cut it open and it had only 7 fertile seeds in it in which they all had small roots coming out already. So they were planted in some pots and will almost be my test batch. And all my Big ones from other growers i am clearing the way on my heat mat as they are going to be planted any second really. Cant wait to get these Giants growing. Out in the garden its really dry ... not much rain in the forecast. Tuesday, April 22 View Page Man getting down to the end of the spring semester. So much to finish up with school work and so many seeds to plant. lol Thursday, April 24 View Page well heres my tomato plants growing fast . Waiting for them to get slightly bigger before planting. Thursday, April 24 View Page Almost 100 degrees in there! jeez. Canteloupes ,cucumbers and watermelons in there. If it gets warmer im gona have to open it up. With the temp being back in the 80s again for the next 2 days and today, I really should have my pumpkins soaking . Probably tonight for sure, i was concerened with my test on my 82 pounder from last year, i think the seed got too hot. So i put a towel over it to raise them up above the mat so its not that warm. The seed looks good still but im glad thats my test seed, wont do that again with the others. lol Friday, April 25 View Page Well i began soaking some of the seeds. Im really hoping that they sprout good. This can be a stressful time. Friday, April 25 View Page Soaking the 157 and 146 james melons. Friday, April 25 View Page So heres my little Growth chamber for my melons. Here are the 157 and 146 james. Soaked them for 6 hours and then placed them directly into there pots in the chamber. At about 88 degrees. My 82 pumpkin seed test has shown some life. Saturday, April 26 View Page The papez 1068 has been sanded and is now soaking. Saturday, April 26 View Page and the 1223 noel Saturday, April 26 View Page Went down the shore for the day.. While all the pumpkins are all bagged up and beginning to sprout.. Im very excited for this year and my seeds are sprouting nicely. Sunday, April 27 View Page filed 104 grimes and is bagged and 1054 Noel is soaking. Monday, April 28 View Page The 1223.5 Noel has sprouted and is now potted up. Monday, April 28 View Page The 1223 noel and 1068 papez have sprouted and have been placed into pots. The 1068 papez when i opened the paper towel i discovered that the main root broke on the tip but there are small bulges around it with little roots so it should be ok. Tuesday, April 29 View Page This picture shows 4 from my 82 last year which were tests and there is 2 - 146 james melon and a 157 james. The 1223 noel is pushing the soil. Wednesday, April 30 View Page The 1068 papez Wednesday, April 30 View Page Keeping an eye on things. The 1223 noel and 1068 papez are opening up there cots. Wednesday, April 30 View Page Well here we have some melons and the 1068 papez, the 1223 noel, my two 82s. Plenty more either bagged or potted that are sprouting as you look at this page. Thursday, May 1 View Page Look at him grow. Heres the 1223 noel. Lets see what broke the soil today.... The 786 sprinsock and the 776.5 Iosue. Thursday, May 1 View Page Man this weather has got to go... Cloudy and chance of rain for the next week.. not cool though just 70s. No sun to get the plants acclimated.... even thought they are like 2 inches under a grow light they still could use the natural sunlight... I dont want them to stretch. Thursday, May 1 View Page well heres a picture of my garden. Its been tilled and all ready to go. Thursday, May 1 View Page So heres some of my seedlings . Considering i planted them in 4 inch pots there roots will be hitting the bottom of the pots so they will need to come out really soon. Do you think it would be better if i repot them to a gallon container and let them get better established or just drop them into the ground? Im talking about the pumpkins that is. The watermelons im going to wait on for a little bit. If you could email me what you think that would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. [email protected] Grow em big Friday, May 2 View Page Well today turned out really nice clear and sunny. So i planted out 3 pumpkins so far into my garden. heres the 1068 papez Friday, May 2 View Page Heres the 1223.5 Noel Saturday, May 3 View Page My 3 pumpkins planted out looked great today. There was really no sun out today just clouds and kinda windy so the soil was still moist Luckily there mulched in with straw so they should be fine in the wind. . It would be nice if we got some sun one of these days maybe tomorow. Lets see i may plant out some others tomorow that are ready to go. The 776 iosue, 786 sprinsock, 688 albrecht and the 641 grande Tuesday, May 6 View Page THose birds are making me mad.... They keep eating the tops of of my seedling cantaloupoes and watermelons. They take the cots and all down to a little stump and then thats the end of that plant. Now im keeping the little seedlings in a 10 gallon fish tank with a milimeter wire top to keep them off my plants , cause they seem to leave them alone once the plant is leafed out and all. Tuesday, May 6 View Page Well at my main patch i have 7 plants in currently. They are looking great. Some have been in for 2-4 days now. Growing nicely. Heres a look at what is in. 1223.5 Noel 1068 papez My 82 786 Sprinsock 776 iosue. 688 albrecht 641 Grande Thursday, May 8 View Page 2 - 301 Grande came broke the soil its the 1250 kline x 1191 zunino. I planted some at the same time as all the others but they failed. So i replanted them as i was short some plants in the garden. The plants out in the garden are Looking great. One of the 301 is going to my main patch and the other is going in my veggie garden in the back. Saturday, May 10 View Page We had 2 inches of rainfall yesturday.. Hopefully everything is ok. today is cloudy and tomorow we are supposed to have some sun. Monday, May 12 View Page Man its cold here . High of 48 today and Rain. About an inch or so expected on top of fridays 2 inches of rainfall. At least the night temperature is only going to like 45. this is unheard of for here. 75 tomorow looking forward to it. The pumpkin plants arent growing much in this weather. upper 70s though the rest of the week and sun is what we need. Wednesday, May 14 View Page Man am i glad to see some nice weather i was able to get some pictures. Heres the 1223.5 noel Wednesday, May 14 View Page 1068 papez Wednesday, May 14 View Page 786 sprinsock Wednesday, May 14 View Page 776 iosue Wednesday, May 14 View Page 641 grande Wednesday, May 14 View Page 688 albrecht Wednesday, May 14 View Page Tomatos and some other plants, lettuce, Giant cabbage. onions. Soon i will be planting out the giant and regular cantaloupes and also the watermelons. The plants are almost ready to go in. Friday, May 16 View Page I can never get my garden planted because the days im off it rains all day and is cold. All the pumpkins are in though but still got other veggies and melons to get in and plus they wont grow much if its so cool. Tomorow should be a good day. well heres some giant corn seedlings from 13 foot noel corn. that i will be planting out tomorrow. Friday, May 16 View Page Well i planted a second 786 sprinsock in my yard. I have little space in my back yard so im planting that one a 301 grande and my 82. originally i planned on having 1 of each seed but unfortunately some didnt sprout. The 1054 noel being one of them and i couldnt get a 200 est grande to sprout either after 2 batches of them. I think the seed is unfertile. it is the 714 ciliberto x 1502 wallace. maybe im wrong anyone growing this seed and have it sprout? Sunday, May 18 View Page More rain...... Planted some more long gourds out. Growing a few 93" Bassett. Monday, May 19 View Page Planted out some 26 moore cantaloupe out in the backyard. Still windy 20 -30 mph winds and the temperature barely at 60. night temperatures still hitting like mid 40s. This is some bizarre weather and really is holding stuff back. Monday, May 19 View Page Cold and windy. But things are holding up well and The big pumpkins are growing fast. Here we have the 1223.5 Noel. Monday, May 19 View Page Here is the 1068 papez. The 1223 and the 1068 papez seem to be the most vigorous plants so far although they were planted 2 days before. Monday, May 19 View Page Noel giant corn Monday, May 19 View Page 157 james melon Monday, May 26 View Page The papez 1068 Monday, May 26 View Page I came to look at the plants and ohh nooooo its the cucumber beetles. They were only on the 301 grande but they were taken care off and all of them have been sprayed. Got them before the damage was bad. Finally some sun. Seeing some nice growth now. Tuesday, May 27 View Page Finally some warm drier weather. 82 yesturday , 85 today and around 80 or higher for most of the week. Already seeing some difference in growth. Its been cold and wet for the past 2 weeks. Tuesday, May 27 View Page Well here is a simple layout of my pumpkins just showing what is where. 86 degrees today! Thursday, May 29 View Page Went to check the pumpkins on the way home from work. The pumpkin plants look great despite the chewed parts due to a all you can eat buffet party of cucumber beetles. It was a outbreak like overnight and they chewed a little off but they were taken care of and there are now none in site. It wasnt that bad. Most have leaves the size of my hand and they are bulking up. Monday, June 2 View Page Well we were threatened with a hail storm but it was just a downpour which actually watered them well and in between the hot warm days they are growing fast. The 1223 noel has hit the ground and started vining. The 1068 papez is about to do the same but it seems to be really upright and bushy. Most of the leaves on the pumpkins are like 8 inches across now. They grew alot in one day from when i seen them last night. I really would like to get pictures tomorow. my friend borrowed my camera and i should have it back tonight, so that i can get pictures tomorow. Well the cucumber beetles are lingering around my plants even though i been spraying alot. At least they arent on the plants anymore eating away. No cucumber beetle buffets anymore. Tuesday, June 3 View Page Finally i took some pictures for some updates. Everyday the growth is amazing. I put up my new signs instead of the marker on the wooden stakes. here is the 1068 papez. The 1068 seems the biggest plant but didnt really touch ground. Tuesday, June 3 View Page the 1223.5 noel as you can see it has touched ground. Tuesday, June 3 View Page The 776 iosue. Tuesday, June 3 View Page Realize that the cuc beetles were at a outbreak a few days ago but they are looking clear lately with nice new growth ... 786 sprinsock. Tuesday, June 3 View Page 688 albrecht Tuesday, June 3 View Page 641 Grande Tuesday, June 3 View Page The 301 grande. It is alot smaller then the others as it was planted about a week apart from the others. Tuesday, June 3 View Page Im looking forward to seeing how big this gets. Its off to a good start. What a beast. Its the 45 pounder I believe OS or something. I seen them for sale this year and planted one. Tuesday, June 3 View Page 1068 papez has the largest trunk at the moment Wednesday, June 4 View Page I sure am glad that its been raining for the past 2 hours. It will do the garden good. Wednesday, June 4 View Page Heres one of about four long gourds. 93" bassett Wednesday, June 4 View Page Nice Romaine ehh. Thursday, June 5 View Page Well we been having alot of rain. Yesturday with the tornado warning. And now we have a heat wave coming this saturday on into the week. Of 5 days of being 98-100. Wow its too early for that. usually that stuff doesnt hit Philly till July. crazy. Saturday, June 7 View Page crazy weather for the next 4 days Saturday, June 7 View Page Its hot out thats for sure. 98 today and humid. worse tomorow and monday. Sunday, June 8 View Page Well another Hot day and this time i had to be in work in which is a garden center. 98 degrees afterward i stopped to check on the pumpkins. I must say they look so much better then last year. They are now all loaded with male flowers and i spotted a female bud on the 1223 noel, 1068 papez, 776 iosue, and my 82. The rest are not far from it. I had to turn my vines around as a few of them were growing the wrong way. The 1223 is like 5 foot long now its just rocketing. Im now wondering about burying the vines?. Last year it was my first year growing giants and i just let them run and then later on i buried some like after the big pumpkin was on there. Do you bury as much as the vine as posible like at every leaf except for when you pollinate the pumpkin and you leave a bunch off the ground. pictures tomorow most likely Monday, June 9 View Page The Giant watermelons are looking great now that its hot. This is one of the 157 James melons. Monday, June 9 View Page Its so hot out that plants are getting burnt on the tops. not pumpkins but things like peas and other vegetables its intense. Monday, June 9 View Page Bad news. The 776 iosue broke its main vine. I was trying to curve the vine as it was growing in the complete wrong direction and i must of put to much force on it. Surprised to see how fast a secondary took its place so i treated the end and will train out a secondary. It broke last night and was hanging on but i decided it would be best to remove it as it was wilting and had leaf burn. I was very sad to see it happen. I am rooting the end just for the heck of it and will plant it out somewhere else. The good thing is that the plant is very healthy and will regrow fast. I was trying to get some work done out there but its 100 degrees so i just watered and of i went and took pictures which will be up in a few. Monday, June 9 View Page look at the leaves on the 786 sprinsock Monday, June 9 View Page 1223 Noel. I need to start burying some vines. But it was deadly out there luckily they arent wilting or anything. Monday, June 9 View Page 1223 noel first female bud. Monday, June 9 View Page 1068 papez still has a really fat vine even though its vining. Monday, June 9 View Page the 301 Grande Monday, June 9 View Page 786 sprinsock Monday, June 9 View Page 688 albrecht Monday, June 9 View Page 641 grande. Wednesday, June 11 View Page Well to end the heat wave we had a severe thunderstorm but we actually got little rain from it and the ground is very dry from all this heat. Were still looking at a high of 90 but thats about average and thats alot cooler then it has been. lol. yesturday i was able to bury a bunch of vines before the storm came in. Still have to turn a vine around. Note to self about planting them in the right direction on the opposite side of the first true leaf. If i would of known that it would of saved me the trouble as well as not leading to a vine to snap. The 776 iosue already has about a foot long of a secondary that will be trained as the main vine. Thursday, June 12 View Page Just a pictures from the storm last night that i caught while filming a portion of the lightning hitting. Thought it was pretty neat to see. It was the end of our heat wave. The pumpkins are doing great and i just about are at the point where all the vines touched ground and i was able to begin really burying the vines. man growing pumpkins can be a big process. The 301 grande is just started to vine but has almost touched ground. The 776 iosue has greatly recovered from its broken vine. i will try to bury the break area but its so close to the stump and its slightly vertical. Thursday, June 12 View Page 1223.5 Noel about 7 feet out Thursday, June 12 View Page 1068 papez about 6 feet out Friday, June 13 View Page 786 sprinsock Friday, June 13 View Page the 776.5 Iosue with its new vine to replace the broken main in which i am turning slowly to go the right way. Friday, June 13 View Page 641 grande Friday, June 13 View Page 688 albrecht Monday, June 16 View Page Here is the rooted piece from the 776 iosue. It has fully rooted out into its pot and i will be finding a spot for it. I want to see how it does and see what it has to compare up against the seed grown one. It will be planted probably today. I need to get everything set as i will be away for a week.. It seems about the worst week considering that the female blooms should be opening and i have to really think what i want to do. They are working on there second female buds out already. the first ones are opening i think tomorow i have to check but i will wait on that till the second. ill get some polinated and hope for the best and spray the heck out of them. well i will be working hard all week getting ready that is my plants in between a busy work schedule. leaving the 22nd and staying till the 29th in Orlando florida Monday, June 16 View Page sprayed the plants down really good with triazicide. longest vine out at slightly over 10 feet. First female bloom opened today on my 82 but i cut it off as it was the first one and at only 4 feet out. It appears that the 1068 papez and 1223.5 noel are about even and should be opening there next female at the same time. I also switched the formula to 18-28-16 to get some more blooms going. Not to many males open yet. Monday, June 16 View Page 1223.5 Noel 10 feet out Monday, June 16 View Page 688 albrecht 5 foot out Tuesday, June 17 View Page Planted out the rooted piece from the broken main on the 776. It has a good root system going hope to see it do well. I will refer to it as the 776 iosue #2 Wednesday, June 18 View Page 1068 papez. 9 feet out Wednesday, June 18 View Page 301 grande. about 3 feet but its being turned to the right direction. Wednesday, June 18 View Page 786 sprinsock. say 6 feet out Wednesday, June 18 View Page 776.5 iosue. 3 foot out on its new main vine. Doing great about a week after its injury. Saturday, June 21 View Page So last night i was at the garden and noticed the 1223.5 noel wilting just lightly. So i was thinking ok well its probably needs some water as the ground was very dry. It was basically at sundown when i watered it and noticed it to perk up pretty fast so i didnt think much of it. I did spray it heavily with insecticide just in case. but i inspected the vine and its clear of anything. So today after work i go to look at them. well again the 1223 was wilting and i mean bad. the point where the leaves are yellowing. And im looking at my other pumpkins and they are perfect looking. Im now thinking that its bacterial wilt sadly. Tomorow it even has a female bloom going to open :( Man am i disappointed it still has a chance though but it looked bad. i drenched it today and will check it tomorrow. and even worse i am leaving on vacation for a week sunday at in the am so i can just hope for the best. I definately will be hitting the plants with fungicide and insecticide heavily tomorow. well i will post an update about it tomorow. Saturday, June 21 View Page I post a picture of the 1223.5 noel sadly it looks worse. I sprayed it down heavily with a fungicide. the entire plant is wilted from the trunk all the way down the main. No svb damage. on this one. Bacterial wilt? Any ideas? drop me an email at [email protected] Saturday, June 21 View Page 1068 papez looks great. Such a vigorous strong plant, stocky plant. Saturday, June 21 View Page 301 grande Saturday, June 21 View Page my own 82 Saturday, June 21 View Page 786 sprinsock. Seems to be the largest as far as area. Saturday, June 21 View Page 776.5 iosue doing great with its new main vine. Saturday, June 21 View Page 688 albrecht Sunday, June 29 View Page Well im back from a weeks vacation in orlando florida. It was great. But out in the patch was 4 pumpkins that went open. I will pollinate more on the plant and see which ones are the best to keep. The plants that have them are the 1068 papez, 641 grande, 786 sprinsock and my 82. Most of them are i would say at day 3 as of today. The 1223 noel main root rotted out completly, however it is staying healthy from the buried part onward. I cant see taking it out so i will just see what it does. Its keeping itself healthy with about at least 12 feet of vine. Sunday, June 29 View Page besides growing pumpkins i also am big into growing aroids and big tropicals in the north. Here i am by some banana trees in disney world. Monday, June 30 View Page Heres the 3rd female on the 1068. I came home to this so im just going to wait and see if the others grow faster or not. I will pollinate the rest myself. Monday, June 30 View Page Heres the 3rd female on the 1068. I came home to this so im just going to wait and see if the others grow faster or not. I will pollinate the rest myself. marked it so i could keep track of it from the others as they seem to look the same when there small. Monday, June 30 View Page This would be my own 82. Not a big size but it was my first so i wanted to see what it could do this year. Monday, June 30 View Page 786 sprinsock. Oh and the p stands for when it was polinated which could be of a day considering they happened while i was away. And i would have to say that its amazing how much more full the patch is in just a week. Monday, June 30 View Page heres half of my patch. I realize now that i should of gave much more space and maybe less plants. but ya live and learn. That would be my own 82. at day 6 Tuesday, July 1 View Page well first small watermelon on the 157 james. Really looking forward to this season with the melons. Tuesday, July 1 View Page showing the 786 sprinsock. It has now grown to be the fastest of all the pumpkins at this point. about 15 feet now. And yes the action hoe is there laying next to it. I dont know what i did before i had it. its been the greatest weeding tool for me. Tuesday, July 1 View Page 1068 papez. Not much short of the 786 this is also a very beastly plant. Thursday, July 3 View Page The 336 grande squash now is growing normally. It was slightly mutated as a seedling but now looks great. It was planted into my backyard garden just to give it a chance especially since its my only giant squash. Thursday, July 3 View Page heres the stump of the 1223 noel. As you can see its gone but is still relatively healthy as its rooted down the whole main about 12 feet or so. I would say this is bacterial wilt? or something relative. Thursday, July 3 View Page out of the random i got some cold which is really unusual for me to get at this time of year. But its harsh with it being hot out. Thursday, July 3 View Page heres my own 82 day 9 Thursday, July 3 View Page heres is the 786 Sprinsock which is the 1502 open pollinated. day 6 This one is growing fast. Friday, July 4 View Page happy 4th of july to everyone. So i had some pollen ready to pollinate a pumpkin and it apparently the female didnt open it was overcast all morning and still like that. And i uncovered it in the morning and it was opening up like halfway and then closed. I dont know what it wants to do. Saturday, July 5 View Page Did 3 pollinations today. weird thing is that the 1068 papez has no male blooms just females. They all drop before opening. I will have to try some fertilizer but at this point it already has 3 set so its not to much of a concern. Though i would like to do some crosses with it. 776.5 iosue x 1223.5 noel 301 grande x 1223.5 noel 1068 papez x 776.5 iosue. Saturday, July 5 View Page 1068 papez. Looking good Saturday, July 5 View Page 786 sprinsock. Im likein the positioning of this guy and its growing fast. And last night we got a good bit of rain. its been a while. Sunday, July 6 View Page I fed the pumpkins, watermelons, cantaloupes with there high potassium food. Now mostly all of my pumpkins have at least one set on it. The 1223 noel doesnt at the moment but has a female ready to open tomorrow. Lots of little watermelons setting now and are growing bigger. Monday, July 7 View Page 786 sprinsock. I have to start getting measurements on this guy. Im pretty much keeping this one , none of the others on the plant kept up with this guy and its taking all the energy the whole time. Monday, July 7 View Page 641 Grande. Look at that theres one on the main and on a small secondary right next to it. Monday, July 7 View Page 301 Grande Wednesday, July 9 View Page glad to see a decent amount of rain today we could use it and so can the pumpkins. Thursday, July 10 View Page Spotted eggs on some of my pumpkin leaf stems as well as frass on the leaf stems after i seen wilting leaves in my backyard patch. I sprayed the heck out of them as well as split a vine open as there was a borer hole except there was no borer inside. he got away... not for long after that spray. I will need to check my main patch for this as well. I actually have sprayed that patch down twice this week already as i knew that svb would show up soon and i wont allow them to win this year. Thursday, July 10 View Page Here is the 786 sprinsock pumpkin. finally got some measurements on it. Circ= 45 inches. Im happy with it. it looks great and we got a good bit of rain so its happy. the 1068 papez pumpkin is at a circ= 37 inches. and the rest of my plants are mostly like 5 day old pumpkins and such. But theres at least one set to a plant. Monday, July 14 View Page 301 grande.(301 grande x 1223 noel) Man i need to reposition this and move that other vine. Note to self- More space next year. lol Monday, July 14 View Page 641 grande again need to move that other vine. Monday, July 14 View Page Thats the 93" bassett long gourd towering its structure next to the grande mile high sunflower Monday, July 14 View Page The 157 james melon Tuesday, July 15 View Page 786 sprinsock didnt get a measurement for today. Tuesday, July 15 View Page 1068 papez not to far behind the 786 but what an odd shape. Wednesday, July 16 View Page 688 albrecht Getting big now. Nice round shape on this one. Wednesday, July 16 View Page theres A big bulge in the patch!!! lol jk thats the 786.5 sprinsock. Thursday, July 17 View Page 786.5 sprinsock. Ott = 141 - est about 70 pounds Thursday, July 17 View Page the front end of 786 sprinsock Sunday, July 20 View Page heres the 786 sprinsock Ott- 150 equals- about 82 pounds. It was going to get its picture of its new bottle of neptunes seaweed fertilizer. It was given some tonight as well as all the other pumpkins. Lets get them goin big. Sunday, July 20 View Page 1068 papez from the backside. its a really like a giant disk really big on its backside and then it is like a slope down from the top with its blossom end pointing up. its bigger then it seems. But really hard to get measurements on it. Though i will try to. Id say its about 40-50 pounds as a rough estimate. Sunday, July 20 View Page 301 grande about a bowling ball size really round shape. Sunday, July 20 View Page 641 grande. Sunday, July 20 View Page interesting sky tonight. I seen it and was like wow thats pretty neat lookin. Sunday, July 20 View Page very disapointed to see this on my 157 james melon but then again since when did i actually get a watermelon that made it to the table. This is most likely due to a month with no rain. And temperatures constantly in the 90s. This happened overnight between 100 degrees in this heat wave Monday, July 21 View Page Well we continue this heat wave into this drought. Very hot and very dry. And its hard keeping on the watering. For some reason the fruit set on the 776 iosue exploded when i looked at it today. I will post a picture of it tomorow. Its a collosal split in the fruit that spans almost completly around it. I dont know why. it was watered well last night and fed with some neptunes seaweed well they all were but this one just went KAboom. I will have to set something else on it. Poor plant its been through alot. First the main vine broke and now its only set pumpkin severly cracked.. Tuesday, July 22 View Page It appears we may be having some storms possible tonight and tomorow night they forcast 1-2 inches of rainfall. Ill believe it when i see it. Its been over a month since we had an measurable amount of rain. We could really use it. On another note i am becomeing very nervous as i am losing some side vines to this bacteria that is devastating to watch as it hits rapidly. It took out some side vines to my 1068 papez plant however the main is still in good shape. I can only hope that it will stop and leave my plants alone. I really dont know if theres a way to treat this other then remove infected material and disinfect pruning shears when removing them. I plant to bury every possible vine that isnt already buried just for safety. It hasnt gone to far though. Tuesday, July 22 View Page Man check that out. Was sad to see that. Well here went the 776.5 iosue. It sure did grow fast in the past 2 days and i guess this is it for this pumpkin. Tuesday, July 22 View Page Havent seen this for at least a month Tuesday, July 22 View Page i grow alot of fruiting plants as well. Here is a picture of some figs that will probably be ready in the next day or so. Its that time of year. Wednesday, July 23 View Page well the storms are here. And while driving it was hailing! about dime sized hail But considering my garden is a few miles from where i was it may not of got hit by the hail part. I know my backyard patch wasnt hit. But there is so much more of this storm to come. Wednesday, July 23 View Page What a beast of a storm. Wednesday, July 23 View Page 26 moore Canteloupe Thursday, July 24 View Page we had our share of rain ... 4 inches of it. hasnt rained in a month up until this storm. 301 grande. Thursday, July 24 View Page Well after a long recovery the 1223 noel Is setting many now. It has no stump but its buried the whole way down and is at this point very healthy. Thursday, July 24 View Page my 1068 papez fruit. Friday, July 25 View Page Wow. yesturday i noticed such a small transparent spot down close to the trunk and in just one day it had spread so bad that i had to disconnect and remove part of the vine. I have never done any surgery on a vine so i was unsure about it. But today i removed the whole section and unfortunately the pumpkin set downward on this plant of the 1068 papez has no trunk. I removed all infected plus more and sterilized the ends in hope that the rest of its burried nodes will continue the growth of my pumpkin which looks really great. This patch is really making me sad. All the work i put into it and to watch it go away overnight. constantly removeing sections to bacteria, triming away disinfecting and all. Horrible, just horrible. Friday, July 25 View Page cutting into the infected area shows there is no hope for this and it will just have to be cut across. Friday, July 25 View Page Unfortunately this estimate 100 pounds on my 786.5 has soft spots. It started when there was some discoloration on the outer layer of skin And a day later after noticing it is now getting worse. So sadly this one apparently was an aborted one. A very large aborted one. Especially since that would beat my pb. What a shame.... Friday, July 25 View Page But luckily i have a new one set down at 25 feet rom the main. This one will have to take over. When the big one on my 786.5 sprinsock was in rapid growth it had aborted all the small pumpkins but lately its been wanting to set some far down the main. And i was just about to cut the main as i was almost certain that the big one was staying but it seemed to stop at a hault and i just left the main running cause something didnt seem right. So i now have a newly set pumpkin that i repositioned and its ready to take place of my other one on this plant. Friday, July 25 View Page and here it is again the 786.5 sprinsock. Looks great from here but the rot is setting in. Saturday, July 26 View Page what an awesome shape pumpkin on the 301 grande. Sunday, July 27 View Page Well here is the original one set on the 776.5 iosue. This thing exploded after the rain storm. only was about 8 days old. for kicks i weighed it. I was tempted to leave it on but it was rotted around the blossom end and also that thing has like 3 monster splits in it. 24 pounds. lol Monday, July 28 View Page the stumpless 1223.5 noel Wednesday, July 30 View Page Keeps on hopeing... keeps on hopeing. Shows how empty this part of the patch is getting. When it was just a few days ago full.... phytophthora... bad stuff. Wednesday, July 30 View Page The 1068 papez is solid still Been really disinfection everything. I dont know how much longer the vine will hold with this phytophthora. But i just hope that i can remove the fruit in one piece. to have something to show for this patch.its around 80 pounds at least. Wednesday, July 30 View Page The front end of the 1068 papez. its a big slope on the blossom end. Wednesday, July 30 View Page here is the 688 albrecht fruit. Unfortunately the phytophthora got to its stem and most of its vine. And also its fruit as well. I weighed it and it weighs 50 pounds exactly. It could of been such an perfect pumpkin. It was perfectly round and flat on the bottom. Wednesday, July 30 View Page heres the noel mile high sunflower. Ill have to measure its current height. underneath is the 786 sprinsock that i removed out of the patch today before it got to a pile of mush. About 90 pounds id say Wednesday, July 30 View Page forgot to add that the 786 sprinsock's new pumpkins set are now gone as it hit the end of the vine. This diary at this point is like a big horror movie of a giant pumpkin grower. it should be rated R for intense scenes. Thursday, July 31 View Page well i cut open the big 786.5 sprinsock pumpkin that was rotted and it had a good amount of seeds in it. The The main was infected down the line but at the moment i have a newly pollinated pumpkin on a side vine. Thursday, July 31 View Page 1068 papez fruit is in stable condition. Nothing changed in the last day. running on two nodes above the stem. and running about 2 behind it with 2 healthy side vines on the back side of it. This is all it has left. I dont know about much more gain on this fruit though. Thursday, July 31 View Page And let me knock on this wooden table here cause lets hope it gains some root out of what it has. "knock, Knock" Friday, August 1 View Page 25 schnicker cantaloupe. Has a small crack in the back of it. I think i gave to much of a dose of neptunes harvest. Friday, August 1 View Page Look at this tomato. Grown from my biggest tomato off of last years supersteak plants. Now this one was even bigger then the one. according to the bathroom scale it was nearly touching 2 lbs and it kinda felt like around there Friday, August 1 View Page Just showing the remaining plant connected to the 1068 papez plant. I Just hope it hangs in there and gains some. Friday, August 1 View Page 301 Grande Fruit is getting some nice color to it. Connected from the fruit down to the main stump. Has no vine past the fruit as it was getting infected close to the fruit and avoided it at all costs. Knock on wood hope it stays like this. Going to probably put up a tarp over most of the plant so that if it rains it doesnt spread this phytophthora To any more of my relatively healthy plants. Saturday, August 2 View Page Finally have a good one about to set on my 93" bassett long gourd all the way at the top of the trellis. Will be pollinating it tonight. Monday, August 11 View Page over an inch and a half of rain nice steady rain. We need it but i hope it doesnt spread the phytophthora. Wednesday, August 13 View Page I havent posted much in the past 2 weeks as there wasnt much going on well there was but nothing good in the patch. Constantly removing vines. My patch is now at about 15 % of how full it was before the phytopythora hit. The 1068 hasnt gained much as it has little root left supplying it. However the fruit appears solid. Ordered some aliette in order to treat the remaining plants as they are setting new pumpkins with what they have left. Interesting to see that the remaining part of the patch is on the one side however all the plants that were on the far opposite side are all gone pretty much. The plants on the one side of what they have left are actually healthy very green and setting new pumpkins. Thats why i considered setting new ones now and just for the heck of it see how big i can get them till the end of the season. It stays hot here usually all through september so im going to just hang in there and set some more. I have nothing to lose at this point. I already lost mostly everything anyway as far as pumpkins that is. Wednesday, August 13 View Page Oh and thats the 93 Bassett long gourd now about 18 inches. Wednesday, August 13 View Page Im not going say much about this one but this trunkless 1223.5 noel has this nice pumpkin on it which is growing at a decent pace. Wednesday, August 13 View Page Now this one looks good. Set at least 6 feet from the root on the 146 james. Lookin good, i dont know what it is but i plant a row of assorted watermelons and end up throwing them all away to calcium end rot. This year i have been trying to keep on a more balanced watering schedule on these to keep it from happening. According to test theres plenty of calcium in the soil and i have been adding alot as well. Wednesday, August 13 View Page In my other patch of regular feild pumpkins. Here is a nice looking fairytale pumpkin Wednesday, August 13 View Page Some harvest Saturday, August 16 View Page Applied aliette to my remaining giant pumpkin plants heavily covering every part remaining.. It just came in today and wanted to treat as soon as it came in. They are .... 786 sprinsock, 776.5 iosue, 688 albrecht and 641 grande that still are pretty healthy for what is left to the plants. They are actually setting pumpkins on the new healthy secondarys they have. Basically these plants left run about 12 foot down the main and secondarys spreading outward from them. For some reason the phytophthora took all the plants on the opposite side leaving all 4 in a block. It would seem the other side of the patch was highly contaminated. Saturday, August 16 View Page Fertilized the long gourd plant. appeared slightly nitrogen deficient. The one gourd is about 24 inches on the 93 bassett Sunday, August 17 View Page And it appears this one turned itself into calcium deficiency. I never win, throw them all away to calcium end rot Monday, August 25 View Page well here is the product of the 1068 papez. There is no connection anymore and it also developed soft spots on last week and figured i would get a picture of it before i cut it open. I am going to weigh it. I believe it is 100 pounds or so. The plant was in decline for a while. It was hanging on by a few vine roots Monday, August 25 View Page I will be taking some pictures of the long gourds. They are growing nicely. I havent submitted as much lately as most of my pumpkins went down fast and the patch is practically vacant. Monday, August 25 View Page Cut open the 301 grande as it had started to rot a while ago. Apears to have gotten good seed from it. I am now drying the seed. It ended up being like 48 pounds. Never had a chance. I did cross it with the 1223 noel so the seed is 301 grande x 1223 noel. Monday, August 25 View Page The 1223 noel plant started giving in so i took the pumpkin before it had a chance to rot. 52 pounds. It should get some nice color to it. The side is red almost. Monday, August 25 View Page And hear is the final pic of the 301 grande fruit. Notice the white splotches on it. It has complete rot towards the back. Really nice color. Monday, August 25 View Page And the 1068 papez fruit i had weighed and its 98 pounds Monday, August 25 View Page Set a new pumpkin on the 786.5 iosue Tuesday, August 26 View Page I did get a nice field pumpkin off the howden plant. Wednesday, August 27 View Page 93 bassett lg. just slightly over 4 feet. Wednesday, August 27 View Page Giant cabbage Wednesday, August 27 View Page weighed right on the dot of 20 pounds. Tuesday, September 2 View Page heres the 93 bassett lg. Its about say 52 inches. i need to get an exact measurement on it. the plant doesnt look the greatest though it has downy mildew all over it. The lg seemed to slow down a bit. sprayed with daconil. Tuesday, September 2 View Page Giant corn plant. Was given to me by a friends parents to plant. From ecuador the kernals on the seeds were huge. the plant is at least 10 foot, i didnt expect the plant to turn out to be such a giant. lol Wednesday, September 3 View Page Now here is a shot over about half of my pumpkin patch. I know theres nothing there really at this point. The pumpkin is from the 1068 papez. plant gave in when the fruit was 98 pounds , it developed rot on the fruit and was cut open and now gone. well anyway. Along the back there is a row of the giant corn from the wiz, its been really dry and it didnt get much of a chance to tower up, seems kinda stunted. That ecuador corn is the random tall one there. Now there was 3 of them. but the deer jumped in and broke the other 2 in half and they dont have much of a top anymore. Wednesday, September 3 View Page it turns out that the long gourd measures a little past 5 feet which puts it at 60 inches. It has slowed down though lately but is still pushing slowly. Wednesday, September 3 View Page I may be crazy but today i realized that the recovering plants in my main patch that once was hit hard by phytophthora , are now coming back, some already vining a good distance. Now the vines are rather strange at this point, but they have been through .... anyway most of these vines are those secondarys of of the secondarys i know they start with a t, say territorials, terrestrials, something along that line, Now i know that usually you cut them off but basically thats all thats left of these plants, so it cant be that bad in this case, because there is barely nothing else attached to the main trunks. Setting new pumpkins and all. So today i was burying the new vines, straightening them and all. I almost lost them all and i really have nothing to lose at this point. so im going to bury up the vines and set some more pumpkins out just for kicks, plus it stays hot here forever really. It may be September but the forcast shows digits in the 90s. tomorow forcast is 95. We shall see what happens. So left in the running are the 786.5 iosue, 688 albrecht, and the 641 grande. Friday, September 5 View Page Tropical storm Hanna is supposed to bring us 3-5 inches of rain starting tonight. Thats alot of rain, but it may partly make up for the past 2 months of literary no rain. Friday, September 5 View Page So now they expect 3-7 inches of rain, it has already begun, steady rain at the moment. By the time the center hits us its supposed to be 45 mph wind gusts, currently the storm is producing 70 mph. Saturday, September 6 View Page update on the tropical storm hanna current picture. Im located right about where the white line on saturday eve is right in philly. Its been a while since one hit this part of the coast Monday, September 8 View Page Went to see my garden today. and mannn is it wet. 3.5 inches of rain would do it. MY long gourd tower was leaning severly. Corn all knocked over. the ground is like liquid jello. All the tomato structures leaning over. horrible looking amazing what one storm can do. Friday, September 12 View Page More rain today. Jeez go the whole summer with literally no rain and then this past week all of a sudden we must be up at least 5 inches of rainfall. The patch is drenched. Saturday, September 13 View Page Longwood gardens weighoff is in only 4 weeks. 28 days to go. Saturday, September 13 View Page Well went to a family picnic today. About 50 miles out from here and a distant relative happens to be a commercial pumpkin grower or regular field pumpkins. I had a nice talk with him about spraying schedules and what he uses in his field. But in his front yard garden he had a random giant pumpkin of some sort. could be a prizewinner. I talked him into trying to grow some atlantic giants as he has all the room he would ever need. So here he has this plant growing with a say 70 pounder on it. He says he just lets it grow there and really no special care. It was funny though cause of what i put into growing them this year , practically lost it all but this thing just grows along on its own perfectly fine. lol Saturday, September 13 View Page another picture of the other one in the background. Saturday, September 13 View Page Heres the field of field pumpkins. Saturday, September 20 View Page 18 days till longwood weigh off. Friday, September 26 View Page Well by my main pumpkin patch the 93 bassett long gourd stopped at about 61 inches. The vine wasnt the healthiest really, but in my back yard i also am growing another one and its currently at 69 inches and is still pushing pretty well. Id say its now pushing 4 inches a day, it was growing faster but is slowing slightly now. The weather has been real cool to at nights so that could be effecting it. Monday, September 29 View Page the bassett long gourd is now at 78 inches. It keeps on growing. I supported it up higher as it was getting close to the ground that gave it another foot of length but now its only got 6 more inches below it till it hits the ground. Im going to have to figure out a way of doing so. When it was set up there i figured thats about 8 foot from the ground. Well aparently it was slowly coming downward as it started gaining weight. lol Theres also 2 more on the plant just recently set. One is pushing for 3 feet already. Monday, September 29 View Page The 93 bassett as of noon was 82 inches. keeps on pushing how long will it go?. its loving the rain we have been getting lately and the day temperatures are still close to 80 so it seems happy. Monday, September 29 View Page heres a somewhat full picture of it. As you can see it runs almost to the ground. I have to try lifting it up higher tomorrow. I may dig a hole as well. But here you can see how the vines are everywhere. growing in front of the fig tree and apples you even can see pumpkin plants and little papaya trees. lol The long gourds vines are alot larger then i would of imagined them to grow. and there happens to be some sarracenia on that chair, in which was put that to keep my dog away from the pumpkin vines. Wednesday, October 1 View Page well early today the lg measured 7 feet. 84 inches. come on keep going..... Wednesday, October 1 View Page It took me some time to secure a temporary structure in order to lift this long gourd up higher. The thing is taht i planted it to grow over an arbor and it got well out of hand and i was waiting and waiting from some gourds to set then finally one set pretty much hanging from the apple tree. lol so im like well ill leave it and see what it does. I then realized its going to touch the ground as it was just about to touch today. So i got it up slightly. at this point it would be hard to really secure it up any higher. i will just have to keep digging. The daily gain seemed to have slowed down slightly too, but im hoping that it keeps on going. Friday, October 3 View Page well i know there will be some weigh offs going on tomorow, the altoona weigh off, if i was closer i would come out just to see it, i will be visiting the longwood one though as thats relatively close. Good luck to all that will be weighing there pumpkins off. Saturday, October 4 View Page 93 bassett lg currently at 86 inches. Slowing down though weather isnt helping it either, But theres another one set on there that is growing fast. Have continued feeding it with neptunes harvest. My friends asked if that was a pole in there under the plant. lol i said no,thats a gourd.... ( a what ) lol Monday, October 6 View Page Rather cool today, temperatures tonight to 44. The 93 bassett is at 90 inches getting really close to its parent seed. lol. Starting to grow quick thick at the bottom, if this gourd wasnt set so late i think it would of grew bigger. Thursday, October 9 View Page Well weather warmed up for this upcoming week, and the long gourd continues growing longer. 77 today and mostly mid to upper 70s. for the week. I really gotta dig that hole deeper as it hit the bottom. The deeper i dig the bigger it gets lol. Fine with me lol. Im going to say its pushing 92 inches now. Friday, October 10 View Page Good luck to all weighing there pumpkins off tomorrow. I will be at longwoods weigh off. Hope to see the local PA growers there. And hope Connolly's pumpkin weighs a ton. literally. Friday, October 10 View Page Heres a picture of me with my long gourd grown from the 93 bassett from Fissssh... thanks!. Is now 94 inches long grew 2 inches over the past day. Its loving the warm weather. Friday, October 10 View Page here as you can see is the hole i dug and it goes into the ground a good 8 inches now. I gotta get the big shovel and dig the hole real deep and wide. This thing is 4 inches wide on the bottom. Friday, October 10 View Page Heres some of the upper part of the long gourd vines. Really dense and all over the place. Saturday, October 11 View Page The longwood weighoff was alot of fun to see and talking with other growers. Pictures will be posted soon. Saturday, October 11 View Page more pictures from longwood weigh off. Have been having problems with my computer. The really orange pumpkin grown by jim ( orangeneck) Its one really nice colored pumpkin, as well as his other one that won i believe it was prettiest pumpkin , or something of that sort. Saturday, October 11 View Page Lifting Saturday, October 11 View Page lifitng, And crowd behind Saturday, October 11 View Page Craig Lembke awaiting for his pumpkin to be placed on the scale. Saturday, October 11 View Page weighed around 1040 i believe. Saturday, October 11 View Page heaviest of longwoods weigh off. Saturday, October 11 View Page Carved pumpkin at longwood. Saturday, October 11 View Page And at longwood is the giant water platter lilies Sunday, October 12 View Page A picture from up above of longwoods pumpkin weighoff. Sunday, October 12 View Page and heres the other side. Sunday, October 12 View Page A few of the pumpkins Wednesday, October 15 View Page The one towards the front grown by "hey you" and the one behind is Craig Lembke it was about 940 pounds i believe. I havent seen the full results yet. Wednesday, October 15 View Page the lifting crew Wednesday, October 15 View Page And here is Penelope in the center which was the winner of weighed over 1200 pounds. Grown by the Hilstolsky's. Wednesday, October 15 View Page Kinda squash like in color. now known as the 1072 Snyder Wednesday, October 15 View Page This pumpkin went really light surprisingly still in the 800s but est 1040.. grown from the 695 handy by "hey you" Wednesday, October 15 View Page 1071 Snyder again. Wednesday, October 15 View Page Heres 1st to 5th place at the longwood gardens weigh off. Wednesday, October 15 View Page GPC sign Monday, October 20 View Page rather frosty out last night and this morning. I think it was 36. Its slightly early usually we dont see a frost till early november. Friday, October 31 View Page Happy halloween heres one of my carvings Friday, October 31 View Page And not to forget the phillies. The city was so hype about there win. That people were so involved with the phillies parade and all that instead of halloween. Friday, November 7 View Page I took down the one long gourd. Measured at 95 inches at its curved state. Would have been longer if grown straight. It needed to be grown higher up for one so then i dug a hole and it only went so far and then the weight of the goardo was pulling it down so it began to force itself to grow crooked. Now the other one still on the plant would be over 100 inches but again i didnt have a support high enough. When they set i didnt really think they would grow that big being a first time grower of them. So this one is now pushing for a slight S curve going and i couldnt dig a hole under this one as it was hanging close enough to the porch in which the bottom is cement. Will deffinately grow them higher up next year as well as getting them to a quicker start. Also the one gourd pushing 100 inches is still growing, half the vine had suffered freeze damage and really cold temperatures but it hasnt stopped it. These gourds were set really late. The funny thing is that it just set another one or two just the other day. They seem to grow on the warm days and stop on the cold days. I would have to say that long gourd plants are very vigorous plants. Friday, November 7 View Page Heres the picture of me and the now 95 Huber. Grown from the 93 bassett. Thanks Glenn aka Fissssh For the seed! Friday, November 7 View Page and if anyone would be interested in some seed in some time it should be dry . i will post when it dries as well, i would imagine it takes longer then regular bottle gourds and such. Its genetics would have the 93 bassett in which was a cross between the 126.5 jutras either selfed or sibbed. Tuesday, November 11 View Page Did fall patch prep work at my main plots at the community garden as well as my backyard spot. Added manure, leaves , compost rotten pumpkins and all. Looking forward to next year. Wednesday, November 12 View Page continued ammending soil in my backyard for the patch. Im still debating about where to grow my long gourds next year so i can get the soil ready. I dunno if i want them to stangle the apple tree and my fig again next year lol. the vines just grew faster then you could maintain them. Tuesday, November 18 View Page So the soft rot on the bottom i had cut out and it has now stopped rotting and is drying well now. wiped the end with 5 percent bleach in hope to stop any further rotting, and then had a small fan running on the back for the last 2 days. So now i should be able to get plenty of viable seed i hope. Time will tell. Tuesday, November 18 View Page well heres my longer of the long gourds. Man it would of been a few inches longer if it grew straight. 98.75 Tuesday, November 18 View Page this is the curve im talking about. lol Monday, November 24 View Page well here is my two long gourds together for a picture. 95" and a 98.75" major curves on them both. Both grown on the same plant. the 93 bassett. the 95 at is starting to dry out it was having some rot problems on its base but seems solid now. Wednesday, November 26 View Page I found a short video clip i shot this summer when my plants looked relatively good. just a somewhat view of the patch and a zoom in on my biggest pumpkin at the time on july 10th this never made it as well as any other of my pumpkins to any weigh off or past the 25 day mark. phytophthora would do it. http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v165/carniorkid/?action=view&current=786sprisock.flv Tuesday, December 2 View Page What happens when a long gourd gets pollinated in a hidden location on the top of a trellis ? ... well after the long gourd vines died back i seen this up on the trellis. It wasnt really developed and was still tender and got freeze damage. But this is the result Saturday, December 6 View Page its snowing out currenty. about an inch expected. Friday, December 12 View Page wow finally most of my finals are over and so is the semester. i had so much to do the last two days it was unreal. Also heres a new thing well maybe not but ive never considered it. Growing giant potato's with the new world record shown in this article. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7771042.stm Friday, December 12 View Page Ah finally got the fig tree wrapped for the winter. What a task it was as it got quite large this year. probably 9 feet. Trimmed a little bit off as i dont want it to get to out of hand it was hard enough picking the fruit. Monday, December 22 View Page went out early this morning to go to work and it was 14 degrees at ten of 6 Thursday, December 25 View Page Merry Christmas! I happened to have 3 of different sized pumpkins that are rather flat and wide and put them together. lol the bottom one is a fairytale i grew. It weighs about 30 pounds or so, and they can get bigger. I will be cutting them soon, the jarradale(blue pumpkin ) and the fairy tale if anyone wants seeds. Thursday, December 25 View Page Got how to grow world class giant pumpkins 3. Lots of info in the book Thursday, December 25 View Page Dont forget to carve a christmas pumpkin