Home What's New Message Board
BigPumpkins.com
Select Destination Site Search
 
Dale M - 2016 Grower Diary Point your RSS aggregator here to subscribe to this Grower Diary.

Show Entries in

Grower Diary Menu
  Back to Previous Page
List Other Grower's Diaries
Submit to Your Own Diary

 
Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 104 Entries.
Sunday, March 20 View Page
A look at the current patch conditions, up here at lat 61, Germination day is now only 8 days away . I like my plants up by april 1st to give 5 months of growth before the weigh-off usually around Sept 1st
 
Sunday, March 20 View Page
as you can see , a lot has to change in order to put plants in the ground in mid april, but looking forward to the challenge..its never easy..lol
 
Sunday, March 27 View Page
germination day is close , so these are the primary contenders, the only lock is the 2145 ( thank you Gene your awesome )leaning towards the 1317also ( thank you Mark your awesome also) ..the back ups will be determined as the process moves along..going with only 2 plants this year so its hard for me to start quality seeds only to cull them later..big thanks to dan for the tomato seeds, which I plan on spending more attention on..also big thanks to john Butler , for the cabbage ,squash and LG seeds.. going to try and sneak a squash in this year.... weather seems to be co-operating all of the sudden .. so let the grind begin and Best of luck to all in 2016
 
Tuesday, April 5 View Page
The germination stage is now done and things went pretty smooth ,all the plants are in the big boy pots . They will probably spend 10 days at least in them, then go into the ground around the 15 th...looking at 2-2145 McMullens, a 1317 clementz,2 -1283 marshall's and a 1094 butler squash
 
Tuesday, April 5 View Page
The weather seems to be turning in my favor ...fingers crossed... could this be the year the weather finally co-operates... but it still was 24 degrees last night in the greenhouses, actually, april 23rd is when are average night time lows hit 33 degrees.. nice
 
Tuesday, April 19 View Page
some of the products going into the patch this season
 
Tuesday, April 19 View Page
pumpkin plants ready to go in the ground
 
Tuesday, April 19 View Page
the 1317
 
Tuesday, April 19 View Page
the 1283
 
Tuesday, April 19 View Page
2145 B
 
Tuesday, April 19 View Page
2145 A
 
Sunday, May 22 View Page
Been a while since I last posted pics so here is an update from Lat 61
 
Sunday, May 22 View Page
this is a really nice plant , the 1283 marshall (1317 clementz x 1623 wallace)..growing great main at 14 ft , 1st pumpkin showing with 7 secondaries behind it,
 
Sunday, May 22 View Page
this is the 1317 clementz ...also growing quite nicely, which leads to the problem , should I cull one or grow both ..unproven vs proven..yikes..
 
Sunday, May 22 View Page
another look at the two contenders
 
Sunday, May 22 View Page
side view of the 1283
 
Sunday, May 22 View Page
end veiw
 
Sunday, May 22 View Page
same problem with the 2145's, 2 great plants in a 700 sq ft greenhouse, both showing multiple females ,..one has to go pretty soon
 
Sunday, May 22 View Page
side view of the 2145 Mccullens..the plan is to poliinate by June 1st, giving 91 days to grow and with a little help from anthesis , who knows , hopefully a new state record, but the main goal is just getting a sound kin to the weigh -off
 
Monday, May 30 View Page
over all view of progress so far
 
Monday, May 30 View Page
1st female off the 2145 , nice stem length, size off a golf ball
 
Monday, May 30 View Page
1st female, off 2nd 2145 plant also looking good
 
Monday, May 30 View Page
But, the blossom shape is not quite I was hoping for ..luckily females, No 2 are close to opening hopefully things will pan out ...
 
Monday, May 30 View Page
To clarify things a bit , both the 1st sets on the 2145 had irregular blossoms and were culled, but its still early and I'm hoping the 2nd sets are normal..
 
Wednesday, June 1 View Page
1 st female on the 1283 opened today, its in a great spot on the plant
 
Wednesday, June 1 View Page
stem length on the 1283 looks good
 
Wednesday, June 1 View Page
pollination team
 
Wednesday, June 1 View Page
1283 marshall x 2145 McCullen...if this takes it will give me 91 days to grow until weigh-off ...
 
Friday, June 3 View Page
2 nd female on 2145 (a), opened this morning ,glad to see a normal looking blossom
 
Friday, June 3 View Page
I was planning on crossing it with the 1317 , but at this critical stage, I went the 1283 which had an abundance of nice males, need this one to take
 
Friday, June 3 View Page
2145 x 1283 ,
 
Friday, June 17 View Page
it does not get any better than this in my neck of the woods...nice
 
Monday, June 20 View Page
update of the patch photo... that would be the 1317 clementz and 1283 marshall on the left and 2145 A and B on the right
 
Monday, June 20 View Page
inside look at the 1317, 1283 patch..it is a controlled jungle..so far .I hope
 
Monday, June 20 View Page
1 of the 2 pollinations off the 1317, cant help but like the shape and long stems..i passed by earlier females for a normal blossom
 
Monday, June 20 View Page
closer look at the 1317.. hopefull
 
Monday, June 20 View Page
1st culled kin off the 2145 B plant
 
Monday, June 20 View Page
going with one of these off the 2145 B it would be DAP 14 for back one
 
Monday, June 20 View Page
closer look at it , I have a bigger one on 2145A but I think it , has issues we will see... I also have 2 more pollinated on that plant as well..if both of those don't pan out , will start pruning plant way back... for the 2145B to roam
 
Monday, June 20 View Page
trying a greenie this year
 
Wednesday, June 29 View Page
last cull off the 2145 B plant..this one felt heavy..solid, now out of 2 -2145 plants down to just one kin for the season... as the 2145 A is getting pruned way back, it is a great plant . but I cant get a pumpkin to grow off it..?
 
Wednesday, June 29 View Page
so it is all in on this one ( 2145 x 1317 ) it was DAP 22 at the time of this pic ..188 ott and a est wt of 156 lbs..looking like my best chance to challenge for the state record.. also looking like its going to be orange...nice
 
Thursday, June 30 View Page
things are not breaking the way I hoped on ..on the 1317 kin ... crap..but still have a nice sized kin on a secondary.... continuing to find new ways to shoot me in the foot..
 
Thursday, June 30 View Page
the culls are piling up
 
Tuesday, July 5 View Page
overall patch shot ..nice to see some kins in the pic
 
Tuesday, July 5 View Page
GH 2..that would be the 1317 x 2145 on the right and hidden in the back on the left , my 1283x 2145... neither one is any thing to get excited about so far ..
 
Tuesday, July 5 View Page
1283 kin
 
Tuesday, July 5 View Page
1317 kin both are around dap 24, also both sprayed with anthesis
 
Tuesday, July 5 View Page
this is my best chance ...2145x1317 ..at dap 30 with a 262 ott and a est wt of 407 lbs .. its been beauty so far
 
Tuesday, July 5 View Page
new toy in the watering department
 
Wednesday, July 6 View Page
this years marrow plant off the 88 marshall
 
Wednesday, July 6 View Page
love this one for potential, should be the 1st set.. if males are available
 
Wednesday, July 6 View Page
cabbage row..gotta keep trying
 
Wednesday, July 6 View Page
long gourd now at 95 inches.. its tough to get them to grow horizontally..lol
 
Thursday, July 21 View Page
Its that time of tear again , so were headed down to kenai peninsula for some halibut and red fishing
 
Thursday, July 21 View Page
a look down the turn again arm , when you hit the last mountain turn right
 
Thursday, July 21 View Page
more scenery.. never gets old for me
 
Thursday, July 21 View Page
coastal alaska
 
Thursday, July 21 View Page
heading inland now towards turnagain pass
 
Thursday, July 21 View Page
kinda cool
 
Thursday, July 21 View Page
4 hrs later, Mt lliamna a sleeping active volcano as seen from anchor point
 
Thursday, July 21 View Page
there it is..oops
 
Thursday, July 21 View Page
was to windy to launch there , so oft to the homer small boat harbor
 
Thursday, July 21 View Page
just beautiful
 
Thursday, July 21 View Page
Rowan , my oldest son getting his line set
 
Thursday, July 21 View Page
Rowan , my oldest son getting his line set
 
Thursday, July 21 View Page
nothing to get excited about , but we took home 7 fish
 
Thursday, July 21 View Page
overall patch view,
 
Thursday, July 21 View Page
2145 at day 45 ..333 ott for a est 814 lbs
 
Tuesday, August 2 View Page
overall patch shot..weigh off now only 4 weeks away
 
Tuesday, August 2 View Page
2145 now at est 1095 lbs at dap 57
 
Tuesday, August 2 View Page
late pollination on the 1317 ..growing outside gh ..
 
Monday, August 29 View Page
well it is that time of the year again ..the weigh-off is tue at 2 pm ak time
 
Monday, August 29 View Page
last shot of the patch , that would be 1283 marshall on left ,1317 middle and 2145 on far right
 
Monday, August 29 View Page
1283 sporting nasty stem spilt
 
Monday, August 29 View Page
this pumpkin was sprayed with anthesis and I scratched with a fingernail during the process, then this bump out developed ..kinda cool
 
Monday, August 29 View Page
1 of the 4, 1317 pumpkins this was a strange one, beautiful smmoth skin one day , then crack city
 
Monday, August 29 View Page
1317 # 2 ..down the tubes
 
Monday, August 29 View Page
1317 # 3 was left on its own growing outside of GH , thinking the 50 degree nights contribute to the weird shape
 
Monday, August 29 View Page
Gene,s 2145, for me a real nice pumpkin and plant to grow
 
Monday, August 29 View Page
2145 stem end
 
Monday, August 29 View Page
2145 side veiw
 
Monday, August 29 View Page
2145 blossom end...all and all..a pretty solid kin . It taped 399 yesterday..we'll find out tomorrow what it weighs....assuming it gets there..lol
 
Sunday, September 11 View Page
the boom truck is ready ,
 
Sunday, September 11 View Page
my buddy Tim, getting set up
 
Sunday, September 11 View Page
local tv
 
Sunday, September 11 View Page
1st pumpkin coming out..off the 1283 marshall
 
Sunday, September 11 View Page
my buddy Bruce ,he's been lifting my pumpkins for the last 5 years.. great guy
 
Sunday, September 11 View Page
1st pumpkin off the 1317 , coming up and out lifting crew taking over ...new IBC water tank on 10 ft platform in background
 
Sunday, September 11 View Page
News looking on
 
Sunday, September 11 View Page
1st fair load
 
Sunday, September 11 View Page
getting ready to lift Gene's 2145..thank you for the opportunity to grow it
 
Sunday, September 11 View Page
2145 going up
 
Sunday, September 11 View Page
nice flat bottom..things looking good
 
Sunday, September 11 View Page
touch down...next stop Alaska midnite sun great pumpkin weigh-off
 
Wednesday, November 2 View Page
unloading at the weigh-off, back in sept
 
Wednesday, November 2 View Page
the entries for this year the first 5 are mine...
 
Wednesday, November 2 View Page
my 2145 entry ..which became the 1469 marshall
 
Wednesday, November 2 View Page
and new alaska state record.. been chasing JD's 1287 record for 5 years (awesome grower) feels good to move into the top spot for now
 
Wednesday, November 2 View Page
this years cabbage entry came in at a uninspiring 43 lbs.. got my butt kicked by a couple 9 year olds lol..never mind the big boys
 
Wednesday, November 2 View Page
hop vines on the living fence
 
Wednesday, November 2 View Page
plenty of seeds off the 1469 (2145 McMullen x 1317 clementz) free to any that have interest
 
Wednesday, November 2 View Page
compost team has been late this year
 
Wednesday, November 2 View Page
but with 2100 lbs of pumpkin to eat , they to hang around and scare the crap out of me in the dark when I don't see them
 

 

Top of Page

Questions or comments? Send mail to Ken AT bigpumpkins.com.
Copyright © 1999-2024 BigPumpkins.com. All rights reserved.