Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 101 Entries. Wednesday, May 5 View Page Pumpkin seeds in the ground yesterday 5-4-10. Decided to start the seeds in the ground this year. Dill seeds. Hope they make me proud. Let the watering and wait begin! Thursday, May 13 View Page My first seed has sprouted! I am so excited. We've had quite a bit of rain and it seems to have brought this one up. Waiting on the others... Friday, May 14 View Page Day 2 of the emergence! Friday, May 14 View Page #2 is coming to life only a day behind #1. Rain in the forecast for the next couple of days! Saturday, May 15 View Page #1 is making progress! Gentle rain for most of the day. Saturday, May 15 View Page #2 is on it's way with #3, not pictured, is poking out too! They appear healthy. It's fun to go look at them each day to see the progress they are making. Sunday, May 16 View Page This is #1 cruising along today. Still cloudy with high humidity. Sunday, May 16 View Page #2 is trying to catch #1. Not sure he'll do it. Sunday, May 16 View Page These are the last seeds to emerge, but the one looks pretty beefy. This I will refer to as plant #3 for now. I'm trying to come up with good ole' Kansas names for the plants! I'll think on this and add names tomorrow. Monday, May 17 View Page This is Dorothy! She is the first one that popped up out of the ground. A forerunner of sorts... A little sun today and she required watering. Awesome green color. Monday, May 17 View Page Introducing Amelia! She was the last one to sprout and I'm hoping she makes it through her travels. She has the largest cot of all of my plants. I'm hoping I thin the correct vine on her once it's time. Monday, May 17 View Page This is the middle plant and I'm naming her Alex McCord, a famous Kansan, who happens to live in NYC and is one of the Real Housewives. She seems like a middle child, so why not. For those of you who think, "I'm nuts", well yes I am! :D Tuesday, May 18 View Page Alex thinned out... Hope I left the lucky one. I left the one with the largest stem. A little Neptune Harvest this evening and a chance of rain! Tuesday, May 18 View Page Amelia all by herself. I'm hoping she takes flight! Tuesday, May 18 View Page Dorothy. Cut her friends off with scissors... I don't why that makes me laugh. I appreciate all the advice on the plants. I'm a first time grower and need the guidance. I had the ground tilled with a Troy Built, added tons of cow manure and planted the seeds in mounds of Miracle Grow Moisture Control. I'm using Neptune Harvest Fish/Sea Weed for fertilizer. Although I have the soaker hose ready to go, I haven't used it yet. Wednesday, May 19 View Page Dorothy. I've named her this hoping that she can withstand the wind. Forecast to be sustained winds of 30mph on Saturday. Today we've had an inch of rain so far. Just gentle rain and perfect timing. Wednesday, May 19 View Page Amelia moving right along. She seems to me to be growing the fastest of the three, but I'm no expert... Wednesday, May 19 View Page Alex seems to be the tallest of three plants. I'm not sure she will be making the final cut. Only time will tell. Thursday, May 20 View Page Dorothy is showing potential. Still raining and cool here. A high temp. of 63 today, but the warm up is on the way. Thursday, May 20 View Page Amelia is plugging along. Welp! I can't think of anything else to say about her today... Thursday, May 20 View Page Alex hanging in there. She doesn't seem to be growing as fast as the other two, but I'm not going to count her out just yet. I'll give her another two weeks before I judge. Friday, May 21 View Page Dorothy soaked up the sun today. She looks pretty healthy. I hope she can handle the wind forecast for the weekend. Friday, May 21 View Page Amelia! She soaked up some sun today too! I think I will put the soaker hose on for awhile tomorrow. I'm sure the wind will dry things out rather quickly. Friday, May 21 View Page Oh Alex McCord! Don't worry I won't let Kelly near you with a camera. This is lost on all of you that don't watch the Real Housewives of NYC! HaHa! I'm bored what can I say... Saturday, May 22 View Page Dorothy is doing wonderful. Taking the wind today like a pro. I weeded a couple of maple trees out of the plot today and it looks like cotton trees will be next. I've got the soaker hose on the girls right now and gave them a healthy drink. It was a tough day to be a wee pumpkin. Saturday, May 22 View Page Amelia is looking really healthy and trying to catch up to Dorothy who is on the fast track. By the way, IT IS WINDY! Saturday, May 22 View Page Alex cruising along just fine. I hope that all three of my plants make it this week, as I won't be home to tend to them. My husband and I are taking our boat out to Wilson Lake for the week on the hunt for large fish! I suddenly feel like a Texan. Sunday, May 23 View Page I hope my mother can handle the watering. She lives a few blocks away and should be able to properly care for my plants. She says she doesn't have a green thumb. I'll post late next week when we get back. Friday, May 28 View Page Dorothy. She looks like she needs more water. They all survived this past week while I was at the lake. Friday, May 28 View Page Alex is doing pretty good. I'm sure it helped that there was rain here while I was away. It's finally warmed up around here with temperatures in the mid to upper 80's. Friday, May 28 View Page Amelia! I knew it! She took the lead of my 3 plants. Time for the soaker hose tonight and a little fish/seaweed fertilizer this weekend. Sunday, May 30 View Page Dorothy! She has one crappy leaf, but I'm not sure why. One of the other leaves looks limp... I will fertilize tonight with the seaweed/fish mix and see what happens. Sunday, May 30 View Page Amelia is looking really strong and healthy. Does anyone have advice about where to position the bamboo skewers? Is it too early or is it time? Sunday, May 30 View Page Alex is doing pretty good too. Chuggin' right along. All 3 of my plants are going in the opposite direction than I wanted them too. It's okay though, I will make room! Live and learn. Monday, May 31 View Page Dorothy! Gave her a little TLC today by weeding her space, a little cultivating and plenty of water. She looks better than yesterday and the limp leaf has firmed up. Monday, May 31 View Page Amelia is, at this moment, my prized plant. She is growing rapidly. Plenty of water for her today too. A little Neptune Harvest added to some water this evening and she should be good to go this week. Monday, May 31 View Page Alex is a little bit behind Amelia, but she is shaping up to be another wonderful plant. She has every reason to make it to the finish line. Friday, June 4 View Page Amelia! I had to improvise for a little shade during the heat of the day. Temperatures in the 90's. Supposed to be 98 today. The golf umbrellas are zip tied to the green stakes and can be opened or closed as needed. Friday, June 4 View Page Alex! She has an umbrella too and seems to be growing quite well. Trying to get the plants to lay down and run and then I won't worry so much about the wind. I gave up on my 3rd plant Dorothy. She wilted during the day and I understand a wilting plant doesn't produce big fruit, so now there will be more room for the other two plants. Saturday, June 12 View Page Out burying the vines in the rain. Expecting lots of rain and a thunderstorm or two tonight. Need to get some root shield tomorrow and hope they keep up at the current pace. Pictures tomorrow. Sunday, June 13 View Page Amelia seems to be doing pretty good. We had an inch of rain last night and this plant loves rainwater. I buried some vines this morning and in the next picture I added some dirt to the stump and covered some of the nubs. I hope that this is correct. Any advice appreciated. Some of the tap roots are facing up and not laying down. Do I prune these or bury them when they lay down? Sunday, June 13 View Page Amelia again. I hope I buried the vines properly and didn't add too much soil to the stump... Sunday, June 13 View Page Alex! She's doing pretty good too. I think she grew quite a bit in the last two days. She grabbed onto the rabbit fence and a little bit of bermuda grass in the backyard. Time to do a little more tilling I suppose. I added some fungicide to the vines before burying and will fertilize tomorrow evening with Neptune Fish/Seaweed combination. The next picture shows the stump before adding soil. I hope I didn't add too much or too little. Tried burrying every tap root, but one or two are facing up. I think the color of the vine looks great. Sunday, June 13 View Page This is the stump on Alex. I covered it in soil and some of the nodules are under soil again too. We have crazy wind here in Kansas, so I buried the entire vine hoping that it will help. Weather forecast calling for more rain. I love it when the watering is done by Mother Nature! Sunday, June 13 View Page 70mph winds have broken a few stems of leaves on both of my plants. What to do? We'll see what they look like tomorrow. What a BUMMER! Freakin' Kansas! Get me out of here! Tuesday, June 15 View Page Alex. The damage after the storm. A few stalks bent in half. What should I do with these? Prune them or wait and see if they repair themselves? I have no idea what to do about them. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Next picture of the entire plant. Tuesday, June 15 View Page Alex. Overall I think she looks pretty good, but I'm a first time grower and am trying to soak up as much information as possible. Tuesday, June 15 View Page Amelia weathered the storm better than Alex. Looks like I need to bury some more vines. The tap roots seem to appear overnight. I'm having more of the yard tilled to make room for the growing plants. Wednesday, June 16 View Page Had some more of the yard tilled today for more space. Bermuda grass is a *#(@)! Seriously, my husband wants to know how I've gotten him in to so much manual labor. I tell him that it's good for him. Now he wants half credit for whatever we grow. Men? Can you believe that? :D Wednesday, June 16 View Page Amelia from a different angle. Seems as if she is going to run into Alex. I think that I will angle her out now and hope she goes full force. The plants seem to be growing at a steady pace. They would love a quarter inch of rain. Wednesday, June 16 View Page Another angle... I buried more vine tonight. That maybe a never-ending process. Seems like I just finished and noticed another tap root that needed attention. These suckers are a lot of work, but I enjoy almost every minute of it. Cut off some broken stalks this morning from a storm on Sunday night. The stalks were dripping with water as I cut them off. I'm taking that as a good sign. Thursday, June 17 View Page Amelia is starting to run in to Alex. I hope I can train her to go the other way. Seeing male and female flowers, but neither has opened up yet. I know it won't be long. I can't wait to practice pollinating. It's hot and windy here, so the plants get the soaker hose this evening. Thursday, June 17 View Page Both plants are looking pretty good. I culled at least a dozen leaves that were broken from the storm Sunday. Added Captan tonight to those places where the stems that were culled. Thanks Wayne for the tip. Friday, June 18 View Page I'm waiting for this female flower to open up. This will be my first try at pollinating. Friday, June 18 View Page My first male flower has opened this morning. So exciting! Saturday, June 19 View Page Big female getting ready to bloom on Alex! I'm so excited and think that it will be ready. Plenty of male flowers to pollinate this female. She is the best looking one I've seen so far. It's only 5 foot off the main though and am hoping for one further out. As fast as this one is growing I think I'll be able to get one further out. Exciting stuff! Sunday, June 20 View Page The male I used to pollinate my first pumpkin this morning! Excited to see what happens! Monday, June 21 View Page There is a Grackle that continually tries to attack me if I get near the pumpkin patch. I look like a fool out there with a broom swinging it above my head. Of course, the bird is always just out of reach. Pollinated my first female yesterday, but am wondering if it was too hot to work. I guess I'll know in the next couple of days. Not sure that I'll keep this one since it's only 5 feet out, but can use the practice. When I cut the male flower yesterday there was a bee in it. I fired him though and took on the job myself! Monday, June 21 View Page Here's a picture of the Grackle, black bird, that stalks and dive bombs me every time I go out to check on the patch! I'm about ready to tell him, "Say hello to my little friend"!!! Monday, June 21 View Page This is the female I pollinated yesterday. I think maybe it's grown a little bit. Only time will tell! Tuesday, June 22 View Page This is the first female pollinated Sunday AM. I think it's growing. I added the softball, so I can see any changes. It's difficult when you look at it a lot. If it did pollinate, I'm shocked! It was 99F today with high humidity and a heat index of 105F. Yuck! Seriously, I'll take this kind of heat over any day under 20 degrees anywhere, anytime! Maybe some rain tonight, but I don't want to be too giddy. The farmers are harvesting wheat, so maybe just a little rain will be okay... Wednesday, June 23 View Page I believe that it is growing. I'm wondering how fast I should except it to grow to know whether or not I should cull or keep. This is day 3. The plants seem to be growing like weeds. In the heat too, which surprises me. I'll need to decide in the next day or two whether to keep this pumpkin. I have lots of male flowers and lots of females. Should be able to do some pollinating tomorrow or Friday. It's difficult knowing the chances of success are lower in the heat. Wednesday, June 23 View Page Wrong picture with last entry. I need an edit feature. Wednesday, June 23 View Page Growing like weeds with very little leaf burn. I'm glad we tilled again for more room. Thursday, June 24 View Page Day 4! It's growing for sure. I'm not really sure what to expect about how fast it should be growing. Thursday, June 24 View Page Pollinated this one this morning. Used a twisty tie to keep her safe. Kind of a cool down here, as it's only supposed to be 88 degrees today. The other one pollinated when it was 104 degree heat index. Thursday, June 24 View Page Also pollinated this one this morning. It's really a blast to watch these plants grow. I counted 8 lobes on this one. I hope that's a good sign, but I've read of people who have pollinated 13 lobes... That's incredible! Thursday, June 24 View Page A shout out to Boulevard Wheat Beer! Made right here in Kansas! Sunday, June 27 View Page I am extremely excited about this 7 day old pumpkin. I will take care of it like it's my baby! LOL Can't wait to have 5 or 6 of these. Three others pollinated and growing. This heat hasn't affected the pollinating. It's cooler today thankfully. I must say there isn't a shortage of bees in the pumpkin patch either. Tuesday, June 29 View Page Day 9 and looking fine! I keep him covered with a cut up old white cotton t-shirt. Thanks Duchess for the tip! :) Trying to water as much as possible. Tuesday, June 29 View Page last post was wrong picture... Wednesday, June 30 View Page Day 10! Thursday, July 1 View Page In other news... I'm also growing a watermelon in a pot against a fence. What a nice little surprise on the other side of the fence! I think it's the perfect place. Pumpkins are doing wonderful. I have a female to pollinate in the morning and that will be my 4th pumpkin I hope. I'm holding out for a couple of more further out, but it sure is hard to wait! :) Monday, July 5 View Page 15 days young. I've been keeping him covered with an extra large white t-shirt. We've had our share of rain this past weekend and today. Rain gauge is almost at 2 inches. Chances of rain all week. It's great to get a break from watering too! Tuesday, July 6 View Page Yep! He's a Dallas fan at day 16! Wednesday, July 7 View Page I have myself in a pickle, but this is the before picture. Trying to put some slack in the main... Geesh! I hope to not make this mistake again. We'll see if she grows any tonight. I have my fingers crossed. Wednesday, July 7 View Page The noodle fix. I sure didn't get any slack on the vine, but it's a little less stress on it now. Thanks to everyone who took the time to email me and chatted with me. I REALLY appreciate it. We shall see what tomorrow brings. I'm hoping to pollinate my 5th pumpkin tomorrow. I sure did a lot of culling this evening. It's only 81 degrees, but the humidity had sweat dripping from my eyebrows. Friday, July 9 View Page I need to get out the measuring tape, because I look at this one so much that I can't tell if it's still growing. Looking at the pictures I'd say that it is still growing. My hubby made a pumpkin tent using pvc pipe and attaching a white sheet to it. I did just have it covered with a large white t-shirt, but it outgrew it. Monday, July 12 View Page 3 weeks old today! I doubt he'll be a giant, but has a great shape and still growing slowly. Tuesday, July 20 View Page It has been rather hot and humid here. Same as most of the rest of the country. Thunderstorms rolled through at 4pm. Received 3/4" of rain. I have 5 pumpkins growing. My first one has turned bright orange. Must be about done growing... I'll post pictures soon. I have no idea what to do with a ripe pumpkin at the end of July! :D Wednesday, July 21 View Page Notice the orange? I think this one is ripe. Wednesday, July 21 View Page pumpkin butt Wednesday, July 21 View Page Damage from last night's storm on pumkin numero 2! It was not growing that fast anyway. This plant is about to hear a swan song! Wednesday, July 21 View Page This pumpkin is on the fence. Has the shape of a large human head. Hmmm... Wednesday, July 21 View Page This is pumpkin #4 and he is a bruiser! I think I'll name him Brutus. He looks like my best hope at a pumpkin over 100lbs. this year. Wednesday, July 21 View Page Last, but not least. Pumpkin #5! This was the last one I pollinated. I'm not seeing anymore females blooming. I think that I have my crop for the year. The water guy was by today to recheck our meter, because they thought we had a leak somewhere. Ooops! I'm sure I'll pay through the nose for that. Rain barrels next year. Thursday, August 12 View Page The one under the tent. He's finished. Pretty color though and perfect shape. :) Thursday, August 12 View Page The one next to the tent is smaller yet and not growing another pound. Thursday, August 12 View Page Now this one is something to talk about. It's terribly hot here. The pumpkins don't like it at all. My water bill is going to be a record setter for me. Thursday, August 12 View Page This one rivals the last post, but not as nicely shaped. This pumpkin growing is really a blast, even if watering is a chore. Thursday, August 12 View Page Here's one close to the fence and he's still growing. Thursday, August 12 View Page A little surprise I found this evening. Isn't that special??? Monday, August 30 View Page Still growing a little bit. I'm hoping that it lasts another month, so I can have him for decorating in October. Monday, August 30 View Page This one may be larger than the picture in the previous post. I won't know for sure until they are finished growing. Right now it's difficult to keep them covered due to high wind, but I do live in KS it's expected. Monday, August 30 View Page This is my egg shaped pumpkin... Monday, August 30 View Page Also growing some canteloupe. We ate this one last night and it was tasty! Monday, August 30 View Page Ready to pick this one! Perfect color and shape! Thursday, September 2 View Page Moved this one to the front porch today. I'm hoping it lasts through October. My husband was pulling weeds in the garden and stepped on the stem, so it is finished for the year. All I could say was, "really"? He was nice enough to help move it and take the picture. We're going to take measurements this evening to estimate the weight. I still have 3 pumpkins growing. Saturday, October 2 View Page They've made it all the way to the front of the house. A couple of smaller ones rotted in the patch. Found a mouse furiously eating it. SO GROSS! :) Saturday, October 2 View Page The one in the middle is over 100lbs. That was my goal this year and I achieved it. I'm a rookie and I've learned a ton of stuff this year and will have a plan of attack ready come springtime. Saturday, October 2 View Page I have a friend coming over to paint one or two of them tomorrow. I'll try to post some pictures later in the week. It sure was an amazing experience. I learned SO much about pumpkin growing and it was really fun to hand pollinate. Also enjoyed the large blooms male and female. Pumpkin flowers are beautiful. Thanks for all of the great advice on the message boards and in the chat room. Blessings!