Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 34 Entries. Sunday, May 14 View Page Better late than never…..150 patch ready for a plant soon, squash or pumpkin? Not sure yet. Patch is typical 10X15. Broad-forked and waiting on the natural warmth to perk her up.   Monday, May 15 View Page 150 challenge   Monday, May 15 View Page 150 challenge   Monday, May 15 View Page 150 challenge   Monday, May 15 View Page 150 challenge   Monday, May 15 View Page 150 challenge   Monday, May 15 View Page 150 challenge   Saturday, May 20 View Page 150 challenge. Prep work is done and planting day is tomorrow.   Saturday, May 20 View Page 150 challenge. Prep work is done and planting day is tomorrow.   Saturday, May 20 View Page 150 challenge. Sun setting on the patch.   Sunday, May 21 View Page Plants are in. Right is 2121 Pierpont, left is 1114 Carter squash. We will see who has made the cut in a week or so. 150 Challenge   Thursday, May 25 View Page The last chilly night…(I hope) until fall. Tucked in for the night and ready for some hot temps this upcoming weekend. Would also be nice if we got a decent rainfall. Hopefully this dry spell isn’t a precursor to what’s to come this summer. 150 challenge.   Tuesday, May 30 View Page I culled the greenie and kept the 2121 pumpkin. Although it was about 5 days behind the squash, the stump was about 1.5 times larger. This could be because of lighting, wind, etc but my gut said go with the pumpkin. I have another squash further out in the patch for fun, so it’s not a total abandonment. 150 Challenge   Wednesday, June 7 View Page Hazy sunset with the wildfire smoke. Day 18 with no rain….thank goodness the plant is in a young stage still.   Wednesday, June 7 View Page 150 Challenge. 2121 with landing gear deployed. She is kicking it into gear the last few days. Hopefully a touchdown early next week.   Sunday, June 18 View Page After 22 days of no rain, herbicide drift (finally recovering) then some good rain, followed by nights in the 40’s. I’ve reached 3 feet haha. I’m starting to think this plant is a long gourd instead of a pumpkin since the plant still hasn’t touched the ground since it was planted. I’ve cut off the kickstand a week ago, and then another little sticker leaf tonight in hopes of getting the main on the dirt in the next couple of days. You can see the tent stake trying to train it down along with directional bamboo support. All I can do is roll with the punches and see what it produces….that’s the fun of it anyways in my book. 150 Challenge   Saturday, June 24 View Page Put some time released fert in the dirt with the direction I want the main to go. The plant is really starting to take off now. Secondaries aren’t laying flat but instead shooting to the sky….go figure. My plan is set a pumpkin as close to the lower left corner space as possible and then wrap the main around towards the top left corner. Secondaries filling in any space laterally. 150 Challenge   Saturday, June 24 View Page Put some time released fert in the dirt with the direction I want the main to go. The plant is really starting to take off now. Secondaries aren’t laying flat but instead shooting to the sky….go figure. My plan is set a pumpkin as close to the lower left corner space as possible and then wrap the main around towards the top left corner. Secondaries filling in any space laterally. 150 Challenge   Saturday, July 1 View Page Plant is moving fast. Fertilizer and fungicide routine have been started. Secondaries are shooting out and will be filling in the patch soon. 150 Challenge.   Saturday, July 1 View Page Opposite angle….fertilizer regime is seaweed and a time released organic all purpose under root shoots. 150 challenge   Saturday, July 1 View Page Again…this plant just keeps on trying to climb the clouds. Main vine in pic, but all secondaries look like this. 150 challenge.   Monday, July 3 View Page Should open up in the 10-12 foot mark of the 150 challenge patch. I will pollinate this one and the next one on the main before I terminate. Then fill in the patch with secondaries and tertiaries. 150 challenge   Monday, July 10 View Page 150 challenge plant filling out nicely. Pictures to follow are from left and right side views. Leaves hanging over but rooted nodes are just inside the patch outline.   Monday, July 10 View Page 150 challenge right side.   Monday, July 10 View Page 150 challenge left side. It’s nice the surrounding corn cuts down on the wind gusts. Nice to get some good air flow the past couple of days.   Monday, July 10 View Page Pollination day about 10 feet out on the main. A funky flower that I’m sure this won’t turn out to be a keeper with the flower only partially opening. Back ups to be pollinated over the next week on main and secondaries. 150 challenge.   Monday, July 10 View Page Side view of pollination day. 150 challenge   Monday, July 10 View Page Opening up “stuck” petals to see a nice 4 lober. 150 challenge.   Monday, July 10 View Page Stump view. 150 challenge   Monday, July 17 View Page 150 challenge. The “back-up” was pollinated this morning. This pumpkin is in my ideal spot for my patch at about 13 feet out. Hopefully she takes, because my first pollination is very sloooow to make gains.   Tuesday, August 8 View Page 150 challenge…..plant has aborted every fruit I’ve pollinated. 3 on the main in one week increments, and 2 on secondaries. I noticed the left side of the plant drastically declined growth and had stunted secondaries. Then, leaves on both side on the main began to yellow which spread throughout the left side. I pulled the plant a week ago. Here’s to next year!!!   Friday, September 22 View Page 370.5 English is putting on the pounds still. OTT 238. Looking forward to some rain this week.   Saturday, September 30 View Page Gourd OTT 249. Not much of a snout on this one, so I am including it in the measurement. Upcoming week is supposed to be unseasonably warm which I’m hoping will give it a boost in growth. Two weeks out from weigh off.   Tuesday, October 10 View Page There’s a ghost in the patch. 75 days old and slowing down on growth. 370.5 bushel gourd is a beast of a plant that has produced ungodly amounts of females. On average I would cull 30-40 gourds every other day. This lasted from mid august to last week. OTT in the 250 range. Ohio Valley may have a new state record!