Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 204 Entries. Sunday, April 2 View Page The 2023 giant vegetable season has begun! Planted 4 tomatoes to be used as pollinators for our competition tomatoes. Seeds planted are our 7.95, 7.28 and 6.48. The struggle will be to get our baby cat Penny out of the pots.   Sunday, April 2 View Page High temp of 34 today but we still got the old patch and 2/3 of the new patch raked off. Next will be to spread compost, subsoil and till.   Sunday, April 2 View Page Yikes! Forgot a soil heating cable in the old patch. Luckily I found it with a lawn rake. I usually find them with a tiller and then pay another $50 for a new cable!   Saturday, April 8 View Page We are starting to dry out enough to use the subsoiler on both patches today and got the tiller on the tractor. On Tuesday we will get 10 yards of Green Mountain Compost to spread. Hopefully tilled and hoop houses in place in a week.   Saturday, April 8 View Page Meanwhile, back on the grow bench our perfect cat by the name of Penny has eaten the tops off of 3 of our early tomatoes. Back to the drawing board.   Wednesday, April 12 View Page We received our trophy and State plaque from the tomato challenge. Thanks to Porkchop for creating and funding such a fun contest with @WowWallace   Wednesday, April 12 View Page We got 10 yards of compost spread this evening. 8.5 yards on the big patch and 1.5 yards on the 400 Square foot patch and long gourds.   Saturday, April 15 View Page Here is the giant pumpkin and long gourd starters for 2023. We are going with our own 1680, 1552, 1442 Young seeds and the 839 Sandercock. Our back up will be our 1215 Young. Long gourds will be the 173.75 and 168.25 Eaton.   Saturday, April 15 View Page We soak our seeds for a couple of hours in a mixture of water and hydrogen peroxide and then plant in warm miracle grow potting soil. We use 3 oz bathroom cups to soak. Two cups for every soak with a hole in one.   Saturday, April 15 View Page In bottom cup we have our water mixture and the seeds to soak which are labeled.   Saturday, April 15 View Page We then slowly push the top cup with the hole in the top down until it fills with enough water to keep it in place. This insures the whole seed is under the water.   Saturday, April 15 View Page We had a great weather day to get our patch ready. Each hoop house has soil heating cables dug in and plugged in and our weed fabric is installed. The soil head cables will warm up the soil enough for the seed corn maggots to hatch out which will help the small transplants survive the move.   Monday, May 1 View Page We put our plants in the hoops this evening with a light dose of Triazicide. Here are two 1680 Young’s battling it out.   Monday, May 1 View Page This is our 1442 Young which is waiting for a hoop partner. We have another one started but a couple of days behind.   Monday, May 1 View Page The 1552 Young is looking a bit abused but should grow out of it. We have another 1552 to plant next to it in a couple of days.   Monday, May 1 View Page Last but not least is the 839 Samdercock. The second 839 threw a club root that didn’t make it, so we will put one of our back ups out in a few days just in case. This plant looks great though!   Sunday, May 7 View Page This is the first Sunday update of the season to show what we have so far. The weather has been cold and rainy since pumpkin transplant day Monday except for yesterday and today with abundant sun and temps in the 60’s. Here are the long gourds to date. Plans have been thrown out the window due to germination issues. Here are 2, 168 Eatons, 2, 144 Young’s and 1, 126 Jutras.   Sunday, May 7 View Page Here is part of our issues. When the seed germinates it does not throw any true leaves or leader.   Sunday, May 7 View Page Competition tomatoes are up and growing nicely. I start with a gallon pot filled 1/3 with dirt. As the plant grows we are filling the pot higher with dirt in hopes to get good roots off the main. I will know if it worked in a couple of weeks when we transplant outside.   Sunday, May 7 View Page We bought new 6 mil poly for our large hoop house for the tomatoes, I got the poly from farmtek.com and am very pleased with it.   Sunday, May 7 View Page Here is the new patch all weeded and set up. We use 3 mil poly for our small hoops and put it away after use every year. We typically can get 4-5 years out of it and it is very clear. The weed guard is 11 years old and still going strong. We sweep it and fold it to store and it lasts a long time.   Sunday, May 7 View Page Here is the old patch looking close to completed. I have to clean old long gourd vines off the trellises in a week or two which I am not looking forward to.   Sunday, May 7 View Page Here are two 1680 Young plants battling it out. They have both greened up well with the better weather.   Sunday, May 7 View Page Two 1442 Young seeds in this hoop. The bigger one on the left is potential keeper and a week older than the backup on the right.   Sunday, May 7 View Page We have added to the 1552 Young Hoop. The two plants on the outside are 1552’s and the middle plant is our 1215 Young. The 1552’s almost looked unhappy from our seed starting mix but hopefully will grow out of it in week or two.   Sunday, May 14 View Page A beautiful cool crisp mid day May today and the hoops do a nice job holding the inside temp to a comfy 80 degrees. We have possible frost coming the next couple of nights. It is nice to be able to see decent sized plants starting to take hold.   Sunday, May 14 View Page 1680 Young hoop is growing strong with both plants starting to run. The plant on the left is the current leader at 13” long. This is roughly where we are usually at this time of year.   Sunday, May 14 View Page The 1442’s are doing good with the plant on the left being older and longer at 18”.   Sunday, May 14 View Page The 1552 on the left and 1215 on the right are both starting to kick in gear. It may be a tough decision in a couple of weeks on which one to keep.   Sunday, May 14 View Page Here is the 839 Sandercock on the left growing nicely and is running at 15”. The 1680 back up is looking good as well.   Thursday, May 18 View Page Bundled up the patch for last nights freeze. Heating cables inside hoops with a 250 watt heat lamp and quilts draped over the top to help insulate.   Thursday, May 18 View Page Happy to report that all plants survived the 25 degree temps. I feel for the real farmers who may have lost a fruit crop due to the record setting freeze!   Sunday, May 21 View Page May is clipping along quickly and the patch seems to be happy. This time of year we weed on a weekly basis and as the season goes on we weed every time we vine bury.   Sunday, May 21 View Page The old patch is still empty except for the pumpkin as the nights are still on the iffy side temperature wise.   Sunday, May 21 View Page Giant tomatoes and long gourds are hardening off still and won’t be planted out until after Memorial Day as we have a couple of nights in the 30’s and low 40’s. Best guess for planting out will be around May 30th.   Sunday, May 21 View Page Giant sunflowers went in this weekend as well as setting up electric mesh fence in both patches. We have 14 sunflowers started: 3 of the Butler 26’ tall, 4 of the Scherber 21” big head and 7 of our 16’ Young.   Sunday, May 21 View Page Here are two 1680 Young’s. Both are doing well and the potential keeper is 38” long today.   Sunday, May 21 View Page It is easy to choose a potential keeper with these two 1442 Young plants. The longest is our current patch leader and is 45” long today.   Sunday, May 21 View Page This hoop is in our old patch and gets just 400 square feet. The current leader is our 1552 Young and is 26” today. This plant will probably be used as a pollinator for the other plants to drive a darker orange gene. As of this moment I am planning on selfing it as I am almost out of seeds.   Thursday, May 25 View Page Plants all tucked in for another frosty night. Hopefully the last until October!   Monday, May 29 View Page Happy Memorial Day! We spent the long weekend in CT with our son Andrew. We got home in time to plant our tomatoes and long gourds. Hoops came off Friday AM after our last chance for frost. Here are the final choices for the new patch.   Monday, May 29 View Page Here is a picture of the old patch all filled up.   Monday, May 29 View Page Giant sunflowers are coming along nicely with the average being around 8 inches tall.   Monday, May 29 View Page Here is one of our giant tomatoes being planted. It starts indoors in a 1 gallon pot and then transplanted outside. We take all of the foliage off except for the top truss and plant it in a12 inch deep hole with 2 WOW fertilizer packs and compost.   Monday, May 29 View Page We have 15 giant tomatoes planted. In the hoop house is: 5.37 MacDonald, Sutherland #6, 9.06 Brown, 8.64 Porkchop, 8.40 Porkchop, 7.95 Young, Sutherland 8.61 and Sutherland #2.   Monday, May 29 View Page Here are 3 out of our 7 to be grown outdoors. Last year our 7.95 Young single bloom was grown outside and is our biggest tomato currently. Outdoor tomatoes are: (2) 7.28 Young, (2) 7.95 Young, 8.36 Strickler,7.39 MacDonald and 5.94 Young.   Monday, May 29 View Page These are 2 long gourds competing to grow up our 14.5 foot trellis. On the left of the 168.25” Eaton and the left is our own 144.75” Young.   Monday, May 29 View Page This is a closer look at the main vine of the 168.25 Eaton and it is currently a flat vine. I have seen this happen with Atlantic Giant pumpkins, but a first for me with long gourds.   Monday, May 29 View Page The other long gourd trellis has the 126.5” Jutras on the right and our 144.75” Young on the left.   Monday, May 29 View Page Our 1552 Young is the choice in the old patch to be grown in 400 square feet. It had a slow start but is now just shy of 4 feet long.   Monday, May 29 View Page This is the 839 Sandercock and it is close to 5 1/2 feet tonight.   Monday, May 29 View Page Here is a baby picture for Ned of his 839 Sandercock. Way to close to pollinate but ya gotta like the shape!   Monday, May 29 View Page Here is our 1680 Young around 5 1/2 feet long. This plant has our best secondaries so far and we will be burying by next weekend.   Monday, May 29 View Page Our patch leader so far is our 1442 Young. This plant is 6 1/2 feet long today and just starting to shoot out some secondaries.   Wednesday, May 31 View Page Tis the season to cover the tips. Mid 90’s forecast for tomorrow with abundant sun. I like the 1/2 inch styrofoam because if it is blown off it does less damage than something heavier.   Sunday, June 4 View Page We decided to put up this 2013 Team Pumpkin OTT measurement chart that we inherited from Bart Toftness. This chart was in his garden shed and he gave it to us when he stopped growing. History from one of our hobby greats!   Sunday, June 4 View Page Happy June! This is the 5th Sunday update since planting seedlings out. Not sure I wanted a ticket to ride this weather roller coaster but it is one of many variables we can’t control. We have been extremely dry and mid 90’s one day to highs in the low 60’s now.   Sunday, June 4 View Page The old patch is plugging along and we cleaned the old long gourd vines off the trellises which are 14.5 feet high. Kerry climbed the ladder this year as she prefers me on the ground after my little 30 foot fall in 2001. No faith in my superior climbing skills. LOL   Sunday, June 4 View Page The giant sunflowers are getting larger and starting grow larger leaves. The tallest is about 18”.   Sunday, June 4 View Page The tomatoes loved the heat but will slow down with our 40 degree nights coming up. We are very happy with the thick stocky main leader.   Sunday, June 4 View Page Here is the 168 Eaton and our 144 Young long gourds.   Sunday, June 4 View Page The 168 Eaton is still a flat vine and will get pulled soon if it continues on. This is the first time in 20 years that we have seen a long gourd do this. We are growing freaks of nature. Some “freakier” than others!   Sunday, June 4 View Page The other trellis has the 126.5 Jutras on the right and 144.75 Young on the left. The 126.5 is the hopeful keeper.   Sunday, June 4 View Page Here is our 1552 Young in the 400 square foot patch. Secondaries are just starting to show and the plant is 5.5 feet long today.   Sunday, June 4 View Page 839 Sandercock is starting to throw nice secondaries and is 7.5 feet long today.   Sunday, June 4 View Page The 1442 Young is our current patch leader at 8.5 feet and shooting out secondaries.   Sunday, June 4 View Page Last for this Sunday update is our 1680 Young. This plant is throwing the best secondaries and is 7.5 feet long.   Sunday, June 11 View Page This is the 6th Sunday update of our backyard patch. We had 4 days this past week with highs in the 50’s along with cloudy rainy weather. Overall the Canadian wildfire smoke missed us but we did get a couple days of air warnings. The plants are still healthy and ready to grow.   Sunday, June 11 View Page The old patch is also starting to fill in.   Sunday, June 11 View Page Sunflowers didn’t mind the cool and cloudy . Tallest is right around 2 feet.   Sunday, June 11 View Page The 1552 Young was not happy in the cold and cloudy conditions. She should do better with the more favorable forecast. This plant is 7.5 feet long today and starting to throw secondaries.   Sunday, June 11 View Page The 839 Sandercock has rebelled a bit with the high 30 degree nights. Looks fine overall and just shy of 9.5 feet long today.   Sunday, June 11 View Page Here is our 1442 Young plant around 10 feet long. A bit lopsided with the secondaries but is growing well.   Sunday, June 11 View Page Our current patch leader is our 1680 Young. This plant has the longest and most symmetrical secondaries. Currently, just shy of 10 feet long.   Sunday, June 11 View Page We still have long gourds battling for the starting role. The 168 Eaton on the left turned into a double and I terminated one. Still a little concerned to pick it as our selection so the 144 Young will hang next to it for awhile.   Sunday, June 11 View Page Here is the 168 Eaton pruned from a flat vine to a double and now hopefully a single.   Sunday, June 11 View Page The long gourd trellis near the tomato hut will host the 126.5 Jutras on the right. We will terminate the 144 Young on the left this week.   Sunday, June 11 View Page Last to update this Sunday are our giant tomatoes. Most are around a foot tall today and will appreciate the warmer temperatures coming up.   Sunday, June 18 View Page This is what I look like after 3 hours of patch work along with Kerry. I love this vintage sweatshirt and this year marks number 20 for us with diary entries in Bigpumpkins.com Thank you Ken for creating and maintaining such a special site.   Sunday, June 18 View Page Happy Fathers Day to all the dads out there. This is our 7th Sunday update and the weather continues to be a rollercoaster with high temps in the 50’s this weekend and mid 80’s predicted mid next week. Plants are healthy and slowly growing.   Sunday, June 18 View Page The old patch is a bit waterlogged as we have received 3 inches of rain in the past 16 days and doesn’t drain as well as the new one. Overall in good health though.   Sunday, June 18 View Page Our current patch leader in plant size is the 1680 Young. It is 12.5 feet long with nice symmetrical secondaries. There is a baby in the tip but will probably pollinate something further out.   Sunday, June 18 View Page Sunflowers are reaching for the sky with the tallest being 43”.   Sunday, June 18 View Page Here is the 1442 Young standing at 13.5 feet. This is our longest plant and secondaries are starting to kick in.   Sunday, June 18 View Page We decided to go with our 144.75 Young on this trellis. The 168 Eaton was still showing a few oddities so we had to make the hard decision. This plant is 30” long today.   Sunday, June 18 View Page Our 1552 Young is in our small 400 square foot patch and is taking its time throwing secondaries. Overall seems healthy at 10 feet long today.   Sunday, June 18 View Page Here is the 126.5 Jutras long gourd on the trellis next to the tomato hut. This plant is 43” up our 14.5 foot trellis.   Sunday, June 18 View Page Here is the 839 Sandercock at 12 feet long. Seems to be happy but no new babies as of yet. If nothing next week maybe a little bloom booster will help.   Sunday, June 18 View Page The giant tomato plants got supported today as well as leaves pruned that were touching the ground. Nice solid green color but we need some heat for them to really get moving.   Sunday, June 18 View Page Some nice mega blooms are starting to show. This one is from the 7.39 MacDonald. I usually don’t have good luck pollinating these but will give it our best effort.   Sunday, June 25 View Page Happy last Sunday of June. The weather has changed again to humid and stormy, which is more typical for this time of year. Our plants are a bit behind but are looking good. We spent about 6 hours total weeding pruning and burying vines. We won’t have to repeat again until Wednesday.   Sunday, June 25 View Page Old patch continues to grow slowly but surely.   Sunday, June 25 View Page The 1680 Young continues to be our patch leader plant size wise. We have a baby protected at 13 feet that should open tomorrow and will be pollinated with males from our 1552 Young.   Sunday, June 25 View Page Sunflowers continue to put on inches with the tallest around 5.5 feet so far.   Sunday, June 25 View Page Here is our 1442 Young at around 17 feet long. The first baby will be opening in a few days at 15.5 feet. The babies are all dark yellow and could lead to a very orange pumpkin.   Sunday, June 25 View Page Here is the 144.75 Young at a little over 5 feet.   Sunday, June 25 View Page Here is our 1552 Young in the 400 square foot garden. Secondaries are still a bit of a challenge but overall good plant.   Sunday, June 25 View Page 126.5 Jutras is our long gourd leader and right around 8 feet long.   Sunday, June 25 View Page Tomatoes all received first haircuts today. It appears we may have a first truss mega or two pollinated. I never usually have good luck with these but will give them a go.   Sunday, June 25 View Page Last plant is the 839 Sandercock that seems to be settling in. She has a baby at 15 feet that we will hopefully be pollinating towards the end of the week.   Tuesday, July 4 View Page Happy 4th of July. We spent a long weekend in Saratoga and got a chance to see the horses working out each morning. Meanwhile, the plants are growing mad and the plants had close to 3 feet of secondary growth to be pruned and buried. We also have chosen a couple of keepers!   Tuesday, July 4 View Page Old patch is growing quickly as well with healthy plants. Depending on the location of the pumpkin crown we have had disease issues despite our fungicide rotation.   Tuesday, July 4 View Page 1680 Young. We have one pollinated but not happy with the symmetry of the lobes. We will pollinate next in line tomorrow or the next day and if it is better we will go with that one. Plant is probably over 500 square feet already.   Tuesday, July 4 View Page Most of the sunflowers are doing well being led by the Butler plant. Tallest is 8 feet tall today.   Tuesday, July 4 View Page Here is our minion friend Bob who will again be our model to show scale as the pumpkins grow. Bob is with the 6 day old 1442 Young crossed with the 839 Sandercock. She is 15 1/2 feet from the crown and was a perfect 6 lobe blossom.   Tuesday, July 4 View Page The 144.5 Young is climbing well and about 10 feet up the trellis.   Tuesday, July 4 View Page We pollinated our first on our 1552 Young this morning. 1552 x self and 5 good lobes.   Tuesday, July 4 View Page Here is our chosen baby on the 839 Sandercock pollinated on June 29th with the 1552 Young and had 5 lobes.   Tuesday, July 4 View Page Our fastest growing long gourd is the 126.5 Jutras and it is close to the top of the 14.5 foot trellis.   Tuesday, July 4 View Page The giant tomatoes are taking off as well and we are pruning them every 4-5 days currently.   Tuesday, July 4 View Page Lots of talk lately of mega blooms that may look like singles and if there should be different categories. So from now on I am calling them all “BAB” which stands for Big A$$ Blossom. Here is the fastest growing BAB from a Sutherland tomato cross on a first truss.   Tuesday, July 4 View Page Not to be outdone this is a BAB from a Porkchop Marley seed.   Sunday, July 9 View Page This is our 10th Sunday update of the season and the weather has turned to grow mode (if thunderstorms, wind and hail don’t ruin your season) The secondaries are growing close to 1 foot each day and it is a battle to prune and bury.   Sunday, July 9 View Page Old patch continues to fill in nicely with all plants looking nice and healthy so far. We saw squash vine borers yesterday. It was a good reminder to keep up with our insecticide and fungicide spray program.   Sunday, July 9 View Page Every season we have a theme for the pumpkins and this year it is rock songs of the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s that contain a woman’s name as pumpkins are female. Here is Peggy Sue from the 50’s which is our 1680 Young x 1552 Young. She is 4 days old today.   Sunday, July 9 View Page Here is a close up of Peggy Sue 1680 Young x 1552 Young at 4 days.   Sunday, July 9 View Page Please meet Sweet Caroline from the 60’s. She is the 1442 Young x 839 Sandercock. She is 11 days old today and has an OTT measurement of 81 inches.   Sunday, July 9 View Page Here is a close up of Sweet Caroline 1442 Young x 839 Sandercock.   Sunday, July 9 View Page For the 70’s we have Layla which is the 839 Sandercock x 1552 Young and is 10 days old today. She has an OTT measurement of 67 inches today.   Sunday, July 9 View Page Here is a closeup of Layla 839 Sandercock x 1552 Young day 10.   Sunday, July 9 View Page Ok 80’s rockers please meet Roxanne who is the 1552 Young self pollinated. She is 5 days old today.   Sunday, July 9 View Page Here is a closeup of Roxanne 1552 Young x self at 5 DAP.   Sunday, July 9 View Page Sunflowers keep stretching with the tallest around 9 1/2 feet.   Sunday, July 9 View Page The 144.75 Young has reached the top of our 14.5 foot trellis. This is the same trellis she was created on 2 years ago. Hopefully she can beat that mark.   Sunday, July 9 View Page The 126.5 Jutras is 1/4 way across the top of the trellis which makes it around 18.5 feet long. Females and males are starting to show.   Sunday, July 9 View Page The tomatoes received another trim this week. We have a few pollinated but nothing exciting to show size wise. The two biggest so far is a Sutherland cross and a Porkchop cross.   Sunday, July 16 View Page We spent the last 4 days at our son Parker’s wedding in York Maine and Portsmouth NH. Here is Parker and Amanda Young posing at the view point hotel in York Maine with Nubble lighthouse as a backdrop. It was a beautiful day and a wonderful ceremony.   Sunday, July 16 View Page Our family picture with our son Andrew added before the ceremony started.   Sunday, July 16 View Page Meanwhile back at the patch the wet weather continues. Overall the plants are in good shape but we could use a couple days of dry weather. We were able to prune and bury in most of the patch but some areas were a bit mucky. In a week most of the plants will be terminated and the patch full.   Sunday, July 16 View Page The old patch isn’t as good with the excessive water and is a bit mucky.   Sunday, July 16 View Page Here is Peggy Sue (1680 x 1552). She is 10 days old today and has an OTT measurement of 76.5 inches.   Sunday, July 16 View Page Here is Roxanne (1552 Young x self) She is 11 days old today and has an OTT measurement of 82 inches.   Sunday, July 16 View Page Next up is Layla (839 x 1552) She is 16 days old today and has an OTT measurement of 149 inches for an estimated weight of 78 pounds.   Sunday, July 16 View Page Last pumpkin is sweet Caroline (1442 x 839) We are very happy with her dark yellow color already. She is 17 days old and has an OTT measurement of 159 inches for an estimated 94 pounds.   Sunday, July 16 View Page Sunflowers are climbing even with all the wet weather with the tallest being just over 11 feet.   Sunday, July 16 View Page I did not get a chance to work on the maters today and they are a bit of a mess. I will get them under control for next weeks posting along with an update.   Wednesday, July 19 View Page It has taken 4 evenings but we are finally caught up on patch work for a minute. Pumpkins are pruned, buried and weeded and tomatoes are pruned and weeded.   Sunday, July 23 View Page Vermont got hit hard with storms again this weekend but our patch dodged a bullet and just got soaking rain. Every year has new and different challenges and Mother Nature is surely making this a memorable one. New patch is almost completely filled in and now time to grow fruit!   Sunday, July 23 View Page The old patch is just about set as well. We have one long gourd pollinated and most of the tomatoes have their chosen fruits.   Sunday, July 23 View Page Here is Peggy Sue (1680 Young x 1552 Young) at day 18. She has an OTT of 159.5 inches with an est. 99.5 pounds. This week she has put on 55 pounds.   Sunday, July 23 View Page Here’s Roxanne (1552 Young x self) at day 19 with an OTT of 158.75 inches est. at 98 pounds. She has put on 49.5 pounds this week. This patch is our smallest and shadiest so we limited size expectations.   Sunday, July 23 View Page Next up is Sweet Caroline (1442 Young x 839 Sandercock) who is 26 days old today for an OTT of 219.5 inches est. 243 pounds. She put on 148.5 pounds this week. Out of the three plants in the new patch this is the shadiest plant.   Sunday, July 23 View Page The current patch leader is Layla (839 Sandercock x 1552 Young) at 25 days old and an OTT of 225.5 estimating at 265 pounds. She has gained 186.5 pounds this week.   Sunday, July 23 View Page Giant sunflowers are still stretching with the tallest being 13.5 feet.   Sunday, July 23 View Page Tomatoes have been tamed and most have there chosen fruit. The first truss big blooms never got anywhere, so they are pruned. The biggest tomato is smaller than a tennis ball currently.   Sunday, July 30 View Page Happy last Sunday of July and as far as I am concerned, good riddance. We have had too many flooding rains and every other day storms. We worked hard today to get the patch in good order but are expecting rain and thunderstorms tomorrow. Mother Nature is testing the thickness of our skin but we won’t give up.   Sunday, July 30 View Page The old patch doesn’t drain as well but so far plants seem healthy. Sprayed copper fungicide tonight with insecticide to help. We have pollinated a few long gourds but aren’t sure if any have taken. At least we are seeing normal males and females.   Sunday, July 30 View Page Roxanne (1552 Young x self) has decided to have an inny but overall looks good. She is 26 days old today and has an OTT measurement of 219 inches est. at 242 pounds. That is a gain of 144 pounds this week.   Sunday, July 30 View Page Peggy Sue (1680 Young x 1552 Young) is 25 days old today and has an OTT of 229.5 inches for an est. 280 pounds. For the week Peggy Sue has gained 180 pounds.   Sunday, July 30 View Page Here is sweet Caroline (1442 Young x 839 Sandercock) at 33 days old with an OTT of 265 inches est. 429 pounds. She has gained 186 pounds this week.   Sunday, July 30 View Page Last but not least is Layla (839 Sandercock x 1552 Young) at 32 days and has an OTT of 281 inches for an est. weight of 513 pounds. She has put on 248 pounds this week.   Sunday, July 30 View Page Tomatoes have been challenging with a few chosen ones with blossom end rot from all of the rain. Even the tomatoes in the hoop have roots reaching outside and getting soaked. I think we can do ok if Mother Nature just gives us a break as the plants look great.   Sunday, August 6 View Page We spent most of the week in Saratoga NY going to a Foreigner and Loverboy concert at SPAC followed by 3 days at the thoroughbred track. Although the weather was lousy with cold nights and then a big storm, our plants have survived.   Sunday, August 6 View Page The old patch has been too wet but we still add some water so we can fertilize through it. Hopefully we have everything pollinated and now it’s grow time.   Sunday, August 6 View Page All of the tall sunflowers have heads which means they won’t get taller. Here are our 2 tallest and they are from John Butler seeds. I was too lazy to get a ladder to measure so we used the 5’10” me for scale. Hopefully these will produce nice seeds for next year.   Sunday, August 6 View Page The long gourds are starting to grow with a couple pollinated on both trellises. Here is one around 2 feet long from our 144.75 Young seed.   Sunday, August 6 View Page The tomato hammocks are starting to come out which makes us happy. We have culled so many with BER this year. Biggest has a circ of just 20 inches but still growing.   Sunday, August 6 View Page Here is cute little Roxanne(1552 Young x self) at 33 days old with an OTT of 251.5 for an est. weight of 367 pounds. It has been a slow growth week for all of our pumpkins as we aren’t feeding and the cool nights are keeping growth down. Roxanne has put on 125 pounds this week.   Sunday, August 6 View Page Here is Sweet Caroline (1442 Young x 839 Sandercock) with great color but bad shape. She is 40 days old today and has an OTT of 293 inches for an est. of 583 pounds. She has gained 154 pounds this week.   Sunday, August 6 View Page This is Peggy Sue (1680 Young x 1552 Young) at 32 days old today. She has an OTT of 274.5 inches for an est. weight of 478 pounds. She has gained 198 pounds this week. I like her shape and hopefully the 1552 will add to her orange color. This is year 2 of a 3 year genetic plan.   Sunday, August 6 View Page Last but not least is Layla (839 Sandercock x 1552 Young) who is 39 days old today with an OTT of 313 inches for an est. weight of 707 pounds. She has gained 194 pounds this week.   Sunday, August 6 View Page On further inspection (something us giant pumpkin growers do constantly) I found a stem end split hiding beneath the stem of Roxanne (1552 Young x self) I lengthened the split up the stem with a small knife as well as in the pumpkin itself and made a cross cut in hopes to stop the cut increasing in length. I dusted it internally with sulfur and put a fan on it.   Sunday, August 6 View Page Here it is completed. Now we need luck on our side!   Sunday, August 13 View Page Mid August is upon us and this year may go down as one of the toughest weather wise. We were too dry but nice and warm then too wet but warm and now too wet and cool nights. Have increased fungicide frequency but still losing the game. Hopefully plants will make another month.   Sunday, August 13 View Page The old patch is limping along as well but plants look more like early September.   Sunday, August 13 View Page First up is Roxanne (1552 Young x self) who is 40 days old today with an OTT of 280 inches for an est. of 507 pounds. She has grown 140 pounds this week.   Sunday, August 13 View Page Here is Sweet Caroline (1442 Young x 839 Sandercock) who is 47 days old today and has an OTT measurement of 319 inches for an est. weight of 750 pounds. She has gained 167 pounds this week.   Sunday, August 13 View Page Our fastest grower currently is Peggy Sue (1680 Young x 1552 Young) who is 38 days old today and has an OTT measurement of 313.5 inches for an est. of 710.5 pounds. She has gained 232 pounds this week.   Sunday, August 13 View Page Last pumpkin is Layla (839 Sandercock x 1552 Young) who is 46 days old today and has an OTT of 341 inches for an est. of 906 pounds. She has grown 199 pounds this week.   Sunday, August 13 View Page Here is the 144.75 Young long gourd with 3 gourds set. They have been slow growing this year as well. Currently, the longest is 51 inches.   Sunday, August 13 View Page The 126.5 Jutras has 4 long gourds pollinated with the longest being 72 inches.   Sunday, August 20 View Page You would think after growing giants for 27 years that we would take this in stride, but it still hurts!   Sunday, August 20 View Page The split pumpkin is Peggy Sue (1680 Young x 1552 Young) She was 45 days old today with an estimated weight of 919 pounds. The extra 4.5 inches of rain this week put her over the edge. Tough year but the cross we wanted and seeds are harvested.   Sunday, August 20 View Page Here is Peggy Sues 800 square feet of patch cleaned up with everything in the compost pile. The other three appear solid currently and one of them will be picked for the Champlain Valley Fair on Thursday of this week.   Sunday, August 20 View Page Speaking of the fair. We are going to try to pot up one of these tall sunflowers to display at the fair. I am guessing 16-18 feet but really have no clue. Our truck bed is under 6 feet, so imagine one of these sticking out of it by 10-12 feet. Should be fun!   Sunday, August 20 View Page Roxanne (1552 Young x self) is still swelling albeit slowly. She is 47 days old today and has an OTT of 295 inches for an est. of 594 pounds. She is pretty easy on the eyes!   Sunday, August 20 View Page Next is Sweet Caroline (1442 Young x 839 Sandercock) She is 54 days old today and has an OTT of 336.5 inches for an est. of 874 pounds.   Sunday, August 20 View Page Last pumpkin is Layla (839 Sandercock x 1552 Young) She is 53 days old today with an OTT of 360 inches for an est. of 1060 pounds.   Sunday, August 20 View Page We have lost a bunch of tomatoes to blossom end rot but we still have 7-8 still growing slowly and green. No personal best this year but hoping to get a couple to the scale for my BP.com teammates.   Sunday, August 20 View Page We currently have long gourds on each trellis. Nothing to get excited about yet but we do have our first 100 inches.   Wednesday, August 30 View Page Here is our first tomato this year. Hoping for at least one more ok one to help out my BP tomato team. We have pulled 5 plants that keep getting BER.   Monday, September 4 View Page We participated in our local fair this year with a pumpkin, long gourd and tall sunflower. We came in 3rd at 600.5 with Roxanne (1552 Young x self). First in long gourd with 96.5 inches and first in sunflower and a new VT record of 18 feet 11 inches. Here we are loaded up.   Monday, September 4 View Page Here we are at the display area with Roxanne. Now 600.5 Young 2023. (1552 Young x self)   Monday, September 4 View Page We are finally having summer weather in VT with temps in high 80’s with high humidity. Too late for us and only helps with all of the fungal issues. Here is Sweet Caroline (1442 Young x 839 Sandercock at 69 days old. She doesn’t have great shape but she does have awesome color!   Monday, September 4 View Page 839 Sandercock is still plugging away slowly. Layla (839 x 1552 Young is 68 days old today and has a nice orange but more muted than the 1442. Hopefully the 1552 Young will enhance that next year.   Monday, September 4 View Page Here is our only semi decent long gourd which is off the 126.5 Jutras. Happy to say it is over 10 feet and hopefully still has a couple of days of growth left.   Monday, September 4 View Page It has been a tough year for tomatoes. Here is a decent one from the 5.37 MacDonald though with a circumference a little over 25 inches. A bit skinny though so probably won’t weigh great.   Monday, September 4 View Page   Monday, September 4 View Page Here is the start of our fall display. We doubt the pumpkin will make it long with this heat and humidity but we thought we should celebrate it for awhile.   Friday, September 8 View Page There is never a bad time to do an Abbynormal patch tour. It was great to see Norm and Cathy!   Sunday, September 10 View Page Terry Keim stopped over this afternoon and measured our last tall sunflower today. This is now our new State record at 19 feet even. We left this in the garden in hopes to get mature seeds to share with club members and they look promising so far.   Sunday, September 10 View Page Here is our last decent tomato from the 5.37 MacDonald at 4.32 pounds.   Friday, September 15 View Page Sweet Caroline (1442 Young x 839 Sandercock) said she wanted to go to a pumpkin party. So we decided to bring her to our VT weigh off. You can see in this picture that part of her stem was below ground. We had to cut half of the stem off to get her to sit on the pallet. Can’t complain about the color though.   Sunday, September 17 View Page Here we are with Sweet Caroline who is now the 1065.5 Young 2023. She also won the site Howard Dill award. Her shape was not perfect but her bright orange color pulled her through for the most prettiest.   Sunday, September 17 View Page Here is our end of weigh off 2023 picture that we have had taken for over 20 years. We had close to 20 pumpkins but the weights were way below past years because of the horrible weather we have had this summer.   Sunday, September 17 View Page Time to put our 1065.5 Young on the front lawn and we always get asked how. We have a 16 foot tripod with a 1 ton chain hoist with pumpkin strap lifter. We back our trailer under the tripod then strap and lift pumpkin.   Sunday, September 17 View Page We use a bail of straw under the top 1/3 of the pumpkin with a piece of heavy foam on top of it. As we let the chain hoist down the pumpkin will land on the straw and slowly start to rotate the blossom end down.   Sunday, September 17 View Page Once the pumpkin is grounded the majority of the weight is below the straw bale which works as a fulcrum. We then let the lifting ring down and untie the bottom cinch strap. Once the strap is out we slowly push the pumpkin upright and one of us supports as the other blocks it with fire wood.   Sunday, September 17 View Page Here is the finished product. It is nice to have an extra set of hands but in a pinch we can do it safely ourselves.   Thursday, September 21 View Page We are all loaded up for Saratoga weigh off this Saturday.   Thursday, September 21 View Page We are all loaded up for Saratoga weigh off this Saturday. Layla (839 Sandercock x 1552 Young) is ready to meet other pumpkins.   Sunday, September 24 View Page Here is our new 1503.5 Young 2023 (839 Sandercock x 1552 Young). We were beyond happy with the weight and finding out she went 10% heavy to chart. Thank you Ned Sandercock for making a great cross. We were fortunate to come in second place at Saratoga and also the second place Howard Dill award.   Sunday, September 24 View Page Here are the top 3 for Saratoga. This has been a very tough growing season in the northeast and the weights show it. We were happy to be on the podium representing Vermont and other backyard growers with small garden space like us. 1st Dan Kruszyna MA, 2nd us from VT, and 3rd Larry Masters NY   Monday, October 23 View Page Here is our final front lawn display all carved and lit up. It has been a very long challenging growing season but to see them carved for our neighbors to see makes it worth all of the work.