Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 95 Entries. Monday, January 4 View Page Happy New Year and Happy Growing in 2016 to everyone. We got a little snow down in the big city, and the local ski hills are experiencing record snow falls with conditions described by locals as "epic" Upper patch has its growing site and growing pattern picked out and I've got a few months to decide on the 2 seeds/plants that I'd like to grow this year....leading the pack is 1623 Wallace and 1495 Stelts.   Monday, April 18 View Page Grooming the patch today and adding a few ammendments, not changing much this year but will be adding a couple of things from the Growth Products catalog for the rotation.   Monday, April 18 View Page Borrowed Dave's Troy Built Pony, and gave the whole patch a tilling going both ways and getting the patch ready for my hoophouses. Weather has been unreal...feels like we are in California...game on. I see that Spambie uses a much more elaborage tilling and seeding technique than the rest of the Boyz...we don't stand a chance...but it will be fun trying.   Wednesday, April 20 View Page Not as elaborate as Richmond Dave, more hooptie hut than anything but they work. I'll wrap it soon and hang the heat lamp for overnight warmth...   Thursday, April 21 View Page What's with this Socalgrower Chris...no birthday card or well wishes or thoughts of inspiration and wisdom? My favorite President inside the coin envelope made up for the dissappointment...your a good supporter of our weighoff Chris and I certainly do appreciate it.   Thursday, April 28 View Page The hooptie huts are wrapped, wired, watered and ready for action. I've got a 175 Watt Infared heat lamp in there for the chilly overnights we still have...also have remote temperature and humidity sensors so that I can keep on top of temperatures while inside the comforts of home. The 1623.5 Wallace and the 1495 Stelts have both germinated and are currently under lights for the next few days and will then get some outside action during the days and early evenings to harden off...then planted.   Wednesday, May 4 View Page With other growers like Spambie, Richmond Dave and Chad, I need to employ every possible angle in the hopes of growing a larger pumpkin. These should help me with the numbers...   Tuesday, May 24 View Page 1495 Stelts is looking for more room and will break free of its hoophouse in a day or two. Hoping for a late June or early July pollination...looking good.   Tuesday, May 24 View Page 1623.5 Wallace is also on its way and will be eating up ground like they always do at this time of the year. Watering and misting system is in place and might be needed on this plant. Rookie mistake when I was hardening off the plants prior to planting, I left this one in the sun too long and burnt a couple of leaves early on...you can see it on a couple of leaves, so I suspect that it might be a little sun sensitive when the going gets good...I'll be using some automation and timers to help me out when I'm not around.   Sunday, May 29 View Page Over 2.5 inches of rain. almost 70mm fell in a 24 hour period...not unusual for this area but its been dry as a popcorn fart here for the last 6 weeks...and ya California needs the rain too!! 1495 Stelts in the background has sprung out of its hooptie house and settling in nicely. I'm way behind the Agricultural Professional in the Valley (Spambie) and Joe on the Island, but when I look back in the diaries over the years (thanks Ken, its such a valuable resource) I can see that I am right on pace for previous years in the beginning of June...got some catching up to do but we all know what these plants can do.   Wednesday, June 1 View Page 1495 Stelts has outgrown its house, I'll get rid of the hoophouses in the next day or two.   Monday, June 6 View Page 1495 Stelts now, starting to stretch out a bit more. I've been doing my best to promote additional root growth, and am happy that the plant is sending out lots of tap roots now, and I'm starting to lightly cover the tap roots and vines at the leaf axis... We will most likely continue to trench ahead of the secondaries so they are easier to cover...   Monday, June 6 View Page 1623.5 Wallace is a little more shy, and needs an umbrella while at the beach all day getting a sun tan. This plant is also sending out additional rooting, and will likely toughen up as the roots catch up to the leafy growth... I've loaded up my 275 gallon tank and tested my watering and misting system...all systems are go. Mostly I've been watering my hand, but will employ the tank and pump very soon. I'm enjoying using the ppm meter and testing all my nutrient water solutions before applying.   Wednesday, June 8 View Page Mr. Stelts getting a drink from the overhead system, I'm really happy with the coverage and can empty the 275 gallon tote in about 12 minutes over both plants. They are getting a 300ppm solution of Nitro 30 with an additional 100ppm of Kelp/Humic Acid. I got lazy last year, and expected too much from my soil, did not foliar feed as often as I should, and did not write down my rotation, so I feel I left a few lbs in the patch at last years weighoff...there will be nothing left behind this year as it is likely the last year we have to grow in this patch...time will tell.   Monday, June 13 View Page The 1495 Stelts does not mind this cool wet weather that has moved in for the past 5 or 6 days. One other notable local grower is singing the blues about being behind this year, and will no doubt start throwing the kitchen sink at it in his hose end sprayer...so I thought I'd post a picture from today (above) and post this link from last year...on the same day. For me...right on schedule I think. http://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=239301   Monday, June 13 View Page Then down at the other end with the lions share portion of the patch is Mr. Wallace. This 1623.5 seed does not like the cool wet weather, but does not prefer the hot dry weather either, so I'm hoping for some moderate weather kicks in as this plants root system starts to kick in and start supporting the rapid growth that we have right now. Sure like to see an update from Spambie and a few other local growers..cmon where are the diaries?   Monday, June 13 View Page Sorry, my mad...here is today's photo of the 1495 Stelts, you can see how far the main vine has grown past the water hose in the picture 2 posts up. Grown about 2-3 feet in 5 days and about the same on all secondaries.   Thursday, June 16 View Page 1623.5 Wallace in front, with 1495 Stelts in the back. We've had a few days of rain, and I'm out of sequence and behind on my foliar program, so as the sun went away yesterday, everything got a foliar spray of TKO. Weather on the improve so I'll follow up with something else foliar in the next day or so.   Thursday, June 16 View Page 1495 Stelts is showing appreciation for last nights foliar feeding, I can see it in the leaves and the newer growth...amazing!! Today the soil in the patch will warm up again after pretty cool temperatures the last 5 or 6 days and nights...   Wednesday, June 22 View Page 1495 Stelts is about as wide as it is long now. We finally got some dryer weather and I was able to foliar feed a few things and now have been able to employ the 275 gallon tote again today. I mixed some growth products at around 300 ppm and gave both plants a drenching and a foliar.   Wednesday, June 22 View Page Richmond Dave and I were talking about all the potions and notions and concoctions that we throw at our plants and into our soil...I think he said he had 16 (ya right Dave) separate things that he uses in his rotation. Here is a few of my liquids that I use, and then there are all the powders and bionutrients, kelp, humic, fulvic, lithovit, calcarb,mycos, just to name a few more.   Thursday, June 23 View Page This photo is for our buddy Chris in Southern California...I emptied out the rain gauge after yesterdays feedings, and then it began to rain overnight and into today, it is around 1pm here and this is what has fallen in the past 12 hours...   Friday, June 24 View Page On the 1495 plant in a good spot, pollination should be 10-12 days from today if the weather would settle down, we could have a July 4th baby. The plant is in a good vegetative growth stage and will be a good size by pollination. Since Ive got limited space, I really need to pre-plan where the pumpkin might sit, and grow around it to maximize my soil...this one is in a good spot so it really helps. Big and Orange I think...   Saturday, June 25 View Page This radish got tangled up with the lettuce and got forgotten...I'm guessing my soil is OK. The compost I got this year was from a new supplier...I think he called this stuff black rocket fuel...   Monday, June 27 View Page So, I've had pretty good luck at growing my pumpkins with the main vine terminated and all growth behind the pumpkin. It was suggested to me by a couple well respected Heavy Hitters years ago (like 10) and I was experiencing stem and vine issues as a newer grower...mostly because of all the growth after the set pumpkin. Couple years ago when we grew 1126 lbs and 1124 lbs, the bigger pumpkin was with main vine terminated and extra side vine growth, while the 1124 pumpkin had main vine past the fruit...12% theory gets thrown out the window here!! For me, I have limited space and like to squish in 2 pumpkins so I need to be creative with the secondaries as well as the main vine. Hope this helps Hobbit and Joe Coyote...   Wednesday, June 29 View Page Protective basket has now been employed to keep this flower safe...1495 Stelts is in power growth phase but showing a little flagging today in the heat of afternoon. I dont have automated misting system so to cool things down a little I need to be home and can fire up the overhead system for a few seconds to bring the temperatures down and ease the flagging.I dont like to baby them too much, but dont want to suffer any heat burn either...   Saturday, July 2 View Page 1623.5 Wallace in the front and 1495 Stelts in the back. Pollinated a nice 5 lobe on the 1495 plant with ready and abundant females from the 1623.5 plant. I think Richmond Dave was going to perform the Rub and Tickle with the 1427 Spambie plant this morning...its always nice for Dave and I to have pollinations near the same day...gives the old Doctor something to watch and compare to...game on buddy!!   Saturday, July 2 View Page Baskets on because of squirrels, traps will also be employed now to catch and others, but I think our resident Owl family is taking care of the pest problems that have plagued us in the past... We dont have vine borers or cuke beetles but the squirrels here will move in and destroy a pumpkin patch or garden in a matter of days...   Sunday, July 3 View Page 1623.5 Wallace has an umbrella now and will get a basket soon over its baby, in a few days. We have plenty of room on this plant to adjust the main vine to one side and continue growth past the fruit, but the 1495 Stelts plant will be grown with the main vine terminated after its pumpkin...I'm taking the 12% challenge again to see what happens this time...   Saturday, July 9 View Page Was not expecting 2" of rain in 24 hours, but that is what pounded down overnight...its been cool and wet for the past while here with limited sunshine, but the plants continue to grow. Always fun pollinating in the wet, but there is the 2nd one on main of 1495 Stelts with lots of flowers from the 1623.5 Wallace. The first one under the basket looks to be set and likely the keeper, but a backup for another 10 days is also a good idea.   Saturday, July 9 View Page 1495 Stelts from side, starting to fill in its space and timing looks good to fill er' up by the end of July or earlier.   Saturday, July 9 View Page 1623.5 Wallace is also filling in its allotment, the cool and wet weather also slowed down the female flower growth on this plant, so I kinda feel I might be all in on the baby under the basket that looks to be growing. Weather will change, we have a busy summer planned and hope to have a couple nice pumpkins to weighoff somewhere this year...   Sunday, July 10 View Page Looks like the root hormone therapy along with Myco, and other biologicals that we have used this year is paying off...this is at a secondary that was covered only 2 days ago. I let all my leaf nodes send out a tap root before covering/burying and use a method not unlike the Pattons, only I do not use the plastic pot. We always seem to get great rooting, and then I think that I've burned or used up my roots by applying products too strong in my hose end sprayer under the canopy of leaves. the past couple of years when cleaning up my patch after harvest, I've not been happy with the root condition when compared to Spambie and ole Richmond Dave... The teacher has become the student...   Monday, July 11 View Page It warmed up enough this afternoon to allow me to pick up the main vine and swing it to the side, I'll complete it another day when Andrea is available to help, This is the 1623.5 Wallace plant, all systems appear to be on go.   Monday, July 11 View Page 1495 Stelts main vine also got moved today, and will get completed later also. It will be day 10 for its first pollination tomorrow...certainly not setting any early records but is shiney and growing so I don't care what the tape says at this early stage in the game. I must get the jump on Richmond Dave again this year, so I can witness him go petal to the metal again this year!! All ya'all see that wicked car in his diary...nice win at the Mopar Show Dave, well deserved...that is a nice ride!!   Thursday, July 14 View Page 1495 Stelts x 1623.5 Wallace. Way behind previous years pace but that's OK...like Luke said in a previous post, "I've noticed growers up in BC tend to start slower out of the gates after pollination, but catch up when it counts."   Tuesday, July 19 View Page 1495 Stelts is growing. but we are well behind previous years pace. Only good thing, is its that same for all the local growers...Pumpkin Dave is ahead of me and I'll be chasing him down again but Spambie, wwwflute and a few others seem too busy or embarrassed to post pumpkin photos this year...   Tuesday, July 19 View Page 1623.5 Wallace gets the bones of its weather cover put up today and will get wrapped later. I know it looks a little ambitious, but I'm hoping that I will fill this up by the time October rolls around. Every year I seem to make them too small and have to upgrade, but I'd be surprised if we outgrew this rain/sun cover this year.   Friday, July 22 View Page 1495 Wallace at day 20. We usually try and target 50-60" in circ by day 20 and did not make it there this year. Only a couple days behind, so let plant fill in patch and start terminating...   Friday, July 22 View Page Previous picture the 1495 Stelts...also here is the plant, getting a deep watering as we go away for 2 whole nights today...   Friday, July 22 View Page 1623.5 Wallace also getting a nice feeding, we are expecting a big weather turn-around from cool and wet to sunnny and warm...time to ramp it up a notch.   Tuesday, July 26 View Page Went over to Vancouver Island to a buddies lake house for a few days and came home to this expanding pumpkin on the 1495 Stelts plant...I like that it is long shaped...   Tuesday, July 26 View Page ...or is she wide...I can't decide Either way this pumpkin is growing at a decent rate, I can't say that I will catch California Chris (what the heck are you doing in that greenhouse) but it is a long season and our weighoff isn't till October 1st.   Tuesday, July 26 View Page ...again, no comparison with California Chris, but in my sandy Nitrogen deprived patch...this is a decent sized stump/basel crown for our patch. Day 20 for the 1623.5 Wallace, and this is its stump...not photo-worthy but I am gonna go away again this weekend to my buddies Island Lake House, so I will expect big things on my return.   Thursday, July 28 View Page Almost every year, when its time to put back up the hoophouses as weather/rain/watering protection covers, I tell myself "wait until the lovely Andrea is home, and she will help you centre, align and wrap your cover. Well, this year she's super busy and I figured I'd give it a go since I was so successfull getting the first one put up all by myself like a big boy. The bones for the cover on the 1495 Stelts needs some adjusting, so I am going to take my own advice this year...and wait for the lovely Andrea to give an assist on this one...after all she chose the 1495 as her plant this year. 1495 Stelts in the foreground and 1623.5 Wallace in the distance...putting on good inches and the weight is starting to climb at a steady rate...   Friday, July 29 View Page As a follow up with Hobbitt and Joe Coyote from a posting above on June 27th, I showed possible vine grooming to fit a small space and what I might do with the 1623.5 Wallace. In this photo, you can see that I have curved the last 3 secondaries on one side to grow forward to fill in a large space, and then past the pumpkin on the main vine, is another 3 secondaries that will fill in the space on the other side of the pumpkin. I will leave myself a path to get to the pumpkin, other than that, ths soil will be covered in leaves.   Monday, August 1 View Page I thought this was a nice shot of the early morning sun just getting to the 1495 patch... the 1623.5 in the lower patch will endure some shade from the house for a little bit this morning, but both plants get full sun the rest of the day.   Monday, August 1 View Page 1495 Stelts x 1623.5 Wallace at day 30 today. A modest 84-58-55 or 197" OTT this morning...did 35 lbs last 24 hours. Day 26 for the 1623.5 Wallace and it sits at 65-50-50 or 165 OTT and did 28 lbs in past 24 hours and 7" in circumferance....hold on for the ride!! I'm still way behind...but I'm coming for you California Chris...   Monday, August 1 View Page So, I fed 125 gallons per plant and I know that it is not 1" as indicated in the rain gauge... Using 600 gallons for 1" of rain, and my plants are each roughly 25' x 20' or 500 sq ft each, then each plant/space would require 300 gallons to get the required ammount to equal roughly 1" of liquids. So after puzzling over the math, I then realized I had the rain gauge perfeclty centred between 2 overlapping spray heads so was getting a double reading...whew!! Gave both plants a concoction mix like the good Doctor in Richmond likes to do...I still haven't gone over 350 ppm but likely will later on in the growth cycle. Best addition to my patch this year is the parts per million metre...love it.   Tuesday, August 2 View Page For all you motorcycle buffs, check out the Harley Davidson that my Uncle Bud is on. My Uncle served as a Victoria, BC Police Officer his entire career. Anybody know what year this bike is? Check out the shifter next to the top of his boot...crazy.   Thursday, August 4 View Page 1495 Stelts doing well, didn't hit 300 lbs by the end of July, and has a long way to go to get to 800 lbs by the end of August but that is what Craig Sandvik (Island Orange) said to me many years ago when I was searching for my first 1000 lb pumpkin that in our climate we needed 300 at end July and 800 end of August to hope for over 1000 by weighoff in October. Craig helped me alot, he is and will be missed... Note to self, Richmond Dave not in HD Award running this year...wow!!   Thursday, August 4 View Page Got my hillbilly hut/rain cover more functional now, it really raised the temperature around the pumpkin, so I've left venting on the bottom for now, and can lower the skin later on to fully cover when our weather turns into fall. I'll try and hold some of that heat overnight, by replacing the single sheet over the pumpkins, with our quilted moving blankets. Right now is full on summer finally with a great 2-3 week window ahead...   Monday, August 8 View Page 1623.5 Wallace x 1495 Stelts is photo-worthy now and at day 32 is gaining around 20 lbs a day which is about the same as its patchmate. I can tell its going to be an interesting pumpkin to grow, and gives me a chance to have prettier pumpkins than Richmond Dave with both my pumpkins. Trick is, I really want them both to be prettier and heavier...   Monday, August 8 View Page Side view of the 1623.5, I've never had one with the sucked in blossom end that seems to be growing over from the top...   Thursday, August 11 View Page Day 40 today for the 1495 Stelts, although it has not peaked yet (I hope) in daily gains, it is growing nicely and starting to show some of the orange I was hoping for. Gained 199 lbs in past 10 days and is around 375 lbs. We have grown something over 1000 lbs for the past 5 years and would like to keep the streak going, so I find comfort in knowing that last on this date in those previous years we had 650 lbs in 2015, in 2014 was 319 lbs, in 2013 was 550 lbs, in 2012 was 305 lbs. 2011 was 250 lbs...so there is hope!!   Thursday, August 11 View Page Sun starting to get on the 1623.5 plant this morning and lucky to still have several vines on either side of pumpkin to grow out a little more. In complete contrast, the 1495 Stelts plant completely stopped growing its main vine, about 10 feet past the fruit, and did not send off any secondaries...so was eliminated. We've got nice weather again for an extended period, but its cooler at night now, and getting darker earlier so I'm expecting a short peak growth period and the pumpkins to level off again.   Thursday, August 11 View Page 1634.5 Wallace waiting its turn for 75 gallons of cal/mag with seaweed and humic acid. When its nice, I like to water just as the sun has gone down so that everything gets a bit of a foliar along with the drench, the leaves will dry out before its dark and also so the sun won't burn any ferts that I might be applying. Note to self, gotta wrap the rain cover before the end of August...   Monday, August 15 View Page Day 40 today for our 1623.5 Wallace...big and yellow!! I was reading somewhere today and was surprised to find one of the local growers, getting his beautiful wife to sandbag for him, in an attempt to lull the rest of us into a sense of security...I know know...not working Kirstin. https://www.facebook.com/giantpumpkinsbc/   Thursday, August 18 View Page 1623.5 is doing really well now, getting pretty wide also. You can see that I'm using rigid insulation blocks like California Chris to support and raise up the main vine. They way that this one is growing, I had very little choice than to raise it up and support it as she grows...   Sunday, August 21 View Page 1495 Stelts, still smooth and shiny at day 50. Weather has been alot better, even the overnight temps have been better. Sits now at around 300 OTT and hopefully can hit 330 OTT or better by the end of the month. Our weighoff is a couple weeks early this year on October 1st at Krause Berry Farm and Estate Winery, so we need September to be a great growing month...   Sunday, August 21 View Page In the time I posted the last picture and update, the sun moved onto the patch, and to be fair, I figured the orange lovers would want to see this beauty...   Thursday, August 25 View Page 1623.5 Wallace at day 50 day. Has gained steadily and peaked, but only for 4 days and the growth curve is on its way down again. With good September weather and an even downward growth curve, this pumpkin might be ready for October 1st. Spambie has been working too much, and also added a little brother this summer for Scott's cute model in his photos. He still have one huge one left, and the good Doctor in Richmond has a couple large potatos in his pumpkin patch this year along with a friend of Kate's that never makes it to the weighoff, and our long lost buddy from Pemberton...Chad...rumour also has the Gilmore Brother's Farm showing a few large pumpkins in the field this year. October 1st, Krause Berry Farm and Estate Winery...Giant Pumpkin Weighoff   Saturday, August 27 View Page So, my buddy Jeff (one of the original North Shore Boyz) and his wife Jo, went on holiday to Nova Scotia and of course a visit to the Dill's Farm. While there, Jeff was able to score me a cool T-Shirt for the weighoff season, but also a beauty pair of pumpkin earings that my growing partner Andrea, will be thrilled with!! Thanks Jeff, very much appreciated.   Monday, August 29 View Page Day 55 for the 1623.5 Wallace, getting real fat and knarly in a few places, still growing nicely. Will be day 60 and photo day tomorrow for the 1495 Stelts, definitly the beauty in the patch. It's taken alot longer than I thought, but I think my 1623.5 has causght up to Andrea's 1495...time will tell and our last 1495 Stelts went 18% heavy.   Tuesday, August 30 View Page This post mainly for Richmond Dave ... yes Dave I am ramping up the ppm of my solution and am gonna do my best to run you down in the stretch... Richmond Dave's plants look great this year and once again, I think we both learned alot this year that we can carry into next year. Thanks for making it fun Dave!!   Tuesday, August 30 View Page 1623.5 getting its share of the nutrients just as the sun is retiring from the patch. I think we've got a good one going here...   Wednesday, August 31 View Page Day 60 today for 1495 Stelts. We did not reach the goal of 800 lbs by the end of August, but not far off with this one, and its day 60 for the bigger one in 4 days. Orange lovers line up, seed requests will hopefully be no problem as long as we get the usual seed counts that our pumpkins tend to give us. I love the dappled orange, starting to get a few stretch marks here and there...continues to grow and averaged 15 lbs a day over the past 10 days.   Monday, September 5 View Page 1623.5 Wallace at day 60 today sits at 332 OTT or around 800 lbs... Has gained 202 lbs in the past 10 days for a decent showing of 20 lbs per day...happy with that since our weather has turned to colder overnight and a bunch of rain. As I thought, it has caught and passed its patchmate, but not by much and there is almost a month to weighoff.   Friday, September 9 View Page Plants are still trying to produce, amazing that this is how these beast start out...   Friday, September 9 View Page 1623.5 Wallace stump area, for my soil and growing conditions this is record size for our patch. We did tissue tests and now wish we'd done them earlier in the year...and will next year for sure. Nothing out of the ordinary showed up, but its always good to know where the plant really stands.   Friday, September 9 View Page Weather is turning good after a week of cool and wet... The 1623.5 is being a beast and will be hard to cut off the vine in a short 21 days, if it is still growing at the pace it is now. We can't count on going heavy like we have in previous years and the retired Dentist in Richmond appears to have me beat by about 100 lbs the last time we checked. Day 70 tomorrow for Andrea's entry for Howard Dill Award at this year at Krause Farm Weighoff. I see Kate Mumford has her share of beauties in the patch this year, and there3 is another gorgeous pumpkin out in the Valley, but the rest of the guys have ugly grubs on the vine this year.   Saturday, September 10 View Page Day 70 today for the 1495 Stelts...has grown 108 lbs in the past 10 days, so the growth curve is now definitely on its inevitable way down. We will update again on day 80, but I'm not expecting a big turnaround in its daily gains.   Wednesday, September 14 View Page 1623.5 Wallace is day 70 today, gained 132 lbs over the past 10 days and just steadily wants to grow...Will have to pick on day 86 for weighoff the next day, so I'll do one more 10 day udate...I hope she plugs along. Not a very tall pumpkin but very wide and deep. I dont have the circumferance numbers that some of the other guys have, but the other 2 are around the same...Glenn and Andrea have to weigh heavy again this year...I think my patch average is 8% heavy.   Monday, September 19 View Page Its pounding down with rain, free atmospheric nitrogen. 1623.5 Wallace plant starting to show some age, but in very good health for this late in the season. Daily gains are way down to 6-8 lbs a day and weighoff is soon, so the timing might be just right. Andrea's pumpkin on the 1495 Stelts is a beauty, and getting large too!!   Tuesday, September 20 View Page 1495 Stelts (in front) keeping warm with an old wool blanket that we finally handed down to the pumpkin patch. Also day 80 today and the past 10 days growth in inches, has been slow. Hopefully thickening inside, still canteloping and getting more orange. Gained 65 lbs in the past 10 days or 6.5 bs per day...I'll take it. 10 more days to Harvest.   Thursday, September 22 View Page Was in pulling a few weeds and noticed in areas was drier than a figured after all the rain we had... 75 gallons to each plant of 0-0-25 at 800ppm.   Saturday, September 24 View Page 1623.5 Wallace had the blankets taken off today for day 80 measurements...has gained 65 lbs in the past 10 days just like its patchmate, the 1495 Stelts. Our pumpkins are only separated by 100 lbs according to the OTT, but last time this happened Andrea's smaller OTT pumpkin went 15% heavy and she crushed me at the scales...repeat is possible for her again this year with the Stelts pumpkin.   Tuesday, September 27 View Page Blankets off and rain shelter on its way to being taken down till next year. Andrea's 1495 Stelts in the front and my 1623.5 Wallace in the distance...both still growing around 6 lbs a day and lots of fresh green left on the plants. The Wallace has gained 325 lbs so far in September and the Stelts 210 lbs in the same time. I've got to do something to push harder before the end of August and still keep my plants healthy enough for my September routine...more tissue tests next year!! Got the tripod out of storage, and moved multiple sheets of plywood for the lifting and moving day coming up on friday, have rented a pallet jack and better go get a few buckets of cold drinks to offer the help.   Tuesday, September 27 View Page Kate, this pumpkin looks even prettier with our daughter Sydney in the photo. In town for a couple days, and always game for a pumpkin photo. Mr. Dill would be impressed with this pumpkin.   Friday, September 30 View Page Harvest day, both still gaining slowly but steadily... The backyard did pretty good again this year...too all the other small patch growers and backyard gardeners like us...it can be done!!   Friday, September 30 View Page First good side picture since the hooptie-hut went up, on the pallet she goes and onto Richmond Dave's trailer. Next stop is Krause Berry Farms and Estate Winery for British Columbia's premier Giant Pumpkin Weighoff on Saturday October 1st...come on out and cheer on ole North Shore Boyz...   Friday, September 30 View Page And the 1623.5 Wallace also awaiting lifting and moving. Its quite an affair to get thees things out of our backyard and I've always wondered what we'd have to do when there was one too big to squeeze past my Fairlane and out to the street...is today the day? Might be.   Friday, September 30 View Page Had to get this picture...   Friday, September 30 View Page Safely loaded. So, Dave shows up and says his "small one" is on the truck and the larger one on the trailer...   Friday, September 30 View Page Many thanks to Jeff and Dave for all the help today. Without them, I would have just had 2 giant pumpkins in my backyard. It was alot of work, there was a fair ammount of abuse and bad language, but the three of us survived. Gonna be a fun weighoff, those are 4 big pumpkins!!   Saturday, October 1 View Page Now the 1077 Dixon on the left and 1029 Dixon on the right. Once again Andrea gets the 1495 Stelts to go 18% heavy while Glenn's side of the patch goes 3% heavy. Really fun weighoff, we got super lucky with the weather.   Sunday, October 2 View Page Janet beside her husbaand Richmond Dave, celebrating her 10% heavy pumpkin that gave her the first pumpkin over 1000 lbs. Dave's 1339 Chan seed from previous year gives Janet 1036 lbs...now known as the 1036 Love.   Sunday, October 2 View Page Scott with his three-peat victory and his trademark pose. Great job under tough situations...I think even our 3 time chanpion learned alot this year, that he will carry into future years. Now the 1172 Carley, well done Scott.   Sunday, October 2 View Page Funny how we baby these pumpkins as they grow, and then when it is all over and the weighoff is done, we backup the trailer, lower the ramp, lay down a piece of plywood and let the pumpkin slide down onto the grass. We even used our Honda Accord and a tow strap to get it into position properly for carving... 1077 Dixon awaiting its final destiny as a Halloween Jack-O-Lantern.   Monday, October 24 View Page Carving up the 1077 Dixon for display...very thick and was 10-11" all the way around in the middle and looks thicker on top and bottom...very little guts and not many seeds.   Sunday, October 30 View Page Completed project, we've been getting so many visitors. The word spread far and wide, and we've had visitors from all over the lower mainland. We've given out as many seeds as we get asked for...hopefully some new growers will join the fun.   Sunday, October 30 View Page Happy Halloween Everyone...   Saturday, November 12 View Page Our 1077 lasted carved and on display till today, Andrea chopped it up and moved it by herself while I was busy with something else...best patch partner I could ask for. While the pumpkin was on display, we had this sign, and a bag full of seeds at the front door. We gave away hundreds of seeds this year...   Wednesday, November 16 View Page Then, a few days after the pumpkin was gone, we get this hand delivered card and letter...   Wednesday, November 16 View Page ...everybody likes a giant pumpkin... We are always thrilled when someone does something like this...