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Colorado

See my grower diary here:
https://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryView.asp?season=2026&grower=155833&action=L

In summary:
- I started the plant indoors while I prepared a garden in my front lawn. Then once the garden was finished I transplanted it.
- The vine started growing the wrong way and one day I moved it too much and caused some crosshatch damage to the main vine. Only about 1/4 of the way through... I was devastated but she made a recovery.
- Then I encountered the next obstacle: cucumber beetles. It's been a constant fight with these buggers, but far less than it used to be.
- She grew really well till mid august when I damaged the main vine again, this time about 1/2 of the way through. (diagrams of this in my diary)
- I made the decision to pick the fruit I saw on the main vine to give her more time to recovery (regret this)
- Next fruit was late august on a secondary before the damage. I let this one grow and it's my biggest candidate at DAP11 now
- There is a more established secondary that is now on DAP3 as well as another DAP3 on the main vine.

I really just need general advice. I have so many questions and I don't want this fruit to fail.
- How long should I monitor all 3 fruits?
- Which fruit should I keep?
- I'm planning a harvest date of October 25th and I think it will be a warmer fall
- How should I prepare the fruit to give it the best chances?
- Is my reasoning with the main vine correct? (that it has a cutoff vascular system and the fruit there won't be as big?)


This is my 3rd year attempting this, and the last 2 years had all of their own problems that I've learned from.

Anything you can give me would be useful. My biggest goal is >500lbs, but anything I can do to increase those chances and make it even bigger would be awesome.

[Last edit: 08/11/26 4:01:59 PM]

8/11/2026 2:16:40 PM

Springfield, VT

Keep them both until about beachball size. Make the decision at that time. The fruit should not abort at that size. The other option is grow 2 smaller pumpkins on the plant. It should be possible to get both about 500lbs

8/11/2026 4:40:18 PM

Colorado

So keep all 3? and the fact that one is 7 days apart from the other two, how should that affect my decision? just keep the biggest?

You really think 2 500lbers is possible?

8/11/2026 4:48:56 PM

Springfield, VT

Grow them to about beach ball size, usually they abort before they get that big. The plant looks healthy so two pumpkins in the 500lbvs range are possible. If you were trying for bigger I would recommend to remove two pumpkins and go with the best fruit. With two fruit you should have at least on make to the end.

8/11/2026 10:01:27 PM

Western NY

Yep, what Wilbur said. I usually try to make my chopping decisions around softball to cantaloupe size.

8/12/2026 9:21:55 AM

Colorado

Thanks for the advice. If yall think it's really possible. I'll keep the largest 2 after they all hit beachball size.

2 500lbrs would be crazy!

this is a very exciting adventure.

8/12/2026 10:22:33 AM

Central NY

Anything is possible in giant pumpkin growing. Good luck.

8/12/2026 11:06:53 AM

Upa Creek, MO

Look up Ian P on here... he has two 2,300lbers on separate plants and still growing fast

8/12/2026 5:35:53 PM

Grittyville, WA

It depends what you are prepared to lift. I'd say try for one 600+ lb kin but it begins to becomes serious challenge to lift. 500 lbs might be enough of a challenge.

8/12/2026 8:45:45 PM

Grittyville, WA

You only need 250 lbs to impress non-bigpumpkins people, but for competitive growing 500 is definitely the goal.

8/12/2026 8:52:24 PM

Colorado

I had some squirrels attack the smaller ones :(
It's always something.

8/14/2026 9:50:44 AM

Colorado

If anyone can provide some more advice, I want to get this thing as big as possible. Some people have told me that 1000lbs is possible if things go correctly.

A few things I'm worried about:
- She has some leaf damage at the end of the vine that she's growing on, and no extra tertiary vines growing of that vine (she's growing off a secondary)
- Some early leaves are browning, it seems natural, but I'm worried she won't have the structure to replace those leaves later in the season
- I broke off her flower crown. I sterilized it, and some other people have cut these off early without issue


I have another backup fruit on the main vine, but it's about 9 days behind.

I will measure her soon, but I'm pretty sure she's about the same size as the current pumpkin and what she was on the same DAP day. She might be slightly ahead, but no visual difference. I will update with a measurement soon.

I kind of want to abandon this smaller backup because I'm not sure how late the season will go and 9 days at this point seems like quite a lot - I'd rather those nutrients go to Bonnie. It will also be harder to set up a clear area for this backup to grow, and I might risk damaging more vines.

Also with some leaves already dying, Bonnie might just have more time with a better canopy than if I switch to the backup.

Alternatively I could leave them both growing, but I'd rather go for the biggest single pumpkin I can.


Check out my grower diary for more pictures. Let me know what you all think. If you need more pictures of the canopy, damage, or anything please let me know!

8/24/2026 11:21:37 AM

C N Y

https://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=362577

MHO (My Honest Opinion) is that your plant has always been looking great in the color and condition aspects but no one perhaps has asked (seems that most/any comments are gone or there were hardly any) for how (often/much/with what) you are watering and fertilizing the plant. There is no pressure to announce it all but it is !cool! that it is working. Nice! A plant is at its 'visible' optimum, to ME, when it is growing slightly, still, even with fruit on and it is still trying to put out males and females; I was impressed with my lush 6-8" per day a week/10 D ago, but I am now using a low-N, high-Phosphorus/Potassium water-soluble fertilizer anymore that I can use much less of per my research, so I am elated in the cost reduction (perhaps, lol) and resources savings, lol - so now, maybe 2"-3" per day. If either stop, I feel there is a need for whatever kept it going. NOT a Heavy Hitter, lol. To increase size, MHO is to read up on Vine Burying - increases the root mass for the fruits' trying to take it all in, Site Searching exactly what you are asking about, 'Bigger Fruits' or similar and Googling or waiting for better advice about 'Hi-Phos' and 'Hi-Potassium Fertilizers for Atlantic Giants' and such. Perhaps what you have is great soil for an AG, where everything is there by a stroke of good luck or a soil strategy otherwise unmentioned. Pardon me if my joking ever hits a nerve, lol. Your best bet may be to just do what you are doing and water the HHHHHHHHHHHH out of it at least once a week - you don't wanna upset the apple cart. In MY patch? I'd be taking it VERY easy with my 6-30-30 combined with Holland's Land O' Giants Seaweed Powder (It is several years old, but I have plenty) and those will be the only things I'll use the rest of the weigh, plus or minus...but taking it VERY easy.

[Last edit: 08/24/26 4:53:41 PM]

8/24/2026 4:41:14 PM

C N Y

The second fruit could stay, but if you wanna have a backup AND a shock absorber for the main fruit, then, as the big one gets bigger, you could start cutting off the backup a lit-tle bit at a time - even at 1/4 of an inch every few days and it may start to grow lop-sided, even 'lop-topped', lol and will still be of some use. Biggest main fruit ever in a week or so? Then, remove it the rest of the way with some vine attached; Secure this to a neighbor's bushes as they are gone for the weekend and oh, won't they be surprised, lol. Well, enuf outta me and I wish you good luck. Great talk, Great Pumpkin, a huge feat growing on a postage stamp and DO keep it all on here for us! eric g

8/24/2026 4:42:27 PM

C N Y

PS---Also Search for 'termination/terminating vines', etc. where if nowhere to go butt into the fruit, then the fruit might get bigger, faster. Just...careful. 10# a day is easily-calculable, at least. eg

8/24/2026 4:59:30 PM

Colorado

Thanks for the reply!

I appreciate you taking the time to look through the diary and give me your honest opinion. Bonnie is now DAP 24 at 172" OTT, about 121 lb by the chart, and she gained roughly 13 lb over the last day.

I’m currently watering in four 9-minute cycles between 6 and 9 a.m. The soil is still moist about 6" down in the afternoon, and I’m going to use my house water meter to get a better estimate of the actual gallons.
My fertilizer is no secret... I don't use any! (kind of)

In May all of this was just grass sod. I dug it all up, and dug out all of my Colorado clay (that's what I call it) about 6 inches down. Then I went and picked up some black gold (a local dairy farm sells of their composted cow manure) and made my own soil by mixing that half and half with the Colorado clay that I dug up.

I planted Bonnie in that and ever since it's been nothing but water.

I did do some soil tests and ended up adding some nitrogen by recommendation because even though there is lots of nitrogen in the compost, it's not available yet. The soil tests read super high on potassium and phosphorus, but there wasn't anything I could do to get it lower. I could probably dig up what the actual results were if you would like. PH is right around 7, and I've kept Bonnie watered with a soaker hose on my irrigation system that runs down the vine. I dug a trench for the main vine all the way down so she could root more easily.

On the backup fruit, when you say to cut it 1/4" at a time, do you mean partially cutting the fruit stem/peduncle; not the carrying vine? Is that something you’ve personally used as a shock absorber, and what problem are you trying to prevent by tapering it instead of removing it cleanly? My priority is one maximum-size fruit, but I don’t want to make an irreversible change without understanding the method.

I've put a few more pictures of my plant in my diary.
- I'm concerned about one little spot

[Last edit: 08/25/26 9:31:15 AM]

8/24/2026 8:02:55 PM

C N Y

In cutting gradually the stem of the fruit, the idea is to slowly remove the fruit to avoid a surge of resources to any other fruit that could end it or them due to the 'shock' of that occurrence. It'd be like overloading an electrical outlet if done too quickly and I have done the cutting numerous times, but I dunno if it helped or hurt anything without a digital scale and/or a certainty that it stopped anything from cracking/splitting, etc. I did it once in 2017 and FORGOT it still on the plant, lol, and it is now one of my favorite seeds to try to grow a beast upon. You'll see what a hatchet job I did, prolly to just be a jerk to the fruit and for any pics. I think that fruit is the one that started growing lop-sided due to this. The incision could be razor-thin or an inch wide, to prevent healing-over, now that I think of it. The other fruit, on the MaIn vine, I sold to the weighoff as a Pumpkin Regatta Boat. All was well - LARGE fries at BK THAT day! No need to dig up the report for ME and there are no new pics to be seen, yet.
I hope someone answers because I don't wanna be the 'lighthouse', lol. Approach any and all advice with caution, as you already do. VERY smart.
Take care and thanks for the info! eric g ---PS---To observe a neat growth indication, put something VERY heavy next to the fruit, about a 1/2" from it;
You'll see visual gains versus the other fruit as well and you COULD compare their growths to a degree, in the simplest fashion. Darn that sweet plywood!
(Else, I'd use a bamboo stake next to it or them - makes life interesting.) As can be simply said, keep up the good work! 'Brown Gold', lol.
The vine COULD one day be cut through slowly, butt I have not heard nor seen how that might be a tactic. Oddly, I'm currently 'rolling over'
a VINE (2.5' long) that has a small squash on it, just for fun. You may be onto something. eric g

https://tools.pumpkinfanatic.com/fruitImages.php?PN=236%20Gerry%202017

[Last edit: 08/24/26 9:24:04 PM]

8/24/2026 9:11:04 PM