Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 111 Entries. Tuesday, January 2 View Page I look at the auctions taking place with envy. I really want to participate, but due to the sanctions, it is impossible to make a payment. There are still a few seeds left from the seeds of the Atlantic giant, sent by Ben McMillan. Plus, of course, your own seeds. But there are no giant watermelon seeds. This year I grew a 72.5 pound watermelon from the seeds of the hybrid "Russian size". Attempts to get seeds for the next year were unsuccessful.   Wednesday, April 10 View Page Today I'm starting to launch pumpkin seeds. McMillan 830.5 in 2020; McMillin 1691.5 in 2021; my 959 in 2022 and my 818 in 2023.   Wednesday, April 10 View Page We also managed to get some seeds of giant watermelons. So I will try to grow watermelons.   Friday, April 12 View Page My 959 seeds are out of competition. In less than 40 hours, almost all of them hatched.   Saturday, April 13 View Page It was not easy with watermelons. Of the four seeds, there are only two. One is 218.5 Vials; the other is a European taken from watermelons in the range of 205 - 242 pounds. But both rootstocks have sprouted - giant bushels.   Tuesday, April 16 View Page McMillin 830.5 sprouted very slowly. Soaked another remaining seed for replacement. I also soaked my seeds 652.5 (Wallace 2054*my 959). They sprouted perfectly. They are in the photo below.   Tuesday, April 16 View Page My 959 are coming out of the ground.   Wednesday, May 1 View Page Spring is late. There are still frosts almost every night. It's time for the plants to be free. McMillin 1691.5   Wednesday, May 1 View Page My 959   Saturday, May 4 View Page Despite the ongoing frosts, two plants were planted under a temporary film shelter, as they were already difficult to place on the window sill. My 959 looks the best.   Saturday, May 4 View Page McMillin 1691.5 was also planted   Saturday, May 4 View Page The roots look great.   Saturday, May 4 View Page McMillin 1691.5 was also planted   Friday, May 17 View Page My 652.5 has clearly outgrown the window sill. There was another frost this morning. Today I am planting 625.5 and 830.5 McMillin permanently.   Friday, May 17 View Page My 652.5   Friday, May 17 View Page 830.5 McMillin   Saturday, May 18 View Page Watermelons have been planted. This is a European 205-242. It has outgrown somewhat and even managed to bloom.   Saturday, May 18 View Page Vial 218.5. The vaccination was not very successful. I grafted it into the cleft because the plant was very thin and with deformed cotyledons. As a result, the watermelon slid heavily to the side. It's growing well now.   Saturday, May 18 View Page 218.5 Vial. A very powerful root system.   Saturday, May 18 View Page 1691.5 McMillin   Friday, May 24 View Page 1691.5 McMillin. Outgrown the temporary shelter. But I can't remove the shelter because it's cool enough. At the end of May, another frost is forecast. Therefore, it was necessary to urgently expand the temporary shelter in two.   Saturday, May 25 View Page My 959. He also outgrew the temporary shelter.   Wednesday, June 5 View Page Something happened today that I didn't expect. Another freeze. Although the weather forecast did not suggest frosts. That's why I didn't want to cover the pumpkins. But at the last moment, late in the evening, I decided to hedge my bets and covered it. When I woke up in the morning, I found that all the grass was white with ice. When I opened the pumpkin, I found that even under cover, several tips of secondary shoots on each of the pumpkins and partially leaves were frozen. If he hadn't covered the season for me, it would have been over. It looks like this.   Wednesday, June 5 View Page This is what my 959 looks like now.   Wednesday, June 5 View Page 1691.5 McMillin   Monday, June 17 View Page 1691,5 McMillin. I can't do anything about the yellowness of the leaves. I intensively carry out fertilizing with micro and macroelements, but nothing helps.   Monday, June 17 View Page 1691.5 McMillin. It will be pollinated in about a week.   Monday, June 17 View Page My 959. The most powerful plant at the moment. But the young leaves began to burn and dry in the sun. It's very hot right now.   Monday, June 17 View Page 959. It will be pollinated within a week.   Monday, June 17 View Page My 813. The only plant without problems. But it was planted later, so it is somewhat lagging behind.   Friday, June 21 View Page My 959 is pollinated by 830.5 McMillin. The petals are irregularly shaped. I do not believe that everything went well, because it was cloudy, and immediately after pollination it began to rain.   Monday, June 24 View Page 1691.5 McMillin was pollinated by 830.5 McMillin. We had to pollinate early in the morning, because we had to leave.   Tuesday, June 25 View Page Five giant tomato bushes are beginning to actively increase their green mass. I'm growing it for the first time. Let's see what happens.   Tuesday, June 25 View Page Watermelon 218.5 Vial   Tuesday, June 25 View Page Watermelon 205-242 European   Sunday, June 30 View Page Pollination of watermelon 218.5 Vial.   Monday, July 1 View Page 813 pollinated by 959. There are 24 secondary vines behind.   Monday, July 1 View Page 959. DAP 10. The size of a football.   Saturday, July 6 View Page 830.5 McMillin is pollinated by 813.   Saturday, July 6 View Page The European is pollinated by 218.5 Vial.   Saturday, July 6 View Page Yesterday, I accidentally noticed that roots began to appear on giant watermelons in the internodes. Moreover, there are quite a lot of them on all three plants. I never thought that watermelons, like pumpkins, are able to grow roots on vines.   Thursday, July 11 View Page My 959 DAP 20 is 118 lbs.   Saturday, July 13 View Page The carolina cross watermelon was pollinated with flowers with 218.5 Vials.   Tuesday, July 16 View Page 959 DAP 25 is 252 lbs.   Thursday, July 18 View Page Today there was a heavy downpour and, unfortunately, hail flew for ten minutes. The size of some hailstones reached up to one and a half centimeters. This is what my pumpkin looks like now. Watermelons were also affected. Despite the fact that they were covered, there were potholes on the fruits. I'm not talking about the leaves anymore   Saturday, July 20 View Page 813 DAP 20 is 104#.   Saturday, July 20 View Page Watermelon 218.5 Vital DAP 20 is 31 lbs.   Sunday, July 21 View Page My 959 DAP 30 is 400 lbs.   Thursday, July 25 View Page Watermelon 218.5 Vial DAP 25 is 43.5 lbs.   Thursday, July 25 View Page 813 DAP 25 is 218.5 lbs.   Friday, July 26 View Page 959 DAP 35 is 600 lbs. The pumpkin expands very much at the bottom and sits on the flower.   Friday, July 26 View Page 830.5 McMillin DAP 20 is 105 lbs. And this is despite the fact that I practically do not take care of the plant, except that I bury the vines. It probably affected the fact that it had been raining all week.   Saturday, July 27 View Page The watermelon "European" is covered in hail scars. The garden var, which was covered with potholes, worked wonders. The base of the rot was removed on the fruit. DAP 20 is about 30 pounds.   Tuesday, July 30 View Page 813 DAP 30 367 lbs.   Tuesday, July 30 View Page Watermelon 218.5 Vial DAP 30 weighs 55 lbs.   Wednesday, July 31 View Page 956 DAP 40 is 751 lbs. The growth is starting to slow down.   Wednesday, July 31 View Page 830.5 McMillin DAP 30 weighs 234 lbs.   Sunday, August 4 View Page 813 DAP 35 weighs about 500 pounds.   Sunday, August 4 View Page Watermelon 218.5 Vial approx 80 lbs.   Monday, August 5 View Page 959 DAP 45 is 882 lbs. The increase has stabilized at 27 lbs per day.   Tuesday, August 6 View Page At 959, the last secondary vine, located almost on the peduncle, began to come off under pressure. Despite the fact that I was making a large stock for the growth of the pumpkin, it was not enough. The pumpkin is very wide. When I cut off the vine, it flew off with a bang.   Wednesday, August 7 View Page 1691.5 McMillin. The care of this pumpkin was discontinued when it became clear that it was growing too slowly. The pumpkin developed on its own. The color is beautiful, the shape is good, but ....   Wednesday, August 7 View Page 1691.5 McMillin has been liquidated.   Wednesday, August 7 View Page The reason is clearly visible in the photo. A through crack.   Friday, August 9 View Page 813 DAP 40 it weighs about 650 lbs.   Friday, August 9 View Page Watermelon Vial 218.5 40 DAP 87 lbs.   Saturday, August 10 View Page 959 DAP 50 is 1025 lbs. The increase remains at the level of 31 lbs per day. It still rains every day. The soil is soaked with water to such an extent that when you walk it squishes like in a swamp. I hope the plants will withstand such conditions.   Wednesday, August 14 View Page 813 DAP 45 weighs about 740 lbs.   Wednesday, August 14 View Page Watermelon 218.5 Vial DAP 45 weighs about 92 lbs.   Thursday, August 15 View Page 830.5 McMillin DAP 45 666 lbs. The pumpkin is almost white. This plant looked the worst after the hail. But now the pumpkin has grown a lot of new foliage and continues to grow actively. It is a pity that there is not much time left for rasta. The pumpkin could grow really big.   Thursday, August 15 View Page 959 DAP 55 1121 lbs. Side view. The growth of all three pumpkins has slowed down. Cloudy and rainy weather affected. It's been hot for the last two days. Next, the weather is promised to be quite comfortable for the pumpkin. But the daylight hours have shortened.   Friday, August 16 View Page Watermelon "European" DAP 45 75 lbs. Watermelons have also slowed down significantly in growth.   Monday, August 19 View Page 813 DAP 50 830 lbs. The pumpkin on one side, where it was covered with a less dense cloth, turned green.   Tuesday, August 20 View Page 959 DAP 60 1203 lbs. The weather forecast is not working this year. It still rains every day.   Wednesday, August 21 View Page My tomatoes have grown very much in height.   Wednesday, August 21 View Page Taller than me.   Wednesday, August 21 View Page I can't estimate the weight yet, since I'm growing it for the first time.   Wednesday, August 21 View Page A huge triple or quadruple flower bloomed on one of the plants. I am not sure that he will have time to grow up. But it's interesting to see what happens.   Friday, August 23 View Page A stump rotted on the Carolina Cross watermelon more than two weeks ago, which I cut off. I also removed about a third of the green mass, which stopped coming into contact with the watermelon.   Friday, August 23 View Page But he did not throw the plant away. I decided to see what would happen, since the leaves were green. I didn't pay any attention to the plant. But then I noticed that the watermelon had significantly increased in size. I took measurements and repeated it after 5 days. As a result, during these five days, the watermelon increased by 1.3 pounds per day. It turns out that watermelon can grow due to the roots that are on the lashes. Surprisingly.   Saturday, August 24 View Page 813 will be called the Hulk. DAP 55 OTT 344,902 lbs.   Saturday, August 24 View Page Half a dozen lizards have settled on the Hulk. They haven't wanted to leave him for a week and a half.   Sunday, August 25 View Page 959 DAP 65: OTT 388. Dimensions: 102*100*186 . 1253 lbs. The weather has completely deteriorated. It is cloudy and cool. I hope that the pumpkin will add at least another 50 lbs before the frost. Then I can say with full satisfaction that the goal for this season has been achieved.   Sunday, August 25 View Page The watermelons are plucked. As a result of continuous rains, the stems rotted. A personal best has been set. 218.5 Vial DAP 56 114.5 lbs. The "European" turned out to be not much less than 111.11 lbs.   Wednesday, August 28 View Page The tomato is also picked. It grew by 3.17 lbs. For the first time, I think it's not bad.   Thursday, August 29 View Page Hulk DAP 60 933 lbs.   Friday, August 30 View Page 830.5 McMillin, which was hit very hard by hail, was able to grow a huge number of new shoots and leaves covering an area of almost 1,000 square feet.   Friday, August 30 View Page 830.5 McMillin DAP 55 OTT 356 994 lbs. Maintains a maximum height of 21 lbs.   Friday, August 30 View Page 959 DAP 70, despite the bad weather, adds 12 lbs per day. OTT 395 1313 lbs.   Monday, September 2 View Page A general view of all three pumpkins.   Monday, September 2 View Page From a different angle.   Monday, September 2 View Page A Carolina cross watermelon is plucked. 65 lbs. He gained more than half of his weight without the main root, which rotted away.   Tuesday, September 3 View Page Hulk. DAP 65. 956 lbs. Growth slows down to 4 lbs per day.   Wednesday, September 4 View Page I use this remedy for the prevention of fungal diseases. Biofungicide based on the bacteria of the hay bacillus. It does not have a negative effect on plants. Rather, on the contrary, it stimulates growth due to the content of humic acids. The effectiveness has been tested repeatedly.   Wednesday, September 4 View Page 959 DAP 75. OTT 400" 1355 lbs. The growth decreased to 8 lbs per day, which is not surprising. It rains almost continuously for the third day and it is quite cool. The goal set at the beginning of the season has been achieved. Let's move on.   Thursday, September 5 View Page 830 McMillin DAP 61 OTT 369" 1097 lbs. Girth length is 180 inches. Adds 17 lbs per day despite the weather.   Monday, September 9 View Page 830.5 McMillin DAP 65 1129 lbs. The pumpkin is low and very wide.   Monday, September 9 View Page 959 DAP 80. 1389 lbs. The peduncle is very wide. I haven't seen them yet.   Wednesday, September 11 View Page Today was the first frost. Some of the leaves are frozen.   Friday, September 13 View Page Hulk DAP 75 1002 lbs. For the first time this year, I overcame the thousand-pound mark with three pumpkins at once. I hope the real weight will not be less than the calculated one.   Saturday, September 14 View Page 959. For the first time, I managed to reach DAP 85 while maintaining a height of . 1415 lbs.   Wednesday, September 18 View Page Today, the frosts have finally finished off the plants.   Monday, September 23 View Page Today I finally found the time to weigh the pumpkin. It was not easy to do this. The slings that I used last year couldn't stand it and broke. But I managed to lift the pumpkin and fix the weight. I was just about to take out my phone and take a picture when the sling snapped. My 959 is now 1495 Lomakin. The pumpkin turned out to be 5% heavier than the estimated weight. A personal best has been achieved.   Saturday, October 5 View Page This year we managed to grow oats as a siderate.   Saturday, October 12 View Page I summed up the final results of the season. All three pumpkins broke my record the year before last. What determines the growth of the pumpkin. First, of course, the seeds. Secondly, as I thought care. But I practically didn't take care of the McMillin 830.5 pumpkin. It was planted later. But I was able to gain a decent amount of weight. The influence of weather conditions in the open ground turned out to be more significant.   Saturday, October 12 View Page The first snow fell today. And during the day it was like a winter snowstorm.   Saturday, October 12 View Page The neighbor has not had time to harvest yet.   Tuesday, October 15 View Page Today I took the seeds out of the pumpkin.   Tuesday, October 15 View Page A few hundred seeds look great.   Tuesday, November 5 View Page While winter temporarily receded, I prepared the foundation for the future greenhouse. I also prepared the ground. He added humus and dolomite flour. I plan to allocate half of the greenhouse for a giant watermelon.   Tuesday, November 5 View Page While I had free time, I brought humus to the site where pumpkins will be grown. Preparations for the 2025 season are in full swing.