Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 124 Entries. Wednesday, March 20 View Page I prefer the 180 day Slw Release Purkote over the 90 day Slow Release Purkote. THat way I only have to apply it once per year   Friday, March 22 View Page For the 150 Challenge this year: I'll be growing a Giant Pumpkin in an area that is 6ft x 25 ft,   Friday, March 22 View Page In just 2 weeks we are closing in on 50 entries for the 150 Challenge. Sign ups are open until May 30, 2024   Wednesday, March 27 View Page It must be planting season...I Started 15 Tomato plants with 100% germination. Peooers are not up yet. There are some 8.80 Daho Maters in this picture.   Wednesday, March 27 View Page This year I'm starting a couple Giant Pumpkins early (April 1st). With the Heating cables and Heat Lamps costs, I"m gonna have some large electric bills. The remaing 3 Giant Pumpkins will get planted on April 10th.   Wednesday, March 27 View Page Time to start my garden set up chores. I got a lot of work to do. Today I'm spreading Peat with Perlite, and 11-0-44 (slow Release) Purkote as noted on the pictures.   Monday, April 1 View Page Finally. Its time to spead my compost, over the Peat and Perlite. Its 1 1/2 years old I add 2 yards of this black gold, per plant   Tuesday, April 2 View Page 1 set of Heating Cables with a programmable thermostat have been laid out in the pumpkin patch. 4 more to go.   Wednesday, April 3 View Page Here is the Heating Cable picture that was supposed to go with the last entry   Sunday, April 7 View Page My early starts (2222 Gienger, 2360 Montsma and 2116 Daho) are up and enjoying the T5 BadBoy lumens. On April 10th I'll plant my 2nd Batch of Giant Pumpkin seeds   Sunday, April 7 View Page Dug another 12" deep hole today. for the Pumpkins. Been using these 60 ft, 300 Watt, programmable Gutter cables for 4 years. Seem very durable STill work great today   Tuesday, April 9 View Page 60 growers in the 150 so far.... All welcome if interested.   Friday, April 12 View Page I made a decision to proactively battle phytopthera and fusarium this year   Saturday, April 13 View Page After yesterdays bacteria kill, today I had to rejuvinate the good bacteria in the pumpkion patschc with a variety of biologicals.   Saturday, April 13 View Page I love the heating power of trapped solar energy. Its free.   Sunday, April 14 View Page My early plants are in the ground in 14x12 greenhouses. Between heating cables, two warming lamps, a heater, and supplemental full spectrum LED lights, my electric bill ought to be nice and high.   Monday, April 15 View Page My next batch of seedlings are up and soaking up the T5 "Quantum BadBoy" lumens for a few days.   Saturday, April 20 View Page Its 56F and rainy/overcast all day today. So I'm keeping all my plants warm oustide in greenhouses with covered quonset huts inside the greenhouses, using Full Spectrum LED lights and heaters. They seem to be doing OK. This is the 2222 Gienger plant, that was started on April 2nd.   Sunday, April 21 View Page The 2501 Bernstrom and 1017 Rondeau. (both Planted April 10th)., were showing 2nd true leaf, so I moved them to the outdoor greenhouses yesterday. Was 37F last night, (plus a frost in localized area's of our yard), But with the heaters all night and covered mini quonset huts, it was 73F inside the huts. The plants dont seem to be in any stress today. Todays daytime outdoor temps are 55F and overcast. The greenhouse temps have risen to the low 80's from solar energy, as shown..   Friday, April 26 View Page The 2222 Gienger just hit ground and is running. I had to remove a kickstand and one set of tendrils that were growing straight down and keeping the vine elevated   Tuesday, April 30 View Page The 2222 Gienger is starting to run at a faster pace now, as April draws to a close. THe big chore and expense is keeping the greenhouses heated to at least 75F, when its 48F during the evenings.   Tuesday, April 30 View Page The 2501 Bernstrom is looking very healthy. Looks in good shope for a 20 day old plant. I expect the main, to start vining out and touch down in about 3 days   Tuesday, April 30 View Page I chose a Howard Dill winner for my 150 Challenge Pumpkin. This is the 1017 Rondeau. Should produce a nice orange fruit.   Friday, May 3 View Page Finally!! May has arrived...but still a chilly 47F overcast day this morning. Kept it a toasty 80F inside the 15 ft long greenhouse with the heaters going, and running the Full Spectrum lights all day today. The 2222 Gienger main vine is 7 ft long.   Sunday, May 5 View Page The 2501 Bernstrom main vine fell to the ground safely. My plants always seem out of sorts for a few hours on the first day they touchdown. Leaves have to re-orient themselves to face the sun and grow lights.   Sunday, May 5 View Page 2222 Gienger has a 9 ft main. Its 47F outside. Keeping the greenhouse warm at approximately 80Ft, is my #1 priority to keep the plant growing. Keeping the soil moist with biologicals like: SP1, Essential 1-0-1, and MT 17 are a given.   Thursday, May 9 View Page Had a nice morning drive and visit to see Gene Lrivieres patch in Connecticut today. He's a long time Grower. Chilly 50F when I arrived at 8am, but inside his 100ft x 30ft greenhouse with role up sides, the soil temp was 72F and the air temp was around 78F. Looks like Genes growing two plants back to back with about 1000 sqft for each Giant Pumpkin plant. plus some potted flowers on the far end.   Friday, May 10 View Page Shown is the 2222 Gienger. Temps dropped to a chilly 45F for 4 hours last night. Put a double layer of poly on each of the four greenhouses for improved insulation. With 1500W Heaters, plus Heating cables and LED lights, the temp inside each was at 78F all night. Each Leaf node (on the main and secondaries) gets covered with a wad of drenched perlite filled Potting soil, when they hit the ground, to help both tap roots develop.   Friday, May 10 View Page The 2501 Bernstrom was started April 10th.   Friday, May 10 View Page This is the 1017 Rondeau. My 150 Pumpkin   Friday, May 10 View Page This is the 2465 Sperry. Started April 12th. Should be making the fall soon   Sunday, May 12 View Page Dropping down to 45F tonight Heaters and Lights are cranking   Monday, May 13 View Page More nights in the 40's predicted this week so its time for an addition. The 2222 Gienger outgrew the 13.5 ft Greenhouse so I added a 6 ft extention. Hopefully this will carry me to some warmer weather.   Saturday, May 18 View Page I'm using elevated walk-ways as much as possible this year to minimize soil compaction.   Saturday, May 18 View Page The 2222 Gienger plant.... Crown end view. Still in greenhouses but that will change real soon.   Saturday, May 18 View Page The 2222 is showing a pumpkin at 16 ft. Total length of main is 17 ft. Starting to see male flowers blooming. One is showing in this photo.   Saturday, May 18 View Page My 1017 Rondeau which I"m growing for the 1509 Challenge, looks healthy. Main is 9 ft. 1st Pumpkin showing at 8ft, will be culled.   Saturday, May 18 View Page The 2501 Bernstrom plant is growing at a good pace now. (about 8 inches per day) Main is 10 ft long.   Saturday, May 18 View Page 2465 Sperry. was a late planting after the first plant was lost due to frost damage. But its catching up. Main vine on this plant is now 6ft   Thursday, May 23 View Page My 1017 Rondeau is off to a nice start. This ismy 150 challenge plant. 1st pumpkin is showing at 12 ft. This one will be pollinated and then culled about a week later. Waiting for 16-18 ft main vine, before I start thinking about a keeper   Sunday, May 26 View Page Took me 3 hours to get the (80% wind break) fencing up. After the last section goes up, I need to finish the 6 door's. Once complete it also does a nice job of keeping the woodchucks out, and rogue weeds from migrating into the patch. and....Pollinated the 2nd 'kin on the 2222 Gienger today, at 16 ft out as shown. Nice 4 lober. But I might go with the 3rd one that appeared at 20 ft out. This one should be ready to pollinate, on June 5th or 6th.   Wednesday, May 29 View Page The Rhodadendrums are in full bloom. Pretty! All the Pumpkin plants have at least one pollinated, but most are culls...Waiting for later fruits to show further down the main. One more section of Amgo Wind break fencing to put up, and then finish up the drip irrigation installation.   Tuesday, June 4 View Page All my drip irrigation and hand watering is done under the canopy. So my leaves on the 2222 Gienger (shown), and other plants, are caked with Pine tree pollen at this time of the year. Its harmless, Plants healthy, so I'm not worried.   Tuesday, June 4 View Page Crossed the 2222 Gienger with the 2501 Bernstrom this morning. Now I got to close up the flower. This is the 3rd one on this plant. Its 20 ft out on the main with 20 side vines behind it. Just startin to terminate first few sides at 16ft out.   Wednesday, June 5 View Page It may not look like much, but whenever I bend the Main, I always think the worst will happen. 60 degree bend put in the Main Vine today. Another 60 degree's tomorrow.   Wednesday, June 5 View Page Been doing a lot of heavy trimming on the 1017 Rondeau AG plant to keep it in the 6 ft wide boundry I set up for the 150 Challenge. Main is 17 ft long, and 3rd pumpkin will be set on this plant next week. 3ft side vines need a lot of carefull anchoring to prevent them from falling over or uprooting in a wind. I guess thats why its called a Challenge.   Sunday, June 9 View Page There was a 3fer sale today in our yard. Catch one chuck get 2 more free. Luckily I caught them before they did any damage. The 4 ft high wind break fence seems to have preventing them from sniffing out the AG plants.   Monday, June 10 View Page The 150 Challenge pumpkin will hopefully be set on June 11 or 12. Need to put a 90 degree ben in tne main vine so the pumpkin can grow inside the boundry. Cut way back on the magnesium and nitrogen, to avoid big Blue Bloto Leaves   Friday, June 14 View Page The 150 Challenge pumpkin (1017 Rondeau) was selfed on June 12th. Turning the vine now to grow it in a small space. Vine management is tricky at this stage to keep all the plant and eventually the pumpkin stuffed into the 6 x 25 boundries.   Thursday, June 20 View Page Giant Field Pumpkins are in. The 218.3 Baggs is just starting to run.   Thursday, June 20 View Page Giant Field Pumpkins are in. The 235 Razo is just starting to run.   Thursday, June 20 View Page Crazy weather. It hit 97F today (with feels like at 105F). I think the 150 Challenge pumpkin (1017 x 1017) survived the heat. Lots of leaf burn though.   Thursday, June 20 View Page I created a level plateau to the 2501 Bernstrom x 2222 Gienger. since the pumpkin was growing on a slope. Got plywood between two pieces of mill cloth for repositioning it if necessary.   Thursday, June 20 View Page The 2465 x 2222 shown at 5 DAP   Thursday, June 20 View Page The 2222 Gienger x 2501 Bernstrom needs afternoon shade, see photo, since the suns rays don't stop hitting the pumpkin until 8:30 pm   Wednesday, June 26 View Page I like the shape of the 2501 Bernstrom x 2222 Gienger. Shown at 13 DAP   Wednesday, June 26 View Page The 2501 x 2222 shown at 13 DAP will have a 1300 sq ft plant. About 2/3 of the plant has been trained and vines buried. Long way to go to finish growing this plant, then the pumpkin should kick into gear.   Wednesday, June 26 View Page My 150 Challenge Plant. Its a 1017 Rondeau x 1017 cross. Shown at 14 DAP, at 18 ft out on the main. Should become a bright orange pumpkin   Wednesday, June 26 View Page The 2222 Gienger x 2501 Bernstrom at 21 DAP. Set at 20 ft out on the main. Good healthy plant. Blossum is just starting to go under. I will try to prevent that from happening   Wednesday, June 26 View Page 2222 Gienger x 2501 Bernstrom at 21 DAP View of plant. This will be a 1100 sq ft plant.   Monday, July 1 View Page My cube pumpkin! The 2501 Bernstrom x 2222 Gienger cross looks OK. Shown at 18 DAP. This pumpkin gets a lot of hot, evening sun, so I built a Sun shade (shown on left)   Monday, July 1 View Page My 150 Challenge pumpkin is just plain ugly. But its appears to be growing fast though. Its a 1017 Rondeau x 1017 Rondeau cross. Shown at 19 DAP.   Monday, July 1 View Page The 2222 Gienger x 2501 Bernstrom has a nice shape. Moved it 1 inch last night, with help from a friend, to relieve stem stress. Vine is loose now. Shown at 26 DAP   Tuesday, July 2 View Page The 235 Razo FP is starting to grow at a rapid pace now that t he warm weather is here.   Tuesday, July 2 View Page The 218 Baggs FP is also kicking into gear.   Tuesday, July 9 View Page The 2501 Bernstrom x 2222 Gienger has taken on a cube shape Shown at 26 DAP. Lets Grow!!   Friday, July 12 View Page My little 150 Challenge pumpkin has reached DAP 30. Taping 334 lbs. Starting to outgrow much of its gnarly surface.   Saturday, July 13 View Page The 2501 Bernstrom x 2222 Gienger hit 30 DAP today. "The Cube" has a taped weight of 546 pounds. A lot of great genetics in this pumpkin, hope she keeps packing on the pounds with her Cal-Mag diet.   Saturday, July 13 View Page Finally The patch is almost full. Just in time...I dont know how much more digging my fingers could take!   Sunday, July 14 View Page The 2222 Gienger x 2501 Bernstrom is going blossom under on me. At 40 DAP, she has a good daily weight gain of 48 lbs / day for the last 10 days. Wt est = 848 lbs   Monday, July 15 View Page The 2465 Sperry x 2222 Gienger at 30 DAP. Has an OTT of 310....estimated wt of 687 lbs.   Thursday, July 18 View Page Got out for some mini patch tours today. Stopped by Alex Noels house in Connecticut. Great to catch up on stuff. He has 3 nice sized AG's going in the netted enclosure.   Thursday, July 18 View Page Also drove to Rhode Island and visited Joe Jutras. Lots going on at his place. Looks like Joe is going Green this year.   Thursday, July 18 View Page Joe's also got a good sized one for his 150 Challenge pumpkin entry...   Friday, July 19 View Page My 218 Baggs and 235 Razo FP's are in good shape. 16-17 ft mains. Lots of vine burying and training. Been culling a lot of rogue open pollinations. Waiting until August 1st to pollinate my keepers. These plants love the cooler evenings we have started getting. But now I need to start the fungicides to prevent Powdery and Downey mildew. Should slow down their rampant growth, which is OK with me.   Friday, July 19 View Page This additional picture goes with the previous post. It shows the 235 Razo plant.   Monday, July 22 View Page My mighty little 150 Challenge pumpkin (1017 Rondeau x 1017 Rondeau) is taping 557 lbs at DAP 40. With 3 ft side vines I can take pictures like this one.   Monday, July 22 View Page I'm going to miss my good friend Pap, who I enjoyed visiting on my morning weekend trips to the Wallaces. He was a very giving person.   Tuesday, July 23 View Page The 2501 Bernstrom x 2222 Gienger at DAP40, has a 1019 lb estimated weight. It was a cube, but now its morphed into "someting else". lol. Doing 47/day for the last 10 days.   Wednesday, July 24 View Page The 2222 x 2501 is still growing at a decent rate at DAP 50. Average wt gain = 45.1 lbs/day for the last 20 days. Taping 1284 lbs. Blossom end is slowly disappearing, Blossom nub was removed and the cut area, fan dried thoroughly last week, with 3% Hydrogen peroxide.   Wednesday, July 24 View Page Cloudy wet morning. Time for a drive. Visited fellow grower Ed Pappas in Duxbury today   Wednesday, July 24 View Page Another road trip...Also stopped by to visit Steve Hallowell in Duxbury, MA today   Thursday, July 25 View Page At DAP 40 the 2465 Sperry x 2222 Gienger is growing at a good pace. 48.2 lbs per day for 10 days. Good shape too. Est wt = 1169 lbs. At DAP 30 wt was 687 lbs.   Thursday, August 1 View Page My 1017 Rondeau x 1017, for the 150 Challenge, is turning a nice orange at DAP50. Sorry no more weight estimates, since we are only a few weeks away from the Weigh-Offs.   Friday, August 2 View Page The 2501 Bernstrom x 2222 Gienger is still chugging along, at 34 lbs per day.   Saturday, August 3 View Page This Low Rider (2222 Gienger x 2501 Bernstrom) pumpkin is growing long and wide. Blossom is almost under. Now at DAP 60. Still has a young looking surface. Leaves sprayed with BRAVO ADAMA fungicide this week. The fungicide is visible on the leaves as white specks if you look closely..   Monday, August 5 View Page Our 2465 Sperry x 2222 Travis Gienger, at DAP 50 is the baby in the patch and its the best shaped pumpkin. We are , doing an air movement dryout today, with fans on the front and back of each 'kin, after getting 4 inches of rain last night.   Friday, August 9 View Page Here comes Debby. Hopefully my mickey mouse shelters can keep the pumpkins and stems dry. 14 hours of rain and showers expected.   Tuesday, August 13 View Page My 2501 Bernstrom x 2222 Gienger is at 60 DAP, and still putting on 30.3 lbs per day for the last 10 days, I like the shape of this pumpkin. Just a few weeks to go. Fingers crossed!   Tuesday, August 13 View Page My 150 pumpkin (1017 Rondeau x 1017 Rondeau) is at DAP 60 and very slowly still adding weight. Averaging 13.3 lbs per day for the last 10 days. The bright Orange Color is just what I wanted in this pumpkin.   Wednesday, August 14 View Page Just checking the New England and NY weigh-offs that the SNGPG Growers and other growers might drive too. Our Early weigh-offs start in 2 days....   Thursday, August 15 View Page At DAP 60 the 2465 Sperry x 2222 Gienger is still healthy and currently its adding 23 lbs/day for the last 10 days. Got a nice meal of Fish and 5-2 Humic/Seaweed from WOW yesterday. Slowing the watering down to 75 Gallon every other day for this 1100 sq ft plant.   Saturday, August 17 View Page Its Mildew season...   Monday, August 19 View Page Not good!! Darn!. I lost my 2222 Gienger x 2501 Bernstrom due to a down under Bloosom end Split at est 1811 lbs via OTT. Blossom was `1.5 ft under and used mirrors to find it with regular weekly inspection. My estimates are that about 400 lbs of the pumpkin rind was free hanging over the blossom and this split was stress related. The overhanging portion still had another 6 inches to go before it hit ground. Loaded with seeds I planted some in the garden for a sprout test. Will know results shortly.   Thursday, August 22 View Page The 2501 Bernstrom x 2222 Gienger at DAP 70 is developing a nice salmon color with a lot of blue-ish cantaloping] on the stem end. Hopefully this is a good sign. Its been growing at 20 lbs per day for the last 10 days. Took a while to fill in this 1300 sq ft patch but I think the long wait to create a big plant will help with weight gain for the next 51 days on the vine, if she makes it. Hoping for the best.   Saturday, August 24 View Page My 150 Challenge pumpkin reached 70 DAP. It has developed a deep orange color. This is a 1017 x 1017 Rondeau cross. I Probably bringing it to The Woodstock Fair in CT in 6 days. Its a nice GPC weigh-off.   Sunday, August 25 View Page Finally reached DAP 70 for my 2465 Sperry x 2222 Gienger cross. Put on 11lbs/day for the last 10 days. Slow and steady progress. I like the shape of this pumpkin. 48 days to go.   Wednesday, August 28 View Page Morning Girls. You look wonderful today. Say goodbye to your little (150 Challenge) sister. She is going to the Woodstock Fair tomorrow.   Wednesday, August 28 View Page All loaded up for the Woodstock Fair Weigh-off on August 29th, with my 150 Challenge pumpkin.   Thursday, August 29 View Page My 150 Challenge pumpkin was officially weighed at the Woodstock Fair in CT tonght. It weighed 1028.5 pounds. Here is a link to the results... http://www.bigpumpkins.com/WeighoffResultsBySite.aspx?s=135&c=P&y=2024   Sunday, September 1 View Page The 2501 x 2222 is a 80 DAP and still puuting on 10 lbs per day for the last 10 days. If all goes to plan I got 5 weeks until harvest time   Wednesday, September 4 View Page Planted 1100 sq ft of a Kodiak Mustard Cover Crop. My wind break fence is serving another purpose. Deer protection...for now. In the last few years the Deer population has increased, 10 fold, and they would have eaten the mustard to the ground by now. They have not snuffed it out yet. But I think its just a matter of time before they find it.   Wednesday, September 4 View Page The 2465 Sperry x 2222 Gienger is solid looking at DAP 80 . Still putting on 9 lbs/day for the last 10 days....which is normal for a pumpkin of this age. 6 more weeks until its harvest time.   Saturday, September 14 View Page My 2465 Sperry x 2222 Gienger, at 90 DAP, is trudging along at 4lb/day OTT weight gain, for the last 10 days. 1 month until the SNGPG Weigh off at Pasquales Farm.   Friday, September 20 View Page 33 hours of cold rain in the forecast. Wish I had a green house for my 2501 x 2222..   Saturday, September 21 View Page Although I've never done it before, I MIGHT set up a small 18 x 30 ft (540 sqft) greenhouse for the 2501 x 2222 Giant Pumpkin. which is currently at 105 DAP and is growing on a 1300 sq ft plant. As you can see below, I always set a hoop house up for my Bushel Gourds in September to carry them to mid October. The BG plants and fruit thrive in the hoophouse warmth.   Tuesday, September 24 View Page Hey Ron Wallace. Thank you for finding a customer that bought my 150 Challenge Pumpkin. Just unloaded it for them today. Within minutes people were posing and getting their picture taken.   Saturday, September 28 View Page Here is the 150 Challenge L:eader Board Update from our 109 entrants. (minus a few that unfortunately lost theirs). We are only in week 2 of 5. The first BIG week of Weigh-offs starts today. Good Luck everyone.   Wednesday, October 2 View Page Just a few more days until theTopsfield Fair weigh-off, on Friday Oct 4th. This is the 2501 Bernstrom x 2222 Gienger. Fingers crossed.   Thursday, October 3 View Page Loading up the 2501 Bernstrom x 2222 Gienger for Topsfield tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing everyone.   Friday, October 4 View Page Nice cool sunny morning for the ride to the Topsfield Fair. I'm gonna need a bigger trailer next year. This trailer with its 6.5 ft x 7 ft bed size has served me well for 12 years.   Friday, October 4 View Page Waiting for our pumpkin to be lowered onto the scales   Friday, October 4 View Page When it our pumpkinhit the scales I had to cheer   Friday, October 4 View Page I felt like I was lifted up onto cloud 9.   Friday, October 4 View Page After getting the winning 2211 lb weight at Topsfield we got to talk the long walk, with the pumpkin, to the Veggie Barn.   Friday, October 4 View Page Everything calmed down when our 2211 Connolly pumpkin was set into the air conditioned display case for the fair.   Wednesday, October 9 View Page For the 150 Challenge, we are in Week 3 of 5. Here are the results so far. Two more weeks of weigh-offs coming up. If we missed your giant pumpkin/squash, feel free to reply to this post and we will update the Leader Board   Friday, October 11 View Page October 11th, and we are loaded up for our last weigh-off of the year. This is the 2465 Sperry x 2222 Gienger, and we are going to the SNGPG Weigh-off at Frerichs Farm (Oct 12th) with it. Looks like the weather will be perfect for the day. It will be great to see many of the Growers.   Saturday, October 12 View Page Had a great time at the SNGPG Weigh-off at Frerichs FArm today. We ended up in 5th place with our 1955.5 lb Giant Pumpkin   Sunday, October 13 View Page Here is the Week 4 of 5 update for the 150 Challenge. As you can see there is some exciting news and we called it what it is. BUT (just like a normal Weigh-off) we are not done yet! Week 5 must be completed before anything is final.   Sunday, October 20 View Page The 2211 was carved today at a local carnival in Canton, MA. Shown half completed. The carver (Todd Desautels) opened the Stem end, and and viola.....A huge seed count was inside.   Sunday, October 20 View Page picture 2   Friday, October 25 View Page Here is the 150 Challenge week 5 of 5 update. Lots more of the 109 contest entrants (pumpkin/squash) weights came it this week, Hope you enjoyed this international contest and my BP Dairy updates Prizes will be awarded Oct 31st.   Friday, November 1 View Page Congrats to all this years 150 participants. Attached are the final Standings with the Awards for Top 5, and the various other awards including closest to 400, 550, 700 lbs, random HD winner and 2 additional random winners. winners will the contacted to distribute the $.