Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 174 Entries. Monday, March 18 View Page Its that time of year again! This Year I will be growing three of my own seeds. The prime spot in my patch will go to my 639.5 Radach pictured in the back. It was pollinated by my 1461 Rodebaugh plant that grew my 835.5 Radach pictured in the front.   Monday, March 18 View Page My second plant will be the 1931 Turner. I just love the shape, texture and color of this pumpkin. It was pollinated with an orange pumpkin as well so it should have great potential to carry through the orange genetics. It's got Tiger King and 2365 Wolf on both sides of its family tree.   Monday, March 18 View Page My third plant will be another of my own seeds my 784.5 Radach grown in 2022. The genetics are 1872 Sippel x Tiger King.   Monday, March 18 View Page In my small patch, I will be growing my 144 Radach. This one was also pollinated with the 1461 Rodebaugh that produced my 835.5 pound Pumpkin from last year. The 150 square foot challenge has added a Howard Dill award so I am going to throw my hat back in the ring for that.   Monday, March 18 View Page My soil test came back looking pretty good. I added some horse manure in the fall and that sent my Potassium up a little higher than I like but I think its manageable.   Monday, March 18 View Page I will be making minimal adjustments this year adding some Manganese, Some copper, some boron and some liquid gypsum to boost the calcium.   Monday, March 18 View Page We had some nice weather this weekend so I got out in the patch to get things underway.   Monday, March 18 View Page The cover crop is looking pretty healthy way better than last year at this time so hopefully that is a sign of things to come.   Monday, March 18 View Page Made my first pass with the tiller. I am pretty happy with the way the soil is looking texturally. It appears that the Puyallup Fair is no longer going to be an option for giant pumpkins so I will be starting my seeds a bit later than I have in the past. I will probably get started in another 10 days or so.   Tuesday, March 26 View Page I rebuilt the armature for the greenhouse. The ends were ripped out of the ground by a windstorm last summer. I used 4×4s this time. Also used the opportunity to slide the whole thing a couple feet to the south. Should have about 4 feet of extra width for the two plants in the big green house.   Tuesday, March 26 View Page I added two yards of pumice to the patch. It is similar to perlite in its capability to improve drainage and aeration in the soil. It's heavier and more durable though so it's supposed to stay mixed in better to the soil and last longer. We will see if this helps out.   Friday, March 29 View Page And were off! Started 3 of my 639.5 Radach seeds as well as the 1931 Turner in the germination chamber.   Saturday, March 30 View Page got most of the plastic on the greenhouse just need to get the other end closed up.   Saturday, March 30 View Page I am really happy with the way it turned out.   Tuesday, April 2 View Page All 4 seeds have germinated and have been transplanted into 1 gallon pots. In the past I have just used dirt out of the patch in my one gallon pots. This year I am going to try to get a quicker start so I mixed in some peat moss along with some azos and mycho. I am hoping that a little looser soil allows the roots to get off to a robust start.   Wednesday, April 3 View Page I got the soil heating cables into the green house. I use gutter de-icing cables plugged into a thermostat that has a soil temperature probe. I also mixed in about a cubic foot of peat moss into each planting site.   Saturday, April 6 View Page After 12 years my T-5 grow light bit the dust. I am kind of glad it did. I purchased a new LED Light and it's much brighter than the old one. Plants are looking strong with the first true leaves out. I also watered in some essential and some companion today. Trying to get that Biology ramped up early.   Saturday, April 13 View Page Time to put the plants in the ground.   Saturday, April 13 View Page The root growth is looking about as good as I have ever had at this stage. Glad I added that peat moss in with my soil.   Saturday, April 13 View Page I planted 2 of my 639.5 Radachs next to each other. Which ever one starts out stronger will be kept and the other one will be removed. The 1931 Turner is on the other side of the walking board and will grow in the opposite direction.   Saturday, April 13 View Page I am trying something diferent with the 1931 Turner. I experimented the last couple of nights with putting a large plastic tub over the planting site with a heavy quilt over it. The heat radiating up from the soil heating cables kept the air temp in the tub above 60 degrees while the air temp in the greenhouse was in the low 40s. I am going put the tub over the plant once the sun goes down and take it off again in the morning. I'll try that a try for a few days and see how it works. Obviously I won't be able to do it too long before the plant out grows it. The 639.5s will get the heat lamp on them. I am also putting the grow light over them for a few days.   Saturday, April 13 View Page I started 4 of my 784.5 Radach seeds today as well. This will go in the smaller hoop house to the south of the big greenhouse. I forgot how small these seeds are. The cross is 1872 Sippel x 2350 Gienger. Nothing but 1501 genetics in this bad boy.   Wednesday, April 17 View Page All 4 784.5 Radachs germinated successfully.   Wednesday, April 17 View Page The two 639.5 Radachs are doing pretty well 4 days in the ground and they have grown. Third leaves are opening up. We had some frost on the ground this morning but the heat lamp kept them warm enough.   Wednesday, April 17 View Page The 1931 Turner is growing well but is not quite as healthy looking as the 639.5s. Not sure if it is from the tub I've been putting over it at night or because I had the grow light over the others. I will put a heat lamp on this one as well starting tomorrow.   Saturday, April 27 View Page The 639.5 Radach in the foreground and the 1931 Turner in the background are both doing well. They should be vining out soon.   Saturday, April 27 View Page These are the 784.5 Radachs under the grow light. The two on the left have some genetic issues and threw doubles for the second true leaf. The one on the right seems to be growing perfectly normal.   Saturday, April 27 View Page Got the soil heating cable in and the small hoop house up. The 784.5 Radach will be going in this spot. I'll probably put it in the ground tomorrow.   Saturday, April 27 View Page I started 3 of my 144 Radachs and 3 of my 658 Radachs on the 25th. They are in the germination chamber and should be up in a couple of days.   Wednesday, May 8 View Page It's been cool and gray for the last week and growth has been slower than I hoped. The 1931 Turner and the 639.5 Radach have both vined out but are not quite down to the ground yet.   Wednesday, May 8 View Page The 784.5 Radach is struggling. unfortunately I think I had my new grow light too close to the plant and the first two leaves got toasted. The third leaf seems to be coming in OK though so hopefully it grows out of it. It's put me way behind though.   Wednesday, May 8 View Page We finally have a good stretch of weather coming up so I put the 144 Radach in the ground today. This one has no Heating cables and no hoop house.   Wednesday, May 8 View Page This will be my entry for the 150 square foot contest. The raised bed is 10 feet by 12 feet but I don't want to mess around with enlarging it so I am just going to use the dirt area for the vines and use the 3 feet off the end for the Pumpkin. I might snake a few vines out on the grass in that 3 feet as as well depending on where the pumpkin ends up on the vine.   Monday, May 13 View Page What a difference a few days of warm sunny weather can make. Both the 639.5 Radach and the 1931 Turner are on the ground and running. Got some good secondary growth starting already too.   Monday, May 13 View Page Both plants are around 4.5 feet long. The largest leaves are 23" across. I buried a couple nodes on the main vine already hoping to get some good root growth established early on. I am really happy with how things are going right now.   Monday, May 13 View Page The 784.5 Radach has recovered nicely from my grow light mistake. The 3rd 4th and 5th leaves look wonderful.   Monday, May 13 View Page The 144 Radach after 5 days in the ground.   Thursday, May 23 View Page The 639.5 Radach in the foreground with the 1931 Turner beyond. Both plants are about 9 feet long. Pretty much caught up to where last years plants were on this date even with the later start.   Thursday, May 23 View Page Secondary vines are rolling. The 1931 Turner is wider than it is long.   Thursday, May 23 View Page The 784.5 Radach is vining out. The vine is trying to go the wrong way and I am slowly working on adjusting it around.   Thursday, May 23 View Page It's been cold and gray for the most part but the 144 Radach is doing OK outside without any protection.   Saturday, June 1 View Page The 639.5 Radach is 11.5 feet long. It got a nice Christmas tree pattern going.   Saturday, June 1 View Page first female on the 639.5. This one will be about 13 feet out on the vine when it grows out. Probably a couple weeks out from blooming.   Saturday, June 1 View Page The 1931Turner also at 11.5 feet long. No female flowers yet on this one.   Saturday, June 1 View Page The vine is on the ground on the 784.5 Radach. Secondaries are just starting to get going.   Saturday, June 1 View Page The 144 Radach out in the elements. It was a pretty dismal May around here we only had about 5 days of sun and only got close to 70 degrees once. Pretty much upper 50s to Low 60s all month with night time lows in the low 40s. The Plant hasn't grown much as a result but I am not too worried because a slow growing more compact plant might be an advantage in the 150 square foot contest.   Monday, June 3 View Page We had a deluge of a rain storm in the wee hours of the morning. It was so loud it woke me up. Totally trashed the outdoor plant. I propped the leaves back up with stakes and we will see if it pulls through. I will start a backup just in case. Normally I would say that this is way too late to start a backup but since this is the 150 square foot plant it might still have enough time to grow something decent.   Monday, June 3 View Page Meanwhile, the hourly forecast on the weather app on my phone this morning called for rain all day long. I left the greenhouse unvented accordingly. Unfortunately we had a few sun breaks. My wife wasn't home for the emergency venting call and I ended up with quite a few sunburned leaves. I am a little surprised it was this bad as it was only 52 degrees outside and my temperature Guage said it only got up to 98 in the greenhouse. The plants just weren't acclimated yet for that kind of heat since it's been so cool lately. It's not the end of the world but it's obviously not ideal as these are the leaves that will just about be reaching maturity when the Pumpkin is being pollinated.   Monday, June 3 View Page I have to be the only person who has ever had rain damage and sun damage on the same day LOL. The 639.5 Radach seemed to get it a little worse than the 1931 Turner. The 784.5 in the small greenhouse was completely unscathed. Probably because the plastic is a little more opaque on that one.   Saturday, June 8 View Page I got behind in my posting so lets catch up.... The 639.5 Radach is chugging along. The Sun damage from the other day is manageable but not insignificant. I have about 25 leaves that are damaged to one degree or another.   Saturday, June 8 View Page Here is the first female on the main vine of the 639.5. I am guessing 5 or 6 days until it blooms.   Saturday, June 8 View Page Here is the next one on the the 639.5 Radach. It will be pretty close to the end of the greenhouse when everything grows out. It would make a great keeper but we shall see how things play out. This plant is putting out lots of females on the secondaries. I culled off about 10 today while I was vine burying.   Saturday, June 8 View Page The 1931 Turner survived the heat a lot better. Only about 5 or 6 leaves burned on it. The first Secondaries are right at the edge of the greenhouse. I am going to have to roll the side up soon.   Saturday, June 8 View Page Finally got a female in the tip of the 1931. Still quite a ways out for pollination. Should be in a good spot at the end of the greenhouse when it grows out.   Saturday, June 8 View Page I am pretty happy with the 784.5 Radach. It's about 8 feet long and the secondaries are starting to run strong.   Saturday, June 8 View Page The 144 Radach was really puzzling me. It seemed to recover from the storm the other day but every afternoon it would wilt in the sun and then perk up overnight. Today while I was watering I noticed the reason why. The stump was split bad. I think it must have done it in the storm and I just didn't notice it until now. Anyway it's game over for this one.   Saturday, June 8 View Page I started these backups. It's way too late to be starting. The only reason I am trying is because It's my 150 Square foot plant so I don't need as much time for the plant to fill up its space. Might be able to pollinate by late July.   Thursday, June 13 View Page Polinated the first on the 639.5 Radach with the 1931Turner this morning. I only had one flower open today so there wasn't much pollin. There is another one coming that I would prefer to be the keeper but I pollinate everything so I have options.   Saturday, June 15 View Page The 639.5 Radach is looking ok.   Saturday, June 15 View Page The first pollination is 2 days old. Too soon to tell if it took yet but looking promising.   Saturday, June 15 View Page This is the second on the 639.5 Radach. I am hoping this will be the keeper. Probably looking at another 7 or 8 days before it blooms.   Saturday, June 15 View Page The 1931 Turner is looking great. I made a bone headed move and accidentally pruned off one of the secondaries on the left side. Other than that It's been great.   Saturday, June 15 View Page Here is the first on the 1931 Turner. I am thinking about 10-11 days until it blooms.   Saturday, June 15 View Page The 784.5 Radach has just about outgrown the small hoop house.   Saturday, June 15 View Page Here are the new plants for the 150 SF contest. We are supposed to have some decent weather next week. I will shoot for getting them outside on Monday.   Friday, June 21 View Page Pollinated the second on the 639.5 Radach this morning. I had lots of pollen but unfortunately there is a bit of funkiness going on with the lobes. The first pollination didn't take. There is one more coming on the main but I am also going to look at pollinating on secondaries so that I have options.   Saturday, June 22 View Page The 639.5 Radach has lots of good plant just need to get a fruit set.   Saturday, June 22 View Page Here is the one I polinated yesterday with the petals removed. It probably won't set with all of the deformity in the lobes. I am not sure that I would want to use it even if it did.   Saturday, June 22 View Page Here is the next one probably my last hope on the main vine. I've got several coming on side vines that I will pollinate as well as backups.   Saturday, June 22 View Page Here is the 1931 Turner. It's an absolutely gorgeous plant.   Saturday, June 22 View Page just waiting for this one to bloom on the 1931.   Saturday, June 22 View Page Side vines for both plants are starting to extend past the greenhouse. I am exited to see what this extra plant size will do for my fruit size.   Saturday, June 22 View Page Took the plastic off of the 784.5 Radach. Need to get all of the weeds tilled on the periphery and the drip irrigation laid.   Saturday, June 22 View Page The first female on the 784.5 is a couple weeks out.   Saturday, June 22 View Page Got the backup plant for the 150 contest in the ground. It has a lot of catching up to do.   Monday, June 24 View Page Pollinated the first on the 1931 Turner this morning. I didn't have any flowers open on the 639.5 so I ended up self pollinating it.   Saturday, June 29 View Page pollinated another on the 639.5 main vine this morning. I don't know if it's the cold weather or what but I am having a terrible time getting pollen this year. There haven't been a lot of male flowers and a lot of the ones that have bloomed have been underdeveloped with very small or in some cases no stamen. I had to use day old pollen on this one.   Tuesday, July 2 View Page The 639.5 Radach is starting to fill up the Greenhouse. A couple more weeks and it should be pretty much full.   Tuesday, July 2 View Page Here is the first on the 639.5. it's growing well at 18.5" circumference on day 11. I'd prefer not to use it if I can help it because of the messed up blossom.   Tuesday, July 2 View Page Here is one on a sidevine that looks like it took. Could be a potential keeper if I don't get anything on the main vine.   Tuesday, July 2 View Page The 1931 Turner looking good.   Tuesday, July 2 View Page It looks like the first pollination on the 1931 Turner took. It's at 10" Circumference on day 8.   Tuesday, July 2 View Page The 784.5 Radach is starting to full in nicely.   Tuesday, July 2 View Page The first on the 784.5 is a couple days out from blooming.   Tuesday, July 2 View Page The 144 Radach has some catching up to do but it's looking good.   Monday, July 8 View Page Got the perimeter of the greenhouse all weeded out and ready for the plant to fill out. Here is the 639.5 Radach.   Monday, July 8 View Page here's the first main vine pumpkin on the 639.5. It's growing well at 37.5" circumference on day 17. Still not sure if I am going to keep it. That blossom end scares me and I am afraid it will end up splitting.   Monday, July 8 View Page The 1931 Turner is one of the healthiest and most vigorous plants I have ever grown. It has really strong side vines.   Monday, July 8 View Page Here is the keeper on the 1931 Turner. I am loving it so far. It has that barrel shape like it's mother. It's measuring 22" in circumference on day 14.   Monday, July 8 View Page Here is the 784.5 Radach. It's doing the best I have ever had in this spot on the garden. Unfortunately it didn't like our heat wave we had the last few days and it has some sun scorch.   Sunday, July 14 View Page After much internal struggle I decided to keep the main vine pumpkin on the 639.5 Radach with the weird blossom end. I sought the advice of three different world record holders. One told me he wouldn't do it. Another told me it wasn't great but it looked better than the one he was going with this year and another told me he thought it would be fine. I have been watching the blossom end closely for weeks now and it seems to be holding it's shape well and doesn't appear in imminent danger. I cut off the biggest backup pumpkin today so now I am just going to have to take my chances and live with my decision however turns out.   Sunday, July 14 View Page Here is the keeper on the 639.5 Radach. It's got a decent shape and it's looking like the color will be amazing. It's 23 days old today and measures 64.5" circumference, 155" OTT for an estimated weight of 91 pounds. It's not my biggest ever but it is outpacing everything from last year so far and is the biggest I have had at this age since moving to the new house.   Sunday, July 14 View Page Day 20 for the 1931 Turner. 45" Circumference, 109" OTT for an estimated weight of 37 pounds.   Sunday, July 14 View Page Looks like the side vine pumpkin on the right of the photo will be the keeper on the 784.5 Radach. Its 5 days old. The two on the main vine to the left aren't growing well.   Sunday, July 14 View Page finally got the vine down on the ground for the backup plant in the 150 SF contest. Going to be a very late pollination for this one but the plant is looking nice.   Friday, July 19 View Page Left the pumpkins to fend for themselves this week while we went camping. I had the drip irrigation on a timer but no fertilizers. Came back today and things are looking awesome. Here is the 639.5 Radach plant. The secondaries are starting to shut down as the pumpkin growth takes off. Still hoping I can fill out the patch.   Friday, July 19 View Page It's day 28 for the Pumpkin on the 639.5 Radach. It's measuring at 88" Circumference, 206" OTT for an estimated weight of 203#. It averaged 22.4 pounds per day over the last 5 days. Hoping it will kick it up into the 30s soon. Right now this is the second biggest pumpkin I have ever had on day 28. Grow baby Grow!   Friday, July 19 View Page day 25 for the 1931 Turner. 67" Circumference 158" OTT, Estimated weight 96 pounds. Averaged 11.8 pounds per day over the last 5 days.   Friday, July 19 View Page Day 11 on the 784.5 Radach. This one is growing like a star. Measuring at 24" Circumference. Biggest I have ever had this early.   Sunday, July 21 View Page It's only been two days since my last post but figured I'd get the Day 30 numbers for the 639.5 Radach into the album so I have it for future reference. 95.5" Circumference, 224" OTT, Estimated weight 259 pounds. It averaged 28 pounds per day over the last two days. The weather is supposed to get cooler this week but hopefully I can at least keep this pace up.   Tuesday, July 23 View Page Day 15 for the 784.5 Radach Circumference = 37" OTT= 92" Estimated weight = 24#   Wednesday, July 24 View Page Day 30 for the 1931 Turner. Circumference = 87" OTT=203" Estimated weight = 194# 5 day average= 19.6 pounds per day   Friday, July 26 View Page Day 35 for the 639.5 Radach Circumference =111 OTT = 252 Estimated weight = 369 pounds 5 Day average = 22 pounds per day   Friday, July 26 View Page Our temperatures cooled way down with highs in the 60s and upper 40s at night. It really slowed down the growth but the pumpkin is still doing well by my standards. It's the heaviest pumpkin I have ever had at day 35. My personal best of 1223 was at 299 pounds on day 35 and my second biggest of 899.5 was at 358 pounds on day 35. The orange is really starting to darken its going to be a looker.   Friday, July 26 View Page The 144 Radach in the 150 SF contest is growing well. No sign of females yet. Need to get one soon.   Sunday, July 28 View Page Day 20 for the 784.5 Radach Circumference = 50.75" OTT = 128.5" Estimated weight = 55 pounds 5 day average = 6.2 pounds per day It's lost the early size advantage it had with the weather cooling down and it's now a bit smaller than the 639.5 was on Day 20. However, we are supposed to get back up into the low 80s later this week right as it's heading into its peak growth range so still hoping for big things out of this one.   Monday, July 29 View Page Day 35 for the 1931 Turner Circumference = 104" OTT = 238" Estimated weight = 310 pounds 5 day average = 23.2 pounds per day. Really pleased with these numbers considering how cool it's been the last few days. This is my third heaviest day 35 pumpkin behind my other plant this year and my 899.5 grown in 2015. It's ahead of my personal best 1223 which was at 299 pounds on day 35.   Monday, July 29 View Page I really can't get a decent picture of the whole plant because of the greenhouse and it's proximity to our fence but this is probably the most robust healthiest and largest plant I have ever had. (my 639.5 in the background)   Wednesday, July 31 View Page Whoops! Just made the biggest mistake I have ever made growing giants. I have been dealingvwith stem stress on the 639.5 Radach due to the stem being so close to the ground. I moved the pumpkin forward to try to relieve some stress and I broke the main vine right where the stem attaches.   Wednesday, July 31 View Page After cleaning things up, I have about half the diameter of the vine intact. I dusted it with some sulfur. I am hopeful that the Pumpkin will survive but I doubt it will be able to grow as much as it could if undamaged.   Wednesday, July 31 View Page Prior the the incident everything was looking great. Day 40 for the 639.5 Radach. Circumference = 122" OTT = 272" Estimated weight = 464 pounds 5 day average 19 pounds per day. The growth had slowed a bit with the cold weather but it's going to be warm here coming up so I was expecting it to tick back up. With the vine breaking who knows what will happen from here on out.   Wednesday, July 31 View Page The 144 Radach is filling in the 150 contest. Finaly got a female out on the tip. Should be polinating sometime in mid August.   Saturday, August 3 View Page Day 40 for the 1931 Turner. Circumference = 119" OTT = 270" Estimated weight = 454 pounds 5 day average = 28.8 pounds per day. I am pretty sure this is the biggest 5 day average I have ever had. This one is becoming a real contender for a personal best as well. It's only 10 pounds lighter than my 639.5 Radach was on day 40.   Saturday, August 3 View Page The 1931 Turner doesn't look quite as nice from the top as it does from the previous low angle but overall I would say it has a pretty pleasant shape. Definitely going to be a Howard Dill Award contender.   Saturday, August 3 View Page Day 25 for the 784.5 Radach Circumference = 66.5" OTT = 165" Estimated weight = 108 pounds 5 day average = 10.6 pounds per day   Saturday, August 3 View Page Here is the 784.5 plant. This warm weather is coming at the perfect time as this one is heading into it's peak growth age.   Saturday, August 3 View Page And closing out with some surprisingly good news. The 639.5 Radach managed to grow 21.33 pounds per day after the stem/vine damage. The vine looks like it's barely hanging on but I'll take it.   Thursday, August 8 View Page Day 48 for the 639.5 Radach. Circumference = 135.3 OTT = 298.5 Estimated weight = 614 pounds 8 day average = 18.75 pounds per day. Still hanging on despite the stem damage. It's already almost as large as it's mother was and it's also starting to really darken up. Hoping for another Howard Dill Award with this one.   Thursday, August 8 View Page Day 45 for the 1931 Turner. Circumference = 133" OTT = 299" Estimated weight = 617 pounds 5 day average 32.6 pounds per day. This is the one that has me excited. It's easily the largest I have ever had at day 45 and my best ever five day daily averge. It's 89 pounds bigger than my personal best 1223 was on Day 45 and growing faster as well. That pumpkin was the only pumpkin I ever had that sustained decent growth well past 50 days. If this one can follow a similar trajectory I feel I have a real good shot at a personal best. The camera angle and my distance behind the pumpkin makes it look a bit larger than it really is. Look at the soda can in the foreground for reference. Its still a big pumpkin by my standards though.   Thursday, August 8 View Page Day 30 on the 784.5 Radach Circumference = 84.5" OTT = 204" Estimated weight = 197 pounds 5 day average = 17.8 pounds per day. It's lagging a bit behind where it's mother was at day 30 but it's still on track to be a respectable pumpkin.   Thursday, August 8 View Page The 144 Radach is filling up the patch nicely. This is my 150SF entry. The dirt area is actually only 120 SF but I didn't want to mess up my yard by expanding it. The Pumpkin will grow in the grass outside of the dirt. Unless the pumpkin gets a 6 foot diameter it will stay well under the 150 SF limit.   Thursday, August 8 View Page looking like I'll finally get it pollinated tomorrow. I have a few nice flowers coming on the 1931 Turner that I will pollinate with.   Tuesday, August 13 View Page Day 53 for the 639.5 Radach. Slightly diferent angle for the photo this time. Circumference = 143.5" OTT = 313.5" Estimated weight = 710 pounds 5 day average = 19.2 pounds per day   Tuesday, August 13 View Page Day 50 for the 1931 Turner. Also a diferent angle for the photo on this one. Circumference = 142.5" OTT = 321.5" Estimated weight = 765 pounds 5 day average = 29.6 pounds per day. It cooled off to highs in the upper 60s with no sun the last few days but she powered right on through. It's estimating 102 pounds bigger than my personal best was estimating on day 50.   Tuesday, August 13 View Page Here is a graph showing the growth curve of all of the pumpkins that I have ever had over 800 pounds. Estimated weight is on the y axis and days after pollination is on the x axis. The blue line is my personal best which weighed in at 1223 pounds. The orange line is this years 1931 Turner. You can see why I am stoked about it. Also the turquoise line is this years 639.5. It has followed the curve of my second biggest Pumpkin fairly closely but has jumped ahead of it a hair and is just a bit behind my 1223 the next 10 days should tell alot about the trajectory it will follow and where it might end up. I am still hoping for 1000 pounds with it.   Tuesday, August 13 View Page Day 35 for the 784.5 Radach Circumference = 98.5" OTT = 236.5" Estimated weight = 305 pounds 5 day average = 21.6 pounds per day. This one is a bit smaller than the other 2 at this age as is to be expected since it's not in the greenhouse. Still has potential to be in the 700-800 range based on the growth curve and maybe even a little better with some luck. Starting to orange up a bit too.   Tuesday, August 20 View Page Day 60 for the 639.5 Radach Circumference = 150" OTT = 326.5" Estimated weight = 801 pounds 5 day average = 12 pounds per day. Growth has really tapered off with the weather and age. Weighoff is 32 days away. Needs to average 6.25 pounds per day to get to 1000.   Tuesday, August 20 View Page The pumpkin is finally going on the 144 Radach in the 150 square foot patch. It's day 11 today and it's at 25.75" circumference. I'd like to get this one over 300 pounds if it's possible with such a late start.   Friday, August 23 View Page My 639.5 Radach came down with a hole in the blossom. I knew this was a possibility with the deformed blossom so I can't be too upset. It still stings to lose one this late that was still growing so well.   Friday, August 23 View Page It was estimating at 855 pounds on day 63. I will try to nurse it along for 4 more weeks and get an official weight on it as a damaged pumpkin. They can keep growing for a while before rot sets in and kills them. Wouldn't be surprised if it put on another 150 pounds even with the hole.   Friday, August 23 View Page Better news on the 1931 Turner. Day 60 Circumference= 157" OTT = 347.5" Estimated weight = 959# 5 day average = 18.6 pounds per day. The weather has been terrible for about a week. It didn't even hit 60 today. That being the case I am pretty happy with the growth. It's 74 pounds ahead of where my personal best was on Day 60 and it's now the second largest pumpkin I have ever grown.   Friday, August 23 View Page Day 45 on the 784.5 Radach Circumference = 116" OTT = 275.5" Estimated weight = 483 pounds 5 day average = 16 pounds per day. 10 pounds smaller than it's mother was on Day 45. Hoping for 700 pounds on this one.   Friday, August 30 View Page Day 70 for the 639.5 Radach Circumference= 158" OTT = 342.5" Estimated weight = 920 pounds 5 day average = 9.2 pounds It's put on 65 pounds since the blossom split. It's now the third biggest pumpkin I have ever had by measurement behind my personal best and my other one from this year. It would have taken third at the state fair and won $1000 if it would have held together.   Friday, August 30 View Page I plugged the split with some caulk to keep air out and hopefully delay any decomposition. I am hoping to keep it growing until the weighoff on the 21st and get it to 1000 pounds. Need to average about 4 pounds per day. It's mother went a little light compared to estimate though so I am battling that as well.   Friday, August 30 View Page Pumpkin is rolling on the 144 Radach in the 150 sf contest. On Day 20.... Circumference = 52" OTT = 127" Estimated weight = 54 pounds Already got a lot of orange showing. This one is going to be a stunner for looks.   Tuesday, September 3 View Page Day 71 for the 1931 Turner Circumference = 163.25" OTT= 361" Estimated weight = 1068 pounds. 6 day average = 6.8 Pounds per day.   Tuesday, September 3 View Page Real disappointing week for the weights. It looks like all this cold weather finally caught up to them. You can see from this graph of all of my biggest pumpkins that it has now fallen behind my personal best. It needs to average about 9 pounds a day to get to 1223 by September 21st. Probably not going to make it. Its mother went 5% heavy so if I can get it to an estimate of around 1175 at least it will have a shot. We are supposed to have a couple of days near 80 later this week so I am hoping for one more little bump in weight.   Tuesday, September 3 View Page Day 57 for the 784.5 Radach Circumference = 127.5" OTT = 299.5" Estimated weight = 620 pounds 7 day average 8.6 pounds per day. Just plugging along. Should be able to go north of 700 pounds when all is said and done. Looks alot like it's mother.   Tuesday, September 3 View Page Day 25 for the 144 Radach Circumference = 69" OTT = 162.5" Estimated weight = 103 pounds 5 day average = 9.8 pounds per day.   Friday, September 6 View Page Day 60 on 784.5 Radach Circumference = 129.5 OTT = 302" Estimated weight = 636 pounds 5 day average = 6.6 pounds per day.   Friday, September 6 View Page Here is the stem side of the 784.5 Radach. It's got almost a month to go. Hope to add on another 100 pounds or so.   Sunday, September 8 View Page Day 30 for the 144 Radach in the 150 SF contest. Circumference = 82" OTT = 189.5" Estimated weight = 159 pounds 5 day average 11.2 pounds per day.   Monday, September 9 View Page Made it to 1000 pounds with the 639.5 Radach On day 80 Circumference = 162.5" OTT = 353" Estimated weight = 1002 pounds 5 day average = 8.8 pounds per day. It won't be eligible for competition due to the hole but it looks like it's going make it long enough to get an official weight. It's added 147 pounds since it split. There is always a chance it goes lighter than expected but I am thrilled to have reached the 1000 pound estimate.   Thursday, September 12 View Page Day 80 for the 1931 Turner Circumference = 166" OTT = 368" Estimated weight 1127 pounds 5 day average 4.4 pounds per day.   Thursday, September 12 View Page Growth tapered off big time and it's looking like it will be tough to get it estimating close to my personal best. Right now I am trying to decide if I take it to the weighoff on the 21st or wait a couple of weeks to just eek out every ounce I can. An extra 2 weeks at a couple pounds a day could give it another 30 pounds or so.   Monday, September 16 View Page Day 70 for the 784.5 Radach Circumference = 135" OTT = 313.5" Estimated weight = 710 pounds 5 day average = 4.6 pounds per day. Fall is here and everything is winding down in the patch. There will only be minimal gains from here on out. Still haven't decided which pumpkin to take to the Skagit Valley weighoff at Christiansons Nursery on Saturday. Normally I would take the older pumpkin but my 1931 Turner has an outside chance at getting me a personal best and I really want that bad. Tomorrow is the day 85 measurement for the 1931. If it's still growing over 3 pounds a day I'll probably leave it on the vine and take the 784.5 to Christiansons instead.   Wednesday, September 18 View Page Day 40 for the 144 Radach Circumference = 94.5" OTT = 220.5" Estimated weight = 248 pounds 5 day average = 8.5 pounds per day   Wednesday, September 18 View Page I have been breeding this line for 3 years now trying to create something red round and decent sized. This much orange at day 40 is promising. Hoping it goes red like it's mother.   Thursday, September 19 View Page Day 90 for the 639.5 Radach Circumference = 164.25" OTT = 346" Estimated weight = 1027 pounds 5 day average= 2.4 pounds per day. She goes to the weighoff in two days. I've got a bit of a buffer above 1k in case she goes light. It's really a shame that I have to enter as a damaged fruit.   Friday, September 20 View Page loading up the 639.5   Friday, September 20 View Page It swung out just far enough that I was able to back the truck in without having to reposition the tripod.   Saturday, September 21 View Page loaded up and ready to head out to the Skagit Valley Pumpkin Festival. Hopefully I'll have a Howard Dill award coming my way for best looking pumpkin.   Saturday, September 21 View Page The 639.5 Radach and the 784.5 Radach at the weighoff.   Saturday, September 21 View Page Glad I decided to grow my own seeds. They look great.   Saturday, September 21 View Page pretty good turn out this year.   Saturday, September 21 View Page My Dad grew one in his yard this year. This was my 658 Radach seed. It came in at 159 pounds.   Saturday, September 21 View Page Andrew Jerde is a first year grower. I got him started with some of my seeds this year. This was from my 658 Radach seed. He got 381 pounds. He has a bigger one going on my 639.5 Seed.   Saturday, September 21 View Page My 784.5 Radach came in at 716.5 pounds and finished 7th place. Missed 6th place by 3 pounds. The official measurer almost always come up with a smaller number than I do on estimating. They had it estimating at 687 pounds but I had it at 719 pounds. So its officially 4% heavy but close to spot on chart by my measurement.   Saturday, September 21 View Page My 639.5 Radach came in at 977.5 pounds. Went a little lighter than I was hoping but still the second biggest I have ever had weighed. I think it had potential to go even bigger without the stem damage and the split. The official estimate was at 986 pounds and my estimate was at 1027. So it was definitely light. Its mother was light as well so that's not shocking.   Saturday, September 21 View Page I am always gunning for the Howard Dill Award. Came up short this time. The pumpkin to the right of mine won. It was bigger and might have had a slightly more uniform shape. I believe mine had better color though got to go with what the voters say though. This pumpkin was grown by a first year grower and he didn't know the seed. Based on the striping I have a sneaking suspicion that he used a club seed that might have come from yours truly. All of my pumpkins with the 1872 Sippel in the line have that striping.   Saturday, September 21 View Page Final standings. If I would have brought my big one it would have finished 3rd. Still trying to eek a few more pounds out of it to beat my personal best of 1223.   Sunday, September 22 View Page Day 90 for the 1931 Turner. Circumference = 169.5" OTT = 375.5" Estimated weight = 1191 pounds 5 day average = 6 pounds per day. My intention all season long was to take this one to the Skagit Valley weighoff. It's still putting on decent numbers though so we are going to see if we can get it above my personal best of 1223. Only needs to do about 2.5 pounds per day to get there on the estimate chart. It's Mother went 5% heavy so I am hoping for that as well.   Wednesday, October 2 View Page Day 100 for the 1931 Turner Circumference = 170.5" OTT = 378.5" Estimated weight = 1218 pounds 5 day average = 1.6 pounds per day We've come to the end with this one. It's within 1" of the OTT for my personal best. It's mother went 5% heavy so I think I have a great shot at a personal best. Nothing left to do now but weigh. I will harvest and load up tomorrow night so that we can head out of town bound for Oregon right after work on Friday. Heading to Baumans.   Thursday, October 3 View Page Loading Day. Getting this thing out of the patch was a chore. I lifted it up and set it back down on a board so that I could try drag it out to an area where it would be easier to load. However, My truck couldn't get enough traction in the patch to tow it and it just spun the rear wheels. Instead I backed the truck all the way through the track and loaded it right there. I used plywood under the wheels and slowly moved it forward until it was out of the patch. Fortunately it barely wit under the cross beams so I didn't have to fully dismantle the greenhouse structure.   Thursday, October 3 View Page Took me 4 hours but I got her in the truck!   Saturday, October 5 View Page We had an epically bad trip to Oregon. Made the mistake of stopping for dinner in Tacoma and my truck was broken into. They made off with our bag that had all our clothes, my wife's chromebook and most tragically my daughters cherished stuffed animals. We spent a couple hours contacting the police, looking at security footage and making sure that compromised accounts were canceled or frozen. When we finally made it back on the road, we encountered road work that closed the freeway down to one lane in Vancouver and then again is South Portland. By the time all was done we had spent 9 hours on the trip and arrived at our hotel at 12:30 in the morning. We made it to the weighoff this morning. All unloaded and waiting for the weighoff to start. Official estimate came in at 1199.9 pounds it will need to go 2 percent heavy to be a personal best.   Saturday, October 5 View Page The scale locked in at 1220 pounds but apparently the official weight was 1220.5. Just 2.5 pounds off of my personal best. A little disappointed not to get the PB but still a great pumpkin.   Tuesday, October 8 View Page Here is a chart showing the growth curve of my personal best verses my biggest 2 from this year. Every time I look at that I just wonder how big my 1223 would have gotten if I had left it on the vine for 3 more weeks.   Tuesday, October 8 View Page Day 60 on the 144 Radach in the 150 square foot contest. I lost my first plant in a rain storm just before the vine was about to lay down and had to start over. As a result it was a really late pollination on August 9th. It hasn't grown at all in the last 10 days. I didn't keep up on the pest and disease control and it has a bad case of spider mites and powdery mildew. 3/4 of the plant is gone and what's left isn't healthy at all. The fruit is estimating 261 pounds. It's small but it's pretty and the color is darkening up nicely. This one will go to the Kristofferson Farm weighoff on Saturday.   Friday, October 11 View Page All loaded up for tomorrow. One last chance at a Howard Dill Award. If it were a couple hundred pounds bigger I would say it was a lock.   Saturday, October 12 View Page Last weigh off of the year.   Saturday, October 12 View Page I was able to drop off my pumpkin but I left to attend a funeral of a dear friend. We came back just as they were loading up.   Saturday, October 12 View Page My 150 SF pumpkin came in at 263 pounds.   Thursday, October 17 View Page Got the display of my 3 big ones out by the road. Total weight for the big 3 was 2914.5 pounds. Thats my best year ever topping the 2857 pounds that I had in 2014. I also went back through the official records and I believe my 1220.5 is a new Snohomish County record! Snohomish County Giant Pumpkins over 500 pounds 1. 1220.5 Radach 2024 - Stanwood 2. 992 Haddow 2023 - Edmonds 3. 979 Jerue 2015 - Lake Stevens 4. 959 Beuchere 2020 - Snohomish 5. 788 Haddow 2017 - Edmonds 6. 784.5 Radach 2022 - Stanwood 7. 770 Beauchere 2020 - Snohomish 8. 730.5 Haddow 2016 - Edmonds 9. 716.5 Radach 2024 - Stanwood 10. 695.5 Haddow 2023- Edmonds 11. 658 Radach 2023 - Stanwood 12. 639.5 Radach 2023 - Stanwood 13. 638.5 Boitano 2024 – Granite Falls