| August 2007 |
| August 3rd, August is off to a great start. I hate to say anything for fear of jinxing myself. I just had the best 2 days I've ever had on any pumpkin 32#/day on the 670 Daigle. The pumpkins range in size from 232# to 540#. Its still a long way to September 29th but I have my fingers crossed. |
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| August 8th All vines in the patch have been deadheaded (except the main vines). I have never done it this early in the season, typically I wait until the vines reach the end of the patch but this year I decided to go for broke and do something different. The work is coming to an end. Now comes the excitement and anticipation. Everyday to look at the pumpkins hoping for the best (incredible growth) fearing the worst (split) and realizing that truth (that it didn't grow as much as you hoped for). This is where the fun of this hobby comes from. If August doesn't get you excited about pumpkin growing then nothing will. As you can see things are going great! The color is not nearly as awesome as these photos make it appear but several of the pumpkins will be decent in color. Upper left is the pumpkin on main vine of my 857. Taping in at 314#. It has been gaining about 19#/day. Below that is the pumpkin on the back main vine. It has better color and shape and is a bit larger at 353#, gaining about 21#/day. Lower left is the pumpkin on the main vine of the 500 Northrup. Not quite the nice color as on the 857/670/1101 but it will be orange. It is at 332#, gaining 20#/day. Above and to the right is the back main pumpkin on the 500. It likewise is doing well taping at 319# and growing about 17#/day. Middle Right is the 869.5 Calai. This photo actually makes this pumpkin look orange but it isn't. I am somewhat disappointed by this as it was supposed to be orange and I used this as the pollinator for just about every pumpkin in the patch this year. This is my third biggest pumpkin coming in at 388# and growing about 24#/day. Lower Right is the 1101 Northrup. This one is getting big and will have great color similar to my 857 last year it estimated at 563#, growing about 18#/day. Bottom is the Beast of the Patch. Taping in at a whopping 628#, It has great color and shape. I just hope it holds together. The last measurement had slowed a bit dowin to 14#/day but it had been in the upper 20's for the last 10 days. I hope the low measurement was just a fluke and nothing serious. For comparison sake my 857 on the 7th of August was estimated at 338 pounds. |
| August 14th, I got back from a quick trip to Alaska on Sunday and found things well in the patch. The 1101 growth seemed to have slowed down to 12#/day over the 5 day period. It is also beginning to show a prominant Dill ring just a few inches from the blossom end. The 670 continues its incredible growth. It put on 26#/day while I was away. It now measures 336" OTT that's 759# (800# by the newer charts but the older charts seem to be more accurate in my garden). There are still six weeks left to grow. The first signs of problems have developed. There is a very slight Dill ring that is beginning to show. Right now it is not much of an issue but if it grow several hundred more pounds it may become a problem. I may develop high blood pressure watching this thing. If it goes down it would be nice if it did it befoe the state fair in two weeks. The rest of the patch is doing well (several other pumpkins are ahead of last years pace, but they can't hold a candle to the two big one's. Time to start thinking about and erecting frost protection. Last year I lost much of my plants do to frost on the 18th. August 14th 8pm Well it happened. I was concerned about it and it did. Came home from work to look at my babies and sure enough there is a split at the intersection of the rib and dill ring. I filled it with silicone and will hope it holds in there for two more weeks. I would really like to take this thing to the Eastern Idaho State Fair. Check in for that is still some 16 days away. I will watch it closely and if it looks like it is going bad I will pull out the scales and get it weighed otherwise I will keep it going and hope for the best. At this point I would take a 1000+ even if it is damaged. This is two years in a row for splits on the 670 Daigle perhaps it is not such a great seed. August 15th, A second hole developed on the adjacent rib today. It also was caulked in hopes to keep the cavity sterile. At this point I will watch it very closely. If it stops growing I will cut it and get it weighed. I'm not sure it can hold it together for another two weeks but it would be fun to show up at the fair with a pumpkin that weighs 1/2 ton! Taped it today and it comes in at 810#. The 1101 grew 20/day (now estimated at 685), don't count this one out yet. The back main vine pumpkin on my 857 has great color, and shape and comes in at 540# which is 50# ahead of my 857 from last year and 20 pounds heavier then my 833 from last year. It is was pollinated 3 days later (7/5 versus 7/3). August 23rd, Been busy lately sorry for few updates and no pictures The 670 is still holding in there and putting on the pounds, The rest of patch is doing awesome as well. Frost is just around the corner. I've spent much of my free time the last week getting the frost protection covers erected. I have two of them up with a third yet to be built. I had a scare last night as it felt chilly and we only got a high of 66 degrees and was 50 degrees by 9:30 so I was concerend about frost. Stayed out in the patch untill midnight working on things. Still didn't get everything done but as it turned out it didn't freeze. It is supposed to get a couple of degrees cooler tonight. The plastic should be up and the plants protected by then. Here are the pumpkins and their estimated weights as of last night. The 4 largest pumpkins are all bigger then last years personal best. It makes it difficult as it means I 1101 Northrup 780 # should cover each of those 4 pumpkins, but that is a lot of work. Obviously don't need to cover the 670 as it 670 Daigle 966# it going to the fair. My wife also thinks hers dexerves to be covered. And after she all does to help I have a hard 857 Christensen (Karie's) 577 # time arguing with her. Her pumpkin is only 20# behind my 857 from last year. 857 Christensen B (main vine) 608 # 857 Christensen B (back main) 670 # 500 Northrup (main vine) 569 # 500 Northrup (back main) 521 # 869.5 Calai 723# this pumpkin has an extremely weird shape and I doubt that this measurement is accurate. August 25th, The 1101 and 857 are covered with the heaters running. These plants should be protected from the frost untill the weighoff. It got chilly the last couple of nights but no frost. The 5 day forcast calls for warms days and decent nights so the plants should survive a little longer. Still trying to decide whether to cover the 869 and karies 857. I have the stuff to do it I just need to find the time. August 26th The growth on the 670 and 1101 was nonexixtent for the last four days. Not too concerned about the 670 as its days are limited. The 1101 is another story I was hoping to keep it going. The question is what to do with it if it doesn't pickup by Wednesday. That's the day I will measure next and the entries for the fair due on Thursday. The 857 back main pumpkin did well and is now estimated at 733, the 869 did even better at 807 but it such a weird shape I would not bet on that weight. No frost forcasted for the week so I will take the opportunity to get the 869.5 and Karie's 857 covered. |
| August 29th This beast came in 190 pounds under what it was supposed to be. It was estimated at 1051# on the 2005 charts. It is now the 859.5 Christensen DMG. Still enough to be personal best (arguable as it is damaged) by 2.5 pounds. Still have two more in the patch that are estimated aver 800#. I just hope they don't go 200 pounds light. I am trying to set up a page with the Eastern Idaho State Fair results. Check back here for a link to the page. |
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