Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 58 Entries. Friday, April 30 View Page HI everyone. Welcome to my 2021 diary. For the first time since 2018, I will grow four plants. Having recently become semi-retired, I�ll have more time on my hands to take care of them. Hopefully this will translate into bigger pumpkins. This year�s lineup is from all New England grown pumpkins. � Friday, April 30 View Page From the Granite State comes the 2268.5 Leblanc. 2294. 5 Noel X 2294.5 Noel. � Friday, April 30 View Page From Massachusetts, on the right side is the 2045 Krusznya = 2051 Marshall X 2005 Haist. � Friday, April 30 View Page From Massachusetts, on the right side is the 2045 Krusznya = 2051 Marshall X 2005 Haist. � Friday, April 30 View Page pic for last entry � Friday, April 30 View Page For the first time in many seasons, I decided to grow an orange one. From the undisputed king of southern New England orange comes the 1625 Gansert. 1382 Rea X 907 Young. � Saturday, May 1 View Page Rounding out the quartet is another RI pumpkin, the 1938 Sperry. 1944 Connolly X 1961 Sperry. � Saturday, May 22 View Page In the patch, things are looking up. Three of four plants are now alone in their hoops. Backup plants were culled and the hoop houses centered over the keeper. Pictured here is the 2268.5 Leblanc. � Saturday, May 22 View Page The 2045 Kruzsnya. � Saturday, May 22 View Page Best looking is the 1625 Gansert. � Thursday, May 27 View Page I let the 1625 Gansert out of the house today. About six feet long. � Monday, June 7 View Page Time for an update. This is the 1938 Sperry. At eight feet in length, it is currently the smallest plant in the patch. � Monday, June 7 View Page The 2045 Krusznya is looking good at about 10 feet. � Monday, June 7 View Page The 1625 Gansert was the only one of four plants to be outside the hoop house when the Memorial Day weekend storm came. It was beat up some, but is recovering nicely. At 10.5 feet. � Monday, June 7 View Page The 2268.5 Leblanc is 12.5 feet long with a female at 12. I will probably pass on that one. � Monday, June 7 View Page Oops forgot the pic! 2268.5 � Monday, June 14 View Page I bought a new toy for this season. Gets down deep in a wide pattern and gives me badly need exercise. � Saturday, June 19 View Page I have had a hard time finding small bamboo stakes this year. Must be Covid. Passing by this plant today, I noticed That there was quite the motley assortment of stand ins. There is an old fishing pole, curtain rods, driveway marking stakes and old target arrows. Whatever it takes! � Tuesday, June 22 View Page They don't make em much uglier than this. � Tuesday, June 22 View Page Things got a little better at the next plant. 2045 Krusznya x 2268.5 LeBlanc at about 13 feet. � Tuesday, June 22 View Page And better still was this beauty on the 1625 Gansert. 1625 Gansert x 2045 Krusznya � Wednesday, June 23 View Page Not perfect but she will do. 2268.5 LeBlanc X 1938 Sperry. 15 feet out. � Thursday, June 24 View Page Great dive today. Water was reasonably clear and the lobsters were plentiful. � Friday, July 2 View Page Burying vines in the mud. Anyone who has been growing for a while has been there. Can't say it is the most fun I've had in a while. � Saturday, July 3 View Page I had two pumpkins reach their ten DAP mark today. Pictured here is the 2045 Krusznya X 1625 Gansert. � Saturday, July 3 View Page The 1625 Gansert X 2045 Krusznya. � Saturday, July 3 View Page My grandson and I toured the American Heritage Museum in Hudson Mass. recently. A truly remarkable collection of restored armored fighting vehicles from 1917 to present. Behind us is the iconic Russian World War Two mainstay battle tank the T34/85. � Sunday, July 4 View Page I guess I'm growing five plants this year. Found this one coming out of one of my compost piles. � Sunday, July 4 View Page Got a pollination on her too. � Sunday, July 4 View Page Day 10 2268.5 LeBlanc X 1938 Sperry. � Sunday, July 4 View Page The 2268.5 LeBlanc plant is rapidly filling in its 1000 sf of allocated space � Wednesday, July 7 View Page Ten DAP 1938 Sperry X 2268.5 LeBlanc. � Wednesday, July 7 View Page Another day, another setback. The fruit on the 2268 plant aborted today. I never really liked the shape of it. The next fruit pollinated down the main happened six days later on the 29th. I�m going to have to position it to take over. 2268 X 2045 Five lobed, nicely shaped. � Wednesday, July 14 View Page Today I had to face the fact that my 900 sf beautiful 2268.5 Leblanc plant has succumbed to Yellow Vine Disease. Nothing will grow on it. Every pollinated pumpkin has shriveled and died. I�ll begin the process of removing the plant soon. Thanks for the seed Barry. I gave it my best shot. � Wednesday, July 14 View Page Yep that looks like YVD. � Friday, July 16 View Page The 24 day old 2045 Krusznya pumpkin blew up in a spectacular system of cracks some time overnight or early this morning . It didn�t look as if the cavity was breached, hard to tell. I know this pumpkin would never make it with that kind of damage so it was cut off the vine. The area in which the 2045 plant was grown had standing water in it for days which probably contributed to its demise. A small pumpkin on an anemic secondary was placed on plywood. There are a few others on secondary vines that I�ll watch and will choose the best grower. You never know. The 2017 Pappas 1438 was pollinated this late, and grown under similar circumstances. � Friday, July 16 View Page The 2268.5 Leblanc plant has been cleared away. Mighty Mustard will be planted soon. The 1938 Sperry plant is in the background. Nearly 1000 sf in area. All vines should be terminated in two days or so. � Friday, July 16 View Page The 1625 Gansert Plant has filled its allocated 840 sf. � Tuesday, July 20 View Page The stump has rotted away on the 2045 Krusznya. The hits keep coming. � Tuesday, July 20 View Page I have had a significant number of pumpkin culls that look like this in the last two years. A kind of crinkly withered look on the stem end. Anyone know what causes this? � Tuesday, July 20 View Page Alright, enough of the bad news and on to the good. This is the 28 day old 1625 Gansert pumpkin. Not setting any growth records, but I think she is going to be pretty. � Tuesday, July 20 View Page Side view. � Tuesday, July 20 View Page Dap 22 1938 Sperry pumpkin. This one has potential. � Tuesday, July 20 View Page Side view. � Thursday, July 22 View Page Looking prettier every day is the DAP 30 1625 Gansert X 2045 Krusznya � Tuesday, July 27 View Page Looking good on DAP 30 is the 1938 Sperry. Grew 43 pounds yesterday. Hope that ramps up. � Saturday, July 31 View Page I'm happy to report that the move was a success. � Saturday, July 31 View Page 1938 pumpkin and plant � Tuesday, August 3 View Page Well I guess this one won't be up for the Howard Dill award. I call it "Chunk". Looks like a big chunk was taken out of it's rear quarter. After the main vine pumpkin blew on the 2045 Krusznya, this secondary vine pumpkin was chosen. Had no idea at the time it would come out looking like this. � Wednesday, August 4 View Page The 1625 Gansert on Day 42. Only 550 pounds or so. I'm very happy with the shape and color though. � Wednesday, August 4 View Page Close up view. � Saturday, August 7 View Page Caught this one a few days ago. With overfishing and climate change, I don't catch nearly as many of these as I used to. � Tuesday, August 10 View Page The 2045 pumpkin split. Not surprising. A result of too much rain and a structurally weak blossom end. Time to clean out the plant and seed a cover crop. Thanks for the seed Dan. � Tuesday, August 17 View Page 1625 Gansert early morning pic. This pumpkin is only growing about thirteen pounds per day. At about 700 pounds. Other than damage to some leaves from cucumber beetles, overall the plant is very healthy. � Saturday, August 21 View Page Three weeks ago, the 1938 pumpkin decided it didn't want to grow anymore. I suspect YVD although the plant didn't exhibit any signs of it. I decided to take it to the Marshfield Fair. � Saturday, August 21 View Page At 671 pounds, it was good enough for first place. � Monday, August 30 View Page The compost pile plant and pumpkin. Around 200 pounds. No watering, pesticides, fertilizer, or fungicides. I was using the plant as a pest lure. � Friday, September 3 View Page At the Woodstock Fair, the 1625 pumpkin weighed in at 778.5 pounds and came in fifth. �