The Secret of my Success

Sure, I like to whine about my problems. I think I'll have more shade than ever in the back yard this year. The whole yard is builder-grade clay and rock. (Try tilling it in the summer sometime, Andy.) The vine borers, not to mention Fluffy the Deer, know exactly where to find me.

HOWEVER!!! I spent the winter prepping my soil with the favorite food of earthworms:














That's right, coffee grounds. I collected coffee grounds by the 25-pound bag full at Starbucks for most of the winter. I think I put a quarter ton (500 pounds) of coffee into my plot!

And sure enough, I can't stick my shovel in the ground back there without pulling out 3 or 4 big ol' worms. And there's nothing better for making great dirt than earthworms.

National Planting Day is Saturday... can it really be here already?

May 2nd is Planting Day

Why May 2nd? Well, why not? I don't want the main vine growing ten feet the wrong direction while I'm at the beach at the end of May, like it did two seasons ago. And with my afternoon shade and afternoon misting, I'm not so scared of the August heat.

Anyway, here's a picture of this year's seed:

Ha! Tricked you! That's an old picture of last year's seed because I'm lazy and all the seeds look the same anyway. But this one ought to be a good one: it came out of a 1087 pound pumpkin grown last year in Minnesota.

The Pumpkin Blog is Open for Business!

I'm rested and rejuvenated and ready to kick some serious pumpkin butt - not that I'd ever do that to a pumpkin of course! But planting time is right around the corner and the competitive juices are flowing. The deer won't be as big a threat, nor will the bugs and disease. I've got good feelings about this go-around. Plus, my good friend Andy and I have been working on the dirt just a bit. Here's the patch in December:


















And here it is now:


















That's a lot more usable ground than I've ever had before. I'll be posting 2 or 3 times a week as we get ready to get that seed in the dirt.