The first leaves have greened up nicely. (Technically, they're not really leaves, but that's not important I don't guess).

The milk jug is sort of a joke. That's what people put in the pictures with their pumpkins to give some sense of scale. But I did need something to show how big (or little) the plant is.

That's the back-up plant in the top right corner. But it looks like my first choice is starting stronger. Excellent!

There's so much that can go wrong

1. An undetected vine borer could kill the main vine.
2. The pumpkin could split.
3. A lot of the volunteer plants coming up in my good dirt are a weird yellowish green - like in this picture. (That's a cucumber seedling, not the pumpkin!) Do I have evil dirt somehow?!
4. A disease like mosaic virus could wipe me out.

You know, to be honest that's a shorter list than I was expecting. And the pumpkin plants are looking pretty good today; I'll post a picture of them tomorrow evening.

Let the Photosynthesis Begin!

It ain't much, but she's all I got... there should be leaves by Sunday.

I've almost been reluctant to get started. Deep inside, I think I'm worried. Last year was so fine. But what if this year ends in disaster? So many things can go wrong.

My pumpkin growing buddies Doug and Lee and others have been helping my through this rough pre-season stretch. The chatting we do on-line is good therapy when the burdens of my expectations have got me down.

I've Created Life!

Ok, so this is the backup seed - I just had to dig it up and see what was going on. It's safely back in the ground now, and I'd expect the plants to pop out of the ground on Friday.

Professional Farmers...

... always label the rows so they remember what's growing where when the seeds sprout.

The seeds are in the ground; the plants might sprout Friday or Saturday I'd guess.

The Moment is at Hand

I've filed the seeds off and set them to soaking at work.

The problem is, I keep holding the vial to warm the water up to the preferred germination temperature of 80 degrees. Then, since I'm carrying the vial around with me, I have to show them to everybody to admire. Well, a mother hen has to take care of her eggs, doesn't she?

Hurry Up and Wait...

Today just wasn't the right day to start.

Is it the fear of failure after last season's success?
Is is biorythms? Or the Farmer's Almanac says it's the wrong day?

Today does not feel right.
I'm not ready for this.

Is it the problems establishing a world class irrigation system?

Mostly, I'm going on vacation at the end of May. Last year, the plant grew a foot a day that last week of May. I think I need to be here when that's happening to make sure everything's going well.

So, let's shoot for a seed in the ground next Monday, April 30th.

Aftermath of a Toxic Spill


Ok, so it wasn't really a spill. I got overly excited and applied 10 times too much pesticide on Saturday - but only to the pit where the seed will be planted next week, not the whole yard or anything.

I went out to assess the damage, and the results were not pretty...




Oh wait, that's a present that the cats brought me.









The worms are alive and well.

Hopefully in a couple of months the squash borers won't be able to say the same.

2007 Should be Bigger and Better

1. Better seed
2. Better dirt - or at least more good dirt for the main vine
3. Systemic insecticide to kill the sqaush borers
4. More fertilizer - like, constantly.
5. Irrigation system - both to water and to keep things cool

I guess the goal will be 500 pounds!

And after long, sleepless nights and intense discussion with other growers, I think Planting Day will be moved up to April 22nd. Pumkpins hate our heat in July and August - don't we all? I'll try to take advantage of the cooler weather before then.

A threat I didn't know I had...


We've never seen a deer in our yard - until Sunday. So it was darn surprising when I looked out my window and saw a yard full of bambi's.


I think they like to eat pumpkins, but I'm not positive.