I thought I had a linebacker in my backyard

She’s short – only 22” or so, so she can’t be a middle LB. She'll have to play outside LB I guess.

But at 237 pounds, she can certainly plug a gap.

Her time in the 40 is a sore spot… it varies depending on how steep the hill is.

But then she gained 40 pounds in three days, so I’m going to have to move her to the defensive line!

Lulu's a Big Girl Now!

She can't wear her Daddy's shirts anymore. I keep her covered with a couple of old t-shirts to protect her from the sun. Sunlight and the heat make fruit ripen. And I don't want a ripe pumpkin - I want a growing pumpkin. But old t-shirts can't do the trick any longer - I switched to an old sheet today.

She really has had a great week, just plugging right along!

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Hey Alicia - thanks for the note the other day! Decorator by day, AG grower by night, huh? I have a buddy in Ga. near the Florida line who grew somewhere around 900 pounds last spring. Amazing! Anyway let me know how your patch is doing sometime.

Mid-Life Crisis

Sometimes I toss and turn in the early hours of the morning, unable to sleep.

"Eight pounds a day... is that all there is? Isn't there something more out there somewhere?"

Then I sigh a big sigh and remind myself, "It'll be ok John. After all, that means Lulu is gaining over 50 pounds a week."

My family tries to be supportive. "Honey, it's a very pretty pumpkin!"

Well family, this isn't a beauty contest, she isn't an 'it', and you might try calling her by her real name, you know.

But I'm just being grumpy because of my mid-life crisis. I think I'll go gulp down my meds and then go spray some fertilizer.

I Love the Smell of a Growing Pumpkin

Come on, you think it's easy coming up with a title every time I post? If you can do better I'm all ears.

Anyway, Lulu weighs in at 190 pounds now. However, she's still got that quiet, gentle disposition that attracted me to her in the first place!

I better quit trying and just post a picture:

Thoughts from the Patch

So it was 3 days ago that I said the next two weeks would be crucial. Since then, Lulu has packed on 42 pounds! And today was her best day ever. She is only a tiny bit ahead of the bigger Jemimah from last year, but Lulu is going strong and Jemimah was on her last, um, leg. This is looking halfway decent!

Tedd, I have no white flies. I had a few earlier in the season. My systemic insecticide may be what killed them. Pick up a bottle of Bayer Tree and Shrub at HD or Lowes, mix a tablespoon in a gallon of water and pour on the roots, and repeat. It's not real cheap, but one bottle will last you forever.

Is it unusual for an Atlantic Giant to grow upside down, with the stem end down and the blossom end up? Guess I'll mosey on over to bigpumpkins.com and try to find out.

Nothing new to Report, So...

I'd like to introduce Indigo, the Unloved Polly Pocket. The kids didn't want Indigo any longer, so they spray painted her blue. She doesn't have anything to do with growing pumpkins, but some days can be sort of slow around the pumpkin patch. (I bet you didn't know that!)

Slow and Steady

Well sorry, but I don't *like* slow and steady. It's better than being eaten by killer deer, but slow and steady doesn't win the race. That saying is nonsense, "slow and steady wins the race". It really ticks me off now that I think about it. Slow and steady growth gives you a small pumpkin. Why can't we try Explosive and Dynamic instead?

Lulu's estimated weight is now 138 pounds. The next two weeks will be crucial. If the vine will hold together 300 pounds is still possible.

It's sort of hard to get a good picture of her at the moment, but here she is:

While You Were Sleeping...

LuLu was growing. She is sort of a night owl and does most of her growing at night. Or so the experts say.

Actually, it is unclear whether Lulu really has the hang of this growing thing. Maybe a good night's sleep will do her good.

100 Pounds and Going Strong

Neither of my human children ever grew like that. But it's ok, I love all my kids the same and I promise to try to never treat Lulu like she's better than the others.

Green Shoots?

Even the stump of the vine is trying to leaf back out, a testimony to modern fertilizer and genetics I guess.

And 3 days later, we magically have more leaves to help feed energy into Lulu.

And speaking of Lulu, she's gaining 10 pounds a day and may be picking up steam. I'll get a picture up tomorrow. Prepare to be impressed... or at least pretend to be so you won't hurt her feelings!