Update

I'm surviving here. The plants have responded to some nice weather and some good feedings. Although I'm never where I'd like to be, considering the weather I'm glad to have what I have.

One thing to note, the growth in the patch is not linear. That is, right now they are taking off. A week ago, they were not.

Pictured here is the 779 Warren. This is going to be a good seed. I already know that this one will be in my patch next year. It's at 10 feet right now.



The 964 is at 11.5 feet. The 1436 is around 9, and the 1392 is at about 8. The 1392 has taken a lot of hail damage. As for the 998, it's doing a little better but it's an odd plant due to it's propensity to throw double vines. On that one I'll probably set a few fruit wherever and keep the best one.

What a difference a day makes

I was so positive yesterday. Things have made a turn for the worse.

We got another downpour today, along with hail. Lots more leaves have been ripped up and shredded. The 1392 is particularly bad. I don't see an intact leaf on the plant.

My soil is so wet, I sink in 4 inches if I take a step on it.

Catching up...

Here is where we stand. Not bad, considering the lack of warmth we've had!

998 Bowles - This one started out "gangbusters". Then the main vine went double, twice. I stopped the main and have anointed a secondary to become a new main. But it has taken forever to develop. One of the side vines is also a massive double vine. Many of the vines simply grow straight up into the air... it's a crazy plant and I'm not sure what I'll get from it.

964 Wolf - Awesome in every way, except that it has a nice split in the main vine. I think it's manageable, if I can keep it from getting worse. The main is out beyond 10 feet right now, I think.



779 Warren - Also very good. Almost as long as the 964, (from whence it came). It has a female at about 9 feet which should open in about 5 days. But that one is early. I should have a nice set at 12 or 13 feet, at the proper time!



1392 Bresnick - Odd looking plant, hairy, weird leaves, but doing OK. A little smaller than the first three I mentioned.

1436 Nesbitt - Looking fine. About the same size as the 1392. This was Elise's plant, but she seemed to have lost interest this year when she found out that the fair wasn't hosting a big money prize. So far I've done all the work, and so it becomes my plant. Between this one and the 998, likely one of these will need to be the fair fruit, because I can't get the others out until one of these comes out of the patch.

1232 Bailey - Out of the running. The plant has always been small, and then a section of the main got some sort of rot or it just didn't develop. It came out 90 degrees out of phase, and the main is now snapped... The plant might stay around simply because there is no other use for the space.

These leaves.....

I wish I could figure out what's "eating" these leaves. They first appear as tears in the leaf. And then they progress.

Click on the images to get a high resolution version.

I did use neem about one month ago, and then I used it again today.

My leaves always look like this, every year. I'd like to know what causes it!

Still hasn't changed

I haven't needed to water anything for three weeks!

We're in the wettest month ever for Pocatello, and it's only the 20th of June!

When will this weather change!?

It's been cool and rainy since May31st!

998 Surgery

I performed surgery on the 998 Bowles, to stop a double vine.

First of all, if you are seeing this via Facebook, it's because I setup my blog to send the blog posts to Facebook as notes. But, on FB you aren't seeing the pictures. If you would like to see the pictures, visit me at:

http://cliffsgiantpumpkin.blogspot.com/

OK, well the idea is to stop the double-vine completely and then train a secondary to take over. You can see how this vine is a trouble spot. It's sticking straight up and probably won't come down.

The offending main vine:



With the amount of "stuff" pruned away, hopefully that will send a lot of energy to a secondary. The secondary I have picked out is two nodes up from the double-bundle of pumpkin parts.

Before:



After:

998 double-vining

Well, I see now why the 998 has such a monster vine. It's double-vining again. It had done this early on, then it split and I terminated one. Now it's double vining again. Not to panic... I'll just have to look at it and decide how to best manage it. Pics are forthcoming, I hope. And, it does look like it's spliting again, and if so I'll just terminate one.

Comeback

These plants never cease to amaze me. On Friday I was blasted by wind. The plants were a mess. I pruned out quite a few twisted vines and a lot of broken leaves. By Sunday evening, the plants are looking great again. To the untrained eye, it would appear that nothing happened! They just fill in the empty spots and look great! I should always remember that top growers take out 1/3 to 1/2 of their secondaries anyway, and it should be good for the plant.

I'd say that I'm nearing 7 feet on the mains of the 998 and 964. That's pretty good considering that I've been with cool temperatures over the past week. Today is the first day that we're starting to see some sun in quite some time. This rainy pattern is supposed to continue through this week, but I'm hoping for some lucky breaks of sun.

The 998 is a monster. I've never had such a vigorous plant. The main vine is huge for this stage.

Is this the end?

I'm not talking about the end of my giant pumpkins.

When we have to turn our central heating on, in June? When we get more rain in one week than we usually get in a year? I've had the sprinklers off for a week now. That has never happened before. The sun is at a low ebb, but it's out of character, out of it's normal cycle.

On Friday the wind really did a number on my plants. I had to do a lot of pruning, but they will come back just fine. Right now I'm wondering when the weather will give them warm growing conditions.

Hmmm

OK, looks like I need fins, a snorkel, a mask...

Just add sun

About the only thing I could ask right now is to have some sun. We're in the second day of heavy overcast and rainy conditions.

Looking good

Welcome to June. My three best plants, the 998, 964, and 779 are as good as any that I've had at this stage. So far, we haven't had a weather event to do any damage to the plants, but perhaps it's only a matter of time.

One point that I need to write in bold letters, is that last year's 779 was grown at 13 feet out. It was probably the furthest out that I've had a fruit on a good plant. That is something to focus on... I'd like to get these fruits further out, even if it means that I'm into the second week of July to do it. But unless our weather turns cold, I have a good chance at getting some distance on some of these.