Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 6 Entries. Monday, January 6 View Page Start of the new year here in Western Connecticut. Just perusing the auctions and doing some yard work. My small patch has winter rye on it. Starting to get excited for the new Spring growing season. Getting some lists and orders ready. Pretty cold today and overcast. Good day to catch-up on some Pumpkin YouTube (Pumpkintube)   Tuesday, January 7 View Page Back to school begins...getting our LaMotte Soil Testing Kits re-supplied for the students. These are very nice kits for teaching the students about pH and plant nutrition, it they are not as accurate as I would like. Typically we send the soil samples to our local extension to compare/contrast our findings.   Wednesday, January 8 View Page Landscaping & Brush clearing is on the schedule today. It's bitterly cold out here though the sun is shining. Also found out I need a new bar for the chainsaw.   Thursday, January 9 View Page Trying to reconfigure this side area of my house near where my patch will be. I really want to setup some type of fertilizer injector system that can feed both patches via soaker hose along with a regular hose for my other vegetable crops. Taking on a lot of plant care this summer, hopefully if I can setup some type of automation it will help. Last year,my first year growing a giant pumpkin, I was hand-watering the feed every time I fertilized and only used an irrigation timer for the clear water. It was a big pain. Hopefully I can MacGyver something.   Friday, January 10 View Page What are some of your favorite non-giant-pumpkin related plants to grow? We have a collection of cacti and succulents in the greenhouse. This one is a specific cultivar of Crassula called "Gollum" after the Lord of The Rings. I really find it looks interesting compared to the regular flat leafed Jade's you often see. We took a trip to the New York Botanical Garden years back and their conservatory inspired us to take up our own Cacti/Succulent collection. This Crassula is about 10 years old and was started from a small cutting of another. It's a mother plant that we use often to propagate new cuttings.   Saturday, January 11 View Page Won 1-set of this auction lot last night at the SNGPG auction. This will bey first year trying Bushel Gourds. I also picked up a few 313 Connolly BG as well. Do you run these plants similar to pumpkins. Based on my research I think they can be started much earlier and can have a longer overall growing season. Any specific tips? Finding information specifically on growing giant BG's is proving to be difficult when compared to pumpkins.