Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 32 Entries. Tuesday, April 19 View Page Well here it is, my first ever diary entry! I'm trying to grow the the first 1000 lb plus pumpkin in the Emerald Isle, yes that's right Ireland. I've followed many diary's on here over the years so hopefully I can provide a little insight into the way we do things over here. Here's a flag I got signed by some good friends in the UK and some of the best growers in Europe and in the US Wednesday, April 20 View Page I filed then soaked my seeds Sunday morning. I soak them in plain well water. Its not as complicated as some peoples methods, but it works for me! Once something works I tend not to change unless im 100% I can get better results. I think I've a pretty decent lineup, in fact probably the best lineup I've ever had. Thank you to everyone including Ron, Joe, John, Steve, Bart and Mark who were generous enough to let me grow their seeds, I really appreciate it. Also thanks to the EGVGA for letting me get the 1985 Miller at their auction, I have a good feeling about this seed!!! Wednesday, April 20 View Page I've decided to add this black gold to my poly tunnel. This must be about three to four years old I'd think. Remember if you're going to add manure make sure its well rotted and always take from the top of the pile because the salts wash to the bottom. The worms will thank me for it no doubt Wednesday, April 20 View Page I just want to thank Mark Clementz for his generosity in donating 100 field pumpkin seeds for our growers here in Ireland. We want to give new growers a reward and feel that field pumpkins are a good way to get people started. Growing AG's outside in our climate can be very challenging, especially for the novice grower. We will also provide AG seeds for those more adventurous Sunday, April 24 View Page 8 from 8 which is always a good sign when germinating! Looks like the worms are happy Sunday, April 24 View Page Here's some of the good stuff I'll be using this year. Big thank you to Ron at Wallace Organic Wonder for the Mykos and Azos!! Also a big shout out to the people at Plant Success in California for delivering top quality Great White Granular 1 Mycorrhizae just in the nick of time Sunday, April 24 View Page I've planted the 1675 Daletas and the 1734 Clementz today. Just couldn't wait any longer! I've never seen a stem as thick as the one on the 1734, so either its a ribbon vine (which I don't think it is) or its going to be a cracking plant to grow with a tree trunk of a stem. These two will compete for the north patch so let the games begin!! Thursday, April 28 View Page Here's the 1985 Miller under LED's as I am waiting to get the second poly-tunnel finished before planting out. I use a 70:30 ratio of blue to red to keep them stocky. Should be good to go for the weekend. Unfortunately, I'll have the 2230.5 as backup because the cotyledons grew curled inwards and its slower than the rest. Sunday, May 1 View Page Things are looking fine for the moment. The weather has been all over the place in the past week with hail, sleet and a bit of snow. We got one or two nights frost inland, luckily I'm ok and more importantly the plants. I have them tucked into their cloche's each night as a precaution. Here's the 1734 and 1676.5 just about to motor! Sunday, May 1 View Page Been busy with exams in the past couple weeks so I'm kind of back tracking with pictures here. I'll try to get things up to date by the end of the week hopefully. Here we have the 1676 and the Clementz. Going to be a tough call on which one to cull. Monday, May 2 View Page I got the second poly-tunnel finished so I could eventually plant out my final three plants. These will be cut down to one plant after a couple weeks. Here's the 1985 Miller, 1998 Jutras and the 2230 Wallace which I'm being patient with it as the Cots came out all funny. I'm gave them a drench of seaweed to help them settle in. Monday, May 2 View Page And here's three Daletas plants all in a row looking super. All unproven seeds so nothing to go by in terms of previous performance which means my decision will be completely based on the phenotype. The 2059 is my favorite so far! Monday, May 2 View Page All plants are enclosed in a cloche within the poly tunnel and even at this I still get a few dots of yellow on the leaves. Currently they are being given seaweed and I'll start with the ferts shortly because theyre a little on the light green side of things rather than that verdure green most top growers always maintain. I'll also be applying Plant Success products for the forthcoming season after getting some in from California. I'll post a picture later of what I'll be using as it looks real business. If Ian and Stuart Paton have used it, it's good enough for me! Thursday, June 2 View Page Its been too long since I last posted but never mind, here's the 1676 and she's the fastest at the moment. Id think in around the 8 foot mark for this plant and should be setting my fruit before the deadline fingers crossed! Thursday, June 2 View Page First female to make an appearance and its on the 1676. I don't think this will be my keeper but its good to know I have one further down the vine which will. Thursday, June 2 View Page I decided to cull the 1997 Daletas even though it was slightly further ahead of this 2059. This 2059 had more of a sturdy look to it and I feel could be more suited to our growing conditions than the 1997. I hope I'm proven correct come October Thursday, June 2 View Page While I was doing a little dig around I came across a nice surprise. Nice healthy roots. Note to self don't ruffle the roots from here on out. I'm continuing with my seaweed drenches and should be applying a tad of ferts to green up my leaves in the coming days when I get my sprayer in order. I'll throw up a few insect counters just to see if we have any bugs on the rounds yet. Ive also sprayed with roundup to eliminate any weeds. The plants are OK but ya gotta be careful with the stuff! Tuesday, June 7 View Page All the way from California, Plant Success growth products will play a crucial part in my programme this year. I believe they are extremely beneficial to pumpkin plants, after all they helped grow a UK record of 1884lbs! I will bury the vines with the Mike O'Rizey, Ron's Pumpkin Pro and Azos which contains a mixture of Glomus spp. and Azospirillum N-fixing bacteria. In addition, I will drench my plants with Great White and Plant Success soluble products in conjunction with my compost tea and seaweed. The Great White contains a mixture of beneficial bacteria and mycorrhizal fungi which ensures continuous re-inoculation of plant roots. Tuesday, June 7 View Page All the way from California, Plant Success growth products will play a crucial part in my programme this year. I believe they are extremely beneficial to pumpkin plants, after all they helped grow a UK record of 1884lbs! I will bury the vines with the Mike O'Rizey, Ron's Pumpkin Pro and Azos which contains a mixture of Glomus spp. and Azospirillum N-fixing bacteria. In addition, I will drench my plants with Great White and Plant Success soluble products in conjunction with my compost tea and seaweed. The Great White contains a mixture of beneficial bacteria and mycorrhizal fungi which ensures continuous re-inoculation of plant roots. Thursday, June 16 View Page OK, so not much has happened since my last post. I've decided to roll with the 1998.5 Jutras which was a faster grower than the 1985 Miller so the Jutras got the green light. I hope this doesn't come back to bite me! The 1676 is flying and here it is, with females showing all along the stem. Thursday, June 16 View Page Here's the first female I've decided not to cull. Its at the 15 ft mark so everything from here on out is on course for pollination! Monday, June 20 View Page Here's the 1675 opened this morning. I pollinated it with 3 males from the the 2059 Daletas as the 1998 Jutras only had 1 male flower open. There's another one down the main vine as you'll see in the next post. Monday, June 20 View Page Here's the pic to go with the last post Monday, June 20 View Page Thought I might throw this up here. We've been working on printing roots using a 3D printer in the lab at college. Here's a prototype of tomato roots printed using the current model. Maybe assessing tomato roots at early stages of growth could help select for bigger tomatoes. Sunday, June 26 View Page Here's three in a row all on the 2059. I'm keeping none of them as theyre too close to the stump. Again, a lovely plant to grow and seems very healthy Monday, June 27 View Page Things are looking up for the moment, apart from the weather. Rain, rain and more rain. Good weather for setting fruit but not for growth. Here's what looks like the keeper on the 1676 at 7 days after pollination. This plant has been immaculate to work on so lets hope that continues! Tuesday, June 28 View Page Now to the 2059. Its a slightly taller plant overall than the 1676 and stems are definitely a lot thicker. Its filling out the space nicely and I pollinated one this morning that looks like the keeper, touch wood. I love this photo of the tendrils although despite them being a pain to work around. I'm still waiting on the 1998 to get a bit bigger before I pollinate something on that one. Two out of three pollinations before July is my earliest sets ever and something to nail down for future years. Tuesday, July 5 View Page Things are staring to roll over this side of the pond. I'm pretty happy with all plants, especially the 2059. She has swagger so lets hope the pumpkin will too. I pollinated the 1998 Jutras with the 1676.5 yesterday morning at like 7.30 am because that's what ya gotta do. Here's the 1676.5 at 14 days post pollination and looking fairly symmetrical. Theres a split in the vine but I think she'll be good to go. All plants have been fab to work with so lets hope the pumpkins are too. I've included a sliotar in the picture as a size reference. Its the same size as a tennis ball. Tuesday, July 5 View Page I have my compost tea brewer up and running and gave the plants their first feed. I pollinated one on the 1998 Jutras yesterday morning so lets hope she takes. The plant is very low which I really like. I put it down to extra space afforded to this plant as it has 960 sq ft compared to the other plants which are only half that. Here's my brewer bubbling away Monday, July 11 View Page Things are going to hopefully start moving just maybe not at the rate the top growers fruit do but fingers crossed I'll still break the 1k barrier. Here's the 1676 at day 21 after pollination. Haven't put a tape to it yet but I will do. Looks like a fairly symmetrical fruit and could go orange which would be a nice bonus. I'm having trouble setting one on the 1998 Jutras which has been a good plant to work but the fruits just keep aborting. I can't figure it out because I'm not doing anything different for the plant compared to the others. Friday, October 28 View Page Just an update of how the season finished for the growers here in Ireland. Here's the 1997 Daletas which ended up as the 1,033 Byrne 2016 and it was crossed with the 1676.5 Daletas. It was taping in the mid 900's so it went a heavy. Friday, October 28 View Page Here's me with the 1,166 Byrne, a new Irish Record and the first pumpkin to be weighed over 1,000 lbs in Ireland. Pretty happy with this and two new personal bests. 1166 Byrne 2016 F: 1676.5 Daletas x M: 1998 Jutras. The two fruit were grown in the same poly tunnel and given 450 square feet each, grown 4 feet apart back to back. I think I did good considering my soil is nowhere near what I'd like it to be at! I hope to grow this seed next year as I really like the orange genes the 1998 should bring to the table.