Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 5 Entries. Tuesday, April 16 View Page It’s time! I’m a newbie to giant pumpkin growing, so this is my first season. I’m attempting the 150 challenge this year, with some adjustments based on my circumstances. My only growing space is on top of some artificial turf. Because of this, I built a pretty big closed bottom raised bed - 12 ft by 12 ft, so it’s a bit less than 150 sq ft. I obviously won’t be breaking any records with this setup, so I’m going to be absolutely ecstatic if I’m able to get to 100 or more pounds. My seed this year is from the absolutely gorgeously orange 823 Engel (Side note, I definitely recommend ordering from Engel’s. Packaging was perfect, and they even threw in some extra seeds!)! Seed started April 1st (filed, soaked for an hour, put in a damp paper towel in a plastic bag on a heating mat), sprouted April 3rd, transplanted today (April 16th). Photos attached of my growing space, with a standard 16.9 oz water bottle for size. Looking forward to this growing season!   Thursday, April 18 View Page Mini hoop house is up! My main concern early on is protection from raccoons and other animals, who have loved to eat my garden in the past. I've also put up a little cage around the plant for the time being, that I'll remove once growth starts ramping up. Fingers crossed that this is enough protection, and that the raccoons aren't too persistent this year!   Monday, April 22 View Page Had some transplant shock on the 823, but she seems to be recovering nicely! All new growth looks healthy. Started germinating a 1083.5 Schmit as my backup, and it appears to be successful so far! I can see a tiny bit of white peeking out. I'm thinking if all goes well with the 823, I'll keep the 1083.5 as a pollinator only, just grown in a large fabric pot. My previous foray into pumpkin growing was a much smaller variety of pumpkin (they ended up being approximately average grocery store cantaloupe size), but I did grow them in fabric pots, so who knows, maybe I would get a mini pumpkin from the 1083.5 🤣   Thursday, May 2 View Page Looks like I have a tough decision to make! My 823 seems to have mostly recovered from what I believe is transplant shock, but growth so far has been very very minimal. I'm worried it's stunted. I'm also nervous about fertilizing while the plant is so young. Any fertilizer suggestions for this stage in the game if that would help? On the other hand, my 1083.5 backup is growing really well in its pot (apart from some yellowing of the leaves). It's almost time to transplant to a bigger growing space. My conundrum is this: keep the 823 as my main, and hope growth kickstarts, or pull the 823 and make the 1083.5 my main? I don't really have space to keep both (unless I transfer one to a grow bag to keep as a pollinator). Decisions, decisions!   Sunday, May 5 View Page Unfortunate update on the 823: apart from the stalled leaf and vine growth (and decay of the older leaves), it has some flowering happening. Obviously this isn't anywhere near ideal! Luckily my 1083.5 backup is growing really well, and is actually bigger now than the 823! I'll be planting it soon. I'm assuming the issues are from stress, particularly from the transplant. The root ball did fall apart a bit, which is something I'll be trying to avoid next time. I have a hoop house and some generally warmer atmosphere around here, so I don't think temperature is the issue. Any tips to avoid stress from other factors?