Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 205 Entries. Thursday, January 2 View Page Happy New Year, Everyone!   Sunday, January 5 View Page I received a Fitbit for Christmas, so of course I have to do more steps than my overwintering self can reasonably handle. "So much winning!" lol!   Tuesday, January 7 View Page Ah yes, snow is predicted for the lowlands of the Pacific Northwest. It makes driving entertaining, as well as grocery shopping, with people panic-purchasing bottled water and canned foods, as if THAT will save 'em, lol!   Thursday, January 9 View Page It's snowing! Wheeee!   Sunday, January 12 View Page It might take a while to get it right.   Sunday, January 12 View Page Pizza and Chianti Night, yay! Still waiting on the snow.   Sunday, January 12 View Page The Giant Pumpkin Matrix awaits. I step in.   Monday, January 13 View Page Too warm here for the snow to stick around. It's still trying.   Monday, January 13 View Page Yay, got a bit of snow!   Tuesday, January 14 View Page Glad to get some snow! Also glad it's melted now! Might receive another round soon. Have fun out there!   Wednesday, January 15 View Page 20,000 steps may have been a much, lol!   Thursday, January 16 View Page Getting excited to dig it up! Need more locates!   Friday, January 17 View Page The upsets continue on Grand Sumo! Been inspirational to watch some of the rank-and-filers improve their skills to win.   Saturday, January 18 View Page Never give up, bnot!   Saturday, January 18 View Page I thought it would be fine to stop making Excel entries in my pumpkin-growing spreadsheet during the off-season, lol! Plenty going on even with nothing growing. Giant Pumpkins never stop!   Saturday, January 18 View Page Today's Grand Sumo Theme: "Let's get this bout over with so we can hit the buffet before the rank-and-filers eat all the good food!"   Monday, January 20 View Page Yes, Toto and Mr. Locator, there IS a 50-pair phone line in my patch, check it and see!   Tuesday, January 21 View Page Following up is important in giant pumpkin growing, as I found out yesterday. So, I called the locating company up and mentioned that a phone line does run through my patch even though they said it didn't. The nice lady contacted Mr. Locator and he promptly came over and confirmed that Yes, even he knows that the phone line runs through my pumpkin patch, and that he never received the request to locate the line because someone at the service desk decided that I didn't need a locate, LOL! Mr. Locator was awesome and got it squared away for me and gave me some nice flags to indicate where the 50-pair phone line is so I don't dig it up. People will say all sorts of things when growing giant pumpkins, filter it out and carry on with doing a better job.   Tuesday, January 21 View Page I'm looking forward to the seed raffle with matt-man and the BHGPG, 5 pm Pacific Time! Will be fun! Hope to see everyone there! /waves to all the pumpkin people out there!   Tuesday, January 21 View Page So great to see so many nice people at the BHGPG raffle this evening! Thank you for a fun evening, matt-man! Loved the non-google-able trivia questions, even if I couldn't answer any of them correctly! I'm happy to add to my seed collection as well!   Tuesday, January 21 View Page Oh my, you mean that I'm #2 in number of diary entries, behind bnot? Really? What kind of pumpkinhead am I becoming, anyways?   Friday, January 24 View Page Oh my, this Grand Sumo tournament is in chaos right now! Too many injuries among the higher ranks are opening up plenty of opportunities for the lower ranks. Enho has the fighting spirit and is kicking as much rear as a small guy can, and Shodai is turning into a real champ! Much of the establishment is on the way out. I hope that Tochinoshin can hang in there for a few more tournaments with his knee injuries and all. Go Tochinoshin Go! A Georgian in Sumo! Do not cut off your top knot and retire yet, please!   Friday, January 24 View Page For the off-season, there is still plenty to be done here! Drip tape does not order itself, lol! I can see why it takes a few seasons to get one's pumpkin act together. Go Dawn Go! Give it fuel, give it fire! Best wishes for all you Pumpkin People out there! I hope your off-season is going well! Special shout-outs to new and new-ish growers! Study up and work make your patch the best that it can be! You can do this!!!   Friday, January 24 View Page Looking forward to another matt-man seed auction, whenever that is! Great conversation, great seeds, great people!   Saturday, January 25 View Page Will not post that photo of Jason Momoa at the beach. It's all good!   Saturday, January 25 View Page Thank you for the 2363 Holland seed, matt-man! Woot! So many seeds, so little time!   Thursday, January 30 View Page Got a nice hole dug for my giant cucumbers out in the garden, before it started raining, yay! Too dark for a worthwhile photo, so please enjoy these ferns in the Olympic National Park instead.   Friday, January 31 View Page "When a problem comes along, Lambchop must lop it, lop it good!"   Saturday, February 1 View Page Super-windy start to February, I hope all the NW growers still have power. The internet connection is a bit glitchy here but it's still working enough to post. Take care out there!   Saturday, February 1 View Page Awwww, here's our 'lil Lambchop! So cute! Let's keep her in Sweet Mode! I hope Lambchop knows that she has some big-time fans out here in Pumpkinland! So talented! So fun! Yes, I know she's not reading this but I'm posting it anyways!   Saturday, February 1 View Page Woot! Got my own copy of the Lambchop Poster drying! I'm almost ready for another season of epicness!   Tuesday, February 4 View Page Snow is in the air! Wheee!   Wednesday, February 12 View Page I am really looking forward to the Fantasy Pumpkin Growers competition! I'm working on my list of epic draft picks now! So much greatness will be assembled for my entertainment, woot!!!! Thank you, Orange U Glad!   Wednesday, February 12 View Page Awwww, I'm sorry to miss the upcoming PNWGPG Seed Auction! Wedding anniversary with steak and wine instead! Have fun for me, everyone!   Thursday, February 13 View Page Have fun, everyone!   Friday, February 21 View Page I have a pumpkin social calendar now :-)   Friday, February 28 View Page Go Vegas Henry Go! Tell Everyone "Hello" for Me!!!!!   Saturday, February 29 View Page Have fun in Vegas for me, Curt!!!!!   Saturday, February 29 View Page Looking forward to Porkchop's presentation this evening in the chat!!! Woot!!!!!   Wednesday, March 4 View Page Hello Friends! It's been a while since I've posted anything here, but I've been thinking of you guys and gals! My early spring is not going as planned. I overdid walking with my Fitbit and my ankle is sore, plus it feels like my allergies are back. Tree pollen is up here. I don't know what I'm going to be able to grow this year. I should just go take a nap. I've already been staying home to avoid the Corona Virus, taking vitamins, drinking plenty of water, eating right, etc. I have plenty of food and sanitizing materials here. I wonder if you are also getting a blast of tree pollen, Brandon. I hope your parents are doing well up in King County! I hope you are feeling better soon! I hope all the growers are doing well here in Washington! Take care everyone!   Saturday, March 14 View Page Awwww, I saw two of my photos today in the Random Photo Gallery. Thank you Ken, that was nice!   Saturday, March 14 View Page Been wanting to post here for some time now. Been distracted by the snow that stuck yesterday and the snow that didn't today. Wheeee!   Saturday, March 14 View Page I'm really looking forward to the Fantasy Growers draft! Woot! Sorry the pumpkin club activities here in the NW have all been cancelled! I miss you, Long Gourd presentation and Jack LaRue's History of Giant Pumpkins! Please be safe and well, everyone!   Monday, March 16 View Page Right now, there are so many vehicles in the two local grocery store parking lots that it's an accident waiting to happen. I made no attempt to park. Will try again at an off-hour (early morning or late evening). GermFest!!!!!! lol   Tuesday, March 17 View Page Happy St. Patrick's Day, Everyone! Making do with the at-home Merlot. Party On, Pumpkin People!   Wednesday, March 18 View Page Oh my, I've never been mistaken for someone with a Physics degree before, lol!   Friday, March 20 View Page Stay Safe and Healthy Everyone!   Friday, March 20 View Page I have a laundry list of email addresses here, but I would rather say "Thank You for Being My Friend!" on bp.com!!!!!!!!!! I really appreciate it!!!!!!   Saturday, March 21 View Page I miss my pumpkin clubs and my pumpkin people! Much love to you all!!!!!!!   Monday, March 23 View Page Two weeks of staying home for Washington State. Have fun Pumpkin People!   Friday, March 27 View Page OK Friends, it's getting real germy here in Lakewood, so I am continuing to self-isolate and not even going to Arby's for the BLT's anymore! Oh The Horrors!!!! How am I EVER going to survive? lol /waves at Colleen and Crew from Here! I am going to attempt gardening with only the items I have on hand (leftover from last season) and they are numerous. I am also not doing any soil testing (OH MY GAWD!!!!!) to avoid germy visits to the Post Office. I will guess-ti-mate and utilize the Amendment Calculator for the items I have on hand to enhance the soil I already have here, and hope it works out OK. I also have soil from my garden area from two years ago that I can utilize, extra compost, etc. here. I am hoping that this will be an educational experience, or at least an entertaining and safe one!!!!! I'm sticking with my plan of growing long gourds in last season's pumpkin holes (one LG plant per hole), one 5-Gallon Mater, and one cucumber. I did not get my front yard dug up before my ankle started hurting and the germs started spreading. I am highly disappointed that there will be no AG's grown here this year, but I cannot risk taking that many trips to Lowe's this year, or even dealing with my lawn removal at this point in time. I will try not to have jealousy issues when I see all of your wonderful kins on the grow! I was so looking forward to growing my seed this year, I will have to wait until next year to see that through. Thank you for your friendship and support here, and for reading all of this! I hope everyone has an AMAZING year for me, yay!!!! Stay Safe and Healthy, Everyone! Thinking of you all!!!   Sunday, March 29 View Page Thank you for a fun auction, Wizzy and Everyone!   Thursday, April 2 View Page "Stay Home, Stay Healthy" for another fun-filled month here in Washington State! Hang in there, Arby's!   Thursday, April 2 View Page Take Care Out There, Everyone! And I'm not kidding about this, lol!!!!!!!   Saturday, April 4 View Page Washington State is flattening the curve, way to go! Keep up the great work, everyone!   Saturday, April 11 View Page Wall of Inspiration! Have a Happy Easter, Everyone!   Friday, April 17 View Page One of my favorite things about this website is the ability to post photos of holes in the ground, and to have it be a relevant topic of discussion! Thank you, Friends! I'm a bit skeptical that a two-foot deep hole will be adequate for my heavy cucumber, but my arm is letting me know that this hole is plenty deep already, so I'll make due with what I have here for this season. I plan to dig up the roots this autumn and see how they did, and if I need to dig through more glacial till for next season. I found it interesting that there is a band of black soil close to the glacial till on this property, I wonder if there was a massive fire here right before the Ice Age hit. This place went through a lot, it seems.   Saturday, April 18 View Page Oh my, it appears that the black soil layer directly under the glacial till is actually deceased organic matter. I held it between my fingers. I am a now a more complete human.   Monday, April 20 View Page Arms are too tired for a real post, so I'll just give a wimpy wave to the group here at bp because I'm thinking about you folks and hope that you are all doing really well out there!!!!!   Thursday, April 23 View Page Yay for the upcoming Draft Day! All you AG growers are going to want to be on my team! Good luck, Everyone!   Monday, May 4 View Page Time to get the Long Gourd Party started! Looking forward to getting some matt-man back in my patch!   Tuesday, May 5 View Page Brown water from all the faucets and other exciting bits of 'real life' have kept me from posting about the Fun Team of Fantasy Growers! If your name is Lorelee Zywiec, Joel Holland, Jim Sherwood, PorkChop & LambChop, Doc Rodebaugh, Matt DeBacco, or Jack LaRue, I drafted you because you are epic! The Fun Team will have an amazing season, and I know that together, we can achieve great things!!!!!   Tuesday, May 5 View Page Awww, I wish I could drafted more people, but I only had seven spots :-(   Tuesday, May 5 View Page Happy Cinco de Mayo Everyone! I've got the cooler going for the Long Gourd Party! Only the matt-man seeds are invited to this exclusive event! The Harnica Long Gourd seeds seem to have thicker shells than the matt-man seeds. I am really pulling for the matt-man seeds, but we'll see how this all pans out since those seeds are from 2014, plus I'm using whatever supplies I have on hand thanks to the Corona (virus). I will feel super-lucky if I can manage a PB.   Wednesday, May 6 View Page Woot! Rick J. is going to grow another Monster (h/j 1756)! Yay!   Thursday, May 7 View Page Yay for Throwback Thursday! This Gremlin Gourd goes back to 2018, in the Before-Times. Gremlin Gourds are fun to grow.   Thursday, May 7 View Page Awwww, Hattie playing Inspector Twelve for the Small Pumpkin Line-Up in 2018.   Thursday, May 7 View Page Birdcage Gourd blossom from 2018. Beautiful! We'll have Throwback Thursday next week as well, right? I have more photos to share but I don't want to spam the place up all at once, lol! I'll leave some bandwidth for others to enjoy, yay!   Saturday, May 9 View Page Overheated, dusty, and gritty enough in the patch for August, already.   Sunday, May 10 View Page Take Care, Iowegian!!!!! Wishing you well!!!   Sunday, May 10 View Page Happy Mother's Day, Everyone! I'm not sure how many Moms are actually reading this, lol! Have a nice day anyways!!!!   Monday, May 11 View Page Oh my, lol! https://www.iheart.com/content/2020-05-08-brian-may-hospitalized-after-butt-injury-in-bizarre-gardening-accident/ "Iconic Queen guitarist Brian May was hospitalized this week after tearing his gluteus maximus (his butt muscle) "to shreds" during "a moment of over-enthusiastic gardening." " Is there a video of this maneuver? lol How does this even happen? Get well soon, Brian! Sounds like a real pain in the rear!   Thursday, May 14 View Page Woot for Throwback Thursday! I like to throw back a few, oh wait, that's not what this is supposed to be about! lol Luminas are cool pumpkins for 'lil guys. They smell like cucumbers and taste like a sweet melon. The neighbors liked them. From 2017. Looks like several growers got their start with small pumpkins and moved their way up to the AG's.   Thursday, May 14 View Page Just wanted to let everyone know that I have a new email address at: long-gourds@tutanota.com Have fun!   Sunday, May 17 View Page Let's see the car crashes on NASCAR! Woot!   Sunday, May 17 View Page Kroger Car Crash! I liked how the hood flew up upon impact with the wall. Now the rear of the car is on fire, nicely done! Great entertainment while self-isolating!   Sunday, May 17 View Page The Ally car needs an ally after the reverse bounce off the wall, lol!   Sunday, May 17 View Page Way to wobble into the wall, Axiom car! I also love the pit crew that removed the tire and took a large rubber hammer to the sheet metal in the wheel well to try to pound it back into place so they could get the tire to fit again. Sorry guys, that car will need some serious help before it will see the track again. You get an 'A' for effort and enthusiasm!   Sunday, May 17 View Page Toyota on a dizzy pass! Loose tire!   Sunday, May 17 View Page The Cat car has something in it's teeth.   Sunday, May 17 View Page Leave The Wall alone, ok? lol   Sunday, May 17 View Page The Discount Tire car looks as though it has already been discounted, broken rear window, scraped side, etc.   Sunday, May 17 View Page Many of the cars look beat up now. I will refrain from making any commentary about the Rheem car, lol! I can't make this stuff up!!!! lol   Sunday, May 17 View Page The Cat car used some dental floss but is still wearing the track in general. Then my auto insurance company flashed an ad on the top banner. You mean I can't drive like that in RL? Awwwww, what is this world coming to? lol   Sunday, May 17 View Page We all need a re-start zone! Sorry Ken, I'm clogging up my Diary with my live blogging of this NASCAR race! It's fun though!!!   Sunday, May 17 View Page The Monster car looks like a Monster from the front! Camaros are a lot like monsters, lol!   Sunday, May 17 View Page lol Fastenal Pit Crew guy: Just take your gloved fist and pound on the hood! The damaged hood rippled like waves of vibration, like a rock thrown into the water. Dang it, I think I missed some stuff while typing this! Live Blogging isn't as easy as it seems!   Sunday, May 17 View Page The Fastenal car needs moar fasteners!!!!!   Sunday, May 17 View Page 'Stang is wearing the track debris close to the intake!   Sunday, May 17 View Page I was hoping for better results from Kyle "KY" Busch lol Have a great growing season everyone!   Monday, May 18 View Page Happy 40th Anniversary of the Explosion of Mt. St. Helens! "Where were you when the mountain blew?" I was at home wondering why it was sooo gritty, lol!   Monday, May 18 View Page Wow, I'm actually posting a picture, woot! I hope my new batch of 134 3/8 Harnicas work out better for me!   Wednesday, May 20 View Page Nice reddit link, Pumpkinman Dan! One of my favs was "The AC doesn't work, it just blows cold air!" lol   Thursday, May 21 View Page I heard that the Washington State Fair will still be held this year. As much as I love the Fair, that sounds like a total GermFest, lol! So, for Throwback Thursday, here's the roller coaster from 1990 at sunset. Have fun and stay safe out there, everyone!   Thursday, May 21 View Page More WA State Fair Fun from 1990, woot!   Thursday, May 21 View Page Take care, Engel! Much luck to you! Throwback Thursday photo, Cherry Blossoms, 1989.   Sunday, May 24 View Page Barf out! There was a wormy critter in my long gourd seed! It was too gross to take a picture of! No wonder it didn't germinate, lol!   Sunday, May 24 View Page OK, Germinate You Lil Buggers! I mean long gourds! For the third time, it's a charm, right? lol   Wednesday, May 27 View Page Nicely done LJ! Good luck this season!   Thursday, May 28 View Page Homegrown pumpkin guts from 2016 for Throwback Thursday.   Friday, May 29 View Page Thinking of you pumpkin people, Iowegian and the Engel Family!   Friday, May 29 View Page Yup, crushing the soil thing this season, lol! The roots on this chunk of lawn were going wild for the soil in the Monster Pit! I guess I did something right in my first year, yay!   Friday, May 29 View Page Well, I hope this works, no soil test or anything since last season! Oh, the horrors! lol "Take me home, country road, West Virginia!" I hope you like it here in Washington, Heavy Cucumbers! The Monster Pit is all yours!!!! Three feet of delicious fertilizers! Wheeeee!!!   Saturday, May 30 View Page Ride the lightening!   Sunday, May 31 View Page Got the heavy cucumbers planted just in time for the heaviest rainfall of the year, so much winning! Woot! lol   Monday, June 1 View Page Well, this is an interesting tidbit from my first season. The smaller hole of soil where I grew my 574.5 is *totally* clogged with pumpkin roots, it's like lawn sod in there! Seems root bound to me. A 4.2' x 5.5' pit is too small, my other 6.5' pit worked much better. The good news is that I crushed the soil thing last season, yay! The downside here is that there is no loose soil in there to plant anything in, so my plans are scrapped. My second year is nowhere near what I thought it would be, danged Corona Virus! At this point of self-isolating, the recent highlight is getting a salad delivered! Wow, really kickin' some AG rear here, lol! I hope you all are staying safe and healthy so we can all grow another year! Woot! Take care Iowegian and the Engels Family!   Thursday, June 4 View Page Jolly Good! I'm not a big fan of heights, so here I am at the top of the London Eye (Giant Ferris Wheel) back in 2000, trying not to look too scared, lol! Wheeee for Throwback Thursday!   Thursday, June 4 View Page Time is melting! It's Throwback Thursday already!   Saturday, June 6 View Page I'm starting too late to actually live blog this Nascar race, and I'm a bit short on sleep, so I'm not the fastest car on the track today! There are no fans in the stands, the Tuscany car is successfully making me think of sunshine, Chianti, and pizza, the Camaros still look a bit like Monsters, and they aren't crashing enough! Get on with it, lol! Have a nice day!   Saturday, June 6 View Page Lol, the Monster just slid sideways around the track during the commercial break. The length of the slide was impressive and entertaining, nicely done!   Monday, June 8 View Page Take care, Iowegian!   Monday, June 8 View Page Iowegian, it is completely possible to defeat Death or whatever is in your path!!!! It is all inside you, I know because I did in December '14! MUCH STRENGTH AND LOVE TO YOU, YOU CAN DO THIS!!!!!!   Tuesday, June 9 View Page Sorry everyone, too much self-isolation and not enough pumpkin.   Sunday, June 14 View Page This is really shaping up to Not Be My Year. My fourth round of germination failed to produce anything except lawn. The sun did not come out like I was hoping, so yesterday I set up one of the mini-greenhouses and a heat lamp and direct sowed some kohlrabi and some more heavy cucumbers. I really hope this works because I am running out of patience and time for this season. This is the worst season of gardening I have ever experienced. My soil has never been better. These are not the gardening lessons I was hoping to learn, lol! I was warned of the Sophomore Slump and I thought I was avoiding it by not doing anything extreme in my garden, but I guess not. Much luck to everyone!   Sunday, June 14 View Page Yay, the wheat from the seed exchange has germinated! Worried my luck had officially run out, guess not!   Wednesday, June 17 View Page All the best to Mrs. Engels! Thinking of you and your family!   Wednesday, June 17 View Page Thinking of everyone reading this during these trying times. Much love to all you growers out there!   Tuesday, June 23 View Page It's more than time to update things here. Long gourds are a no-go this season as are the cucumbers. Fortunately, we have this 'lil guy from England that decided to make an appearance, Cole the Kohlrabie! He's really small right now but he will grow fast! Thank you to the seed exchange and G. Barratt for the seeds! The parent Kohlrabie took 3rd at Malvern in 2018, so I'm really excited to have the opportunity to grow this! Cole is a treasured guest here and when he's old enough will receive spa treatments including essence of seaweed, fish meal drenches, and frothy manganese beverages! A good time will be had by all!   Thursday, June 25 View Page I planted the wheat from the seed exchange in the patch area and it's looking great! Nice dark green color and it waves in the breeze.   Thursday, June 25 View Page I needed more ground cover seed for full coverage of my unused patch area, so I decided to give Joel Holland's Winter Cover Crop seed a try, and I'm glad I did! It grows faster than the wheat and it's fun seeing the difference in my patch between wheat and the oat/rye/vetch blend. I also ordered a DVD of Joel's 2018 season and had fun watching. Joel really works his rear off putting up all those cloches and then taking them down, putting up the shade cover and then taking it down, and putting up the frost protection and taking it down. Spouse watches all this and says, "So..... you want to grow big pumpkins?"   Sunday, June 28 View Page I like your posts, Hayden! Do what you reasonably can and let the rest go, Pirate. Arghh for sure! lol Stevo, I think your project to get kids growing pumpkins is great! Do you have plenty of good seeds on board? If not, I'd be happy to send a few, email me. Take care Team Iowegian and the Engel Family! I've been thinking of you all!!!!!!! Best wishes to you, and everyone!   Wednesday, July 1 View Page July 1st: Crank up the heat, too chill here!   Friday, July 3 View Page Here's my special guest from England, Cole! He's thriving here with our cool and cloudy weather, and loving his accommodations in the mini-greenhouse with his special soil! He is a very easy, low-maintenance, and fun guest that I really appreciate having about! This 'lil guy is really looking forward to seeing all the fireworks, smelling the BBQ, and experiencing a most excellent 4th of July! He wants to give the potato chips a try even though he misses the crisps!   Saturday, July 4 View Page Special Guest 'lil Cole from England really enjoyed the 4th of July fireworks show from his front-row garden seat! He is now growing towards the light!   Wednesday, July 8 View Page Take care of your knee, Reed! It stays with ya for life, ugh! Thinking of you still, Iowegian and Jodi! And on another note, I still wish I would have bought that blue and white '57 Chev Bel-Air as my first car, super-sweet ride! I could have fixed the danged exhaust issue with some braising, oh well, life goes on!! Have a nice evening, everyone!   Thursday, July 9 View Page /waves at Val!   Saturday, July 18 View Page Cole the Kohlrabi is ready for his spa treatment! Wheee!   Saturday, July 18 View Page Spouse called me a "turnip farmer." Oh yeah? Yer a lawn farmer, bub! lololol   Saturday, July 18 View Page Mars is at the top-dead center of the sky right now. I waved. Mars twinkled back, awwww!   Saturday, July 18 View Page Today was dandelion removal day. I pulled up the dandelions in the neighbor's adjacent yard area (not very large) also because it's what Porkchop would do.   Saturday, July 18 View Page Oh wait, Porkchop would get Lambchop to do it, lol!   Saturday, July 18 View Page Whoa! Karadza is actually growing a pumpkin! /marks her calendar here   Sunday, July 19 View Page Cole is really taking off after his spa treatment of kelp and fish meal! Now it's time to man up with a bit of manganese.   Sunday, July 19 View Page Attaching the current photo is always nice, lol!   Wednesday, July 22 View Page Only you can prevent BER Butt!   Friday, July 24 View Page Way to go Cole! If you grow much larger, I will have to move the mini-greenhouse over, woot! The spa treatments have been amazingly effective! Cole has enjoyed delicious helpings of kelp, fish meal, bone meal, manganese sulfate, humeric and fulvic acids, along with an Epsom Salt and Borax Soap Soak. This evening, a small bit of copper is on the menu for dessert. Cole is an amazing guest and is enjoying his stay here!   Friday, July 24 View Page Amazing job, Cartman! He wants to grow big like Cartman on South Park!   Friday, July 24 View Page Take care Iowegian! Been thinking of you and sending you my best! You too Engels Family!   Sunday, July 26 View Page So nice to have known you, Cartman!   Sunday, August 2 View Page Well, crud! Cole has a bad case of spider mites. The Cole Hotel has already been 'fumigated' again with Neem Oil, and I learned about spider mites thanks to the Interwebs. This season continues to be educational. Cole doesn't want his picture taken while looking in such a sorry state. I feel awful! Sorry, Cole!   Monday, August 3 View Page This morning, Spider Mites were eating Cole and pooping on him! That is horrible! Then the Spider Mites ate the RAID! Woot!   Monday, August 3 View Page Cole is surviving the vicious Spider Mite Attack and the following toxic RAID drench like a real trooper, I'm so proud of you Cole!   Thursday, August 6 View Page Thank you Ken! I hope all is well with the website! Without bp, it was like being adrift at sea, all by myself, and looking for an island to land on so I can send smoke signals to my fellow pirates! It's great to be back! How's it going, Twins?   Thursday, August 6 View Page Hey, a HUGE thank you to Ken D. and my Friends from West Virginia, New York, South Dakota, Iowa, Oregon, Washington State, England, and beyond, I wouldn’t have an AG Patch without you! Wuv ya guys! It means so much to me!!!! You too Penryn and Twins!!!!   Monday, August 10 View Page Looks like your Ailts has too much nitrogen and is now growing to new heights, anaid_tecuod!   Saturday, August 15 View Page /waves at Hayden's Friend's Grandma and then /waves at Val and Ned!   Saturday, August 15 View Page Oh my, I'm sorry, Twins! I'm confident you can Grow Forward in the future! Keep trying! The Seed Exchange has a cool selection as well!   Sunday, August 16 View Page So great to see you two, Henry and Hayden!   Sunday, August 16 View Page Oh no, not the dream where I'm at the Sea-Tac Airport, yet I cannot join the line for the luggage check-in because of The 'Rona! I have to keep on walking as the Airport Line Party continues without me, and my ticket goes unused! Oh the Horrors! /waves to all the Pumpkin People around the Globe and wishes them all Much Success!   Sunday, August 16 View Page Well, that was interesting! After putting a thick sheet over Cole's mini-greenhouse for protection from the 100 degree temps we had today, and adding plenty of water, I saw Cole's leaves stand almost straight up like pumpkin leaves do! This was a first outta Cole! I did not know that kohlrabi leaves could do that! And this was after being really wilty! Gee Whiz my dear, earlier today I reconciled myself to adding you to the dust bin of history, lol! Whiplash Cole, lol! You have much more spirit to add to my life, Cole! Continue to surprise me, baby!   Sunday, August 16 View Page Oh my, Officer Friendly and the Fire Department just payed a visit to my patch to put out the neighbor's burning plastic during a burn ban! This kind of attention is NOT what will propel me forward to be an Amazing Grower Someday! lol   Sunday, August 16 View Page I just told a Lakewood Cop that I Love 'em, which is completely contradictory to my hippy upbringing, lol! I'll just keep on listening to Pootube, lol!   Sunday, August 16 View Page Stuff really tears at the real fabric of who we are and stuff! All the best to you all!   Sunday, August 16 View Page I also used to maintain rigs for the local power company, there are actual good people involved, I am married to one! lol I have no real answers, which I used to think I had, lol! All the best you all!   Friday, August 21 View Page Once the weigh-off is over and done, a long gourd is an excellent impromptu javelin, wheeee!   Sunday, August 23 View Page Oh my, the Cole Hotel is closing for fumigation! Your stay here is coming to a sad end. I'll never forget our treasured time together, our epic journey of discovery and too many frothy manganese drinks, and the hope of monumental gains and breath-taking results. You'll always be in my heart, Cole! Rest in peace with the knowledge that the future is amazingly bright for your sibling, Cole Two! This is my helper CB watching the proceedings.   Sunday, August 23 View Page I'm nervous before Cole's unofficial weigh-off! /grabs the shovel   Sunday, August 23 View Page Awww c#&*@!!!!!! Cole only weighs 2.2 pounds! I weighed him twice! Cole, you are a real lightweight!!! The Cole Hotel should have been soil tested but I didn't thanks to the 'Rona! Guesswork isn't all that effective for me. This is just embarrassing!!!!! You're still epic though, Cole! I'm hoping for much bigger things with Cole Two!   Sunday, August 23 View Page At least Joel Holland's ground cover is doing nicely!   Sunday, August 23 View Page .....grumble, grumble........2.2 measly pounds......the agony of defeat.....grumble, grumble....yeah, I can't win 'em all.....yup, I'll always have next year......"Please check the number and try your call again"......oh well, it's just a chunk of fiber......Player One, Game Over!.....Insert a quarter to play again.....OK.....   Sunday, August 23 View Page Suburban Gardener consoles herself with some Achey Breaky Heart and merlot and sings "Go back to the farm!" lol   Sunday, August 23 View Page So, my helper cat CB sees all of this go down, and promptly urinates on the former site of the Cole Hotel, lol! I holler at him to get out of there, but of course, it's too late baby! A chip off the 'ole block, lol!   Sunday, August 23 View Page Looks like Cole was having some sort of problem. Might explain why he was a lightweight. Well, thanks Cole, we had a good run this year! Looking forward to Cole Two!   Tuesday, August 25 View Page This is my other Pirate Cat, Tiger. He likes to chase bugs and eat 'em, so crunchy and delicious! lol   Friday, August 28 View Page Well, boyz and girls, that means that my growing season is now concluded. No worries, there will still be things to post about, such as the Fantasy Giant Pumpkin Growers' League, soil prep, and other assorted non-sense, wheeeee! Stay safe out there everyone! PB's for Everyone!!!   Friday, August 28 View Page I predict that Captain will be the PNWGPG Rookie of the Year for 2020, woot! Go Captain Go! [Actually, he's the only person I know who would qualify, lol!]   Friday, August 28 View Page With a name like Captain, he must be a bp Pirate as well, right?   Sunday, August 30 View Page Way to grow, Hayden!!!   Sunday, August 30 View Page The League Trophy is Epic! I love the vintage-looking stars on it! I wonder who will add it to their collection?   Monday, August 31 View Page Back from the dentist, not the brightest bulb in the pack at the moment, lol! Hope all is well out there!   Monday, August 31 View Page Still 'rooting' for you, Twins! lol   Wednesday, September 2 View Page Go Jack Go!   Wednesday, September 2 View Page Hi Jim! Hi Cindy!   Wednesday, September 2 View Page Sorry it was such a rough year for you, Iowegian!   Tuesday, September 8 View Page Outdoor air quality is also awful here, Pirate, as I cough up a lung, lol! Wheee, Happy Labor Day, lol! Is this year over yet?   Friday, September 18 View Page Best wishes for the Skagit Valley Weigh-off, wish I could join you this season! This photo was from last year.   Wednesday, September 23 View Page So nice to have the rain back! I'm re-hydrating! lol   Wednesday, September 23 View Page Best wishes for the weigh-offs this weekend!   Wednesday, September 30 View Page Way to grow, Chris R. and Prokchop and Lambchop!   Tuesday, October 6 View Page Enjoying the sunny autumn weather here on Cleanup Day, feels great to whittle down my To-Do List, woot! I'll have to put on some Van Halen and see if it helps me to get more done or makes my hair layer better :-)   Wednesday, October 7 View Page Huh? A necklace made of zerk fittings? lol   Friday, October 9 View Page Woodstock looks epic!!! Thank you for sharing, Matt D!   Thursday, October 22 View Page Something cool to check out right now: Jupiter is at 3 o'clock from the Moon and Saturn is just a bit past midnight from the Moon.   Wednesday, October 28 View Page Thank you for all your time and effort with the league, Commissioner Orange!!!   Saturday, October 31 View Page "Stay back you germy 'lil gremlins or it's the ray gun for you!!!" as the Space Alien eats the Halloween candy and laughs!!!!!!   Wednesday, November 11 View Page Ordinarily, I take a veteran or two out for Veterans' Day. This year, Ultimate BLT's from Arby's Drive-Thru with Merlot for two at home fit the bill. Thank you to all who served!   Saturday, November 14 View Page "And you will always be... my endless Germfest!!!!!!"   Saturday, November 14 View Page Take care, matt-man and Lisa!   Sunday, December 20 View Page Merry Christmas! For the record, I did NOT complain to Ken D. about the "Other Non-Pumpkin Related" Message Board. Have a nice day!   Sunday, December 20 View Page I really miss my friends here!!!   Tuesday, December 22 View Page TrollFest!!!! lol   Tuesday, December 22 View Page TrollFesting does nothing to attract new growers or to help existing growers "grow 'em bigger."   Wednesday, December 23 View Page Sorry guys and gals, I'm exhausted. I'm out of here. Best wishes to grow 'em big!   Thursday, December 24 View Page Merry Christmas, Everyone!!! After consulting with several successful social media users, I have concluded that I will continue to be a part of bp.com by no longer visiting the Non-Pumpkin Related Board, and blocking a few key individuals. I have not been effectively utilizing the tools available on this site, to my own detriment. And no, I still have not complained to Ken D. about the Non-Pumpkin Related Board, and I have no plans to do so. Thank you Ken D. for providing a platform for us to hang out on, and Merry Christmas to you and yours! My sincere apologies for all of this happening so close to the holiday. I really hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!! All the best to Jodi and Iowegian and Families this holiday season!!!!   Thursday, December 31 View Page Happy New Year, everyone! Looks like I'm first here, yay!   Thursday, December 31 View Page Still showing up as 2020 here! Happy New Beer everyone!   Thursday, December 31 View Page Awww crud, I hope I didn't break the server! Sorry Ken! I just received a weird runtime error while attempting to make my last post. PITA 2020 refuses to give up!!!!   Thursday, December 31 View Page Seems to be working now, yay!   Thursday, December 31 View Page 42 minutes left of 2020, West Coasters! Woot!   Thursday, December 31 View Page Best wishes to Jodi, Iowegian, and matt-man in the year ahead!   Thursday, December 31 View Page Henry the cat isn't so fond of the fireworks this evening. He waves his paw at Henry the Giant pumpkin grower!   Thursday, December 31 View Page 14 minutes to go, Pacific People! Woot!   Thursday, December 31 View Page We are nearly there and Ken's server is glad!   Thursday, December 31 View Page This Chateau Ste. Michele Brut is a bit too sweet to really be a good brut, lol! Hopefully they will cut back on the amount of sugar in the dosage in the future.   Thursday, December 31 View Page Bye 2020!!!! You were not fun!!!!! lol