DeAr DiAry,......
WeLL now!... Lets see if'n we can get this right this time!...( hAd a whole page written!- and lost dial-up ISP connection in the middle of it all! ...then,... computer rebelled agAinst me- couldnt even save it to a document!- and i LOst all i had started!...oh well,... just like a back-up seed- Let's try this again!...

DeAr Diary!,.... Lets see- where wAs i?......heh~heh!
(Been wanting to do one of these grower diaries for quite awhiles now- and i think somehow,... that, the longer i put it off,... the harder it is to get started on it-
HOpefully~ now that ive broken the ice,... so-to-speak... it will be easier from here on out and hope to keep up with it-

( I wouldve Liked to have done one last year- as, it wouldve been greAt to look back on now- especially during the long winter...

BuT! LAst year-(being my verra first)- it seemed,.. it wAs all i could do- to keep up with JUst the two pumpkin plants once started!

(WAs Like tryin' to hold onto the tail of the tiger!- or,.. bein' on the very tail-end of a game of crack-the-whip!..
AlwAys felt as though i was constantly playin' cAtch-uP!...

I KNOw i wouldnt have been able to do as well as things turned out- for my very first year,... if'n it wasnt for all the HeLp from all the other growers!-(of which,... alot of it- was via their sharing thru- their grower diaries and such...
(way too many people to list here- but,... to all whom have ever done a grower diary- i thAnKs-YoU! agAin!...

Heh~heh! i kin' see aLreAdy!- it cAn be some work in and of itself! (HAving completely lost all of my first attempted start!....

oH! ANd!... iF'n' yer' reAding thiS!... i'm also L00King forward to a BUnch of Other Mepgo diAries on here!... I KNowW- i'm nOt the onLy mainiac-in-Maine-GiAnt-PunKin-Growing nut here! ha~HA!!!

This is going to be a test- (trial & (and hopefully not too many) errors- test
as, i havent yet posted any pics-

:) TLISH

(Testing... for my first Grower-diary-pic-posting... one of my favorites-

HA~HA!!! thAt wAs swEEt! it Worked!!! yeAyY!!!!
(that pic- i just had to make copies- and put it up on my cubicle at work- (besides the framed copy Laura has for me here at home ( in an Brown & orange-bordered frame- orange matting -complete with embellishing green vines and such as, she's verra much into the scrapbooking-Heh~heh!
( Also made a copy of it for our Clinical Psych Doc who works with us- heh~heh!... He wAs LOL! and he couldnt get his copy of it up onto his office door quick-enough at the time!.... heh~heh!
...I seem to remember him sayin' at the time...-something like- !!HA`HA!!Everyone should have a copy of this in their cubicle!!- and somethin' about how -(heh~heh!)- they could all learn somethin' from you!-
AnywAys!
AHhh~ yeS! i thinK Linus said it quite weLL! dontchA' thinK!?....heh~heh!

Hey yA's! that last one worked well enough, and quite fun! so i stopped back in to post some more pics that were actually taken today- i just tried posting one- but didnt show up- maybe i had too much comment included... or maybe they get previewed by stunner before posting?...like the BP.com?... i dunno- maybe i just hit a wrong button- anyways will try this again-

please bear with me- if i end up with double-posts- this is all new to me! heh~heh!

undefined
:) TLISH

WeLL,... think i better hold off on tryin' to post anymore pics til' i talk with the stunner- and figure it out- is all still new to me- ( two trys and no-joy-

Yesterday, added two?-three? more five gallon buckets of coffee grounds to a compost bin in the patch- ( i was thinking i had em all- but once done and picking up before the latest storm coming in- i found two more 5 gal buckets in my jeep that i had forgotten about!-

(Looking back on my calendar for the month of January- have collected a total of 20 five gallon buckets...
(am going to try and keep track this year- should be interesting to see what the total for the year might add up to!...

Whilste turning the pile a bit with a fork,... i noticed it was steaming! (pretty-hard-not-to-notice! (as it was enough- so's as to fog up the camera lense when i tried to take a pic of the thermometer reading... ( it was reading around 103° down inside! pretty good i think for 29th of Jan!... kinda makes me motivated to work at getting more OM added into it all and reALLy get her cooking!

This particular wooden bin is a sort of modular-movable-stack-together affair, with roughly 1" x 8" boards ( 7 & 1/4" actually)... 4' by 4' square...

The boards are joined together at the inside corners with little 2" x 2" or so pieces that are offset so that they stick up above the inside corners and act as square pegs for the next upper layer to fit onto....

(during the summertime- if ya think ya' might want a bit more air-flow- you can put little spacers inbetween-

Makes it pretty neat- that you can take it down, and place in another spot next-to it or whever you want the pile to go... ie: you cAn rotate it around the very area you want to transplant into....

take-down the top layers- and the top layers become the bottom layers of the next spot.... compost gets turned and areated by forking from one spot to the next-

i find it makes it a quicker and easier way to turn the compost than to try to turn it in place...especially a big pile- tho-sometimes- i'll use a weedwhacker- with the little tiller attachment to turn and chop-mix it in place layer by layer...
( reminds me- FYI: Johnny's sells a sweet little steel handled compost fork!...

WeLL,... enough fer now, i spoze,... better go...(Mtn week...
WiLL see if i can post some pictures of the above when i get back-
TAkes CAres!
:) TLISH

pic posting test- Gnomes in the Compost bin resized under 100k vs 218.8kb
taken Sunday 29 Jan 06' 4:09pm

HeyY!! It worked! (yeAy!!) (was just talkin' with Stunner on www.bigpumpkins.com chatroom and- found out i just had to re-size the photo -even tho it was taken on lowest resolution as it was,.. resized it from 218kb or so to just under 100kb and went thru just fine)

(FYI:you can click on the pic to go from thumbnail view to larger size pic and then -when ya hover the mouse over that pic -you'll see the enlarge (zoom) button appear in the lower right corner of the pic-

Excellent!!! now.. if'n i can just remember what i did to do that resizing! heh~heh!
( i think it was smart-saver?...hmmm...

(makes it nice- now- that i know how this works - i can actually take the pics in hi-res 5.0 and always resize later-

:) TLISH

Another view -PAtch-Gnomes pulling Compost Guard-Duty...
(Sunday 29th Jan 06'

Workerbee Gnomes (much-smaller than PAtch-GuArd Gnomes) hauling compost, turning etc...

View of modular style wooden bin ( 4' x 4' ) ( 7&1/4" boards)
with Wicked-good compost fork mentioned in earlier post..

Put-together view... (four-sections-high)

Wooden modular compost bin, put-together-view, 5 sections high, with old scrap-scrounged plywood previously used for windbreak now being used to keep out snow... Taken 5:14pm Sunday 29th Jan (another storm on the way-

View from farther back- current active compost bin running a mild temp of 103° (not bad for 29th of January!)... shredder covered over with blue tarp, seaweed and other assorteds in foreground awaiting spring thaw for the shredder, 12"high-4'x12' and 4'x16' raised bed frames in background on far edge of patch...

one more view-
showing how this type compost bin can be moved around the patch on top of future transplant areas
-(turning from one bin to another, mixing and areating the compost at the same time)
wintertime-version tho- froze in-place 29th Jan 06'
c'mon spring thaw!.....

4th Feb 06' 3pm, PAtch-Gnomes checking the temp reading...
(nothing added or done since last sunday)

Latest active compost bin running a temp of 120° -not bad for 4th of Feb 3:02pm...

HAppy PAtch-Gnomes in the compost bin....4th Feb 4pm...

Added some more shredded stuff that had managed to thaw enough in the patch, plus some kitchen-scraps stuff and 3 more buckets of coffee grounds... turned and mixed it in with the fork,... will be interesting to see if the temps get up some more by tommorrow...

Sunday 5th feb Compost bin temps running 90° to 110° ( down a bit from the yesterdays 120° after adding more shedded OM ... must be the winter-time metabolism rate slower to re-heat-up...)

Nevertheless, took advantage of the february thaw and added a whole bunch more of the shredded OM that was until now frozen in.... will add some more coffee grounds as i get em'...

also took advantage of the thaw to get the patch cleaned up a bit- a whole bunch of the old plastic bags of stockpiled leaves and bags upon bags of coffee grounds emptied out... saw tons of worms...

on-line mepgo meeting tonight...

Checked the compost temp mid week (wednesday night) found it back up to 120°

Checked it today (Saturday 11th feb and found it running at a nice temp of 144° this afternoon at 1444 (2:44pm)

( verra nice compost temps for 11th of Feb (OAT were in the single digits this morn and into the teens and lower 2o's this afternoon...(cold enough the pAtch-Gnomes decided to stay inside by the firezpLAce! heh~heh!

After checking her temp, Added four more five gallon buckets of coffee grounds to her and sprayed her with some mollasses whilste i turned her with a fork...

expect the temps to lower a bit having disturbed her but should be back up good poss even hotter by next weekend... (winter-time metabolism seems quite a bit slower than the summer...eh~

Note to self: dont fill the pump-up sprayer with -too-hot- hot water...(tends to warp the inside pump-stem!...Heh~heh! another rookie lesson-learned...

Nor'easter snow storm forcasted on the way for tommorrow... Growers down south already bein dumped on and buried...

HA~HA! HeYyA's! you know what they say about a picture's worth a thousand words...

( WAs mentioning this mornin' over on the message board on the latest snowfall amounts thread -about How BiLL actuALLy has his verra own Gnome- ...yep! its true! so i heAr!

(1rst BiLL and Buzz CreAte a HUge New GiAnt-siZed PAtch!...then, goin' in on the Agro-K!...Now hiS verrA own Gnome! and soon, to be trAvelin' all the way to The NiagrA! whewW!* whAt next!?

This pic- ( i hope it posts and shows ok)- says a Lot...heh~heh! "Gunning4me" HOpe you get a kick out of it- had fun making it up...)

((( AL should know what this feels like- heh~heh! )))

(( The CAption reads: HA~HA!!! Does ThiS L00K FAMILIAR to ANYONE? heh~heh!)

OH! And!... HApPyY VALentines DAyY ALL YoU GiAnt PunKin LOvers! ha~HA!!!

(( I JUst saw that the text-font on the picture didnt turn out too well... BUt! you get the gist ...eh~ heh~heh! i see i can always go back and re-edit that- LAters~
TAkes CAres~ Gotta go get ready to go to the MountAin agAin.....
CyA's!
:D TLISH

Friday 17th,...Home from Rangeley last night,...wicked tired...still quite a bit of snow on the MountAin...enough so's to be still usin' snowshoes...But nice to come home and find bare ground here!

MASSive-Pouring RAins on the way home from Brunswick today...

Wicked winds and wind-chill temps going on right now- temps plumeting from todays High of a verra mild 45° or so,... towards poss 11° by morning,...

forecasted poss minus (-)15° wind-chill temps by tommorrow night...

forecasted poss high of 19° and Lo of minus (-)5° by Sunday... Brrrrr*!!!

( was funny to go into work this mornin' to find someone had placed a tiny gnome on my computer keyboard... (he has a seed sack slung around his torso over his shoulder and is casting seeds by hand)... it took awhiles to figure out who'd done it... all the usual supects being in apparent sincere denial... come to find out,... the fella who did it- had no idea about my pAtch-Gnomes! I think it just reminded him of me! heh~heh!

I took him out with me to check the compost temps this late afternoon- ( had to run back inside and put on an additional coat, rabbit fur mad bomber hat and grab some gloves with the wicked wind-chill temps...

found the compost temps down a bit from last saturdays 144° to a milder 128°...
seemed a bit wettish... i still added some more scraps...and two more bags of coffee grounds...and think it appreciated some turning with the fork...

Did find a whole bunch of verra active worms along the cooler edges! was verra nice to see! (GOtta LOve the worms!....

(NOte-to-Self!: Never try to cast a bag of the dry expresso grounds across that separate big pile of leaves in hi wind conditions!...even with your back to the wind and casting in the downwind direction!....Heh~heh! cough-cough! sputter-sputter!, bLinK* BLinK* ...wet-heavy-coffee-grounds-ok!...

MONDAY 20th FEB at 1719 (5:19pm) Compost temps up from last friday's 128° to a verra nice 140° or so...

SATURDAY 25th FEB 1652 (4:52pm) Compost temps down a bit from last mondays 140° to a milder 133° OAT at around 15° added a bit of kitchen scraps...some more coffee grounds,...some "liquid-nitrogen" and turned a bit with the fork... verra nice n' steamy when turned~* still finding LOts of verra active worms around the cooler spots...

spent the rest of late afternoon into early evening on the chainsaw, splitter and lugging some firezwood...

wAs a verra cLoudy day today- 15° calm tho- threatening a bit of snow...
i grow weAry of the wintAhhh..... sigh~*

wAs a cold WindY week last week -27° to -31° (wicKid-Wind-ChiLLs) And snowStORmin' sidewAyyys```~( up on the Mtn)... EnJOYyyyed the weekend off- And bAck Home inside -worked on putting little seed envelopes into those clear plastic sleeve baseball-trading card binder pages that can be found at staples... seems to work pretty good!

did make it down yesterday (Sunday-Afternoon to check on the compost bin...

Heres a pic of her with old scrap-plywood wind-break on her as a cover-

And a different pAtch-Gnome- hAngin out-

(LAst yeAr at this time,... there was two to three feet or so of wind-drven and drifted snow covering all of this! now is bare ground!

(fixing to uncover-check her temp, add a bit, and turn w/ a fork... it hAs been since last saturday or so....

CLose-up...

SundAy 5th March @ time: 1707 (5:07pm) Temps running at 120° F

down a bit since last weekend- wouldve been interesting to know whAt she gOt up to during the week...

HeY!.. Temp just rose 3° or so!..... whAt iS he doing!?..... is he adding to the bin?...

Quick pic b4 going 2 mtn...

Tuesday 7th MArch 1709 (5:09pm) Compost bin temps back up to a nice 140° after the latest addition Sunday...(up from 120°)

A BeAutiful March thaw day- was able to add some more thawed shedded stuff and one more bucket o' grounds...

turnin' into quite the worm bin out there!... be interesting to see what temps are when i get back-

Heh~heh! (@Stunner emailing me- wondering if'n i'd stopped growin'!!? as, to whats up?-no diary entries and such!?... heh~heh!)

WeLL! it hAs been since 7th of March since last entry! ( i didnt realize it had been so long-)
(An active compost pile in dead-of-winter-February is a nice diversion- but was gettin' old- postin' same old stuff- was a bit borin' after awhiles... COmpAred to ActuAL Growin! that is-
(heck!..- hauLin' a truckLoAd of p00p! iS pretty exciting right now! ha~HA!!!

SOooo nice to see the weAther BreAking for good finALLy!

oH!!!.....Yesterday- APRiL F00Ls DAy- was my One-Year-Anniversary of JOining the MEPGO! (yeAyY!!!))))ha~HA!!!

Yesterday was ALso the 1rst dAy <around here> have seen the Robins bAck!...
( SAw em' in Brunswick on last Thursday....

Woodcock were back here noticibly a week ago or so......

Ice can still be found in the pAtch about 2 inches or so down... going fast now tho-

Compost pile is running (hottest spots at about 146°..... wormz ARe LOving thAt Bin!!! (that is,...in the cooler climes of course!

SpeAKing of wormz- ( gOttA LOve the wormz!!! - (if your pAtch doesnt have wormz- something is amiss...)))
( shredded leaves organic materials etc.. (( ADD-IT-TheY-WiLL-Come!..... just mulching on top with shredded grass clippings and shredded leaves and the like-

AnYwAys, speaking of wormz- KAthYT told me- whilste we were chatting in the bigpumpkins.com chatroom one night of an upcomming vermiculture class going to be put on by a county extension volunteer at Lisbon Falls -

Checking my schedule, found i wAs able to go (straight from comming off the MountAin stopping at the house to drop my bag- and head over there-on a thursday night...
( was funny as, Laura, -earlier-having no interest in any such wormz-bins...inside the house!?... decided to go spur-of-the-moment just to be together after having been away for the week-
SHoot! she ended up bein more excited than i wAs!- and couldnt leave with out buying $5.oo worth of wormz right there on the spot before we left that night! ha~HA!!!
she was thinking on a smaller scale than i was however,... as, i was more interested in getting them once suitable bin was set up-

AnywAys it was a good thing she brought em home- as, it forced me to get started quicker and sooner than later on this-

Found an 18 gallon rubbermaid roughneck grey tote bin... was only $6.oo i believe ( with a good tight fitting lid...

Went out (after Laura washed it out with some soap and rinse) to the Compost bin in the patch- and turning with compost fork- grabbed a handfull of worms and unfinished compost together - everytime i saw em- in the cooler areas u see...
( filled the bottom of this tub with the stuff that the existing compost woms were obviously already happy in and then went inside- and added the wormz Laura brought home on top- then, spread a layer of shredded office paper that had been brought home from work- on top- and voiLA'! HAppy wormz! ha~HA!!!
oh- also drilled three 1/4 inch holes along both upper top sides for air (6 total)

Just checked in on em'- temp shows a comfy 69° ...verry fiesty they are! when probed down in with a commandeered rubber spatula! heh~heh! perhaps a pic or so later i can post of it now that i think of it!...

Made a run to Johnny's yesterday in the rain- and picked up some 512 mix for to start our veggies and also for houseplants etc...
(WAs hard not to stop at all the farms with the HUge winters-worth of beAutifuL manures along the way...to and from....( had to stay-the-course- seeds-mix...seeds-mix...
On the way home- my scrounging-eye-rAdAr wAs Lit up tho- when i spied a bunch of scrap plywood and such on what appeared to be a burn-pile out on the very back corner of a building supply lumberyard-
After talking with the fellas there about it- they told me to "sure! knock-yerself out!- and was nice to come home with some more scrounged pAtch-plywood-WALking-and stepping boards for in the patch)) (( iS verra good for to not compact the soil- u know... makes for happy patch in many ways all around~

MeAnwhiles- now- also have two homes have spoken to and recieved permision to haul their bagged up leaves away for them- as, theyve used em all winter for banking the house with... (( good to have em stockpiled for laters shredded mulch and future compost u know....some places do it with old hay bales...too... now is time of yr to haul em'...

WeLL,... enough fer now- gotta go check out these baby piglets Laura's looking at getting- HmMmMmMm...!piG-p00p! yummmm!

VerrA Windy todAy! whewW!
TAkes CAres ALL~
:D TLISH

Hmmm! Just back from checkin' out Laura's new pet-piglets... (about 2.1 miles from here they are now...and...hmmm! cute they are now- but i can see an endless work at the fencing upgrade project in sight...heh~heh!
( i even had a fLAsh-of-a-vision -of an electrified fence around my punKin pAtch there for a minute- whilste i was visitin' the pig-pen there!...(for poss future escapees!...oH-NOooo! thAt would be some bAd fer the pAtch ...AYe! now wouldnt it!... whewW!* the thought!......shudder``~```~to think of it!
heh~heh! any other GiAnt-PumpKin-Growers out there have pigs?...

myself,... am more-so interested in some rabbits- poss of the GiAnt-FLemish variety...ORrrr who-knows... we'LL see...

Another thing have done as of lately,... was to step up the collection of spent coffee grounds... ( 28 assorted-sized bags just last mon-thru-friday!...
speAking of which... i better go tend to-
ALAs,...too windy for shredder operations today...
(still have to make room in the patch...
SOooo much to do- so little time-
TAkes-CAres~
:D TLISH

WeLL Now!.... iT hAs been 2 months since i last entered anything in here!... and have had several inquiries as to where are the updates!?... the most recent bein' from the swAmpLAnds of SAnford Maine...( in AL's latest diary update...)

So,... this being a verra rainy weekend- seems to be a good time to work at updating..... i do have a whole bunch of pics i'd like to Share....

(wish id done it last yr- have a whole bunch of nice pics from 05'.... perhaps i can post em sometime on photo album section on BP.com... laters sometime...

AnYwAys! all of the following entries will be backdated for awhiles....

ps: i did manage to talk Laura out of getting those "pet-pigs"! heh~heh!

welp' on to the updates!.... (just hope i can remember how to resize thos pics! ha ha! bear with me now....

(wow- was just checkin' how this post turned out- thought for a minute woAh! where'd the rest go!?... buT! turns out is on page 2 now! ha ha! turn the page!...

TLISH

Here's a pic taken back on MARCH 15th... "FuLL M00n Setting" seen from the back deck 0649 in the morn'..... (( By the next one of these- the season will be well underway with seeds started and up!.....
TLISH

weLL now looks like i still remembered how to resize the pics! (yeAyY!) ha ha!
heres a diff view..... (15th of March 0649...by the time we see the next one of these- season will be full underway- with seeds started and up.....
TLISH

TaKen APRIL 9th,... A "Before Pic" (view of the patch from the driveway...

This 1/3rd of the pAtch is taken up with stockpiled Leaves, leafmould, seaweed, numerous piles of compost, alpaca p00p, coffee grounds etc...

The Shredder underneath the blue tarp, then Active compost bin running at 140°, alreAdy scrounging more pAtch-wALking and stepping boards......

ha~HA!!! Looking at that last pic- it L00Ks Like a reAL Dump! huh! heh~heh! one of my buddies hears the "Sanford & Son" tune in his head when he see's / thinks of my patch! heh~heh!

( for you younger folks- that tune is from an early 70's TV show with junkyard in the doorway u see...)

(this is ANOther view- taken 9th of APRiL... LOts of Shredding To Do... LOts of makin' room to do for two more plants this yr-

(last yr was only the two plants... this yr would like to try four... this corner will be future site of 371 Langevin (723x845)...

9 APRiL )) "Before View" of Spot 3
( just to the right of the pallets and just to the left of the blue-tarped shredder)

(spot 3 inbetween the pallets and the blue-tarped shredder... future site of the 781.5 Frantz (1101 Northrup x 1125 frantz)

hmmm nice Lil' pile of ALpAcA!.... LOts of shredding & spreAding to do!.....

9 APRiL Views still.... (immagine the people driving by... w0ndering-whA!? in-the-HecK-iS-He-Doing!?...oR WhAt in The hecK iS Goin' on theRe!?... heh~heh! (( i could fill a few pages with the stories!....

whewW!* LOst connection during that last post!... it seems to have gone thru tho- pic chopped a bit at the bottom... but you get the most of it...

people always wonder whAt yA feed em!?... alot of what it is- you can see - is all in these pics- (feed the worms- and yer' feedin' the future punkins!;-) and always wonderin' what yer pAtch looks like... is why all the before transplant view pics...

This one is a "before-view" of spot #1 and spot #2 tAKen back on 9th of APRiL... (future site of 1333 Connolly 05' (1068 wallace x 1253 Sperry) And 1084.5 Langevin 05' (1068 Wallace x 1097.5 Beachy)

This is where The 1114 and 1000.4 were grown last year...)

The 1114 was planted where that blue-tipped marker stake is and ran from left to right...

There is another stake up by the walking boards and shredded leaves to the left of the compost bin- where the 1000.4 ran from right to left)

(12" tall, 4' wide x 16' long raised bed in foreground filled with rabbit manure, 4'x12' above that, and another 4'x16' beyond that one on left side of photo...

(raised beds are meant for veggies, poss corn, sunflowers etc... meant to help with winds-breAk from the prevailing westerly winds from across the pasture to the left...

ANOther 9th of APRiL pic
(view of where the two plants were grown last yr... (horseshoe driveway in background)...

( this yr- want to try four plants - but, as you can see in this pic- LOts of shredding, spreAding and making room to do...

(( ALso of note: this patch hasnt been tilled since the summer of 04' (even then, it was just a diagonal section) (have just added stuff- spread and thrown on by hand and with shovel and fork...

(This PLAce Looked like two bombs had gone off here last year after getting tractor and people in here to load the two punkins with straps and the bucket here last fall... then the fall rains hit it... and then froze up...

will post a few last yrs pics after this for perspective...

ThiS Pic was taken back on last September 24th 05'

to show perspective from last few pics posted...

this was a zoomed view from the kitchen window...

(the previous posted pics were taken from far side of this pic- (you might be able to pick out the corner of the raised bed way in the back left side for perspective...

1114 there underneath its yellow BLAnKy the morning of cut-off day i believe...