If this is your first visit to the Worlds First Live Pumpkin Cam, your to late. On September 4, 2000 it was overcome by a fungal infection resulting from a blossom end split. Daily doses of fungicide were not able to hold back the fungus. OTT measurement was 254.4 inches (112.5, 69.1, 72.8) and the actual weight was 377.5 pounds. Today (8 Sept. 2000) I introduce to you the first , I can't say it yet(sorry Glen) CAM. Its green, mean and best of all, still growing in a place that was for a PUMPKIN. The camera will update the pictures daily. final growth curve of pumpkin cam in Acrobat format The last picture of the pumpkin cam.

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The 2000 Season begins............

June 10, all the plants are doing well their first week out of the enclosures. Lots of storms and cold weather this week have held the plants back. On the up side, there is plenty of water this month.
June 17, I moved the camera for a better view of the McIntyre932. The first female flower was spotted June 14 on the Reinsburough741. That plant continues to grow the fastest of the 4 and has bigger leaves. It WAS going to be a backup so it's not in a very good location in the patch but the race for space in patch 2 is not over yet.
June 22. All of the plants took a beating yesterday with high winds all day. This morning they don't look as bad as I thought they would. There are a few broken leaves but the vines are ok. Also spotted two more female flowers on the Reinsburough 741.
June 24. After a quick trip to the pumpkin patch of Alan Reynolds to steal a few fresh male flowers at 6:30 AM, I have pollinated the first female on the Reinsburough 741. She is a plump 4 segmented beauty with nice vine position. (there were no males up to the task in my patch)
June 27. Tragedy in the patch. (grrrrr) This morning when I looked out there was something wrong with the McIntyre 932. Outside I discovered that 2 feet of the end of the main vine was snapped off. Nothing to do but bury the end and wait to see what happens. The little female flower near the end is gone and I'll have to wait for another. More bad news in the other patch. All the females on the Brooks560 are green. After consulting other growers it seems I'll just have to wait and see if they stay green. For now the struggle in that patch is clearly going in favor of the Reinsburough 741.
July 8. I moved the camera this morning to look at the pumpkin pollinated 6/24/2k.
July 16. All of the plants are doing ok. None of the pumpkins are setting any growth records but steady progress is not a split. I have started pruning the Brooks560 to make more room for the Reinsburough741. All of the sets on the Brooks are still green. Some have nice long stems and others have the stem fused with the vine. All of the females have 5 segments and the fruit are oblong. It has a high rate of aborts and still early to say much about the others. (pumpkin cam pumpkin covered today)
July 20. Started to cover the pumpkin with a blanket at night because it is colder than usual for this time of year.
July 28. The struggle in patch 2 is over. The Reinsburough741 is the clear winner in the pumpkin race. I culled the last sibling two days ago (82 pounds) so now its all or nothing for the pumpkin cam. This doesn't mean that it gets the patch all to itself. The Brooks560 is producing some very fast growing fruit even if they are green. I couldn't force myself to remove the plant so I have left enough to support the fruit. Who knows maybe I'll grow a giant green pumpkin. The weather has been cold and wet for the last 3 or 4 days. Low was 62 and the high was 68 so I left the blanket on day and night. In spite of this the Reinsburough741 has grown the same for the last 9 days. Who says it has to be 85 and sunny to grow a pumpkin?
July 29. Well it looks like I wrote yesterdays note too soon. The pumpkins growth was off the 9-day mark. Where is the sun when you need it? Pumpkin Cam Public Enemy #1 has forced a relocation of the pumpkin cam. The green thing that invaded my patch has taken up residence adjacent to the pole that the pumpkin cam is mounted on. For better or worse, the new location gives a more oblique image of the pumpkin. In patch #1, the McIntyre932 has 2 sets that may challenge Pumpkin Cam. The Checkon815 was a late start, a slow grower and has aborted all fruit so far. It is now to late to set any significant fruit but I may trim it aggressively just to see what happens.
August 6. Didn't make the coveted 30 day 100" benchmark. The Checkon815 may never set any fruit but I let it continue just to see what it may produce from a very late set. The sun has returned after 9 days of rain so maybe the growth will pickup in August. The pumpkin cam is the only fruit remaining on the Reinsburough741. It is starting to look like a more mature fruit with the ribs developing. The Brooks 560 is all squash. One will be a nice fruit but the other 2 look exactly like watermelon. The McIntyre932 is a large plant with one pumpkin struggling to keep up with the pumpkin cam.
August 20. I don't know what happened to summer but it never made it to my pumpkin patch. If the cold and rain weren't bad enough I found a split in the blossom end of the pumpkin cam pumpkin yesterday. Weigh off may be to far away for this one so I'm starting to look at some of the lesser backups. Only time will tell.
August 27. The pumpkin continues to grow and the split is getting bigger. Yesterday I decided if there is any chance of keeping this one its growth must be curtailed so I cut the main vine just after the pumpkin. Now to keep it dry and daily doses of fungicides and pesticides.