Sorry it's been a while. I'm not so sure the pumpkin is getting any bigger. I might need a new subject!

New timelapse video

Check it out, only four days so it's quick but interesting: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIhPzl-lRw4

Deadly Nightshade

An interesting thing occurred in our backyard - some wild berries were growing, so I extended a drip irrigation hose to the roots. As it grew a couple of feet, I started wondering what kind of plant it really was because after planting a tomato plant right next door to it, it looked very similar to tomatoes (but smaller). After asking someone at the Jack London Square farmer's market, it was Deadly nightshade, one of those most toxic plants on the planet. After doing some research on my own, it actually wasn't that specific type of nightshade, it is a "Black Nightshade" which is only mildly toxic if you eat the unripened berries. Guess its a good thing I didn't feed it to our guinea pig... at any rate, it's been dug out and tossed in the green compost bin. I just hope it didn't cross pollinate with our tomatoes?

How do I have a webcam outside?

Some of you have asked me how I am monitoring a pumpkin 24/7 outdoors (ok no one has asked me but I am going to tell you). I bought this wireless internet camera on eBay from China for $49 a few years ago to monitor our pets. Turns out it emits an annoying high pitched sound (go figure), so it has been retired to the backyard. I encased it in a costco-sized cheeseball container with a few punched holes in the back for breathing. An extension cord follows the fence to the outlet. It has gone down a few times when it gets hot, but so far so good! I'll post a picture of it if anyone is interested.

When it gets warm, it grows FAST....

Did you know the pumpkin is a fruit?

Pumpkin Canopy

I've added a little makeshift canopy over the pumpkin. While the leaves need sun, the actual pumpkin does not, and can be damaged by the sun. You usually do this when the pumpkin is much bigger, but the leaves above it aren't that big, so this should help shade it. Also remember to put something under the pumpkin so its not in direct contact with the ground (something plastic).

I know you are supposed to keep the camera in the same place, but I've had to move it around a little. Only 7 days in this time lapse (July 10-17), and the camera was down for one day unfortunately (strange that a webcam wouldn't work outside).

Baby Pictures ;-)

The pumpkin vine is the one all the way to the left. I won't go into what happened to the other three.

I can't believe it's even the same pumpkin!

Pumpkin fell over on its side today (supposed to), so now it's gonna grow about a quarter inch in diameter every day! It's already doubled in size since Sunday! You need to put something between the pumpkin and the ground though, or else mold can form.

What a difference 30 hours make...

The picture on the right was an hour ago, the one on the left was 30 hours ago. Camera is in the exact same place, it's about 20% bigger!

Videos of Pumpkin Vine July 10, 2011

(excuse the cheesy music, I was having fun with youtube [plus it's better than hearing me sniffling every 30 seconds])

This video was taken July 9th (with our tomato plant) pretty amazing how much different the vine looks from July 10th:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RYN004gvPo

July 10th video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-naSTVkH5o

The vine is about 7 feet long, it grows about an inch every 12 hours!

About the size of a golfball...

We pollinated the female flower (these are the ones with a small baby pumpkin at the base), and it appears this one took. There's another small pumpkin on the vine that didn't "take" unfortunately, as we were out of town when it blossomed. You only have about 9 hours of time to pollinate!