Jeffslodigarden

Jeffslodigarden Vegetable and fruit tree growing, gardening, and giant pumpkin growing. Author. JeffreysMcLain.com Giant pumpking grower, blogger, and author.

Author of book titled "Backyard Big: How to Grow Atlantic Giant Pumpkins in your Backyard". Vegetable grower and orchardist. Sharing success and failures in my garden.

08/29/2026

I can’t believe it is almost September. The giant pumpkin is getting a little more orange every day.

08/27/2026

I skipped the gym today. I did plenty of shoveling of horse manure. I got my exercise and I got free manure!

08/26/2026

Wow, I must be losing it. I was getting in my car and I looked over and I saw peaches. I totally forgot I put this peach tree in last year. They tasted great!

08/23/2026

I have been putting this task off for a long time. I am glad to finally hook up drip to one of the sprinkler heads.

08/21/2026

There is always something. The life of a giant pumpkin grower is filled up with new things all the time. I use Reliant fungicide to prevent powdery mildew. It works well, but only if the spray hits the leaves! I missed a few spots so I made a small water bottle of Reliant solution and I’m treating a few leaves under my blue tarp.

08/18/2026

I strive to fertilize my pumpkin plant with as much organic product as I can. Early in the season I focus mostly on nitrogen with hydrolyzed fish, and then as the pumpkin plant fills out and the pumpkin starts to mature, I switch to lower amounts of nitrogen and add some potassium among other things. I do like the easy flow fertigator with my drip. I can set the timer and just forget it. Of course I still check on my pumpkin many times a day! My patch is 490 square feet and i am trying to put every leaf to work.

08/18/2026

Did you know your compost needs to be as wet as a wrung-out sponge? If it dries out, the microbes go dormant and composting stops. I also find shade is important. Here is your reminder to water and shade your piles this week!

08/14/2026

What a beautiful day. It was 80° in the patch, and I decided to take the tarp off and do a little cleaning. I haven’t actually done a thorough inspection of the stem side of the pumpkin since I haven’t been able to get to it; things look good. I don’t see any cracks or anything like that. Unfortunately, I had to cut some leaves because they were crowding things and starting to scratch the pumpkin. Hopefully this is the last time I have to cut leaves.

08/12/2026

Sirweighsalot is hanging in -still growing. I anticipate a nice sized giant that i can fit on my trailer. She (not he as i said in the video!) is growing the same way her mom did. I just hope she doesn’t get that stem crack or the crack near the blossom end like her mom!

08/11/2026

Bougainvillea put out long lasting bright flowers. I put three in this year. Trying not to overdo it! They are sensitive to frost so I will need to keep an eye on them during the winter. The last two winters in Lodi have been very mild.

Address

8679 Schmeidt Road
Lodi, CA
95240

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

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+12094525269

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