Welcome to our 2022 growing diary. So far this year everything is far behind last year’s start to the season. We have not been able to get into our patch yet, because it is too wet. Last weekend it was very close to being dry enough. We were able to apply a layer of manure. It was too wet last fall to do this so we had to do it now. Of course the rain came the next day.
Today we got several trailer loads of coco coir from our neighbour. He removes the used growing medium from a local cannabis producer. It is stockpiled and allowed to break down. The picture below shows part of the large pile. The fresh stuff is on the right and the decomposed stuff is on the left.
It works very well to loosen up our clay soil.
The picture below shows our young watermelon seedlings along with some bushel gourd seedlings. Hopefully, in the next few days we will be grafting the watermelon to the bushel gourd. This will be 2 weeks later than last year. We had a lot of trouble this year getting the BG to germinate. That set us back a little.
We plan to grow 2 pumpkins and 1 squash this year. We started these plants a bit later as well. We started the germination process on the plants below last Saturday (April 23). So they are just nicely out of the soil. We have a couple of our 1747.5 as back up plants. For pumpkin we are going with the same seeds as last year. The 2118 Barron has always given us a heavy pumpkin, is very heat tolerant and is a very aggressive plant. Also going with the 2200 est Geddes again. This was also a very aggressive plant with a lot of potential (we think). The squash we are going with is Harley Sproule’s 1507.5. Thanks for the seeds Harley. It’s been a long time since we grew a squash.
This next picture is a look at our cabbage plants. We started these mid-February. They are from our own seed that we harvested last fall.
Finally, we would like to encourage all the GVGO members out there to start a diary this year. We can all learn from each other.
The weigh-offs are over for us this year. Now comes the dreaded garden cleanup. When the soil conditions are right I like to use the tractor to removed the vines. I use the manure bucket and let the tines pull the vines out like a giant rake.
They are all shoved to one end of the garden. It even works to pull out most of the weeds.
Here is the garden after the vines are all shoved to the far end
We removed 5 trailer loads for disposal
Next we applied 10 spreader loads of manure
Ploughed it in
We were able to get the garden seeded down with fall rye right before the rains started. We expanded the patch for next year because things were kind of tight for us this year. We are up to about 13000 ft² for next year.
We had a bit of a surprise when we weighed our 2118 Barron. It went 25% heavy 1402.5 Lbs. That is the 3rd year we have grown this seed and every year it has gone very heavy.
Below is Harley's 1507.5 and it is now the 1035 MacKenzie. It went 15% heavy.
Our cabbage for Sunday weighed 41.5 lbs. Both our cabbages were grown from our seed.
Doug Court had a trailer load of impressive entries.
His watermelon was a new personal best weighing 187.5 lbs.
Jeff had a great weekend! 2nd place on Saturday and the winner for Sunday.
Port Elgin had perfect weather for their weigh-off today. Congratulations to Dave McQuay for his first place pumpkin 1888.5 lbs. and Jeff Warner wasn’t far behind at 1805.5 lbs. John Butler took first place squash weighing in at 1335.5 lbs. John Butler also set a new North American record for sunflower 27 ½ feet tall. Amazing to see.
Our pumpkin was 5th place weighing in at 1271.5. That was close to what it measured.
Managed to get a new personal best for our melon. It weighed 173 lbs. An increase of 3 pounds. It went slightly lighter than it was measuring.
We also got first place with our cabbage, weighing in at 47 lbs.
Got home today and unloaded everything and then loaded up a pumpkin and squash for tomorrow.
The last few days have been very busy for us getting ready for Port Elgin Pumpkinfest. One of the most time consuming things was to get our chair pumpkin set up on a pallet. This year we grew a pumpkin under an oversized chair so that Port Elgin can use it for a public display.
The chair started out level but as the pumpkin grew the chair started to tip forward. So we had be make a large wedge under the pumpkin to level the chair. We also made some metal legs under the chair legs to stabilize everything. The next step was to add a step in front.
We took it to Port Elgin yesterday because we wouldn’t have room today.
We asked Joanne to be the first person to sit in the chair
Loaded up the 2200 Geddes for today
Our watermelon might be our only chance of a personal best this year.
Good Luck everyone!
My next entry for team 7 3 lbs. 14.2oz. or 3.89 lbs.
Another entry for team 7 2lbs. 4.5 oz. or 2.28 lbs.
My next entry for team 7 in the GVGO tomato contest
2 lbs .8oz or 2.05 lbs
This will be my first tomato entry for team 7. The first one is 1.85 lbs. and the next is 2.24 lbs.
Now that September is here things have really started to slow down. Lots of weeds and powdery mildew is spreading.
The 2200 Geddes below is probably the tallest pumpkin we have ever grown.
Our only watermelon plant on the other hand is still very healthy looking with very little weeds.
We can’t get an accurate OTT measurement on the melon because of the sag in the hammock. The circumference is just over 80”. Still seems to be growing but it is slowing down.
The graft still looks good so far. We have been spraying it with hydrogen peroxide and applying garden Sulphur.
I have been planning to build a new pumpkin lifting ring for a while now and have finally started the project this month. Last winter I purchased a machine called a Chinese Shoe Patcher so that I would be able to make my own straps for the lifter. This is basically a manual sewing machine that people use to sew leather and other heavy fabrics. These are very economical machines that can be purchased on Amazon. The only problem is they don’t work right out of the box. You have to disassemble the machine and cleanup/polish the castings with fine sandpaper. After that, apply some lubrication, adjust tension and timing and the machine works very well. They are operated by cranking the wheel on the right. I joined an online group that has a site that is dedicated to the setup and use of these machines. The thread we are using is a heavy duty polyester outdoor thread that is typically used for sails, boat covers, tents etc.
The first thing that I wanted to do was to prove that the machine would be capable of stitching a loop on a strap that would be strong enough. I plan to make the straps out of seatbelt material so I made up a test strap so that I could put it through a pull test. . A loop was stitched on each end.
After looking around the farm for something heavy I decided to attach the test strap to a large Walnut log and test the stitching. We have an electronic load cell scale and I attached it to the bottom of the test strap.
I kept applying upward pressure to the strap and to my surprise the log started to rise off the ground. I checked the digital readout and it was measuring over 1100 lbs. That will be more than enough, especially since we will be using 8 straps on the ring. The test strap showed no signs of any damage so I think the stitching passed the strength test.
Now I have to build the ring. I purchased some hot rolled flat bar and started the project. I could have use the acetylene torch to heat the bar but for a job like this I usually go to my grandfather’s old coal forge. I have many memories of my grandfather using this forge when I was a young lad. He would let me turn the crank on the blower to put air to the fire. I would watch in amazement as he would turn the red hot piece of iron into something useful. It’s funny how the distinctive odors and sounds from the forge bring back so many memories from the past.
Here I am trying to get things to line up.
Here is the ring just before I added the straps. I put the loops on the straps ahead of time to make the stitching easier. I then added the straps to the ring before welding everything solid. It would have been very difficult to stitch the straps while on the ring. I have seen that some lifting rings have their straps attached with buckles and sometimes tied in place, but I wanted them permanently stitched in place.
Here is a look at it after a coat of zesty orange paint.
This is our mid August update. Our 1507.5 Sproule squash (below) has slowed down and is measuring 543 lbs. today.
The 2118 Barron is growing steady but nothing to exciting. Estimating 677 lbs.
The 2200 Geddes is still the leader in our patch but it is slowing down as well. Estimating 935 lbs.
The 255 Mitchell watermelon plant has really filled out. We have a cover over the stump to try and keep it dry.
The plant was so thick we missed seeing the extra melons growing under the canopy. Here is todays culls. Must be at least 50lbs.
The melon measures 74 lbs and is growing close to 3 lbs daily.
One of our cabbages.
One of our field pumpkins. Measuring 27 lbs.
Our 255 Mitchell watermelon has filled out the space it was allotted. We are now trimming the vines to keep it under control. We have the melon on its hammock and under cover.
The stump is pictured below and shows the main vine going to the right and has four finger vines. Our melon is growing on one of the finger vines. You can see the graft union below the finger vines and it looks healthy so far.
The shape of the melon has improved a lot since the last entry.
The 2118 Barron has not picked up the pace yet but is growing steadily. It has averaged 22lbs. per day for the last 8 days.
The plant is fairly large and the vines have all been terminated.
The 2200 Geddes has been the leader in the patch this year. It has averaged 32 lbs. per day for the last 8 days
We are very happy with the 1507.5 Sproule squash. It has averaged 20 lbs. per day for the last 8 days.
We have started pollinating the field pumpkins. We can't believe the size of the flowers. This one was pollinated yesterday on the 142 MacKinnon. The flower was almost 10" across.
So far so good with the pumpkins. The 2118 Barron below has been a trouble free plant so far. We would like to see the growth pick up a little. Right now its doing 20 lbs daily.
Next this is the 2200 Geddes. Also a trouble free plant and is growing aggressively. Vine termination is in progress on both plants. The Geddes has been putting on over 30 lbs daily.
Below is a look at our 1507.5 Sproule squash. We are very happy with this plant. It started out growing very slow but has really caught up. Very short and small leaves.
The fruit has a very nice shape and the daily gains are starting to ramp up nicely now. This one is at day 23 today.
A look at one of our field pumpkins. We are removing a lot of female flowers. We want a later pollination. This one below has a 12' main vine.
We only have two successfully pollinated watermelons so far on our 255 Mitchell plant. We are thinking of going with this one below. It's not exactly the best shape but its better than the other one. This one is 8 days old today.
Our Field pumpkins seem to be doing well
Our watermelon plant has finally started growing better. We pollinated the first female this morning.
Next is a look at the 2200 est Geddes
The fruit has a nice shape and colour.
Next is the 2118 Barron
Next is our squash 1507.5 Sproule
This is a patch overview with the 2200 est Geddes in the foreground
The Geddes has a fruit pollinated at 14' with a very long stem
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Next is the 2118 Barron
The Barron has a fruit that was pollinated on the same day as the Geddes
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Our watermelon is not growing like last year. Not sure of the reason. Some females are showing up now.
The tomatoes are doing well.
This is our best looking field pumpkin.
The 1507.5 squash has picked up the pace and is growing a lot better now. We have a fruit pollinated at 12' that we pollinated yesterday.
Last Thursday we planted 5 of our tomato plants. I like to deeply loosen the soil for each plant.
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These plants were started near the end of May
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Each plant gets a steel stake with a wooden stake attached. The plants are surround by plastic and shaded for a while. We still have a couple of plants to put in yet.
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We have 5 cabbage plants on the go.
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Below is a look at out 2200 est Geddes plant. Hopefully our “keeper” will bloom in a few days.
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Next is a look at our 2118 Barron plant. It also has a female that will bloom in a few days.
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Finally, the picture below is our 1507.5 Sproule squash. It's a little behind the pumpkins, but it is starting to grow better now. It will be a July pollination for sure.
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So far our pumpkins are a little behind last year’s growth. The plants look very healthy so we can’t complain. The growth lately has really picked up so they will not be in the enclosures much longer.
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Our squash on the other hand is not growing at the same pace as the pumpkins. We believe it is because it doesn’t have a working soil heating cable. It is only about a 20” vine so far.
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Also our watermelon is not growing like last years. So far it has not put out any vines yet.
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We started the germination of our tomatoes in the last part of May and they are just nicely out of the soil now. We are also germinating our field pumpkins now as well. Port Elgin Pumpkinfest sent out a notice a while back asking growers if they would bring in some extra pumpkins in the 300lb plus range to the weigh-off so that the public can see them up close to sit on them and take pictures. They said they would waive the registration fee in lieu. We are starting another Atlantic Giant pumpkin to be used as that extra pumpkin. This plant will only be allotted a fairly small space in our patch and we have some special plans for this pumpkin that will be revealed at a later date, if the plan works.
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After a very wet and cool start to the season things have quickly turned into summer like conditions. We planted our pumpkins and squash today. Because of the intense sunlight, we placed burlap directly over the top of the plants to protect from the midday sun. We don’t have shade cloth but we hope this will work. We checked all the heating cables before burying them and they were working. After burying them we found that one wasn’t working. It was on the squash plant. If the weather stays like this we won’t need cables very long. We still have to put up the hoophouse for the watermelon.
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We double planted this site with the 2200 est Geddes on the right and our own 1747.5 on the left as a backup
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Next the 2118 Barron on the right and our 1747.5 on the left
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Our only squash is Harley Sproule's 1507.5
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Out of the 7 watermelon grafts we only have 3 that survived. For some reason every one of the survivors is a 255 Mitchell. These are 13 days old (from grafting day) and are just starting to increase their growth after they were planted into larger pots.
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Yesterday, I grafted our 7 watermelon seedlings to bushel gourd rootstock. Elaine took a video of the process.