After a very wet and cold start it looks like there may be some hope to a good season. Just have to survive the chance of frost tonight. The biggest 2145 McMullen plant is way out of the hoop house and it looks like a June pollination will happen this season.
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What a difference a week makes. 30 degree heat all weekend and dry weather have got me back on track. Most of the plants are looking good with one of 2145 McMullens ahead of all others. If I had not broken the vine tip off the other one a few weeks ago I am sure it would be out about 12 feet as well now.
Lots of females showing now.
2145 McMullen. Could have a pollination by next week or I may hold off for the next one.
Another week and another highly anticipated visit to the patch. Finally planted the last of the tomatoes and some giant sugar beet plants.
So far everything is doing very well and growing beyond my expectations. I unleashed a second wave of five million beneficial nematodes on my root vegetables to kill root maggots and harmful nematodes. Almost every season I have some issues with root maggots so I am hoping this will do the trick this year.
Did a weekly feeding of calcimax with boron , micro nutrients, fish ,seaweed and soil life. hoping to add Rootshield and Azos tomorrow.
96.5 Hunt rutabagas are looking real good.
GVGO veggie of the year. carrots have finally turned around and are looking good now as well.
2145 McMullen "A" looking great . I keep the main vine tips on my plants shaded after one of my plants had it's main vine fried in hot sunny weather a few years ago. I also keep newly pollinated pumpkins completely covered at all times to protect them from any type of possible damage.
2145 McMullen "A"x 1585 Werner day two at 12' Thanks Phil. This is my early pollination as the 1585 Werner and 2145 McMullen "B" won't be pollinated until late June but they will be big plants when that happens.
After another soggy week it appears that the wet weather has been great for the plants. The AG vines have grown about 4 feet this past week and hopefully the vine burying will be all done soon.
The plants have been receiving a regular feeding of kelp, some fish emulsion, Essential , a new product I am using, Biosys instant microbial tea, some micro-nutrients and Calcimax with boron.
Hoping to have a pumpkin pollinated on the 1585 Werner soon at about 15 feet. At this time I have still not seen one single cucumber beetle. The only thing I can figure is that all the rain is interfering with their love life.
Another week, another 3 inches of rain. Just dodged major damage today at the patch from a powerful storm. Hopefully we won't see another one like it this season
Something new for me this year. Giant kohlrabi has doubled in size in the past week.
2145 McMullen "A" plant looks great.
2145 McMullen "A" x 1585 Werner at day 10. Can't ask for anything better than that.
It looks like we might be over the rain hump. After another soggy week it appears that there will finally be a run of normal weather with more than one dry day a week . The pumpkin plants look surprisingly good despite the hail damage and lack of sunlight. I took advantage of Sunday's weather and got the vine burying and feeding done .
I am hoping to turn on my automatic irrigation system and have it working next week for the first time this season. This has been a challenging start to the season but I think that the worst is behind and things will only get better now.
My giant kohlrabi took the hardest hit of last weeks storm losing several of it's leaves.
Wow, 58% soil moisture content. I have never seen soil so wet. It has been in the 40-50% range for a while now.
2145 McMullen x 1585 Werner. Day 17. A little behind where I would like it to be but it is picking up
it's growth and I am sure the sunny weather will get it back on pace.
The 2145 "A" McMullen plant. There is a 4x4 foot sheet of plywood under the 5x5 foot sheet of mill fabric. If anything, they ride well on their way to weigh-off.
The patch is really looking good now. That's why I call it my happy place. Even the leaves are greener now and the newer leaves look so much better without the hail holes in them.
The soil was so wet last week that I did not water again during the past week and the soil moisture levels are still high. Hopefully there will be no soil diseases caused by the wet conditions but I may not know for a few weeks yet.
The 2145 McMullen "A" x 1585 Werner on day 23. It has really taken off this past week.
Not much in the colour department but I really like the shape
This is the 1585 Werner x 2145 McMullen on day 13. It is really doing well and it has great shape.
The cucumber beetles came for a good time but did not stay for a long time:)
Another new vegetable for me this season. These are Nieuwenhoff world class strain giant Bell Peppers. After they are weighed I get to eat them. Sounds like a win- win to me.
The weather again was a big factor during the past week with another 2.5 inches of rain falling from Wednesday night into Friday. Along with the dark skies and cooler weather it just makes sense that the fruit growth will be affected by these conditions.
The soil was saturated again on Saturday but after a warm sunny day things start to look better and I am hopeful that the long range forecast will hold true for the coming week and let me get caught up in the patch.
The 2145"A" McMullen at day 30. Was hoping for slightly better numbers but considering the conditions I'll take what I get. The plant looks great and I foliar sprayed them all with Big Stem today for the first time this season.
The 1585 Werner on day 20 today. The numbers were better on this one than anything I have grown in a while. Not happy about the droopy blossom but it seems to be holding steady for now.
Hoping to have an update on my "problem" plants soon. The 2145 "B" McMullen and the 2095 Willemijins.
Something new for me. Giant sugar beets. They were so slow to start and were only as thick as a pencil and tiny when I transplanted them only four weeks ago. They seem to have taken a liking to the great outdoors. Hopefully I can get something really big by November.
This is my nutrient delivery system. For years I used a hose end sprayer but this really gets the job done quickly and efficiently. In 5 minutes all the plants got Kelp, fish, Essential, Calci-max with boron, Humic, Azos, Mycorraise and rootshield.
Chris, if those beet seeds were from me, they are fodder beets. They look like sugar beets, but get much larger. Compare to the picture in my diary. Problem is I have to harvest on Sept. 20 and you could leave them till the Royal Fair. It ain't over yet...lol
Thanks Brad, I stand corrected as they are fodder beets. Love the colour , they look like giant carrots.
Here at the community garden I get several people asking what they are. Had some Syrians who couldn't speak Dutch stare at them for a while, lift up the leaves to take a better look. After a while one of them said: sugar? Good enough for me.
I have 8 of them going and there is some variety in colour. The plants with the least number of leaves have the biggest beets.