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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The Royal Winter Fair was a great success with a great giant pumpkin show. I managed a second place behind Jim and Kelsey Bryson.
The giant vegetable entries were way down this year. A few regular growers did not attend this year. Hope to see them back next year.
My Kolhrabi came in first at 33.6 lbs. It was the only one entered
Phil and Jane Hunt's parsnip was a winner at 9.8 lbs. The parsnip will be the feature vegetable next year
I was able to get the compost spread and the patch tilled after a few dry days and just in time. Looking forward to 2018. Best of luck to everyone next season.
Nice kohlrabi. Got some nice big pups on it. Often they have a lot more smaller ones.
I have no idea what that kohlrabi thing is that you're holding lol, but thanks for taking the time to do a diary this year, Chris. Hopefully more people post some photos next year as it's great to see how others work on their plants throughout the season. I enjoyed seeing your fruits grow and tracking how far behind you I was, ha.
Good luck with that green thing this weekend.
Almost have the garden ready for winter but the warm temperatures in September and October really made the weeds grow fast and thick. Hope to have compost in soon and tilled up by next week if the weather co-operates.
No rutabagas for me this year. The last one rotted out from the inside without showing any signs of a problem. It would have been a good one as it felt like it was still about 50 lbs. despite being hollow.
My single Kohlrabi still looks great. The plant behind it appears to have been a Kohlrabi and cabbage cross.
For a kohlrabi it sure looks and feels heavy to me. Can't wait to weigh it at the Royal on Saturday. I believe that Phil and Jane Hunt have a really impressive vegetable to be weighed there as well.
The Prince Edward County weigh-off in Wellington was the best one I have attended over the past 20 years. My 2095 Willemijns on the right is now the 11% light 1137 Lyons 2017. Only good enough for 7th place.
Despite my lame finish to the season, I still had a great time and there was a great turn out of growers to make it a very competitive weigh-off. The parade just blows me away with such a large crowd and the weigh-off itself was watched by a big and enthusiastic audience as well. Thanks to all the hard working volunteers that make this event happen.
The 1585 Werner on the move. too wide and long to go in the truck so it gets to ride in the trailer to Woodbridge.
The 1585 Werner is now the 1450.6 Lyons 2017. It was 407" OTT and went about 2% light to the new chart. I was concerned that it might be an air bubble because of it's shape so I was happy with the weight.
This is my 8.45 Carrot that placed first at Woodbridge. Not the best looking carrot out there and since the rest of them rotted out I was happy with the weight.
The last pumpkin standing now. The 2095 Willemijns is still slowly growing and will remain connected to the "hose" until early Saturday morning for the Wellington weigh-off. There is a little more at stake for this one so I want to get every possible pound on before it gets weighed.
Friday was loading day for the 2145 McMullen. As with past tradition it was a cold rainy day
Big pumpkins are so much easier to move with a tractor big as a garage. Thanks so much Matt.
The happy carrot grower with what would become my personal best of 9.02 lbs. I thought this would be a slam dunk at Port Elgin but Jeff Warner set a new Canadian record of 12.36 lbs. Congratulations Jeff.
There was a great turn-out at the "pumpkin dome" at Port Elgin. It was a great day.
My 2145 McMullen is now the 1584 Lyons 2017. It was 410" OTT and estimated 1506 lbs. so it was about 5% heavy on the new chart. Can't ask for more than that. It was good for third place.
It was great to have Phil and Jane Hunt back at Port Elgin again with their 1514 lb. pumpkin at 4th place and 917 lb. squash at 3rd. place. A great comeback after last year's bad luck.
My award winning 1.14 lb. bell pepper on the left and the 1.05lb. on the right which went a little light to the charts. Should have let it ripen a little more.
I spent a lot of last Friday in the rain covering the remaining AG plants with row cover in anticipation of a Saturday night frost. They seem to have survived and I did the last feeding of the season on Sunday after Port Elgin.
The beginning of the fall season has started out on the extreme side with hot weather and no rain for weeks now. The hot weather would have been great in July but it is of no help now and is causing some problems like causing my tomatoes to ripen too quickly. I guess that there will be no happy median with the 2017 season but I think that I did all that was possible with the conditions that were dealt to me.
The 2145 McMullen on day 100. Still growing and interestingly it was the " fastest" growing pumpkin during the past week by a fraction of a lb. per day. Time to get this thing weighed.
The 1585 Werner on Day 89. Still growing but some health issues with the plant have taken their toll on the pumpkin's growth. It's about the same size as the 2145 now. At least on the tape.
The 2095 Willemijns on day 76. It still has about 3 weeks of growing time with this one. It would have been great if it was pollinated a few weeks earlier but I'll take whatever it gives me because it's still in one piece.
So much for September weather, we now have the best weather this year. Could have really used it back in July or August as the benefits now will not really make much of a difference at this time of the season. From personal experience I have found that September heat waves cause more trouble for giant vegetables than normal weather conditions. I hope that I am wrong this year.
2145 McMullen on Day 93. Doing what old pumpkins do at this age. slow and steady.
The 1585 Werner on day 83. Doing a little better but nothing really special. It's just about the same OTT as the 2145 now.
The 2095 Willemijns at day 69. Still doing Ok. but not what I had thought it might do. It's around 1200 lbs. now and the fact that the blossom has held together is a bonus.
The 96.5 Hunt rutabaga is still holding together and is very big as well. Only about 6 weeks to go.
The giant bell peppers are still doing well. The ones on this plant want to turn a purple - brown colour. I had to dig out the soil underneath them to keep them off the ground and support the plants as the weight of the peppers was pulling the plants down.