Well, here it is again. another growing season is just around the corner so I thought that I would put up a diary for 2019. This season will be different for me in a few ways with only two giant pumpkins planned at this time and some changes in what and how I will be growing as well.
I had decided to grow my last giant fodder beet seeds this year but no rutabagas or Kohlrabi this year but I am now the proud owner of a bouncing baby kohlrabi that I got from John Butler at the GVGO seminar.
I was not going to grow giant carrots this year as well, but when I saw that it was the veggie of the year for the EGVGA my competitive side kicked in and I started some as well. Like my beets they are far behind of where I was last year but they are all doing well
Checked out the garden today as it was probably the warmest day today since last October and things did not look too bad but could be better. The soil is only thawed down a few inches and there is still ice in the far corners of the garden. With the forecast not really showing a significant warm up and lots of cool wet days ahead I double covered the hoop house sites with plastic. It looks like it will be a repeat of 2018 with me only getting the hoop houses ready for planting in May.
The largest Jack O Lantern in Canada again was again at the Hunt residence this fall at 1814 lbs.
My 1409 was carved by Phil, and was also a big crowd-pleaser. There will be a lot of disappointed people next fall as there will be no display next year.
It was great to get the patch cleared out last weekend and have Phil till it up before the rain arrived and made it a muddy mess.
Ready for the Royal, will my long fodder beet be the champion? Almost but no by .02lbs.
There were lots of great entries for the 2019 Royal Winter fair. My 44.8 lb. Fodder beet beet came second but I came first in the Kohlrabi class at at 29.2 lbs and first in heavy carrot at 7.8 lbs and first in marrow at 92.6 lbs.
The giant pumpkin display this year is the best ever and is a real big draw at the fair. I managed a second place finish at 1625 lbs. this year and I'm happy with that. Phil and Jane Hunt set the bar high with a new Royal best weight of 1705 lbs.
The Wellington weigh-off was as good as it gets. The weather was stellar and there were lots of pumpkins and other entries. My 1826 Wolf went a little heavy and placed fifth at 1114 lbs.
The 1674 lb. pumpkin grown by Dan Clement was the winner. It was grown off the 1959 Hunt. The pumpkin on the left was the Howard dill winner grown by Annette Langridge at 906 lbs. It was grown off the 1086 Veitch.
The Woodbridge weigh-off went well. My 1911 Urena weighed in at 1409 Lbs. which was about 7% under the charts. Fortunately it was good for second place so I was happy with that.
Some of the entries lined up prior to the weighing. The Hunt's pumpkin stood out from the crowd because of it's size and weighed 1814 lbs.
The Halloween pumpkins are now in place
Looking forward to seeing some of these carved soon. My 1409 will be one of them.
The 1826 Wolf will be going to Wellington next Saturday. I am hoping that it goes over 1000 lbs.
Harvest time for Woodbridge now.
The 1911 Urena x 2005 Haist is ready to be harvested.
Just got in in the truck with a few inches to spare. It is really hard to guess how this one will do. Not really expecting anything special from it weight wise.
Lots of expectation from Phil and Jane's pumpkin. It's their biggest yet and could be a new PB for them. It is one of the best shaped pumpkins I have seen and was grown off their own seed.
Best of luck at Woodbridge.
Port Elgin went better than I expected and a personal best of 1663.5 Lbs. and a third place finish was a real surprise for me as well. The turnout at the pumpkin dome was amazing this year.
Phil and Jane's pumpkin went a little light but was the winner at 1771 lbs. Congratulations.
Well here it is, Harvest day. I am always a little nervous until the pumpkin is lifted, inspected and loaded. The cold cloudy weather kept the weight gains last week to an absolute minimum.
It's great to get a good look at the pumpkin once the cover structure has been removed. My 2005 Haist pumpkin will be the practice pumpkin today. I am thinking that it could be a personal best.
Loading went well. The 165 Baggs marrow is also ready to roll. Now the real work begins.
Getting this pumpkin loaded. Phil and Jane's pumpkin is a beast and it's shape makes it really difficult to make a good weight estimate.
Everything looks good. Good luck Jane and Phil.
Well here it is, just a few days away from the pumpkin harvest. It is a little tense now with all three pumpkins still growing despite the now poor condition of the leaves and less than favorable weather. I consider us lucky that there has been no frost yet going into October and that there have been no catastrophic failures to this point except for the marrows which I expected.
It looks like I have the chance to set a few personal bests if things don't go bad over the next few weeks.
I decided to harvest all my carrots early before they all rotted out like last year. Three out of six were good and this one will be a PB. Keeping them stored in sand until they are needed.
Powdery mildew hit fast but it doesn't seem to be effecting the pumpkins growth yet.
My fodder beet is tall and really wants to fall over. I have it supported on the other side and I am hoping it goes over 50 lbs. and becomes a PB for me.
My Kohlrabi is big but I don't think that it will beat my PB of 33.8 lbs.
The last of my Original marrows on the 165 Baggs plant. It is still growing very slowly and might reach 90 lbs.
The backup marrows are still growing although not as fast as the original fruits and I doubt that any of these ones are going to split.
The 1826 Wolf at day 75. Great shape but no comment on the blossom. Poking along very slow and It has some colour now and it seems like it might go a little over it's estimated weight of about 1,000 lbs now.
The 2005 Haist at day 88. Still alive and growing. Keeping my fingers crossed on this one.
The 1911 Urena at day 83. Same situation as the 2005, alive and growing at a late September pace.