This was going to be a year off for me to give me and the soil a break but somehow I found a way to grow one pumpkin along with Phil and Jane Hunt. This was the only way I could be involved in this since I injured my left shoulder back in December and I am limited in my abilities to do things that I would normally have no problem with.
Saturday was the best day so far this year and I was able to take advantage of It. I added all the soil amendments to the growing site including compost, peat moss, bio-char, K-mag, sulfur, kelp, humic, 46-0-0 and some 19-19-19.
After that was done Phil tilled up entire patch and I installed the heater cable and got a 8' x 9' hoop house built. I really hope that this was the hardest day for me this season.
There will be two plants started in hoop house which is large enough to walk into. Aiming for a planting date of May 9th. Would be sooner but the pumpkins won't be ready until then.
The fodder beets and kohlrabi plants have to go into the ground sooner. I started them in January which was too early but I was off work for two months and I had lots of time on my hands. The ones that I transplanted into large pots are all larger and more robust than the plants in the 6" pots.
Getting them out of here will give me room to start some tomato plants soon.
I finally got the fodder beets and kohlrabi plants in the ground. Four beets and 2 kohlrabi should keep me occupied this season. No idea at this time if there will be a venue to weigh them at this fall but I like to grow them for the sake of gardening and the challenge of setting a personal best.
Now that there is lots of room on the germination table I am starting some tomato plants. Being on two tomato growing teams will be interesting. On one team I am growing as a team mate with Phil and Jane and I will be competing against them on the GVGO team.
Two AG plants should be going in the ground next weekend despite the not so great weather forecast. The three AG's I have started are the 1959 Hunt, 1984 Barron and a 2005 Haist.
Polar vortex and gardening do not go together. Despite this I have had to push on and try to keep the garden on schedule since the plants don't like to wait.
I finally decided to start a second site and get the heater cables in and get the hoops up before the snow flew.
Not sure what was worse, the cold or the wind or the snow. I decided to tear down the first hoop house and replace it with a smaller one that is much sturdier. The old one was being beat up by the frequent high winds.
Thankfully Phil was around today to help me out on such a tough day.
The fodder beets and kohlrabi are for the most part alive but the -6C nights are really doing a number on them. Only one more night forecasted to be that cold this week. Will be keeping my fingers crossed that they make it.
Pumpkins are in. This is the 2005 Haist.
This is the 1984 Barron in the new hoop-house. Nice and cozy inside. Hopefully the heaters keep running for at least the next four days. There is another plant being kept in a safe location in case of a catastrophic failure.
Watering young plants can be a challenge now. After breaking through the ice the water jugs are filled and left inside the hoop house so the plants are not getting ice water on the roots
It appears that the weather has finally broke and Spring conditions are here at last. Now I can concentrate on growing plants, not trying to keep them alive in the cold.
The pumpkins are still alive and are growing as well. This is the 1984 Barron which is looking very good after the past week's cold weather. It along with the 2005 Haist has it's growing tip stuck up in the air but I should be able to slowly coax it down and get it vining.
The fodder beets look a little rough from the repeated freezing weather with one that did not survive. The Kohlrabi plants look a little better and with the warmer weather I would think that they should start to grow now.
The tomatoes are up and looking good. They were planted directly in the soil with one seed per pot and the germination rate was 100% for a change.
It appears that spring was quickly replaced by summer even though I don't remember much of a spring season. Working at the patch was just like a hot day in July with the temperature around 30 C.
I decided to take advantage of the heat and extreme UV readings to till the entire patch and hopefully keep the weeds down for a while. I'm only using half of the patch this season and I want to clean up the soil in the unused half.
The old Honda tiller still amazes me at how well it works but I am really glad that is over with as it is a tough job to operate it with one arm.
The 2005 Haist plant is this season's problem child. It was growing up and back and required some lower leaves to be removed and some coaching to start directing it to grow forward. Two years ago I broke off the main vine under the same circumstance so a lot of caution is needed while doing this.
On the other hand the 1984 Barron plant despite also growing upwards last week dropped and began vining on it's own. The vine is about 3' now and I did my first vine burying and I would think that it will be out the back of the hoop house by next weekend.
Every plant I grow is kept in partial shade until they are fully acclimatized and with the hot weather hanging on for the week it helps keep the hoop house temperature from becoming excessive during the day.
The water pump is hooked up but we need more rain to help get the big tank filled. Only got 5-600 gals in it so far. If adequate rain does not come soon I will have to buy a load of water.
The tomatoes are growing very well and will be ready to go in the ground by next weekend. Go GVGO team 5. and go team "We the North"
This Spring has been a bit of a challenge and I would like to see the challenge part of it go away now. After high heat and humidity we had another cold snap with two nights of frost advisories over the weekend.
The 1984 Barron plant is out the end of the hoop house with a main vine of about 7' now. Unfortunately due to cold and windy weather it has to remain inside the hoop house for another day. The side vines had to be pushed back so it can stay inside a little longer. It will be out next weekend.
The 2005 Haist plant is smaller with a main vine of about 4' but the main vine is down and running and it looks like it is ready to really kick in and get going.
I only planted two of my tomato plants this past weekend so I could keep them protected from potential frost. The fodder beets and kohlrabi plants are looking a lot better now. The tomato plants will be grown at least 2 meters apart to allow for social distancing and prevent the spread of tomato blight.
wow
It's finally all out and go time. That being the protective covers are all off the plants and it's time to spread out and grow in the great outdoors.
Unfortunately it also brought the dreaded cucumber beetles which came back in the form of an infestation this past week. This was kind of expected after they took last season off.
The fodder beets and kohlrabi are growing well now and the tomatoes are all in now. The tomatoes should all be out of the shade structures by next week.
Despite the newly installed wind break the plants took a bit of a beating from very strong and gusty winds on Saturday. There were several near miss thunderstorms that kept passing by but the wind gusts from them caused some leaf damage. In other words I opened up the hoops a day too early.
The 1984 Barron plant is out to about 10' now. The 2005 Haist plant is at about 7.5 feet now as well. The growing tips of both plants are kept out of direct sunlight with the shade screens so they don't get damaged from the high UV levels and high temps forecast for this week. Unfortunately no pumpkins spotted on the plants yet. Hope that changes soon.
The wild and wacky weather swings are keeping things interesting but everything in the garden is moving forward. With a pollination date coming soon I can only hope for some stable conditions in the coming weeks. Presently the Kawartha Lakes area is under a frost advisory for two more nights and then followed by daytime temps reaching the low 30's.
The 1984 Barron plant is really looking good and both plants were relatively undamaged by the high winds this past week.
This is the growing tip pumpkin on the 1984 plant. It should be ready to go in about 8 days or so and will be at about the 13 -14' mark.
The 2005 Haist plant is trying hard to catch up with the 1984 plant. There is a tiny pumpkin hiding in the growing tip and should be ready later in the month.
Phil and I put in their drip lines around both pumpkin plants. A little more time consuming than setting up a sprinkler but they will do a better job at putting water down in the soil than the sprinklers do. With a possible hot and dry summer coming it should help keep the watering more efficient.
The tomato plants appear to have survived the transplant phase and are growing without any issues. This is a plant off the 9.65 Marley.
There was no frost this past week and it has become very hot and humid during the past few days now. The cold snap seems to have slowed the plant growth during the past week so I would expect the plants to take off again with the hot weather settled in now.
The 1984 Barron plant is looking good. Lots of females showing now and I pollinated one on a rear side vine just for fun.
It looks like Phil Hunt will be on a double date with these two pumpkins on the 1984 Barron plant.
The 2005 Haist plant is doing good as well. It is still a few days behind the 1984 and it looks like the first female will be ready before the end of the month.
The fodder beets and kohlrabies are bulking up well.
This is the junction for all the watering lines. All plants are being watered by drip lines and are on timers so the plants are watered automatically . So far the system is working well. It would be nice to get some actual rain on the garden soon.
Summer in dry gulch can be a trying time for giant vegetable growers. Despite a small splash of rain during the week it has become apparent that this is already a hot and dry summer. Already had to buy the first load of water for our nearly dry water tanks and it looks like this will be the trend for the rest of the summer.
the 1984 Barron plant is quickly filling out it's space. The plant's growth picked up this past week in the heat and so far there has been no leaf burn from the high UV and heat. That's always a bonus.
This is the first pumpkin on the 1984 plant crossed with the 2005 Haist. It was five days old on Saturday and it looks like it was a successful pollination. It is sitting at about 15' on the main vine.
The 2005 Haist plant is also doing well and I am somewhat hopeful of a pollination by June 30th. This will be the first pumpkin on this plant and it will be around the 15' mark as well. A bit of a mystery why there are no other females on this plant yet.
Things are really cooking at the patch and it's not just the growers roasting in their own juices. I underwent my shoulder surgery shortly after my last post and I have found the short term recovery to be a little more challenging than I was expecting.
If it wasn't for Jane and Phil taking care of all our plants I would have to seriously consider pulling the plug on the whole season. For that I am so grateful to have friends that will help me get back to growing especially with the extreme heat that already makes working in the patch a difficult task.
This is the 1984 Barron at day 17. It is growing well and overall has good shape. It was crossed with the 2005 Haist. All of the fruit on this plant had had the double rib feature so it was not a factor in selecting the chosen one
This is the 2005 Haist on day 10. It was crossed with the 1984 Barron and was at 25" which is still better than all of my pumpkins last year. Keeping my fingers crossed that it and the Barron pumpkins keep going because they are all there is on both plants. If there is one thing that I can say about pollination is that foliar spraying of TKO once a week helps assure a successful pollination and so far this advice seems to be paying off for the past two seasons that I have been doing this.
I really miss the rain. We have been watering the plants twice a day so far. I roughly calculated, based on how much water was used that each plant is getting about 125 gals of water per day through the drip lines and it may have to be increased if we don't get a break in the heat or drought. So far it has been enough and the plants are doing well and look good.
There has been no nitrogen in the feeding program for a while now and the leaves look healthier than usual with no bloating in the leaves.
Time for the first tomato shot of the season. This is a 5.71 Lambchop which wasn't even on the plant last time I was at the garden. It is a double fruit and is sitting in a good position to grow out without any obstruction to hinder it's growth.
Good going Chris and friends. I had my shoulder done last year and had to be pretty careful for several months. Don't think you can lift something, let someone else do it. I did and had to pay for it with a longer recovery and more therapy. Still growing things..Dave
The 1984 Barron x 2005 Haist at day 21. Not huge at 71" but it's right on pace to last year's pumpkins and it has great shape and colour.
The 2005 Haist x 1984 Barron at day 14. About 40" now but more important, it appears that it survived the heat and is accelerating as well. Still not certain about how it will shape up yet.
So far the only thing I can do with one hand is weeding. Still not easy but since I hate seeing weeds it is a perfect fit for me. The access boards allow me to carefully walk into the plant and get as much done as possible and hopefully not puncture the drip lines.
The on-going heat and drought has led to serious water woes as we don't have any available. The last delivery arrived after the water tanks had run dry which was cutting it too close but everything worked out in the end.
The 1984 Barron at day 26. Starting to pick up the pace as the OTT has been a little slow but still on track with past years. It is growing at about 25 lbs. per day over the past 5 days.
It has become a blossom in shape very quickly leading to the trimming of the blossom in case it becomes swallowed up inside.
The 2005 Haist at day 19. Growing OK at over 60" but it is picking up the pace.
Still not sure how it will shape up as the top is larger than the bottom. We won't be able to do much more adjusting in a few days when it becomes too heavy to move .
Both plants have just about filled out their allotted spaces and Jane should be done with the vine burying by next weekend.
After weeks of drought a prolonged thunderstorm brought significant rain along with strong winds. The much needed rain was great but the wind added to an already existing problem with leaf blow down. It was caused when the high temperatures caused sections of both plants to produce leaves closer together and taller than normal. I am hoping that the large size of the plants will compensate for the amount of canopy that is effected.
The 1984 Barron pumpkin at day 33. It is doing well averaging 30 lbs per day over the last week and is around 450 lbs. It is an interesting looking pumpkin with a blocky shape and a strange looking stem that blends into the fruit.
The 2005 Haist at day 26. It averaged 32 lbs per day over the past week and is around 300 lbs. It has great shape and colour and appears to be the one to watch. By far it is the best growing pumpkin as it has really taken off after day 19.
Starting to see a few potential tomatoes. This one is on the 4.28 Spaziani. The plants are all looking very healthy for a change and I am confident that this should be a good season for my tomatoes. We will see.
The fodder beets are looking good so far. Not trying to push them too hard as they were being stressed by the hot weather. I like the wide shape of the two best ones. A tall skinny one fell over and pulled it's roots out of the ground. It's still alive but won't amount to much now.
The past week provided ideal growing weather and the pumpkins were taking advantage of it. Another inch of rain early in the week really helped out.
The 1984 Barron at day 40. Still growing well with a 7 day growth rate at 33 lbs per day. It is sitting at about 670 lbs to start August and it continues to become a blocky but really nice orange pumpkin.
Both plants are maxed out at about 800 sq ft in size. So far I have not been able to detect any serious pathogen that would hamper their future growth.
We have been trying to maintain an average soil moisture level around 40% this season and so far it has been close to that although it varies throughout the plant.
If we get the expected rainfall amount this Sunday it will be saturated for a few days.
The 2005 Haist at day 33. It has rapidly accelerated to over 45 lbs per day and well over 600 lbs. over the past 7 days. The colour and shape is as good as it gets. We are hoping for something special from this one.
The 2005 Haist plant took a thrashing over the past few days with high winds and more than enough rain. Things have started to dry out but how much this will effect the growth remains to be seen especially with the cooler overnight temps forecasted for the next few nights.
The wind damage and a few days of cloudy wet weather does not appear to have affected the growth of both pumpkin plants. It could be a problem late in the season as the downed leaves may become prone to disease.
We are hoping that good weather for the rest of August helps the pumpkins to pack on as much weight as possible.
The 1984 Barron on day 49. Still very orange and lumpy. Still growing at about 30 lbs per day over the past 9 days. It estimates around 940 lbs. The pail in front of the stem has a fan in it to keep the stem dry since I was unable to build my structures over the pumpkins.
The 2005 Haist at day 42. Still orange and beautiful. Still growing at 45 lbs per day for the past 9 days and estimates over 1,000 lbs now.
The bag in front of the stem also has a fan in it to keep the stem dry. Should have an aero-cannon in by next week.
The main vine and stem on the Haist pumpkin are big and thankfully problem free.
My Kohlrabi plants are big and apparently delicious for cabbage worms. I think that they are under control now but damage done.
I still have a few mega bloom tomatoes that I am watching. This is another one on another 4.28 Spaziani plant.
After an epic struggle, Phil and myself managed to get the unused half of my patch covered with a double layer of greenhouse film to start solarizing the soil. This should help reduce weeds and soil disease for 2021. Bring on the Sun and heat!