Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 244 Entries. Thursday, February 26 View Page I'm starting before it warms up and I can't get into a muddy patch. Here's the north patch.   Thursday, February 26 View Page This is where the watermelon goes.   Thursday, February 26 View Page This is the newly expanded south patch.   Saturday, March 14 View Page This is the north patch. Starting to melt.   Saturday, March 14 View Page The south patch is melting fast!   Saturday, March 14 View Page I think the greenhouse is almost too warm...   Tuesday, March 17 View Page Testing the germination chamber. Some peppers and one of my 1210.5s.   Tuesday, March 17 View Page 1210.5 took 4 days. Now will the cat leave it alone.....   Sunday, March 29 View Page Time to start some watermelons. 229 Edwards, 195 Mailey and some from my 100 est. That was grown on the same plant as my 184.   Sunday, March 29 View Page I planted those the night of March 26 in peat pellets. Here is one of my 100 Crews '12 est. The radical pokes out the bottom in about 36-48 hours and then you stick it in the pot and wait. Should take less than 24 hours to be above ground. Its an easy way to see if there is life from your seed. I never soak or file seeds. That bites me sometimes withe melon seeds. They don't like shucking the shell.   Sunday, March 29 View Page Here is a close up tonight. Not sure which one will be the "one". I'll make that decision in late April hopefully   Friday, April 3 View Page The cat pulled one of the peat pellets with the 100 crews melon out of the pot and chewed it off. I left the chewed off cot in the pot and planted peppers in it and stuck it in the germination box. A little soil covered what was left of the cots from the pepper planting. This morning I had a resurrection!   Sunday, April 5 View Page That's a little better. Most of the last snow has melted and I'm back to the original snow. I was able to dig in the soil cable in the big greenhouse. The other shacks are far too wet inside to attempt it. I installed the openers and heaters in the shacks in a perhaps futile attempt to dry the soil. It is supposed to get to +17 C by next weekend so pencil me in for a not confident maybe.   Saturday, April 11 View Page Planted April 7. Right on cue 4 days. The 2323 will go in the greenhouse. The 1070 I'll use as a backup.   Saturday, April 11 View Page Spent the afternoon installing heat cables. Soil was still too wet but the show must go on. Have 4 patches including the watermelon.   Sunday, April 12 View Page Doing well.   Sunday, April 12 View Page Meanwhile outside... The last of the snow...   Tuesday, April 14 View Page Interesting...   Thursday, April 16 View Page Time to transplant! I'm a little unsure because it seems the soil temp hasn't stabilized. Temp is running a little hot on the 2323 patch. I'll pretend it's ok.   Thursday, April 16 View Page #229Edwards watermelon. This is a new patch. That means it's untested and anything could happen...   Thursday, April 16 View Page #1070Crews it's a 2009 x 2032 cross. I was going to use it as a backup but what's the point of making a cross if you don't grow it.   Thursday, April 16 View Page #2323Meier It's in the greenhouse. I've put protective plastic rings around all the seedlings to prevent cutworms from finding a tasty meal.   Friday, April 17 View Page The #1495Stelts is up! The 1081 Crews will be a backup. It's a good seed. I'd put it against any seed.   Monday, April 20 View Page #229Edwards watermelon.   Monday, April 20 View Page #1070Crews 2 ton cross.   Wednesday, April 22 View Page #2323Meier needed a little positioning.   Monday, April 27 View Page #1495Stelts This one has me little worried. It seems very small and slow growing. Might have to replace it...   Monday, April 27 View Page #1070Crews looking good.   Monday, April 27 View Page #229Edwards It is developing a vine.   Monday, April 27 View Page #2323Meier It's probably too warm in its greenhouse in the greenhouse.   Wednesday, April 29 View Page Our yo-yo weather continues. After a warm week, Fri and Sat were just above 0. Yesterday we pushed over +24 again. Plants are loving it, and there are leaves on the trees 2-3 weeks early.   Sunday, May 3 View Page #2323Meier Its starting to flop over. Need to buy some time to get heater up and running...   Sunday, May 3 View Page #2323Meier There we go. That should get me another week.   Sunday, May 3 View Page #1070Crews It's starting to flop over. Nice plant, have an ant hill I'm going to have to deal with.   Sunday, May 3 View Page #1070Crews I'm going to add permanent sides to the north greenhouse to hold the poly. If everything goes right, I'll be able to run the vines out the other side to get more secondary length. I know everyone is talking about smaller plants, and terminating vines early but I still feel that I need a slightly larger plant. I suppose we will find out soon.   Monday, May 4 View Page #229Edwards Nice vine running out now. Time for the black mulch.   Monday, May 4 View Page #1495Stelts Its starting to smarten up some. I have my backup 1081 in behind. Its showing signs of being in the pot too long. It doesn't matter because the 1495 looks like it may make it after all.   Monday, May 11 View Page #229Edwards Big leaves, 4' of vine.   Monday, May 11 View Page #1070Crews It has 4' of vine. If we would have had some sunshine and warmth...   Monday, May 11 View Page #2323Meier It has close to 4' of vine. Have a few more days before I have to let it run free.   Monday, May 11 View Page #1495Stelts It was doing well enough that I pulled the 1081.   Sunday, May 17 View Page #211MacKinnon field pumpkin. Frost tonight so I'll put the cozy coat over it.   Sunday, May 17 View Page #197MacKinnon FP   Sunday, May 17 View Page #1070Crews now with greenhouse!   Sunday, May 17 View Page #229Edwards bigger now... Some male flowers.   Sunday, May 17 View Page #2323Meier it's been released to the greenhouse.   Sunday, May 17 View Page #1495Stelts it's really moving. Can't fit it all in the pic.   Wednesday, May 20 View Page #1070Crews Hey look! It's the first female.   Saturday, May 23 View Page #229Edwards Waited till 8:30 to put in the mulch. High 20's C this week, I wasn't going in there until the trees shaded it. Needs some water urgently. We haven't had rain yet this year. It's dry, dry dry out there.   Monday, May 25 View Page #229Edwards looks better after some water. Total fire ban here now.   Monday, May 25 View Page #1070Crews   Monday, May 25 View Page #2323Meier Showing females. Long ones.   Monday, May 25 View Page New! Improved greenhouse for #1495Stelts I don't think I've ever worked as hard at pumpkin growing as I have the last 2 weeks.   Monday, May 25 View Page #1495Stelts Shading tips, the sun is hot and temps outside are very warm.   Sunday, May 31 View Page Yesterday at 10:00 pm the MinDos was all hooked up and running. Works well. Has a bypass feature thats nice. Tank to pump to filter to water heater to injector to drip tape.   Sunday, May 31 View Page #197MacKinnon I had the cozy cote on during the frost warnings. Got a little leggy. Put the heater in instead. I'll turn it on if it gets cool again.   Sunday, May 31 View Page #126Crews FP   Sunday, May 31 View Page Oh,oh! Well at least its wet...   Sunday, May 31 View Page Hmmm   Sunday, May 31 View Page #126Crews a few mins later. Survived.   Sunday, May 31 View Page #211MacKinnon, close enough. Little wet now.   Sunday, May 31 View Page #229Edwards pollinated but its late in the day. Plant is a little small.   Sunday, May 31 View Page #229Edwards   Sunday, May 31 View Page #1070Crews I have some nutritional issues to sort out.   Sunday, May 31 View Page #1070Crews plant is still growing well.   Sunday, May 31 View Page #2323Meier   Sunday, May 31 View Page #1495Stelts I took this pic just before the first rain of the season. By the way, if you have never experienced a prairie T-storm, complete with lightning, hail, 60mph sideways rain, then back to scorching sun, you've missed some real fun!   Monday, June 1 View Page #1495Stelts had its first female open today. I let it go as it was not far enough down the vine. I have 2 more good prospects coming soon on it. The #1070Crews opened a couple of days ago. Same deal there.   Wednesday, June 3 View Page Oh no you didn't! Oh yes I did! #2323Meier x #1070Crews   Friday, June 5 View Page #1495Stelts x #2323Meier   Sunday, June 7 View Page #1495Stelts There's another fruit to pollinate tomorrow.   Sunday, June 7 View Page #1070Crews The first pollination is tomorrow.   Sunday, June 7 View Page #2323Meier First pollination looks good.   Sunday, June 7 View Page #211MacKinnon It's had a rough life but it's coming good now.   Sunday, June 7 View Page As you can tell from the pictures its been very hot in the greenhouses, over 40C.   Monday, June 8 View Page First off #1070Crews x 2323Meier I thought had a pic but I was rushed this morning.   Monday, June 8 View Page This is on the 2323 Meier. Secondary that was doubled split on its own. I pinched off the weakest tip   Monday, June 8 View Page The other day when the temp spiked, I lost the main tip. I have about 16ft of main vine and about 7-9 strong secondaries on each side. Going to find out if terminating growth works. Wouldn't be worried but...   Monday, June 8 View Page I found a soft spot on the 2323 crown. Dug it out , bleached and applied fungicide.   Monday, June 8 View Page Let's go back to this. Anyone find out for sure what the deficiency is? I have a working theory(thanks pot growers)...sulphur . It seems to manifest itself early in the season. Most of the diaries with leaves in this condition confirm this. When soil warms organic material breaks down releasing some sulphur. Some people treat with fertilizer, most water soluble ferts have a sulphate base. Problem solved. Some treat for magnesium. Add some Epsom salt which is a sulphate. Problem solved. Later in season, soil warms up and problem solved. In my case problem began as roots out grew the heat cables. I'll do what the pot growers suggest, add the Epsom salt.   Tuesday, June 9 View Page A day late but #1070Crews x #2323Meier   Saturday, June 13 View Page Goodbye June 5 pollination. Going with the next one. This one is less symmetrical.   Saturday, June 13 View Page #1070Crews x #2323Meier 2nd pollination   Saturday, June 13 View Page 10 DAP 2323Meier x #1070Crews This one is not as symmetrical as I'd like. It's all I have for the MV, I missed pollinating the next one (though it wasn't covered) and then the tip burned off. It's around the stem that looks wonky.   Saturday, June 13 View Page #2323Meier crown is still needing attention   Saturday, June 13 View Page My 126 FP is fighting me the whole way. Really wants to flop the wrong way.   Monday, June 15 View Page #229Edwards first pollination on the MV. Have a couple on the first fingers but ill cut those lose if this one takes.   Monday, June 15 View Page Here's the wonky stem end on the 2323 fruit. It'll be a while before I can get another one on a secondary.   Monday, June 15 View Page #1070Crews plant. All new growth is nice and green with no yellow spots. This patch seems to lag behind the others.   Monday, June 15 View Page #1495Stelts plant.   Monday, June 15 View Page 126Crews FP is defeating all my efforts to flop it the other way.   Thursday, June 18 View Page #126Crews FP Is going over. One if us is going to win...at any cost.   Thursday, June 18 View Page #197MacKinnon FP It's s looking good right now. I just removed the cold frame and the leaves aren't wind rated yet. I anticipate some damage the first time it's windy.   Thursday, June 18 View Page #211MacKinnon It's s been outside for a while now. Should be able to take a storm.   Thursday, June 18 View Page #1070Crews 10 DAP The June 13 pollination looks like it may be growing faster... I may cull this one.   Thursday, June 18 View Page #1495Stelts 10 DAP (days after pollination) Hope I chose well. Nice symmetry.   Thursday, June 18 View Page A very large round fruit on the 229 Edwards. Pollinated, but late in the day. It's on a secondary vine so it's no loss if it doesn't take.   Saturday, June 20 View Page #2323Meier starting to do something...   Sunday, June 21 View Page #229Edwards I can only get pear shaped fruit so far. That big fat one on the secondary looks like it might not be though. Fingers crossed.   Sunday, June 21 View Page #1070Crews pollinated 1070 x 2323 Nice looking but it's getting close to being the last prospect. I have 2 more if needed just a little further down. I terminated the MV after those 2.   Sunday, June 21 View Page #1070Crews June 8 pollination looks a little strange.   Sunday, June 21 View Page I've had a few fruit that grew with wrinkles, as if they weren't pollinated completely. All were slow and small. This one has those wrinkles so I removed it. Goodbye June 8 fruit.   Sunday, June 21 View Page #1070Crews June 13 pollination looks better.   Sunday, June 21 View Page #1070Crews plant flags a bit on the end. Nice and sunny but not too warm.   Sunday, June 21 View Page #2323Meier plant has 4 good secondaries on one side and 7 good ones on the other. They are going to be very long.   Sunday, June 21 View Page 126Crews FP I'm slowly winning...Field pumpkins look good right now...   Sunday, June 21 View Page Oh no. Not again. Another 1 1/2" rain and hail in a thunderstorm.   Sunday, June 21 View Page #197MacKinnon plant is typical of the plants outside. Pretty well shredded.   Sunday, June 21 View Page Greenhouses held up. This time... As summer moves along the storms will get worse.   Sunday, June 21 View Page #1495Stelts These vines were through the plastic luckily. That's sarcasm. For 15 years I was lucky and missed every hailstorm. Looks like the odds are going to even out in one season.   Wednesday, June 24 View Page Looks like I'm going to find out how tough these plants are. #197MacKinnon   Wednesday, June 24 View Page #1070Crews 10DAP The plants in this patch have struggled for at least 3 seasons now. Going to have to do some tests.   Wednesday, June 24 View Page Some of the outside vines took a good beating.   Wednesday, June 24 View Page #2323Meier 20DAP Oldest leaves looking a little sick. I think I have a sodium problem.   Thursday, June 25 View Page Looks like I'm growing a pear. I just can't get anything else. 10 DAP   Friday, June 26 View Page Time to fix some things. Many vines have holes through them from the hail. I'll bury them and mound the breaks. Maybe it'll keep them together.   Friday, June 26 View Page That should do it, until the next storm. 1495 Stelts plant.   Sunday, June 28 View Page #1070Crews plant. It was 28C at 10:00 am. We hit more than 33 today, so the plants in the greenhouse had to use their roots. Its easy to see from this pic which vines have secondary rooting established. Sunrise was 4:55 am and sunset will be 9:52 pm, that's a lot of hours of heat.   Sunday, June 28 View Page 126 Crews FP. I win.   Sunday, June 28 View Page #197MacKinnon FP Plant is starting to recover some. Had plans to prune AG style but now I'm going to let it grow for a while.   Sunday, June 28 View Page #211Mackinnon FP Need to weed. This is going to require some rehydration.   Sunday, June 28 View Page I have some 76 Crews FPs back here. Kind of a genetics experiment. Hit hard with the hail.   Sunday, June 28 View Page #1495Stelts plant   Sunday, June 28 View Page #1495Stelts 20DAP This is one of those "stem down" shapes. These are hard to manage.   Sunday, June 28 View Page #2323Meier plant is suffering some. I suppose I'm going to have to bite the bullet and replace the soil sometime.   Sunday, June 28 View Page #2323Meier 25 DAP   Sunday, June 28 View Page Weeded the whole thing with my trusty stirrup hoe. If I turn around you would see the garden We weeded too. Good thing it was a cool day. #sarcasm   Monday, June 29 View Page #1070Crews This is not what you want to see. I give it 50/50 at best. It was really starting to grow though. Good thing it was overcast with smoke today, otherwise the odds of survival would have been nil. I have one last backup plan.   Monday, June 29 View Page #1070Crews The last backup plan. #OopsIPushedTooHard   Tuesday, June 30 View Page #1070Crews x #2323 backup plan This is on the end of the main vine.   Tuesday, June 30 View Page #229Edwards I've pollinated a dozen or more. So far, all have been pear shaped. I should cut this one off as it has stopped the main vine from growing. I will wait to see if one of the pollinated fruit take a better shape.   Friday, July 3 View Page #197MacKinnon x #211MacKinnon The plant is small but why not see how it works.   Friday, July 3 View Page If it works for AG's...   Friday, July 3 View Page #229Edwards Pollinated some on some big finger vines. Might have one set. There's a just slightly misshapen one near the back   Friday, July 3 View Page #1070Crews 20 DAP Maybe it'll hold...   Friday, July 3 View Page #2323Meier 30 DAP   Friday, July 3 View Page #1495Stelts 25 DAP Main vine is just about at ground level.   Friday, July 3 View Page Oh nooo. Not again. That better not be coming this direction.   Sunday, July 5 View Page This watermelon thing is making me crazy. I just cant get a good looking set.   Sunday, July 5 View Page Im not sure what to make of this. It looks pretty good now, kind of closing up.   Monday, July 6 View Page #1070Crews Split update. Top and bottom don't line up vertically now. Odd.   Monday, July 6 View Page Hey! Where did you come from? An unexpected fruit on the 211 MacKinnon. On a sec vine. Not sure I'll keep it yet. Open pollinated by busy bees. Everything I have is good stock so seeds will be good.   Monday, July 6 View Page #1070Crews split update.   Wednesday, July 8 View Page #1070Crews 25 DAP Still holding up. Looks more like the 2032 pollinator everyday.   Wednesday, July 8 View Page #1495Stelts 30 DAP This one is sitting right on the stem. Its growing up at about the same rate. I might have to cut some of the foam out. I'm going to take a chance and call this one orange.   Wednesday, July 8 View Page #2323Meier 35 DAP It's putting on weight steadily albeit slowly.   Wednesday, July 8 View Page Warm temperature brought a mite infestation, inside greenhouses and out. Fortunately I purchased three different miticides to rotate. This fogger works well.   Thursday, July 9 View Page #211MacKinnon x #197MacKinnon MV It is little early to pollinate FP's   Thursday, July 9 View Page #229Edwards this one is about as good as I can hope for now. Still have a couple of others but they are small. I wish this one was on one of the finger vines. It is on a small secondary.   Friday, July 10 View Page Smoke. Again   Monday, July 13 View Page Look what I culled. The 229 Edwards can produce nice looking fruit. Unfortunately this one was on a tiny vine that was on a tertiary of a secondary. Found it when I was applying miticide.   Monday, July 13 View Page You know you have a spider mite problem when they are killing weeds.   Monday, July 13 View Page This is what spider mite damage looks like on pumpkins. Never seen this any other year.   Monday, July 13 View Page #1495Stelts Stem end.   Monday, July 13 View Page #1495Stelts 35 DAP   Monday, July 13 View Page #2323Meier 40 DAP   Monday, July 13 View Page #1070Crews Split healing but the fruit is leaning that direction.   Monday, July 13 View Page #1070Crews 30 DAP I'm still waiting for the pumpkin growth to kick in on my plants. Not happening this year. I'll be lucky to get a 4 digit weight.   Monday, July 13 View Page #211MacKinnon fruit. Open but everything I have is good. I think only the 197 and 211 had any males ready. Probably pollinated around June 30.   Monday, July 13 View Page #197MacKinnon fruit. Its on a secondary. I'll save the main vine for a later set.   Monday, July 13 View Page Fixed a rotten board on my cold frame window. Sat for an hour on the grass. killed the grass. Wonder why my greenhouse plants are slow. Its just been too hot.   Thursday, July 16 View Page Pollinated #197MacKinnon x #211MacKinnon MV fruit. Cloudy, cool and rainy, Not the best conditions for fruit set.   Thursday, July 16 View Page Pollinated #211MacKinnon x #197MacKinnon on one of the first secondary vines. Main vine sustained some heat damage on the weekend. May have burned the tip off.   Thursday, July 16 View Page Not really sure about the pollination date on this fruit. Between 26 and 28 of June is most likely. #229Edwards is about 19" long. At least it looks melon like.   Monday, July 20 View Page Yummy! At least something's growing well!   Wednesday, July 22 View Page #197MacKinnon x 211 Mackinnon MV fruit. Starting to get those growth splits. Hold on Luke, she's headed for the barn.   Wednesday, July 22 View Page #1070Crews split update.   Wednesday, July 22 View Page 2 big thunderstorms in 24 hours. Should be wet enough now.   Wednesday, July 22 View Page Last night's storm added some ventilation holes again.   Friday, July 24 View Page #2323Meier 50 DAP it's measuring day but theres another T-storm and I have too much to do. If you put a lot of blankets on the fruit, it looks bigger!   Friday, July 24 View Page #1495Stelts Just blankets. Theres lightning all around me so I'm making this quick.   Saturday, July 25 View Page #1070Crews Fruit is a big wheel. Only about 32" across but very tall.   Saturday, July 25 View Page #229Edwards watermelon. Growing nicely. 22" long   Saturday, July 25 View Page #211MacKinnon nice young fruit.   Saturday, July 25 View Page #197MacKinnon Fruit is 21 DAP. Nice size. It has rained a lot, that helps. I still have that open pollinated one on the 211 plant and it is close to the same size. It has developed a bit of a sag line around the middle. It may end up with a rib hole. I blame the hot weather we had.   Saturday, July 25 View Page What the heck is this? Found it by the drip tape on the ground.   Saturday, July 25 View Page 197 MacKinnon fruit. Almost as big as some of last years FP's and its only 22 DAP. Thanks mother nature for the rain.   Saturday, July 25 View Page 211 MacKinnon open fruit. There were some heat and moisture issues in the country here. It has a bit of a sag line. Hope it doesn't rib split. Its about to hit the max growth phase.   Saturday, July 25 View Page 1070 Crews split update There are some things happening here. Bending around the side of the crack and kind of wedging the crack open.   Sunday, July 26 View Page #126Crews x #211MacKinnon This is the first good pollination attempt on this plant. The other plants received the prepared spots so this one is a little behind. I consider this the golden time for pollination of FP's.   Sunday, July 26 View Page 76 Crews x 197 MacKinnon I'll pollinate one just for fun. These plants were intended to be open pollinated. The hail storms have beat up the plants pretty good. Some vines are all but severed. More rain last night. Should have a good 10 days of growth coming up.   Sunday, July 26 View Page 197 MacKinnon x 211 MacKinnon MV fruit 10 DAP   Sunday, July 26 View Page 211 MacKinnon x 197 MacKinnon 1st sec 10 DAP. Nice long fruit.   Monday, July 27 View Page #1070Crews x #2323Meier I knew it was a goner. 44 DAP 126 cir 85ee 95ss 306ott 642 lbs est   Tuesday, July 28 View Page #1070Crews autopsy pic. The day 16 split was just held together by a thread. I should have cut it off immediately after the split. Most of the time when you have a fruit growing well it stops all further flowers from setting fruit. That what happened to me. Probably would have been able set another fruit had it been removed. Decently thick fruit. Oh well. Live, learn.   Tuesday, July 28 View Page #2323Meier 55 DAP I'll need the next 45 days to be great.   Tuesday, July 28 View Page #1495Stelts 50 DAP Hard to measure.   Tuesday, July 28 View Page #229Edwards. 30 DAP. Ish. Starting to fill out and look fairly normal.   Monday, August 3 View Page #197MacKinnon x 211 30 DAP just a touch of orange on the blossom. Might make it to 40 DAP which is very good for such an early pollinated FP.   Sunday, August 9 View Page #197MacKinnon x 211 36 DAP It's not very orange yet and still growing well even though it's been cool and rainy the last 5 days.   Sunday, August 9 View Page #197MacKinnon x 211 MV fruit. 23 DAP   Sunday, August 9 View Page #197MacKinnon Strong secondary rooting. I have one more pollination on this plant. Trying to stager them 20 days apart.   Sunday, August 9 View Page 211MacKinnon x open I think it's still growing. About half orange. I'll call it 41 DAP   Sunday, August 9 View Page #211MacKinnon x 197 23 DAP Very long young looking fruit.   Sunday, August 9 View Page #1495Stelts 61 DAP Still growing well but not the fastest I've had.   Sunday, August 9 View Page #2323Meier Still chugging along. 66 DAP   Sunday, August 9 View Page #229Edwards 42(?) DAP   Saturday, August 15 View Page #197MacKinnon x 211 July 16 pol This is the end. 72"cir 50"ss 52"ee I'll try to get it on a scale later. It's a lot smaller than the other one.   Saturday, August 15 View Page 197MacKinnon x self Aug 4 This one is on a middle secondary. It won't make it to maturity, our frost date is first or second week of September.   Saturday, August 15 View Page 197MacKinnon x 211 42 DAP in this pic. Has just grown a little the last few days.   Saturday, August 15 View Page 211MacKinnon x open. Has grown 2" circumference this week in the heat, even though it's orange. That's a good sign.   Saturday, August 15 View Page 211MacKinnon x 197 July 16 pollination. Putting on good weight. Not a hint of orange yet. There's a lot of rain falling, fingers crossed for luck.   Saturday, August 15 View Page 211 x self. July 28 I tried to self one on both plants.   Saturday, August 15 View Page 126Crews x 211. Have this plant crossed with both MacKinnon plants. Doing well for an unprepared patch.   Sunday, August 16 View Page 197 MacKinnon x 211 MacKinnon July 16 pollination Put it on the scale... 55kg. 121lbs. I think that's a fair bit over chart.   Sunday, August 16 View Page #1495Stelts Stem is getting close to freedom.   Sunday, August 16 View Page #2323Meier Blankets are tight again. That's a good sign.   Thursday, August 20 View Page This is the FP area. It's full now. That's the watermelon shack on the left. The 1070 Crews was in the greenhouse at the back. I should pull the plant but as you can see, access is limited. The 211 MacKinnon is in the foreground, the 126 Crews is behind it and the 197 MacKinnon is behind the melon shack. I grew the MacKinnon plants in a Xmas tree pattern. Hoping for the best, we have had about 3" rain since Friday. High teens and low 20's Celsius for highs and some overnight lows around 5. FP's love that weather. They might grow for 50 or more days.   Thursday, August 20 View Page Heres the July 16 fruit on the 211. Don't get too excited,there are lots of blankets on it.   Thursday, August 20 View Page The 2323Meier plant is now mostly tertiary vines. The plant is doing much better now that I'm treating my bicarb problem.   Saturday, August 22 View Page Here is our first "risk of frost" forecast of the year. Most of the time our weigh-off should be on the first Saturday of September.   Tuesday, August 25 View Page That risk of frost forecast was fairly accurate, even if Environment Canada said it was +3. Some damage over the weekend. Pretty close to ending my season outside.   Tuesday, August 25 View Page Here is that open pumpkin on the 211 MacKinnon fruit back on the 11 of Aug. Its an end of June pollination. Note the stick.   Tuesday, August 25 View Page Here is the 211 fruit again on the 23 of Aug. It's a lot closer to the stick even though its been completely orange for weeks. Ill keep an eye on it for a while. Think its still growing yet. Orange does not mean it is done growing.   Sunday, August 30 View Page #211MacKinnon 45 DAP. About 75% orange. Growing decently but it's that time of year when growth slows to a halt.   Sunday, August 30 View Page #1495Stelts still growing and that's all I can hope for. Maybe it's really thick...   Monday, August 31 View Page #2323Meier at 89 DAP so this is pretty much how it will look for the next month. It might be growing a little yet but it won't be a lot.   Saturday, September 5 View Page The blossom on the July 16 pollination 211 MacKinnon fruit has me a little worried. Looks like it's on the surface only, but it is supposed to rain as much as 40mm. It's very cool at night now, with the odd nip of frost. Combine that with a high of only 12C means trouble.   Saturday, September 5 View Page I pulled the open fruit off of the 211 MacKinnon. If the worst should happen this weekend I'll still have a decent fruit. That stick is almost touching now. It was still growing. Orange only means the seeds are mature.   Monday, September 7 View Page It has rained constantly since Friday. High of 6 C. This proves that FP's grow when they are orange. Yes, it is through to the cavity. 211 MacKinnon July 16 pollination. Game Over.   Monday, September 7 View Page 211 MacKinnon x 197 MacKinnon Pollinated July 16 86"cir 56"ee 50"ss 192" ott 146 lbs est Sept 7 blossom split. Weighed on scale 72kg. 158lbs.   Wednesday, September 9 View Page A touch of frost last night. Everything is still alive. The 1495Stelts is still growing.   Wednesday, September 16 View Page I'm trapped in my shack by cold rain so why not post a pic. There's a low of zero for tonight so I was out covering fruit. Probably the end of the season outside. Pumpkins inside shacks are growing well even though they are at 100 dap. Watermelon is still young thanks to my pollination failures. Can't quit yet.   Sunday, September 20 View Page Believe it or not #2323Meier is still growing a few lbs a day. 109 DAP don't split on me now...   Sunday, September 20 View Page Pulled the197MacKinnon fruit. It's a beauty but not quite as big as its 211 patch mate.   Thursday, September 24 View Page This is the end. We received 2 extra frost free weeks. Greenhouses are still fine inside.   Sunday, September 27 View Page 126 Crews harvest time, since the plant is frozen. Lol. 126 x 211 56 kg. 123 lbs.   Sunday, September 27 View Page 126 Crews x 197 MacKinnon 48 kg. 105.5 Lbs   Sunday, September 27 View Page 2323 Meier is still growing. It was pollinated June 3...!   Wednesday, September 30 View Page 1495Stelts. I'm getting the knife. It's only an inch deep. #SetFree   Sunday, October 4 View Page Had a great time a Smoky Lake. My sister was taking pics, hopefully I'll have them soon. Congrats again Ray! That pumpkin is huge! In the meantime my pic of the 197 MacKinnon field pumpkin, first place, now the 140 Crews '15.   Sunday, October 4 View Page The 229 Edwards watermelon took first place. Now the 161.5 Crews '15. Weighed heavy to chart. Thank goodness, I thought I was getting weak. Lol.   Sunday, October 4 View Page My puny 2323 Meier is now 1120 Crews '15. Really I'm very happy with this fruit, some grower error on watering, loss of main vine and a damaged crown, had me believing 1000 was out of reach. It kept growing and got me to a respectable weight.   Sunday, October 4 View Page Ray's 1470.5! New Alberta record. That bar is pretty high now. The rest of us are going back to the drawing board. Congrats again.   Sunday, October 4 View Page Harvesting the 161.5 Crews '15 229 Edwards x self   Sunday, October 4 View Page Harvesting the 1120 Crews '15 2323.7 Meier x 1070 Crews   Sunday, October 4 View Page Harvest time for the 988 Crews '15 uow. Weighed on my digital scale. Sound fruit, a little heavy to chart. 1495 Stelts x 2323.7 Meier.   Thursday, October 22 View Page Remember that crack in the 1495 Stelts fruit? Seems to have a bit of a soft spot now. Time to cut it open.   Thursday, October 22 View Page The seeds from the 988 Crews '15 uow. The rot hadn't reached the inside yet. Seeds are good. A white seed that seems to be trying to be tan. 1495 stelts x 2323.7 Meier.   Saturday, October 24 View Page Let's cook up the 988. Well, a little bit of it. A little heavy to chart and very dense and smooth. Sometimes Ags are stringy. Not this one.   Monday, October 26 View Page I'm going to hook these pipes up for next season. I trenched them in last year and never had the time to make it work. There are big nutrient problems in every patch. I'm going to try to do something about it finally. I really should have been more on top of the problems...   Saturday, October 31 View Page The bottom of the 211 that weighed158lbs. Looks perfect. When I scraped it down there was a pinhole though. If I had cut it off the night before it would have been fine.   Saturday, October 31 View Page Happy Hallowe'en!   Sunday, November 15 View Page These are the seeds out of my 140 lb FP. It had the fattest field pumpkin seeds I've seen. Some did this. It's as if the seeds grew bigger than the seed coat would let it.