Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 214 Entries. Monday, January 1 View Page Happy New Year to all! Made it to the summit this morning of Mt. Holyoke. Views of the Connecticut River, Berkshires, NH, VT, CT. A Bald Eagle was circling the summit. Our first time up here.   Saturday, January 20 View Page Boston Harbor Winter Wildlife Cruise. 20 degrees and a three-hour tour. No Snowy Owls this year, but a lot of Harbor Seals.   Friday, February 16 View Page GPC Big Show in Kasterlee, Belgium. We had fantastic hosts! It was great to meet growers from all over the world. On Saturday there was also a separate offsite tour option. Congrats to all of the award winners! Learned a lot. Great people, great food, and great drinks!   Saturday, March 30 View Page We had our SNGPG spring meeting in Exeter, RI today. Congrats to all who received awards.   Saturday, April 6 View Page Started two Connolly 1,375 seeds today. Great color and shape, and proven in small plots. Also started a bunch of vegetable seeds. Celebrity, Super Sweet 100 tomatoes, and cucumbers will be started later.   Saturday, April 13 View Page Today is opening day/clean-up day at the community garden in Boston. We raked and bagged a ton of leaves, and cleaned up branches and sticks that fell during the winter. While Boston only got about 12 inches of snow this winter, we did have a lot of wind. After clean-up, we paid the annual fee and signed the contract. Once again, we went with Winter Rye as our cover crop-planted it around Halloween of last year. Took soil samples today that will be going to UMass soon.   Saturday, April 13 View Page Corner shot of my girlfriend's vegetable garden. While the Winter Rye is a bit spotty in each of our gardens, it still did a very good job of blocking out weeds.   Saturday, April 13 View Page The fence on the West side of my plot partially collapsed this winter and is now leaning over private property. A few posts rusted out and completely separated from the concrete. Boston Parks is aware-as far as when it will be repaired, who knows? As a precaution I will not be starting any plants on this side of the garden. Hopefully repairs do not lead to any plant damage in my garden.   Monday, April 22 View Page Dropped off soil samples today at the Paige Laboratory at UMass Amherst. A beautiful day for a drive.   Saturday, April 27 View Page Reminds me of a ZZ Top song from back in the day.   Sunday, April 28 View Page Much better now in two gallon pots with stakes.   Friday, May 10 View Page 69 degrees indoors. I thought about building a hoop house, but since there would be no heating cables and it would be offsite, we decided to simply keep the plants indoors until the soil is warm enough to go outside.   Saturday, May 11 View Page The Winter Rye got a bit away from us. First time here since clean up day.   Saturday, May 11 View Page My girlfriend’s vegetable garden.   Saturday, May 11 View Page First stop this morning was Home Depot in Quincy. We rented a Mantis Tiller. Light enough to simply carry into the garden. Also used a hand tiller for the edges and rock borders.   Saturday, May 11 View Page Lots of green manure.   Saturday, May 11 View Page A couple Robins feasted on some worms. These birds must spend a lot of time in the park around people. They came up very close to us.   Saturday, May 11 View Page Fortunately Boston Parks fixed the fence.   Saturday, May 11 View Page We cleaned up the Rose Garden too.   Saturday, May 11 View Page The other end of the community gardens looking North.   Saturday, May 11 View Page Leaving the park. All done for the day. Time for a very late lunch in Dorchester.   Monday, May 13 View Page Hardening off some veggies that we started from seed.   Monday, May 13 View Page The pumpkins are out front for a few hours.   Thursday, May 16 View Page Grant Park Rose Garden in Chicago. Ran the JP Morgan Corporate Challenge this evening. Work trip. Back to Boston tomorrow. During the chilly New England weather this week my plants remain indoors.   Tuesday, May 21 View Page Sort of a random post: We overwintered a Jalapeno and Impala Pepper plant. They were doing pretty well until around March, but I think they are dead now. Will leave them outside in the warm weather for a couple weeks and see what happens. The bonsai on the left is my newer one. My original did not survive, but fortunately Bonsai Bar lets you attend again and receive a free replacement tree. What would we like to improve upon this year? Pumpkin Last spring it went out on 5/18 and pretty much sat there in chilly temps for two weeks or so. Powdery Mildew was an issue Had some disease when we went away. An easy one to fix, we shall see this year. Vegetable garden Do a better job hardening off plants. We lost a few last year. Formally measure out and distance the rows this year Hook up a hose next to the vegetable garden so we can water at the same time with two hosses More stakes on the Florida Weave for the determinate tomatoes Skip blood meal as animals got those transplants We had a lot of cracking on the Sweet 100 tomatoes last year. Lots of summer rain too. Growing the Super Sweet 100s this year which are newer and apparently are more crack resistant.   Friday, May 24 View Page Two plants are secured and ready to head down to the garden. We had some real heat followed by storm potential so I held off transplanting until this evening.   Friday, May 24 View Page Not the best looking transplant, but it should perk up soon.   Wednesday, June 5 View Page The plant was droopy and looked stressed for a while after transplant. Fortunately it perked up a few days ago and is growing.   Wednesday, June 5 View Page The vegetable garden is complete (except for one more plant). Probably the widest variety of plants we have grown in it including some herbs.   Sunday, June 9 View Page Well I guess I will not be making it to the garden this morning. Truck was vandalized on the street.   Thursday, June 13 View Page About 4.5ft long and marching to the other end of the garden.   Thursday, June 13 View Page The vegetable garden. We pushed the rows out this year closer to the perimeter for more planting room in the trenches. Full list of plants coming soon.   Saturday, June 15 View Page Vine burying today with WOW products and Espoma Biotone (the poor man’s Root).   Saturday, June 15 View Page We fully weeded the Rose garden and my plot. Weeding the border rocks can be quite tedious so we just move them to fully weed.   Saturday, June 15 View Page Based on the previous few years the plant should almost double in size over the next week. I made a slight depression ahead to make vine burying easier.   Saturday, June 15 View Page We fully weeded the vegetable garden today too and cleaned up debris from yesterday’s storm. Added some tomato cages, stakes for the Florida Weave, and used left over mulch. To cut down on weeding we are going to fully mulch the vegetable garden this year-not just the trenches.   Thursday, June 20 View Page Back in Boston. I was in Birmingham, Alabama Sunday-Wednesday for work. Boston is literally hotter than Birmingham this week. Made it down to the garden during lunch hour, watered and misted. Two male flowers on the plant.   Sunday, June 23 View Page Sweet Meadow Feed and Grain in Sherborn. 18 miles away. Bales of straw mulch are hard to come by in this part of MA. It beats paying city prices for small bags of hay/straw mulch.   Sunday, June 23 View Page We have the first female around 11ft-12ft out.   Wednesday, June 26 View Page We got caught in rain storm and then it turned into a sun shower. Very isolated. When we got back to our neck in the woods in Boston it was dry. But at night storms raced up the Mass Pike and we got hit hard. Checked on the plants on Thursday and everything was okay.   Friday, June 28 View Page Pollination is upon us very soon.   Friday, June 28 View Page Two secondaries are taking off on the north side of the plant. One has a female that just started. The second pollination most likely.   Friday, June 28 View Page We weeded and mulched the vegetable garden. Yes this process took time, but hoping it pays off by saving us weeding time from now through Halloween. And we grow everything vertical in this garden so hopefully that eliminates any mulch mold issues. And we are extra careful and pruning lower tomato branches since they are in trenches. The garden dries out quickly and the mulch should help with moisture rentention.   Sunday, June 30 View Page Self pollinated this morning. Also pollinated 6/30 last year. Pollination about 11ft out on a 15ft main.   Sunday, June 30 View Page Side view.   Sunday, June 30 View Page I set up the FL Weave for the Celebrity tomatoes and the sweet peppers. Also fertilized both gardens. Too hot to do much else today.   Sunday, June 30 View Page Last pic before leaving the garden.   Thursday, July 4 View Page A change of scenery for this 4th of July, Scottsdale, AZ. McDowell, Mummy, and Camelback Mountains. Highs of 114-118. Lots of time spent in the pools. No pumpkin plants spotted.   Friday, July 5 View Page Pepper plants thriving in the Scottsdale heat.   Sunday, July 7 View Page DAP 7, it didn’t take. Agh.   Sunday, July 7 View Page Should be pollinating this one on the main tomorrow morning.   Sunday, July 7 View Page Pollination will be a week later than the last two years, but on a larger plant.   Monday, July 8 View Page Self-pollinated this morning.   Monday, July 8 View Page I used three flowers to pollinate.   Monday, July 8 View Page Looking towards the Northwest corner of the plot.   Tuesday, July 9 View Page Second night in a row that I forgot to bring down the plastic cover for the pollinated pumpkin. Assuming it takes, unlike last year the pumpkin will be on the inside of the curved main-which could get a bit tight. But, I will not need nearly as much of a curve as most other growers.   Thursday, July 11 View Page DAP 3. Pollination appears successful and the pumpkin has landed. Off to the races...   Friday, July 12 View Page Burying vines now with compost provided by Boston Parks.   Friday, July 12 View Page My goal is to fill the plot out as quickly as possible. This sounds crazy but I might curve the main and then have it cross over itself and head to the far right corner of the garden in this pic. Some pruning would be needed.   Friday, July 12 View Page Planning to loop this secondary behind the base of the plant and run it to the corner.   Saturday, July 13 View Page The biggest flower I have ever had on a plant. It is like a tropical flower.   Sunday, July 14 View Page Katama Airfield, Edgartown.   Monday, July 15 View Page The heat is on. I like to show the good and the bad on here.   Monday, July 15 View Page Inspired by Connolly Landscaping and Exterior Design, Sharon, MA.   Monday, July 15 View Page Less than an hour later. All perked up.   Tuesday, July 16 View Page Dragonflies. I am using taller stakes on the pumpkin this year and the dragonflies love to perch on them. I have never seen so many dragonflies in the garden as tonight. Its also the first night in weeks that I didn't have mosquitoes bothering me. The vegetable garden is doing great. The straw mulch had some seeds and we are getting some germination, but easy to remove, blocks a ton of weeds, and much better moisture retention in the trenches.   Tuesday, July 16 View Page Just like the pumpkin, the cucumbers are taking off.   Tuesday, July 16 View Page Basil and Oregano are new to the garden this year and are doing well. Great taste.   Friday, July 19 View Page Summer weekends start in the garden on Friday evenings.   Friday, July 19 View Page Still not sure yet what I am going to do with the main. Depends how the secondaries grow in the the next few days.   Friday, July 19 View Page Thanks to John and Kerry Young for a Domingo Tomato at last year’s VT weigh off. Three plants germinated from direct seeding.   Sunday, July 21 View Page High tech watering system for the trenches. PVC pipe and a rock. This allows us to work on other things while the trenches are filling.   Sunday, July 21 View Page Sunday brunch included crab and lobster. The pumpkin is on a proper board now with sand. Play sand is heavy and I can’t keep the bag in the community garden.   Sunday, July 21 View Page Corner shot of the vegetable garden. Added more FL Weave today.   Sunday, July 21 View Page Just like last year at this time the plant looks fresh. I am really going to focus on keeping the plant fresh this year in August and September. Pruned flowers today. Hopefully I can get the shade cloth set up this week.   Monday, July 22 View Page I took this Monday off from work. Headed down to the garden first thing this morning. Things get serious when the bricks come out.   Monday, July 22 View Page Nice to see roots like this. Remnants of WOW Soil and Plant Booster and MI, and Espoma Biotone.   Monday, July 22 View Page Weeded, vine buried with Boston Parks compost, and watered. DAP 14. I am pushing the plant harder this year. The last two years I was around 175lbs at DAP 30.   Monday, July 22 View Page It’s our first year growing a Sun Dipper tomato plant. Already impressed with this variety. We shall see about taste though.   Thursday, July 25 View Page Any idea what is going on with this pepper plant?   Friday, July 26 View Page We pulled the mulch back a bit from the pepper plants. Bases looked solid with no visible mold. Who knows, perhaps mold in the roots, or just over watering.   Friday, July 26 View Page Tonight was pest night. One cucumber has flea beetles over many flowers and leaves. A few tomatoes are also showing some evidence of this pest. Mosquitos all over. Red Ants all over the hose outside of the garden. Went through all our plants tonight with organic sprays.   Friday, July 26 View Page Following John Young and Ian Paton’s recently posted advice on the stump.   Friday, July 26 View Page The white sheet is coming out very soon.   Friday, July 26 View Page Unlike last year the main is not going to be terminated in this corner. The secondaries on the other end of the garden have slowed down and are thin. The main is growing well. The path for it is clear to cross over itself and head to the far corner. I just don’t want to do the same thing as last year.   Friday, July 26 View Page All done for the evening. Friday evening traffic this time of year is light. So many people are out of the city for summer weekends/vacation.   Sunday, July 28 View Page Who is this creepy guy in the veggie garden? Haha. Gardening reminds me of fishing in a way. In early spring people are enthusiastic and eager. Once the summer heat and humidity hit interest and time drop off.   Sunday, July 28 View Page Thanks to Steve Sperry for this tip during his presentation back in March in RI. Perhaps even more important for me with a smaller plant.   Sunday, July 28 View Page DAP 20.   Sunday, July 28 View Page So far so good. Zero signs of bad insects or powdery mildew, but things can quickly turn as they did last August for me. I am trying to stay ahead of problems this year.   Monday, July 29 View Page Stem looks solid. On warmer days I will try to create some more space on the one side.   Monday, July 29 View Page Fertilized the veggie garden this morning with a two gallon watering can. Even if one wanted to run drip lines, you can't as the hoses are shared with other gardeners.   Thursday, August 1 View Page First time here since Tuesday lunch during lunch hour. As expected getting tight.   Thursday, August 1 View Page Much better now. I pulled a bit of the main past the pumpkin out to the garden's border to create more space and reburied roots. I carefully moved the pumpkin too and up to three bricks on each side. It’s a tight spot with the wooden border and the main curving. Is there anything I should be concerned about with the vine angles at the stem?   Thursday, August 1 View Page Right on schedule spotted a small amount of powdery mildew on two leaves. Given the intense disease pressure in the community gardens and usually only one visit per day I am and will continue to spray more.   Thursday, August 1 View Page A nice harvest tonight. We got one mutant tomato. Never seen one of these. Apparently 1 in a 1000 plants from a quick Google search.   Sunday, August 4 View Page The struggling tomato is an Heirloom Pink Berkley Tye Die. We grew one last year, and have four this year that we started from seed. They are all struggling while all the other tomatoes are doing well. A couple online forums say they don’t do well in the heat.   Sunday, August 4 View Page Standard vegetable garden corner shot. We are still battling flea beetles on the cucumbers, but both plants are producing cucumbers. I have never seen so much insect pressure as this year.   Sunday, August 4 View Page A very productive day. While pollination was a week later this year, this is the best looking plant I have had on 8/4.   Sunday, August 4 View Page I just love the shape and color of the Young 1,502 and Connolly 1,375. Starting to see the resemblance now. (Espoma Biotone is also the poor man’s Versity. So Biotone has 9 million CFU while Versity has 5 billion. Is this like iPhone 15 vs iPhone 12? If one swapped out Versity for Biotone would the pumpkin really go lighter?)   Sunday, August 4 View Page All buttoned up. I am really happy with the plant and plot so far. Time to head home and shower. This heat and humidity is no joke.   Wednesday, August 7 View Page Some mold has developed. Sprayed it with copper fungicide, lifted the sheet up to air dry, and will get sulfur powder on it soon.   Thursday, August 8 View Page Our plots held up better than expected over the last few days with all the rain and east winds. East winds blow over the park and right through the chain link fence. I carefully adjust the tall tomatoes to prevent them from getting too close to our Celebrity row.   Friday, August 9 View Page DAP 32. 80/55/54 for OTT of 189, est 158lbs. I finally got a fabric measuring tape so measurements should be more accurate this year.   Friday, August 9 View Page A very windy evening. A few mins after measuring the pumpkin this branch came down on the plant.   Friday, August 9 View Page Ouch! 5 stems damaged.   Friday, August 9 View Page Fortunately I keep extra stakes in my plot and we always bring down garden tape. Much better now. Glad the branch fell when we were there.   Friday, August 9 View Page First time sharing a picture from this perspective. I was standing on the black tarp on the west side of my plot. The tree on the left is the one that dropped the branch. The other tree is over the rose garden and stops around my stump.   Friday, August 9 View Page The very small amount of mold on the stem has not spread at all. I put some sulfur powder on it and on the small spots of powdery mildew on a couple leaves. And I accidentally sulfur powered myself too, what a mess.   Friday, August 9 View Page We added some more FL Weave tonight. The Heirloom tomatoes continue to struggle. The Sweet and Super Sweet 100s are producing like crazy, although some cracks with all the recent rain. The larger tomatoes slowed down a bit this week with the cooler temps but the plants look great.   Sunday, August 11 View Page Continuing to stack bricks. Just like the PVC pipe this is very high tech, haha.   Sunday, August 11 View Page Added fresh sand today. The pumpkin is surging.   Sunday, August 11 View Page To borrow a line from Hayden’s Facebook post from a few days ago; I am in uncharted territory. Not in pumpkin weight though. I about 80lbs-100lbs behind last year at this date. However, this plant is in much better shape than the last two years. Last year I only averaged 2lbs a day after 8/9. While we will not win the marathon this year, we are hopefully going to have a strong second half.   Wednesday, August 14 View Page DAP 37. 88/58/57, OTT 203, 194lbs est. Only 7lbs a day average over the last five days. So I remain behind last year at this point. I assume the main difference is a 6/30 pollination vs a 7/8 pollination.   Wednesday, August 14 View Page Despite our best efforts, the Flea Beetles did a lot of damage quickly and we only got four cucumbers, and they are turning yellow. Pulling these plants and direct seeding cucumbers for the fall run.   Wednesday, August 14 View Page These Domingo Tomato flowers are huge. Glad we have something from last year’s VT weigh off in the garden.   Wednesday, August 14 View Page Sweet and Super Sweet 100s and Sun Dippers. We have a ton of large green tomatoes but ripening slowed down the last week with cooler weather.   Friday, August 16 View Page DAP 39, 95/58/59, OTT 212, est 220lbs. 13lbs average for the last two days after only 7lbs average for five days? No worries, a few moving parts to possibly explain this. I have really stepped up my watering and we got drenched here last night with a storm. And the tape measurement is always a ballpark, especially on smaller pumpkins. From looking at the pumpkin 13lbs a day seemed a lot more realistic than only 7lbs. It’s starting to bulge.   Friday, August 16 View Page Getting a bit tight.   Friday, August 16 View Page Pumpkin, water, sun, and smoke in the sky.   Friday, August 16 View Page The Celebrity tomatoes like usual are producing like crazy. But we have only picked one large tomato so far this season. Tons of green tomatoes growing slowly and with the exception of the Heirlooms all the plants look great.   Friday, August 16 View Page The greens are doing very well. The influence of cool east winds off Boston Harbor is seen in the veggie garden this year. The garden is only about 4 miles inland from the harbor as the crow flies.   Friday, August 16 View Page The Portugal Hot peppers. We have six of these plants. When they are green some are mild and others are really hot. A wide range. We are letting them go red now. I call them fake Portuguese peppers as nobody from Portugal has ever heard of them, and we never saw any of them while in Portugal. Apparently they first appeared in a seed catalog in NY State in the 1930s. They have great taste. All that matters.   Friday, August 16 View Page I sound like a broken record but I am surprised my small plant looks this good on 8/16. This year I have been less calendar focused on spraying dates. Instead I am basing it more on what I see on my plant, weather, what I see in other plots in the garden. We can only control what is inside our plots. And with a max of one trip a day, my plant is wet before or after spraying the copper fungicide. The alternative would be not to water. So I am spraying a lot more this year for bugs and powdery mildew with organics.   Sunday, August 18 View Page The Domingo tomatoes are responding to this warm weather. Summer is not over.   Tuesday, August 20 View Page Given the wet weather of the last few days, I am not surprised to see more powdery mildew today. Sprayed during lunch hour. I was surprised to see how dry the garden was despite cool and cloudy conditions.   Tuesday, August 20 View Page The pumpkin is growing-right into the main vine.   Tuesday, August 20 View Page Today is barely 70 degrees-not an ideal day to try to create a lot of room. I learned that lesson a few years ago. I carefully created a bit of space that will hopefully buy me some time until temps warm up later this week.   Tuesday, August 20 View Page Some recent changes to the veggie garden. We removed both cucumber plants. They were Boston Heirloom Pickling. Direct seeded some Gershwin F1 Hybrid Specialty seeds. We also removed a Pink Berkley Tye Die Tomato plant. In the near future, we will be adding some more seeds or plants for the fall.   Wednesday, August 21 View Page The cooler weather has sent the squirrels into nut mode. Lots of pieces of acorns on my leaves and in the patch over the last 24 hours.   Wednesday, August 21 View Page Captain Jack’s reminds me of a Billy Joel song. Sprayed every leaf on the plant this evening. My hands smell like pennies. 98/61/61, OTT 220, est 246lbs. When I measure circumference I keep the tape at stem level so it goes above the blossom and above the lower bulges of the pumpkin. I read we should measure at stem level parallel to the ground, but this misses the widest part of my pumpkin. We will measure the widest circumference on Friday.   Wednesday, August 21 View Page All done with the pumpkin for this evening. Tomorrow will be the first sunrise in Boston after 6am since the Spring.   Wednesday, August 21 View Page Veggie garden harvest tonight. So glad we did six cherry tomato plants. Hopefully with the warmer weather coming many of the large tomatoes ripen and the pumpkin continues to grow as well.   Friday, August 23 View Page Animal pressure is a bit different here in the city. This is acorn damage from squirrels in the Oak Tree. I almost got hit about 10 times tonight.   Friday, August 23 View Page DAP 46. 112/62/61, OTT 235, Est 299. I measured the circumference below the stem at the widest part of the pumpkin.   Sunday, August 25 View Page As Ron Wallace once said, you can’t just take a day off from watering to go to the beach.   Sunday, August 25 View Page I was worn out Friday night and solo when I measured and made an error. Today both of us measured and double checked: 104/61/60, OTT 225, est 263lbs. The good news though unlike last year the pumpkin is still showing significant growth and the plant is way fresher. But 6/30 vs 7/8 pollination is a big difference. But this plant is pretty old as I seed started in early April. It will be interesting to see how the next few weeks play out…   Sunday, August 25 View Page Weeding, watering, and fertilizing.   Sunday, August 25 View Page Father Time remains undefeated.   Sunday, August 25 View Page The main is in the foreground and at 10 o’clock. What kind of crazy vine pattern is this?! In a few days the main should be crossing over itself. The secondaries are VERY slowly growing. Only a few small tertiaries. This plant seems to putting almost all its effort into the pumpkin.   Sunday, August 25 View Page I created a bit more space today given the warm weather. But it’s a tight spot.   Sunday, August 25 View Page Mandatory corner shot of the veggie garden. Trench watered today.   Sunday, August 25 View Page If I had to pick one non-cherry tomato to grow hands down it would be Celebrity. Great production, very disease and heat resistant, and long lasting. Great tasting too. We don’t prune any suckers on these plants. Simple FL Weave for support.   Sunday, August 25 View Page Super Sweet 100s. This plant is from seed started indoors. These pulled strong last year all the way to Halloween.   Sunday, August 25 View Page The Beefsteaks are running slow and steady. This plant has around ten tomatoes.   Sunday, August 25 View Page The Sweet 100s are essentially a thick bush at this point and throwing down a lot of shade.   Sunday, August 25 View Page This Basil gets the award for the best smelling plant in our gardens.   Thursday, August 29 View Page Going down to the garden every weekday after work is just too much with rush hour traffic. Depending on my work schedule, I try to get down there quickly during lunch hour to water, especially if it’s a really hot day. Notice the shadows and shade at 1:46pm. The majority of the plant is still pretty fresh and the pumpkin is visibly growing.   Friday, August 30 View Page As expected with the warmer weather this week the larger tomatoes are finally ripening. Two beefsteaks, the rest are Celebrities. You can throw heat waves and cool weather at the Celebrities and they just keep producing.   Friday, August 30 View Page We are big fans of Johnny’s seeds. A wide variety of seeds and always fast shipping at reasonable rates here in New England. We push the season all the way to the closing day on 10/31. Direct seeded these tonight.   Friday, August 30 View Page 5:11pm. Lots of shade.   Sunday, September 1 View Page 107/62/61, OTT 230, est 281. 2.4lbs a day average for the last seven days. We measured together so no error on my part. 367lbs seems so far away, but is it really? Last year I measured an estimated 320lbs ish-while the Vermont weigh off estimated it around 340lbs. It went heavy to 367lbs. If I had to bet I don’t think I will match last year, but the pumpkin is still growing, the plant is still in very good shape for this time of the year, and we are targeting Topsfield. But I have work travel coming up in September. And this pumpkin is “bulgy.”   Sunday, September 1 View Page Today’s harvest. Picking the Sweet and Super Sweet 100s is one of the most time consuming garden tasks these days-which is a good thing.   Sunday, September 1 View Page Celebrity.   Sunday, September 1 View Page Jammed up here with this curve.   Sunday, September 1 View Page These sweet peppers struggled this year. While the plants look good, multiple peppers stayed small and rotted away. Meanwhile the Portugal Hots in the same row are cranking out peppers.   Sunday, September 1 View Page It is a great looking pumpkin.   Tuesday, September 3 View Page Today's harvest.   Tuesday, September 3 View Page Today seems like one of the nicest weather days of 2024. And yes, that is one of the flight paths in Boston Logan.   Wednesday, September 4 View Page Fresh garden veggies and steak on this beautiful evening.   Saturday, September 7 View Page We made tomato sauce with our fresh tomatoes and herbs. Filled four jars. We still have two jars from last fall.   Sunday, September 8 View Page OTT still at 230 for an estimated weight of 281lbs. Same as last Sunday. We have a warm week coming up, but I think this plant is cooked. With work travel Topsfield is the next possible weigh off.   Sunday, September 8 View Page These small plants really go down quickly. Regardless of the final weight, I consider this year a success, and better than last year. I did a much better job preventing powdery mildew and kept this plant fresher for longer. Flea beetle pressure was intense. I didn’t see one flea beetle on the pumpkin plant. I didn’t see one cucumber beetle on the plant either. No evidence of SVB damage. Successful pollination was eight days later than last year. At 13lbs a day peak growth that cost me ballpark 104 lbs.   Sunday, September 8 View Page Was I too aggressive with early vine burying that prevented more secondary growth?   Tuesday, September 10 View Page The tomatoes and peppers are ripening up with the warm weather this week.   Tuesday, September 10 View Page This Domingo Tomato is doing well.   Thursday, September 12 View Page My bonsai tree is heading south quickly. Dwarf Jade can survive elephants in Africa, but this will be the second one I lost. Meanwhile it has the same care as the tree on the right.   Friday, September 13 View Page Chain link fence shadow.   Friday, September 13 View Page These leaves are still standing proud.   Friday, September 13 View Page The plants are showing their age, but still producing. Even with cooler temps earlier this week we still watered at levels close to peak summer as these gardens really dry out.   Friday, September 13 View Page Almost time to head home.   Friday, September 13 View Page We can smell the heat from the Portugal Hots. Red ones are hot. Green is a mixed bag, some are very hot while others are not. I learned that the hard way :)   Saturday, September 14 View Page Intense pest pressure continues. Found these on one of the Brussels sprout plants. Blasted them off with water and sprayed.   Sunday, September 15 View Page The circumference remains at 106 inches. Hopefully the pumpkin can add some density over the next few weeks.   Sunday, September 15 View Page Veggie garden corner shot.   Sunday, September 15 View Page As of today Boston is 26 days with no measurable rain. We continue to water both plots daily.   Sunday, September 15 View Page We have been planning out the last six weeks or so of garden access. I found some Maple Trees in the Southwest corner of the park. We plan to till maple leaves into our gardens this fall.   Sunday, September 15 View Page This doesn't look like a city park, does it?   Sunday, September 15 View Page After the garden plots, I took a walk around the park. This is the "urban wilds" part of the park and near the high point of the park.   Sunday, September 15 View Page Various sports teams in the park today. This park probably has a wider variety of athletic facilities than any other park in Boston. A couple weeks ago local resident Earl Faulk stopped by the garden. Earl serves as an unofficial ambassador and liaison between Boston Parks, various sports teams that use the park, other users, Boston Police, city government, etc. The park was fully renovated in 2015. Everybody loves the photo shoots and grand opening events when things are new, however the real challenge is ongoing funds for maintenance and manpower.   Friday, September 20 View Page It has been a busy week. While the pumpkin is ready for a weigh off, I have an 11 day work/vacation trip. Tried to get the gardens all buttoned up before departing.   Friday, September 20 View Page It’s transition time and we enjoy fall gardening. Planted 12 collard greens and a hot fish pepper in my plot. The pepper is an heirloom from the 1800s that was/is popular in Philadelphia and Baltimore seafood dishes.   Friday, September 20 View Page We made arrangements with the garden coordinator to water while we are gone. The forecast looks rainy and cool. I debated whether or not to leave the sheet on. The coordinator will remove it during watering and if it gets soaked. I think the sheet does reduce the odds of vandalism. While many in the park like the pumpkin, it only takes one person to damage it.   Friday, September 20 View Page Veggie garden corner shot.   Friday, September 20 View Page We expect the greens will do well while we are gone.   Saturday, September 21 View Page Sunrise over San Diego. Hope the gardens hold up until we return in early October.   Thursday, October 3 View Page Final photo in the plot this year.   Thursday, October 3 View Page Our process for loading the pumpkin involves helpers, a tarp, a furniture moving cart, and a deadlift of the pallet and pumpkin into the truck bed. This year I have the vine ends in water for the first time. The pumpkin is covered for the evening and we have the front light on. We are looking forward to Topsfield tomorrow.   Thursday, October 3 View Page We were surprised to see so many ripe tomatoes and hot peppers.   Thursday, October 3 View Page A very red harvest.   Friday, October 4 View Page We made it through the night okay.   Friday, October 4 View Page Congrats to all the growers tonight and thanks to everyone who made Topsfield possible. It was my second time in this weigh off and first time with a pumpkin here since 2021. Despite finishing behind 271 and 367, I still consider this my best growing season. I am now a 2x Topsfield giant pumpkin last place finisher :)   Friday, October 4 View Page Topsfield-so close, yet so far on a Friday afternoon heading north in leaf peeping season.   Saturday, October 5 View Page We set up the fall harvest and Halloween display this morning. Still have a another item or two coming.   Sunday, October 6 View Page Despite the garden being open until 10/31 Boston Parks yet again turned the water off. Yet, just a few hundred feet away there is water for the athletic fields. I will try to get it turned back on. In the meantime we will rely on hauling water and rainfall. Good thing we have .25-.50 inches of rainfall coming tomorrow.   Tuesday, October 8 View Page Today might just be one of the nicest days of the year. Southwest Corridor Park in Boston. We had a drenching rain yesterday-perfect timing. It feels different and bittersweet not having to head down to work on the pumpkin anymore. We are going to continue with the veggie gardens through Halloween and then transplant some cold tolerant plants out front here and see how well they do into late fall/winter. We also have to start planning fall clean up, tiller rental, adding organic matter, and planting Winter Rye.   Thursday, October 10 View Page Our first Domingo Tomato. Going to harvest the seeds and going to start a few early next year.   Wednesday, October 16 View Page The display is complete. We should put this guy to work, haha.   Thursday, October 17 View Page I went down to water this morning and these turkeys were tearing up the remaining plants. I unsuccessfully tried to round them up and walk them out of the front gate. Fortunately one flew out and the others quickly followed and they landed on nearby roof tops. Even in the city limits here turkeys are very common. A few years ago I saw one down on State Street near the Custom House.   Thursday, October 17 View Page I believe this is the first frost. This is in the middle of the park and the low point for the park. There appears to be no frost in the garden. I assume that is because of the proximity to houses and trees? It is interesting to see these microclimates.   Thursday, October 24 View Page We are still harvesting. Just like last year the Super Sweet 100s and Celebrities are still producing.   Saturday, October 26 View Page Today was mandatory fall clean up in the garden-although plants can remain for one more week. We added new stakes to secure the walkways for the winter.   Saturday, November 2 View Page Today is the final day of the year with garden access. We try to be efficient to minimize trips.   Saturday, November 2 View Page Veggie garden corner shot.   Saturday, November 2 View Page The greens.   Saturday, November 2 View Page The Brussel Sprouts were like little trees. Nice roots.   Saturday, November 2 View Page I tilled the remaining straw into the veggie garden. We planted Winter Rye. We also added one trench and planted Lettuce and Spinach for spring.   Saturday, November 2 View Page My favorite kind of organic matter-free organic matter. The Maples leaves and compost are from the park.   Saturday, November 2 View Page I tilled the leaves and compost in and seeded Winter Rye.   Saturday, November 2 View Page Finishing up for the season…   Saturday, November 2 View Page We are going to serve the Brussel Sprouts for Thanksgiving.   Saturday, November 2 View Page Final harvest #1.   Saturday, November 2 View Page Final harvest #2.   Sunday, November 3 View Page I brought eight of the Collard Greens home for our fall/winter garden. I am using leaves as mulch/insulation. Apparently they can survive temps of 0-10 degrees. We shall see…