Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 122 Entries. Sunday, March 10 View Page Let’s go 2024! This is my 21st year having a diary on this great site that Ken created. Big shout out to Porkchop for creating and supporting the Zeke Demers/BP.com tomato team challenge. I am very fortunate to have won back to back years in the draft division and could not have done it without the great teammates and their hard work. Let’s all make 2024 a season of personal bests while having fun along the way!   Sunday, March 31 View Page Happy Easter. Exciting time of year for us gardeners as Kerry has flower seeds started on the grow bench and our giant seeds are getting organized to start. Today I was able to do a checkerboard subsoil of both patches and then put the tiller on to do a very shallow till to planarize all of the peaks and valleys. Thursday we have 10 yards of compost delivered along with a prediction of 6 inches of snow. Our goal each year is to have hoops on and ready to heat soil by mid April. Fingers crossed!   Thursday, April 4 View Page Mother Nature helped amend the patch. Just shy of 12 inches with a couple more predicted. Compost delivery was cancelled for today.   Sunday, April 14 View Page It is go time for the first round of germinations. We will have 4 plants again this year and we have started 5 different seeds. We were fortunate that Ned shared another 839 and the others are our 1503, 1065, 907 and 691.5. I soak the seeds in 50% water and 50% hydrogen peroxide for 3 hours.   Sunday, April 14 View Page I read all of the special seed starting mixes with all of the amendments and want to let growers know that we have been using Miracle Grow Potting Mix since 1996 to germinate seeds in. Many ways to succeed in this hobby and it is ok to keep things simple.   Sunday, April 14 View Page Our grow bench is starting to fill up. I don’t use a seed starting chamber but do use a heat mat to warm up the pots and use gallon ziplock bags to keep moisture in. Our son built the grow bench for us with each shelf being 3 foot high with the led light bars being fully adjustable.   Sunday, April 14 View Page Hoops are built and ready to go. Patch just needs to dry out more before the final tilling happens. The goal is to have everything in place by next weekend so it will give time for soil heater cables to work before a late April planting date.   Tuesday, April 16 View Page It was dry enough to do a final till this evening and Kerry helped dig in soil heater cables. Tomorrow evening the goal is to run extension cords to start heating the soil. Our goal is as close to 70 degrees possible which helps to hatch the corn seed maggots and we can use less insecticide on the transplants. The hoop houses are 5’x8’ and each patch is 800 square feet.   Tuesday, April 16 View Page The old patch is slowly getting there but is a little wetter than the big patch. One pumpkin will go in the 400 square foot space. We also have 2 trellises that are 14.5 feet tall and a larger hoop house that will hold giant tomatoes. The goal for pumpkins to be planted out is May 1st and the long gourds and tomatoes will be mid to late May.   Saturday, May 4 View Page Happy glow season! First Sunday update tomorrow.   Sunday, May 5 View Page Here is the first Sunday entry of the season. It has been cloudy and cool for the first few days of May but the plants have survived. This time of year in our northern climate I am just happy to get the roots expanding. Today we have a high of 48 degrees and rain. Inside the hoop houses the temp is 65 with the soil cables and 250 watt heat lamp. Here is our 1503.5 Young (839 Sandercock x 1552 Young)   Sunday, May 5 View Page Next is our 400 square foot old patch and the bigger plants are our 691.5 Young (535 Young x 1905 Rose) and the small plant is the 1665 MacDonald (1215 Young x self)   Sunday, May 5 View Page Here is the 1065 Young HD winner (1442 Young x 839 Sandercock)   Sunday, May 5 View Page Last but not least is our last 800 square foot area with the 839 Sandercock (1885 Werner x 1665 MacDonald) and the 1503 Young (839 Sandercock x 1552 Young). Both of these plants had a rough start but the new growth is looking good.   Sunday, May 12 View Page Week number 2 of the season has been a repeat weather wise of gray skies and cool temperatures. The plants are growing slowly but appear mostly healthy.   Sunday, May 12 View Page The old patch is ready to go as well but we need to wait closer to the last frost date before we plant the giant tomatoes and long gourds. Our weed control starts as soon as the ground is tilled. The weed block helps but we still spend a couple of hours each week with a stirrup hoe.   Sunday, May 12 View Page Our cat Penny is such a big help. She loves to sit on the heat mat as we germinate seeds. Here she is helping with our last 3 back up tomatoes.   Sunday, May 12 View Page Here are the giant tomatoes starting to grow nicely. They will be planted outside in about 2 weeks.   Sunday, May 12 View Page A bit hard to see, but here are the long gourds germinated. We have a 168 Eaton, 2 @ 159 Jutras, 149 Jutras and 145 Jutras. Just two will make Final Cut.   Sunday, May 12 View Page Here are the competing 1503.5 Young’s. The plant on the left appears to be a flat vine or a double, so probably the keeper will be the one on the right.   Sunday, May 12 View Page The 691 Young’s are in a bit colder patch area but are starting to kick in. The 1665 MacDonald is probably too far behind to be our keeper.   Sunday, May 12 View Page Our 1065 Young’s are both growing well and it will be a tough decision on which one to keep.   Sunday, May 12 View Page Last but not least is the 839 Sandercock on the right hand side. This plant got a tough start with too hot lights but has nice looking new growth. The back up on the left is our 1503 Young which was from the 839 last year.   Sunday, May 19 View Page When you start seeing dragon heads and tendrils you know growth season is here. Hold on it can be a wild ride!   Sunday, May 19 View Page Our weather is slowly starting to turn better and we are slowly drying out. Plants are healthy and patch is weeded for the week. We set up temporary watering so we can help the young plants with the upcoming heat.   Sunday, May 19 View Page The old patch is still patiently waiting for its tomato’s and long gourds. We did set up the mesh electric fence as our nights turn warmer and hoops left open.   Sunday, May 19 View Page The tall sunflowers have been transplanted to the patch. Let’s see if one of them can beat our 19 foot personal best.   Sunday, May 19 View Page Here are the competing 691 Young plants. The longest is just shy of 2 feet. After Memorial Day we will probably cull down to 1 plants.   Sunday, May 19 View Page One of the 1503’s had a cluster of vines that looked like it might have turned into a flat vine so I pulled it. Replaced it with a back up 1503 which is doing fine but small compared to the other normal 1503 Young which will probably be our keeper and is a little over 2 feet long.   Sunday, May 19 View Page Here is the 839 Sandercock on the right and 1503Young on the left. The 1503’s genetics are 839 Sandercock x 1552 Young. Our plan is to keep the 839 and do some back crosses. The 839 is about 2.5 feet today.   Sunday, May 19 View Page Our patch leader so far is the 1065 Young just shy of 3 feet. This pumpkin last year was very orange with smooth skin and we crossed a heavy orange 839 Sandercock into it.   Monday, May 27 View Page Happy Memorial Day. We got back today from CT and celebrating our son Andrew and our new daughter in law Lauren. They tied the knot this week!   Monday, May 27 View Page Today we have wind gusts over 40 mph, so I built a quick wind protection using grade stakes and cheap weed block. So far just a couple leaves lost but more wind and storms coming tonight.   Monday, May 27 View Page The old patch pumpkin is a bit more protected by our garden shed. We planted out tomatoes and long gourds today, so the patch is full.   Monday, May 27 View Page Here are our giant tomatoes for the year. Three 9.06 Brown, two 7.28 Young, 8.61 Sutherland, 8.64 Porkchop, 7.11 LaRue, Sutherland cross #6, 6.5 Rose, 8.58 Porkchop, 7.88 Butler and 8.36 Strickler.   Monday, May 27 View Page Here is the 159 Jutras long gourd on one trellis. Hard to believe it will fill the 14.5 foot tall and 12 foot long trellis by season end.   Monday, May 27 View Page The other trellis has the 149 Jutras.   Monday, May 27 View Page We have selected our keeper plants for the year. Here is our 1503 Young at 5.5 feet today.   Monday, May 27 View Page The 839 Sandercock is growing well and our second keeper just shy of 6 feet tonight.   Monday, May 27 View Page Our patch leader is the 1065 Young and it is just shy of 7 feet long today.   Monday, May 27 View Page The last keeper is the 691 Young in our smaller 400 square foot patch. She is about 5 feet long today.   Monday, May 27 View Page The tall sunflowers are doing well although they are having a tough time in the gusty winds.   Thursday, May 30 View Page Weather guesser doesn’t think there will be a frost tonight but dew point is in the low 30’s and we got down to 39 last night. Back ups have been given away so not taking chances.   Sunday, June 2 View Page Happy first weekend of June. Our small backyard patch is starting to dry out and the weather has finally warmed up for a minute. We are starting to move the weed block material back which means the plants are growing.   Sunday, June 2 View Page The old patch plants have all been in the ground for 6 days now except for the pumpkin. We had 3 nights in the 40’s this week and one in the 30’s. Overall we are happy that we didn’t lose any plants but growth has been slow.   Sunday, June 2 View Page The sunflowers survived the high winds of last weekend and the cold nights. The tallest currently is just shy of 2 feet.   Sunday, June 2 View Page Here is the 159 Jutras long gourd today and is starting to run.   Sunday, June 2 View Page The 149 Jutras is a bit ahead of its cousin. Nice healthy plant and close to hitting the trellis.   Sunday, June 2 View Page The giant tomatoes have been in the ground for 6 days now and survived the cold spell with no issues. Now it’s grow time!   Sunday, June 2 View Page Here is our 691 Young in our small 400 square foot patch. A bit slow on the secondaries but at 7 feet long tonight.   Sunday, June 2 View Page This is our 1503 Young and she is 7.5 feet long tonight.   Sunday, June 2 View Page Here is the 839 Sandercock. She is growing decent with secondaries starting to stretch. It is a little over 8 foot long tonight.   Sunday, June 2 View Page Our current patch leader is our 1065 Young and she is 9 feet long tonight.   Sunday, June 9 View Page Here is the second Sunday in June patch overview. Overall the plants are healthy and we are roughly in our average plant size for this time of year. The weather has been decent but we are in a few day period of rainy cool weather with highs in the low 60’s.   Sunday, June 9 View Page The old patch is slowly looking greener.   Sunday, June 9 View Page The sunflowers are starting to grow faster. Most are behaving, but a couple of them are having a hard time understanding they are supposed to grow towards the sky. The taller ones are just shy of 3 feet now.   Sunday, June 9 View Page Here is the 149 Jutras long gourd stretching out on the trellis. She is 3.5 feet long today.   Sunday, June 9 View Page The 159 Jutras is a bit slower than her sister, but is growing well and has found the trellis.   Sunday, June 9 View Page The 691 Young in our old patch is starting to push secondaries better and is at 10 feet today.   Sunday, June 9 View Page Next up is our 1503 Young and she is 10.5 feet long. A nice compact plant.   Sunday, June 9 View Page The 839 Sandercock continues to be a strong grower and is sitting at 11.5 feet.   Sunday, June 9 View Page Our continued patch leader is our 1065 Young which is 12.5 feet long today.   Sunday, June 9 View Page Our giant tomato plants are finally in their growth mode and should really take off once the weather warms up. Some of the stems are thicker than my thumb. Let’s hope this is in preparation for a huge tomato!   Sunday, June 16 View Page Happy Fathers Day to all of the dads out there. We will be seeing our sons in the next few weekends as they are out of State. The patch continues to be solid with decent growth even with our roller coaster weather.   Sunday, June 16 View Page The old patch is finally starting to show some growth.   Sunday, June 16 View Page The giant tomatoes are starting to show some first truss mega blossoms. About a week away to try to pollinate a couple of these.   Sunday, June 16 View Page Most of the tall sunflowers are behaving with the tallest being around 4 feet.   Sunday, June 16 View Page The 149 Jutras long gourd is our current leader and is just shy of 7 feet.   Sunday, June 16 View Page The 159 Jutras keeps getting confused on which direction to grow but is healthy and around 4 feet today   Sunday, June 16 View Page Here is the 691 Young in the 400 square foot patch. Haven’t pruned and buried yet but will tomorrow after work. It is a little over 12.5 feet long today.   Sunday, June 16 View Page Next up is the 1503 Young which is still a compact plant and a little over 13.5 feet long.   Sunday, June 16 View Page The 839 Sandercock continues to be a strong grower. It is 15 feet long today.   Sunday, June 16 View Page The patch leader is our 1065 Young and it is a little over 15.5 feet today. There is a little something going on with a couple of leaves that look like manganese deficiency, so I have added some to my regimen for the next couple feedings.   Monday, June 17 View Page Haircut time in the tomato hut. They are in fast growth mode and ventilation is key to help with disease control. Cut leaves off close to the ground and all suckers were taken off.   Sunday, June 23 View Page We had a great weekend visiting our son and daughter in law in New Hampshire this weekend and got a chance to striper fish on York Beach. Also had an old childhood friend from Portland come down to join us.   Sunday, June 23 View Page The patch is growing like crazy but quickly becoming too wet. We have received 5 inches of rain in 4 days with more coming tonight. A bit of a gut punch as pumpkins don’t like wet feet and growth will slow in our little slow draining patch.   Sunday, June 23 View Page The old patch is really taking the brunt of the water but is still growing well.   Sunday, June 23 View Page The 691 in the old patch is struggling a bit with muddy soil but has a baby at 14 feet that should be pollinated this week.   Sunday, June 23 View Page The giant tomatoes are still doing well with more blooms starting to show up. Will be doing a few pollination attempts this week.   Sunday, June 23 View Page The long gourds are quickly climbing the 14.5 foot trellis with the 149 Jutras leading the 159 Jutras. The 149 is a little over 10 feet and the 159 is around 7.   Sunday, June 23 View Page The 1503 Young has one pollinated at 12 feet but we are hoping the one at 16-17 feet will open this week.   Sunday, June 23 View Page We missed one this morning on the 839 Sandercock, but the next one in line should be coming by the end of the week.   Sunday, June 23 View Page The sunflowers loved the heat and are around 5-6 feet tall.   Sunday, June 23 View Page The 1065 Young continues to be our best grower and we have one pollinated at 14feet (1065 x 1503). It may be our keeper but we will have one at 17 feet opening in a couple days.   Sunday, June 23 View Page Here is the possible keeper on the 1065 pollinated on 6/19 at 14 feet 1065 Young x 1503 Young.   Sunday, June 23 View Page I was asked how we protected our stump/basal crown area of our plants. I feed the plants through the stump area until the plant starts producing good secondaries with the main vine around 10 feet. At that time I cover the stump for the rest of the season and check it on a weekly basis. I like to use foam insulation to cover my plants. Strong winds will blow them off but rarely will the do and plant damage.   Sunday, June 23 View Page Also, don’t forget to prune your stump. (Smile) Airflow is your best friend throughout the season.   Sunday, June 30 View Page Happy last Sunday in June. This past week we have seen a low of 41 degrees, 2 days in the mid 80’s and 3 days below 70 for a high. Looking back at past diaries this rollercoaster weather has been very close to the norm for us. The patches both look good even though I haven’t fertilized this week due to saturated soil.   Sunday, June 30 View Page Old patch looks healthy and is filling in nicely.   Sunday, June 30 View Page I get asked how we set up and protect our pumpkins. I don’t like to have a pumpkin exposed to the sun and make a shade cover out of styrofoam as soon as it is out of the growing tip. Thanks to Eric (pumpkin pal) I got Walmart clothespins to hold foam on bamboo stakes. Once we pollinate, we build a tarp shelter with a 6-9 tarp. The base is plywood with mill fabric on top.   Sunday, June 30 View Page Here is our model Bob with our 1503 Young x 839 Sandercock. She was pollinated on June 21st and is 13 feet down the main vine. She has an OTT measurement of 54”.   Sunday, June 30 View Page Next up is our 691Young x 839 Sandercock. She is 6 days old today and growing a bit slow but is still shiny which is a good sign.   Sunday, June 30 View Page Here is our 1065 Young x 839 Sandercock and is 6 days old today. Looks like it may be a longer pumpkin.   Sunday, June 30 View Page Last but not least is the 839 Sandercock x self. We pollinated this little cutie yesterday at 20 feet on the main.   Sunday, June 30 View Page Sunflowers are stretching out nicely with the tallest around 8 feet.   Sunday, June 30 View Page The 149 Jutras is leading the 159 Jutras and is above the 14.5 foot trellis.   Sunday, June 30 View Page The tomatoes are cruising right along and we have a decent bloom pollinated on the 6.5 Rose.   Sunday, June 30 View Page Here is the pollinated mega bloom on the 6.5 Rose.   Sunday, July 7 View Page Happy 4th of July. We visited our son Andrew in RI for the weekend and decided to do a pumpkin patch spy tour. But this guy caught us! LOL It was great to see Norm and he has 3 nice healthy plants growing.   Sunday, July 7 View Page Our patch has challenges this year and some of it is from the flooding rains followed by high heat. We have a few stunted secondaries that we are hoping will restart but that typically doesn’t happen. We are moving the healthy ones around to fill in spaces.   Sunday, July 7 View Page The old patch has a few stunted secondaries as well but overall the plants look healthy.   Sunday, July 7 View Page The 159 Jutras is growing strong and is above the 14.5 foot trellis.   Sunday, July 7 View Page The 149 Jutras is not doing well and it looks like a case of downy mildew. We had too wet conditions for too long in that spot. I will throw a couple fungicides at it but the plant may get pulled.   Sunday, July 7 View Page Sunflowers keep stretching with the tallest being over 9 feet.   Sunday, July 7 View Page I believe we have our 4 keeper pumpkins this year and our theme is famous women cooks. Please meet Betty Crocker off the 691 Young. She is on our 400 square foot plant and a bit petite currently. She is 13 days old and has an OTT measurement of 69 inches.   Sunday, July 7 View Page Next up is Julia Childs (839 Sandercock x self). Julia is 8 days old today and has an OTT measurement of 50.5 inches.   Sunday, July 7 View Page Any great British baking show fans? Please meet Mary Berry (1065 Young x 839 Sandercock) She is 13 days old today and has an OTT measurement of 83.5 inches.   Sunday, July 7 View Page Here is our oldest girl and her name is Fannie Farmer. Fannie (1503 Young x 839 Sandercock) is 16 days old today and has an OTT measurement of 141 inches. Looks like she could have beautiful color.   Tuesday, July 9 View Page Our patches are fully weeded in preparation for the remnants of tropical storm Beryl. It appears we are in a direct line to receive 3-6 inches of rain in a 12 hour period. The patches don’t drain well and we won’t be able to do any work for a few days. Our fingers are crossed for the best!   Tuesday, July 9 View Page We did not bury vines like we did before the last flooding rain. A few weeks ago we buried vines and all of the growth tips ended up buried in mud. Hopefully this will be a better strategy.   Sunday, July 14 View Page Our little garden survived the remnants of Hurricane Beryl but just 8 miles south of us got devastating floods with close to 60 roads closed to major washouts. Unfortunately there were 2 deaths due to flooding as well. The patches are getting back to normal activities of burying and feeding tonight.   Sunday, July 14 View Page The old patch is our lowest spot in the yard and got flooded but is slowly drying out.   Sunday, July 14 View Page We put in a new water bench this weekend. Matt D. has nothing to worry about. Technological, we are not!   Sunday, July 14 View Page Sunflowers are still growing with the tallest being around 11.5 feet.   Sunday, July 14 View Page The 149 Jutras is not showing the same leaf issues but is still a lighter green color and is slow on producing secondaries. Females are showing up though and look normal.   Sunday, July 14 View Page The 159 Jutras long gourd is growing aggressively and we should be pollinating in a week or two. It is over 20 feet long today.   Sunday, July 14 View Page Here is Betty Crocker (691 Young x 839 Sandercock) on our small 400 square foot plant. She is 20 days old today and estimates at 67 pounds. She has gained 58 pounds this week. Ain’t she cute!   Sunday, July 14 View Page Next up is Mary Berry (1065 Young x 839 Sandercock) on an 800 square foot patch. She is 20 days old today and estimates at 111 pounds. This girl has no shoulders and a big butt. “It’s all about the bass!”   Sunday, July 14 View Page Julia Childs (839 Sandercock x self) is starting to look more like a toddler today in her 800 foot space. She is 15 days old today and estimates at 56 pounds.   Sunday, July 14 View Page Last of the pumpkins is Fannie Farmer (1503 Young x 839 Sandercock) in her 800 square foot space. Fannie is 23 days old today and estimates at 233 pounds. She has gained 164 pounds this week.   Sunday, July 14 View Page The tomatoes still appear healthy and we are starting to get a few larger blossoms pollinated.   Sunday, July 14 View Page The first tomato to be supported this year is off the 7.11 LaRue and has a circ of 15.75 inches today.