Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 157 Entries. Sunday, February 11 View Page Well it�s time to get the patch ready. � Sunday, February 11 View Page Couldn�t get in without shoveling. Took a picture through the window. Hopefully the plastic will keep moisture in the soil. � Saturday, February 17 View Page Warmed up to -16�C days are longer, sun feels warmer. Going to only put in 2 Ags this year and this patch needs to undergo weed sterilization. I think I can do it and still grow in it. I have a plan. � Saturday, February 17 View Page This is the melon patch. Will grow a non grafted plant this time. � Wednesday, March 7 View Page Started the veggies. It�s cold, there�s lots of snow and it�s not looking great outside. � Saturday, March 10 View Page Have some germination. � Saturday, March 17 View Page Whoo hoo. Big winner today! � Saturday, March 17 View Page Cabbages and rutabagas are up. I�ll thin them down a bit. � Saturday, March 17 View Page Peppers are slowly popping up. Strangely the dark ones are up in good numbers. The black Nagas are from my own seed so I will find out if they breed true. Could have some big red ones. � Saturday, March 17 View Page Snowing again outside. No pictures required. � Wednesday, March 21 View Page 20 Crews watermelon. 156 Thrower x self. It was really round and did well on the small plant. Not sure what I�m actually planting in the patch yet. More to come... � Wednesday, March 21 View Page There�s the melon patch. Seems to be buried. � Wednesday, March 21 View Page Dug out the melon shack. Nice! This is better than last year. I learned my lesson last year. Shovel out the snow before you put the shack up. Luckily there wasn�t much snow then. � Wednesday, March 21 View Page It was sunny today but only +1. Snow was melting and hope was high. Then I looked at the forecast. Yes. This year may be tough going. � Thursday, March 22 View Page Can�t put the heat cables in when it�s only melted down a little. 0�C today but the forecast is still for 15-20 cm of snow. � Thursday, March 29 View Page First of all, this is the high temp of the day. � Thursday, March 29 View Page The last Friday�s snow storm blew the drifts even higher. It�s tough going to get in the patch. Probably should fire up the skid steer and dig out...again. � Thursday, March 29 View Page The watermelon patch looking south. It�s been a tough March. � Thursday, March 29 View Page But... there is good news. Opened the lid and was greeted by steaming soil even though it was -16C. Melted down 6-8�, that�s enough to get my cable in. I�ll get that done this weekend. My big greenhouse is nice and warm too. I�ll put a shack in it and get it ready. The north patch I�m going to dig out before I try to get into it. I�m definitely going to wait to the last moment to plant. There is still no warm weather in the forecast. � Saturday, March 31 View Page Well Not getting heat cables in. Soil frozen solid. Hope running low. Obviously going to be a late start this year. I�ll just use my own seeds because I�ll stagger germination so that.... grrr � Saturday, March 31 View Page Put heaters in shacks. Worth a shot. Stuck a heater in the shack in the greenhouse. That�s worked before. � Sunday, April 1 View Page Happy Easter! The snow can stay for a while now. Expanded the seed starting stand. I�m going to change some lights around and add a shelf. Added some tinfoil after we got a view from outside. Otherwise I may have received some visitors wondering if I jumped the gun on the weed law. I�m sure Amazon thinks that�s what I�m growing considering the recommendations they give me on their page lol � Wednesday, April 4 View Page Why not? Lol. I haven�t got any heat cables in but it�s got to get warmer soon... � Wednesday, April 4 View Page Spent some time with the calculator. Planned on amending before June but I�ll have to do it in stages. Did one for all the patches. � Saturday, April 7 View Page Still -20 overnight. � Saturday, April 7 View Page But I did get heat cables in the melon patch and the greenhouse. � Saturday, April 7 View Page And there�s a good sign. I can start in the greenhouse. Not sure about the melon shack. If it outgrows the shack before I can get the hoop house up it�s game over. Have a melon almost ready. Thinking... � Saturday, April 7 View Page This shack has a heater in it to warm up the soil enough to install a heat cable. There are weeds sprouting. Sunshine is warming the soil now but the air is still cold. Just need a week of melting temps. � Saturday, April 14 View Page So my watermelons where ready a week or so ago. The Carolina cross 20 Crews that was intended to go in here got a little root bound and the tip may have touched the light. It�s not in good shape. 205 Kent was about right so I put them both in. I�ll cut off the loser of this race. I�m putting money on the 205 winning. Not that it matters if the snow doesn�t melt. � Saturday, April 14 View Page Planted a 1684 Crews in the greenhouse. In a cold-frame. I�m pushing this year I hard as I can. Unfortunately Mother Nature is kicking my � Saturday, April 14 View Page The shop patch has a little less snow. This one gets a 1684 Crews as well. I�m not planting hot seeds this year. Once again I�m messed up if the snow doesn�t melt. The way this year is going this snow might be here in June. � Saturday, April 21 View Page Watermelons are taking their time. � Saturday, April 21 View Page Watermelon shack is being exposed slowly. � Saturday, April 21 View Page 1684 Crews in the shop patch is in a battle to the death with an ant colony. Using every weapon. � Saturday, April 21 View Page 1684 Crews in the greenhouse is doing well. � Sunday, April 22 View Page I�m going to have to hold a few plants for awhile. Bought some $6 storage tubs and cut the bottom off. � Sunday, April 22 View Page Transplanted some peppers. I�ll stick them in the cold frame for a few weeks. � Sunday, April 29 View Page Some of the soil is already dry! � Sunday, April 29 View Page Watermelons. Day of decision looming. � Sunday, April 29 View Page 1684 Crews greenhouse plant. Temp got a little high. +27 C outside. � Sunday, April 29 View Page 1684 Crews shop patch. Still battling ants. Patch drying nicely. � Sunday, May 6 View Page Watermelon s I�m just going to grow them both, unless someone talks me out of it. I think it�s a worthwhile experiment. � Sunday, May 6 View Page 1684 Crews greenhouse. Laying down and running. � Sunday, May 6 View Page 1684 Crews shop patch. Going over. � Sunday, May 6 View Page Transplanted cabbage and rutabagas. Soil was dry enough to till. Unbelievably I am on schedule. � Saturday, May 12 View Page 1684 Crews shop patch. � Saturday, May 12 View Page 1684 Crews greenhouse. � Monday, May 21 View Page 1684 Crews shop patch. Putting up the next level of protection. Temps near 30 C forecast. 5 weeks ago -30 C. I�m glad someone turned the switch to summer so that I can complain about too much heat though it feels strange. � Monday, May 21 View Page 1684 Crews greenhouse. Time for vine burying. � Monday, May 21 View Page The melon patch. Left side 205 Kent BD. Right side my 20lb genetics Carolina cross. This is getting confusing because both are throwing similar shape fruit. � Monday, May 21 View Page I�m pretty sure this is on the MV of 205. Just wanted see what it looked like. � Monday, May 21 View Page 102 Wolf FP. � Saturday, May 26 View Page 1684 Crews greenhouse. About 9 secondaries on each side by the time pollination starts. � Saturday, May 26 View Page 1684 Crews shop patch. yup broke the main vine off. Grower error. Didn�t move the tip shade in time and it got in the way. Never had one reach up like that. Cloudy day? Train a secondary. But which one? Thinking the third one back. The one pointing forward. � Saturday, May 26 View Page The two melons. Look closely. � Saturday, May 26 View Page 142.5 Kapelari. It is a selfed 140 Crews. � Saturday, May 26 View Page 102.5 Wolf. Doing fine. � Friday, June 1 View Page After a week or two of high 20�s low 30�s we are back to normal. These temps have slowed things considerably. The hot and the cool. � Friday, June 1 View Page It�s a little early for my update but not much is going to happen. Here is the shop patch 1684 Crews. The new MV is taking a while to assert dominance. There is a baby there. � Friday, June 1 View Page The 1684 Crews greenhouse. I�m going to put the board in there first. I�ll drag it along as pollinations fail. � Friday, June 1 View Page The watermelons are racing. I didn�t think the first pollination would take so I didn�t record the date but I think it would have been around the 18th � Friday, June 1 View Page 142.5 Kapelari field pumpkin. Opened up the shack to get some cold rain. � Friday, June 1 View Page 102.5 Wolf field pumpkin is doing great. � Friday, June 1 View Page I�m playing with tomatoes. This one looks like it split. � Tuesday, June 5 View Page It�s the day of pollination finally. 1684 Crews x self. I covered it but it�s just force of habit. I only have the two 1684 plants and there isn�t anyone near here that would have a pumpkin plant at flowering stage. � Saturday, June 9 View Page 1684 Crews. Looks like one took. Both next flowers opened today. Interestingly both of these are 5 lobe while my first was a 4 lobe. � Sunday, June 10 View Page The watermelons. I think the Black Diamond is getting passed. It still close. � Sunday, June 10 View Page Kapelari field pumpkin. � Sunday, June 10 View Page 102.5 Wolf field pumpkin has flopped. � Sunday, June 10 View Page Pollinated this one on the 1684 Crews shop patch plant after it looked ready to open on the 9th. This one is my backup plan. It�s not the greatest location. Selfed. � Monday, June 11 View Page Ok. This one opened properly today. 1684 Crews shop patch. self, 4lobe � Wednesday, June 13 View Page The rain has let up so let�s check the patches and... son of a... That�s the first time that�s happened. Nice moist soil. Probably too late to start over. Only 80% left. Secondary roots it is then. 102 Wolf. Was the best. � Friday, June 15 View Page ?Winds gusting to 80k for 5 straight days and 100mm of rain. Some things didn�t make it. � Friday, June 15 View Page And some did. � Friday, June 15 View Page I grew a 145 lb fp off a plant that was broke off at the cots. It grew a new vine! � Saturday, June 16 View Page Happy 10 day birthday! � Saturday, June 16 View Page 1684 Crews shop patch. You can see the first pollination on the left side secondary and in the foreground the secondary trained as a main. There was another one open this morning that I almost missed. It wasn�t covered so it�s an open. � Saturday, June 16 View Page 205 Kent Black Diamond. Plants are suffering from mites. They should all be dead soon. The mites that is. � Saturday, June 16 View Page 20 Crews Nice fat one � Saturday, June 16 View Page Nice main vine on the 1684 Crews greenhouse. The fruit looks like it may be shaped like the Brandt side of the gene pool. � Friday, June 22 View Page ?The shop patch 1684 Crews is 10 days old. It�s not the most symmetrical fruit but it�s what I have. This plant is suffering from heat, more so the outside leaves. I�ve already lost a couple of secondary vines, I think I only have 4 or 5 off the real mv on each side.? � Saturday, June 23 View Page It�s been warm this week... � Saturday, June 23 View Page The 20 Crews watermelon. Still growing, plant seems a little weak. Could be the mites that struck hard. � Saturday, June 23 View Page 205 Kent BD. Same story � Saturday, June 23 View Page 142 Kapelari vining out but suffering from the heat. � Saturday, June 23 View Page Greenhouse is filling up. � Monday, June 25 View Page 1684 Crews greenhouse. 20 Dap 58� cir. That�s about average for me. The 1684 started slower for me last year... � Saturday, June 30 View Page ?1684 Crews greenhouse ? ?June 30 25 Dap 85� cir ? � Sunday, July 1 View Page 1684 Crews shop patch July 1 20 Dap 56� cir � Wednesday, July 4 View Page 1684 Crews Greenhouse 29 Dap 105� cir. I think that�s ok. � Saturday, July 7 View Page 1684 Crews shop patch 26 Dap 76� cir � Saturday, July 7 View Page 205 Kent melon � Saturday, July 7 View Page 102.5 Wolf FP looking better. Secondary rooting taking hold. Going to wait for larger plant before pollination. � Saturday, July 7 View Page 142 Kapelari � Tuesday, July 10 View Page 1684 Crews greenhouse 35 Dap 131� cir. Looks like a wild ride coming up. � Wednesday, July 11 View Page Ignore the date marker, it�s day 30. Shop patch 1684 Crews 91� cir. There are about 14 vines in total now though most are tertiary off the secondary trained as a main. If that makes sense you are a pumpkin grower lol. Has the dreaded low stem syndrome. � Sunday, July 15 View Page 1684 Crews greenhouse 40 Dap 142� cir � Sunday, July 15 View Page Had to do some crown maintenance. Little peroxide. � Sunday, July 15 View Page 102.5 Wolf Fp just started pollination process. Hope for a main vine flower this week. � Sunday, July 15 View Page The melon plants look much healthier after the miticide dose. Regrowth from the crowns. � Monday, July 16 View Page 1684 Crews shop patch 35 Dap 102� cir. A little disappointed but I knew what was going to happen when I broke the Main vine off. It�s an ugly shape too. Pollination problem? Doesn�t matter much now. � Friday, July 20 View Page 1684 Crews greenhouse. 45 Dap 158� cir at least. I�d say it�s getting pretty close to four digit weight. � Saturday, July 21 View Page 1684 Crews shop patch 40 Dap. I hope I don�t have to bring this one to a weighoff. I�m not sure it�ll get me gas money. � Saturday, July 21 View Page Lots of golf ball sized hail last night. Cut some vines off. FPS are going to be scarred. � Wednesday, July 25 View Page 1684 Crews greenhouse 50 Dap � Wednesday, July 25 View Page Had to remove some field pumpkins from the patch. Plants took a beating from the hail. Prospects on the Kapelari are limited to the new twins and the last one on the mv. � Friday, July 27 View Page 20 Crews watermelon 68� cir short fat. About 75 Dap. � Tuesday, July 31 View Page 1684 Crews greenhouse 55 Dap. I�m going to run out of tape if this holds. � Sunday, August 5 View Page ?Trimmed the broken leaves from the rutabagas and cabbages. Hail storms are very common here and I have missed them just about every time for 20 years. This has been the only one to do critical damage to the patch. I should feel lucky. Lol? � Monday, August 6 View Page Something new this year is my use of rainwater. So far it�s rained enough. I have 2 buildings like this. 10 totes. Plants seem to like it. � Monday, August 6 View Page Main vine fruit on the 142 Kapelari. Hail stone sawed the mv off. � Monday, August 6 View Page Mutant on the 142 Kapelari. I should probably remove it because it�s almost on the main vine. I�m guessing not all these will make it. � Monday, August 6 View Page The biggest mutant on the 142 Kapelari. Yup here we go... � Monday, August 6 View Page Watermelon shack. I think the first 205 Kent Bd is done. Both the other Black Diamond melons are growing faster so... � Monday, August 6 View Page It�s much better tasting than Carolina cross melons. Weighed 60lbs. I�m putting it in the fridge for later. Yummy � Monday, August 6 View Page 102 Wolf plant looks much better. Unfortunately most of the vines were damage badly where they weren�t buried. Bury your vines religiously. That�s the lesson. We will see how it affects growth, the main was in pretty good shape. � Monday, August 6 View Page 61 Dap 1684 Crews greenhouse. It�s still growing at a good clip. Good clip. Hopefully slows a bit... � Thursday, August 9 View Page 1684 Crews greenhouse 65 Dap I�m using objects to determine growth rate. Seems to be about 1/2� diameter a day. Sideways anyway. � Tuesday, August 14 View Page Well. We don�t have to worry about my fused field pumpkin anymore. � Tuesday, August 14 View Page 1684 Crews greenhouse 70 Dap still growing. Developing some stem issues right on cue. Doesn�t look to serious. � Tuesday, August 14 View Page This is the last pumpkin on the 142 Kapelari. Well other than one I just pollinated. This one has some lumping so I�m not optimistic. Growing well though. � Tuesday, August 14 View Page 102.5 Wolf July 21 main vine fruit. Nice shape, looks good. � Tuesday, August 14 View Page There is an earlier secondary fruit on the 102.5 Wolf � Tuesday, August 14 View Page 1684 Crews shop patch. Still growing. Nothing special. It�s had a hard life and is a bit beaten down. � Saturday, August 18 View Page ?142 Kapelari. That�s that. Beer. ? � Saturday, August 18 View Page 20 Crews watermelon is still growing some. Pollinated mid May. � Saturday, August 18 View Page ?1684 Crews greenhouse. 75 Dap. Didn�t grow much. Hope it�s the dark days of smoke and not a problem. It is at a point where growth may be 15 a day and not look like it grew at all. Ya. That�s it. Got to be it. ? � Saturday, August 18 View Page ?102 Wolf 28 Dap. Covered the hoop house. That was the plan so I�m sticking with it. Let�s see what happens .It was dark this week. ? � Saturday, August 18 View Page Another late one on the 102 Wolf. � Sunday, August 19 View Page And Fall is almost here. Leaves starting to turn and +5 C tonight. � Monday, August 20 View Page 1684 Crews greenhouse fruit is growing again now that there�s some sunlight. Down to about 1/4� diameter a day. � Tuesday, August 21 View Page Well. It definitely does have a tinge of green but I don�t think it will throw the squash I�d hoped for. It�s too late in the season anyway. � Tuesday, August 21 View Page Hmmm. Don�t like this. Am I going to have a field pumpkin this year? Hopefully the other one on this plant is ok. Tomorrow I�ll know more. � Wednesday, August 22 View Page Very happy that my chocolate Bhut jolokia are throwing brown. I had that plant and a black Naga side by side that year. Large size may be due to that. � Friday, August 24 View Page 102 Wolf. I guess that�s that. � Sunday, August 26 View Page ?81 Dap on the 1684 Crews greenhouse fruit. Still growing but just a bit. Cold, dark, rainy, smokey. I�ll turn on the heater. It�ll either split or grow. Eddy�s ahead by 16� so nothing to lose by trying. Lol? � Sunday, August 26 View Page Second fruit on the melon. Growing ok but short of time. � Sunday, August 26 View Page Hmmm. I�ve never lost the crown like this before. 1684 Crews greenhouse. Secondary roots are the whole support system, probably for some time. � Tuesday, August 28 View Page I don�t like this...and it was 2 a little later. I was bummed until I remembered everything outside split. � Friday, August 31 View Page And... the secondary vine fruit on the 102 Wolf. So I guess that�ll save some room in the truck. � Saturday, September 1 View Page 1684 Crews shop patch. Still growing some. I�d guess 700 lbs by just looking at it. It isn�t getting any care now. Trying to minimize traffic to stop spread of hairy galinsoga that is only in this patch. Contaminated potting soil. � Saturday, September 1 View Page Last hope on the 102 Wolf. I have a tendency to not give up when I should. 21 Dap about 12� diameter. Have a heater to keep the frost off. It�s that time of year. Pumpkins tend to grow very slow if at all in September. Sun barely warms greenhouses from now on. Leaves are turning, it�s Fall. � Sunday, September 2 View Page 102.5 Wolf x 142 Kapelari seeds are harvested. Nice thick except at the blossom. � Sunday, September 2 View Page I think this pic proves my point. Wedge doesn�t fit anymore. � Thursday, September 6 View Page ?Was there a frost warning for tonight? No. We seem to have escaped with minimal damage, for a few days. Now if we could just break into double digit temps before noon... Doesn�t matter. 1684 is suffering from an aphid attack, and is 90+ Dap. All fruits are mature. 1 month to go.? � Sunday, September 9 View Page Frustration. Mousetrap doesn�t catch these particular rodents. � Thursday, September 13 View Page Battle with vole appears to be won. Battle with nature not going as well. � Friday, September 21 View Page Patch update. First day of fall. � Tuesday, September 25 View Page We had a killing frost yesterday night. We made it through cold and snow but it was cloudy. First clear night and it was over. Sun was kinda scary at first but I remembered what it looked like and then I was fine. � Tuesday, September 25 View Page I�m picking the melons today. Forecast is for lows of -7 soon and I�m tired of paying a wealth redistribution er... carbon tax. � Tuesday, September 25 View Page Black Diamond from the 205 Kent. � Saturday, September 29 View Page � Saturday, October 6 View Page 1884! � Tuesday, October 9 View Page Looks like I need new pipes. They were getting old anyway. This season has really taken a toll. Didn�t quite get things picked up in time. Got the melon shack down but Sunday night Mother Nature smacked us with 6� of snow. It hasn�t been above melting temp yet, Farmers have a lot of crop out still. A lot. � Friday, October 12 View Page Eddy Z took his 2255 to Smoky Lake. It was a beast. Monstrous beast. � Monday, November 12 View Page ?Well I had big plans but winter started in Sept and that meant working on any day that was nice. Patch got put on the back of the priority list . Now it�s frozen so I�ve given up on soil amending until spring. I put the plastic on again to keep the moisture in over winter.? � Monday, November 12 View Page ?Here are the north patch�s. Got the plastic off but need to replace some hoops. Vines still there. Melon patch still has the heat cable and drip lines so I put a shack over it. So much for tilling. I�m just lucky to get it cleaned up enough that I could grow next year. ?Soil is very frozen and I�ll see how I feel in the spring. �