Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 66 Entries. Monday, March 12 View Page Leek and onions have been going since December 17. A one time experiment for me, I think. I also have a few beetroots (also since December - another experiment), the heavy peppers and the heavy carrots going. The heavy parsnips all failed to germinate. All still 24 hrs a day under growing lights. Next week I will plant the kohlrabi, swede and tall corn seeds. Construction of the new giant vegetable greenhouse is under way (slowly but surely). The tomato and pepper greenhouse has been moved to another plot with better soil. The corn and sunflower cage got damaged beyond repair this winter and will not be rebuilt. The large poly tunnel was badly torn by winter storms and has been repaired as good as possible with special poly tape. I needed 75 feet of the stuff to repair all the ripped and torn areas. Thursday, March 22 View Page Newly erected giant vegetable greenhouse. Two sides are open for circulation and heat control. This greenhouse will be home to the giant potatoes, carrots, beetroots, parsnip, leek and onions. Behind it is my older greenhouse which got transfered from another plot to here. It will house the giant tomatoes and peppers. Thursday, March 22 View Page Inside the new greenhouse. Because of the extremely wet soil here everything is in raised beds or barrels. I planted the kohlrabi, swede and tall corn today. Of about 30-40 parsnip seeds planted, only one has germinated after one month. The beetroots I planted in December keep on losing all their leaves and will be pulled. New seeds will be planted on site in the new greenhouse next week. I will also start the giant tomatoes then. Tuesday, April 10 View Page 1002 Jarvis* failed to germinate even after "surgery". This morning I started two 1723 Marshall 11 dmg seeds. No squash this year I guess. Just one pumpkin plant. It is currently cold and wet for the time of the year and the giant carrots (half) outside are not appreciating it. Monday, May 7 View Page Some of the last giant veg under the growing lights. I started the marrows and field pumpkins today. At the back are the long and heavy cucumbers. Here is the list of stuff I was planning on growing this year and what has happened till now. PUMPKIN: none - 1723 MARSHALL X 2 IN THE GREENHOUSE SQUASH: 1002 Jarvis* - FAILED TO GERMINATE BEETROOT (long) - Medwyn Williams - DID NOT START BEETROOT (heavy) - Glazebrook line and "Mammoth" - SEVERAL OF BOTH GROWING INSIDE AND OUTSIDE CARROT (heavy) - Flakkee and "Bangor" - MOST DIED: TOO COLD AND WET - 3X BANGOR AND 2X FLAKKEE LEFT INSIDE CUCUMBER (heavy) - Glazebrook and Thomas - GLAZEBROOK DIDN'T GERMINATE SO NOW THOMAS AND WURSTEN CUCUMBER (long) - Glazebrook and Wursten - JUST WURSTEN CORN - Olotillo, Olotillo-Tuxpeno, Tehua - OLOTILLO POOR GERMINATION - 1X OLOTILLO, 2X TUXPENO AND SEVERAL TEHUA NOW GROWING INDOORS KOHLRABI - "Kossak" and "Superschmelz" - PLANTED OUT 3 OF EACH TODAY - KOSSAK CLEARLY LARGER LEEK - "Mammoth Pot" - SEVERAL DIED - TWO OR THREE LEFT LONG GOURD - 135 Jacobus - HAVEN'T STARTED YET ONION - Glazebrook - 2 MEASLY ONES GROWING - 2 BACKUPS LEFT INSIDE PEPPER - "Colossal" - ALL FOUR IN GREENHOUSE POTATO - "Kondor" - STARTED LAST WEEK FIELD PUMPKIN - 85 Eaton - STARTED 2X 85 AND 2X 57 SHYMANSKI (162 X SELF) TODAY MARROW - 135.5 Wursten, 99.6 Osmala - STARTED 6X 135.5 AND 2X 99.6 TODAY PARSNIP - "Picador" - ONLY TWO OF MANY GERMINATED AND NOW PLANTED OUT IN BARRELS SUNFLOWER (tall and head) - Richard Hope strain - STILL TO START TOMATO - 7.33 Hunt, 4.59 Lyons, 5.35 Lyons - 4X 7.33, 2X 5.35 AND 1X 4.59 PLANTED OUT IN THE GREENHOUSE LAST WEEK RADISH - "Sukarajima" - STILL TO START RUNNER BEAN - Jescot Long'un - STILL TO START SWEDE - unknown strain - 3X PLANTED OUT TODAY Wednesday, May 30 View Page 1723 Marshall - has lots of females - not often I have that Wednesday, May 30 View Page Some of the giant veg. From front to back: beetroot Mammoth beetroot rubra (Glazebrook) swede carrot Flakkee kohlrabi Kossak Wednesday, May 30 View Page carrot Bangor potato Kondor parsnip Picador (1 isn't growing and will probably be pulled) Wednesday, May 30 View Page leek Pot carrot Bangor onion Glazebrook Wednesday, May 30 View Page some of the tomatoes and peppers 3x 7.33 Hunt plants are biggest Wednesday, May 30 View Page kohlrabi Superschmelz kohlrabi Kossak (clearly better than Superschmelz) swede Planted too close but I didn't have anymore room and I expect to lose a few Monday, June 25 View Page 1723 Marshall - possibly the poorest plant I have ever had, but the weather has been cool with very little sun so far this year. Monday, June 25 View Page 1723 Marshall - main vine + stump - hardly thicker than my thumb, while some 1723's out there have massive stumps. Monday, June 25 View Page Bangor carrot - by the looks of it, one of the smaller carrots I have growing (hopefully). Monday, June 25 View Page Long and heavy cucumbers (3x Wursten and 1x Thomas). The only giant veg that is doing well for this time of the year. Monday, June 25 View Page Kossak kohlrabi - the only one (half) inside and clearly outgrowing the ones outside. Monday, June 25 View Page My one time try at onions. Monday, June 25 View Page My one and only parsnip. Monday, June 25 View Page The two giant potatoes. I won't mention the other giant veg I have going as the weather has not been kind to them... Tuesday, July 10 View Page Finally got one pollinated on the 1723 Marshall. It must be out about 26 feet. The 1723 has almost no male flowers and the ones it did have were all sterile. I pollinated it with another 1723 I have growing outside for the sole purpose of producing male flowers. Like all the other females on the 1723, this one is long with a long stem. Tuesday, July 10 View Page The 1723 plant is not particularly vigourous, but we have not been having the best weather either. Tuesday, July 10 View Page Of all the giant veg I have going, the cucumbers are pretty much the only ones that are doing particularly well. I have one very strong heavy cuke going and one very strong long cuke, though the other two aren't doing too poorly either. Tuesday, July 10 View Page This is the largest kohlrabi I have going, which is partially indoors. We have been having cool weather so far this season, with June being the coldest in 15 years. The big problem is the lack of sun. This week I took a few hits. I had to pull almost all the sunflowers as they had gone to head just over 3ft, thinking it was fall. One of my kohlrabis split and got pulled. One of the Mammoth beets went to seed, also thinking it was fall. The corn is heavily stunted. The 206.5 marrow will probably not be throwing marrows, even though it is a very aggressive plant. The 135.5 marrow, on the other hand, is doing quite well, as is the 85 Eaton field pumpkin. The rest of the giant veg is either stunted or way behind other years. Friday, July 20 View Page 1723 Marshall - day 10 - a bit better day 10 numbers than the 1421 Stelts I grew last year - this one is out about 26 ft Friday, July 20 View Page Some of the giant vegetables. At the back (left to right): Bangor carrots, Kondor potatoes, sukarajima radish, Picador parsnip In the middle: Glazebrook onions, potleeks In the front: Mammoth beet Friday, July 20 View Page Some of the giant tomato and giant pepper plants. Saturday, July 28 View Page Short tour of some of the giant veg I have going. Here the 1723 Marshall at day 18. Love the shape and ribbing. I don't have figures for this one yet. Saturday, July 28 View Page Runner beans. Three plants. I haven't started any beans on them yet. Too early. Saturday, July 28 View Page On the left a Mammoth beet and on the right a regular table beet. Saturday, July 28 View Page Best carrot at the moment. Flakkee. Saturday, July 28 View Page Tall corn and sunflowers. Just too cold. Sunflowers have gone to head, corn severely stunted. Saturday, July 28 View Page Some of the long and heavy cucumbers. All plants have at least one going. Saturday, July 28 View Page 85 Eaton field pumpkin. Selfed it this week and the little one is growing under the glass cover. Too cold and wet for the plant, so it is quite yellow. Saturday, July 28 View Page Largest kohlrabi. This one is "Kossak". I have lost 4 of the 7 plants so far. This is the only one left for competition purposes. Saturday, July 28 View Page The three leek. The middle one is growing all twisted. The third one is growing perfect but is the smallest. The first one is the heaviest. Saturday, July 28 View Page 135 Jacobus long gourd. I have two going on this plant, but might cull them in favour of one still to come. These two aren't ideally positioned. Saturday, July 28 View Page 135.5 Wursten marrow. I need to weed here! Been just too wet though. Should pollinate one this coming week at about 15 ft. Saturday, July 28 View Page It doesn't look big in the bucket, but it's the biggest onion I have ever grown. Saturday, July 28 View Page Parsnip. The only one that survived. Don't know what is below the soil, but the foliage looks alright. Saturday, July 28 View Page I'm a poor potato grower, but hopefully one of these two will do alright. The one on the right is growing out of the soil, so I know exactly how big it is. Having to keep covering it up. Not that big yet though. Saturday, July 28 View Page Sakarujima radish. Started this one at the beginning of the month. After the longest day otherwise they tend to run to seed, or so they say. Saturday, July 28 View Page One of the three swedes I have going. Bigger than other years and two months to go. Hoping they don't rot like they have every year till now. Now growing on sandy soil instead of clay. Hopefully that helps. Saturday, July 28 View Page Giant tomatoes and sweet peppers. The tomatoes have all been aborting. The peppers seem to be doing okay. Wednesday, August 8 View Page It's one of those years you wonder why you keep growing. The 1723 Marshall has developed a wierd shape and shows little growth. Day 20 figures were fine, day 29 pretty poor. Wednesday, August 8 View Page The only red beetroot left and nothing to write home about. Wednesday, August 8 View Page Cucumber heavy and long. This is a cross that grows long and quite heavy. Currently about 75cm long and already ripening. This one won't win the long class, that's for sure. Wednesday, August 8 View Page Long cucumber. This one is about 77cm long and growing a bit less than 2cm a day, but also starting to ripen. Going to need 9cm more from this one for a new PB and EGVGA record. Wednesday, August 8 View Page 85 Eaton field pumpkin. Just too cold and wet for field pumpkins this season. Wednesday, August 8 View Page Kohlrabi. This thing is huge, but it has a major crack in the top that I can't get dry yet. Might lose this to rot if it doesn't dry out soon. Wednesday, August 8 View Page My first and last year of growing giant onions. This one certainly won't break any records. As far as records are concerned, I don't have anything this year that is even mildly interesting, though I'm hoping the parsnip will be a pleasant surprise. Thursday, August 9 View Page The one that got away. Crack in the top of the kohlrabi went through to the cavity this morning. Final weight was 33.6 lbs, just 0.6 lbs away from an EGVGA record and this one still had two months to go. Tuesday, August 14 View Page The end of the 1723. Wasn't growing very well and the weird shape caused a rib split into the cavity. More time now to get the patch ready for next year. Tuesday, August 14 View Page Long gourd and long cucumber. I doubt either will be a PB. Tuesday, August 14 View Page 85 Eaton field pumpkin. Around 60 lbs I guess. Tuesday, August 14 View Page A baby on the 135.5 Wursten marrow. Plant is smaller than other years due to the poor weather so maybe this one will hold together for a change. Wednesday, August 22 View Page Something weighs 116.8 lbs, but what? Wednesday, August 22 View Page Picked two cucumbers this week. Both plants have a second cucumber growing on them, hopefully in time for the October weigh-off. Longest was 78cm and heaviest 12.4 lbs. Neither a PB. None of the remaining ones will be PBs either. Wednesday, August 22 View Page 135.5 Wursten marrow. Wednesday, August 22 View Page Long gourd. Looks like it will finish a few inches short of last years. Wednesday, August 22 View Page Radish and parsnip. Radish is still very young and small. No idea what the parsnip is doing. Wednesday, August 22 View Page All I can say is that it is dark green and still growing about 5-6 lbs a day... Monday, August 27 View Page Bad week in the garden. Lost the remaining swede/rutabaga. Lost the leek. LG has been disappointing. Developed a pinhole under the stem when a baby and that has become quite a hole, about half way through the gourd. Dry, and scabbed over, but certainly preventing food flow. Now at about 101" on day 28. The 135.5 marrow is producing extremely poor figures as well. The only good news is actually the other green thing in the garden which is now estimating 132 lbs on day 32. Tuesday, August 28 View Page Long cucumber - 81cm (31.9in). 4.5 cm short of last year but the weather hasn't been cooperating this year. Seed used was 85.5cm Wursten 11. Saturday, September 1 View Page My only field pumpkin has become "a would have been". After a few days of heavy rainfall and cold temperatures, it decided to develop BES. It was 37 days old, taped 133 lbs and weighed 134 lbs. It would have been a new European record, beating the old record of 126 lbs. It was still growing when I harvested it. Seed used was the 85 Eaton, one I will be planting again next year. Friday, October 5 View Page The end of another growing year has come. The weather was simply miserable the entire year with cold temperatures, more than sufficient rain and very few sun hours. The results of my giant veg are so poor, I think I'll just forget this year happened. I won't even bother taking most of the stuff to the weigh-off tomorrow. The records I had going all split or rotted. The only marrow I had left was the 99.2 Osmala which turned out to have multiple rib splits yesterday. It weighed in at 110 lbs, the smallest marrow I have had in four years. The long gourd stopped suddenly at 109 inches, and only the long cucumbers did okay at world level. Next year I will be getting rid of 10 giant veg classes and 1500 sq ft of garden as my health is taking a turn for the worse. Wednesday, November 14 View Page This is what happens when you get an invasion of mice. Last week a mouse jumped down from the rafters onto my hand. I quickly brought all the EGVGA seeds into safety. All of my private bulk stash has disappeared. All marrow seeds including the 206.5 and 135.5 are gone as well as several others. About 100 packages of 134 field pumpkin seeds and about a thousand beetroot seeds have also gone, as well as all of my own cross pumpkin seeds. They went through a cardboard box, bubble envelopes, large plastic ziploc bags and the smaller baggies to get at the seeds. They tried a long gourd seed (my stash of 122s) but didn't like them. They also left the corn, cucumber and sunflower seeds. In the meantime they are working on their third bag of mouse poison. I keep seeds in about four different places, including mouse free drawers, so I still have a very small collection of all seeds for my own use (though no 135.5 marrow seeds anymore). My normal vegetable seeds are in a steel box, which keeps the critters out. The EGVGA seeds were elevated so the mice couldn't easily get at them. But I'm sure going to buy some new anti-mouse seed storing boxes soon!