Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 81 Entries. Monday, April 4 View Page Got my patches ready, put in soil heating cables & electric heaters yesterday. Stoked for the growing season! � Monday, April 4 View Page Here is my other patch. For unknown reason the soil temp is 7 degrees warmer here than in the other patch. � Monday, April 4 View Page Here are some of my tomato seedlings. Each 3� pot holds a rootstock plant & either an heirloom or giant tomato. Should be able to start grafting this weekend. � Monday, April 4 View Page It helps to include the pic. The rootstock is Arnold & Shin Cheong Gang. � Monday, April 25 View Page Several days ago I received a box from Porkchop for an award I didn�t even know existed. It contained this awesome trophy, a WOW shirt, coozie & package of super starter paks, a monetary award & a nice note from Steve. And my team didn�t even place in the tomato team competition! That Porkchop, a H#ll of a nice feller! � Monday, April 25 View Page A closeup of the trophy. � Monday, April 25 View Page I transplanted out yesterday. Here the 2004 VanderWielen & the 1989.5 Daletas. � Monday, April 25 View Page Here I placed 2 1938 Sperrys. � Monday, April 25 View Page And finally, in my third spot, a 2226.7 BoonenHerman & a 1803 Gadberry. Still have 2 backups in the house. � Tuesday, May 10 View Page 2 weeks in the ground as of Sunday. 2004 VanderWeilen on left. 1989.5 Daletas on right. The Daletas has a kink in the main vine that I hope will be alright � Tuesday, May 10 View Page 2 weeks in the ground as of Sunday. Both plants are 1938 Sperry. Unfortunately the one on the right has a kink in the main vine. Hopefully it will be alright. Need to get them through this heatwave. � Tuesday, May 10 View Page 2 weeks in the ground as of Sunday. 2226.7 BoonenHerman on the left. 1803 Gadberry on the right with a massive main vine. � Saturday, May 21 View Page My 1989.5 Daletas, 12 � long, planted APRIL 24. � Saturday, May 21 View Page My 1938 Sperry, planted out April 24, 10.5� long. � Saturday, May 21 View Page My 2226.7 BoonenHerman, planted out April 24, 9.5� long. Very chuffed with my plants. Just put rooting hormone on the leaf nodes, now to bury them! � Friday, May 27 View Page A leaf node on my 1989.5 Daletas. I love the developing root in the underside. The purple on the top is Clonex gel which will encourage another root to form once it is buried. Update on my plants: 1989.5 Daletas is now 17.5� long. 1938 Sperry is 15� long. 2226.7 BoonenHerman the tip of the main vine has ended in only a leaf so a vigorous secondary has been swung forward as the main vine. Total length is 15.5�. � Friday, May 27 View Page A leaf node on my 1989.5 Daletas. I love the developing root in the underside. The purple on the top is Clonex gel which will encourage another root to form once it is buried. Update on my plants: 1989.5 Daletas is now 17.5� long. 1938 Sperry is 15� long. 2226.7 BoonenHerman the tip of the main vine has ended in only a leaf so a vigorous secondary has been swung forward as the main vine. Total length is 15.5�. � Sunday, May 29 View Page My 1989.5 Daletas measuring 18�, has a female at 15�. I am ecstatic with how large my plants have become. � Sunday, May 29 View Page My 1938 Sperry, measuring 16.5�. Has a female that opened this morning at 11.5�. I pollinated with my 2226.7 BoonenHerman but am really excited about the next bloom at 16� � Sunday, May 29 View Page The female on my 2226.7 BH, a little asymmetric � Sunday, May 29 View Page My 2226.7 BoonenHerman had the main vine end in a leaf at 14�. So I swung the most distal vigorous secondary forward making it the main vine. Total length is 16�. There are some females on the secondaries but not on the main vine yet. � Sunday, May 29 View Page Error! The last post the blossom was on the 1938 Sperry. My 2226.7 BoonenHerman had the main vine end in a leaf at 14�. So I swung the most distal vigorous secondary forward making it the main vine. Total length is 16�. There are some females on the secondaries but not on the main vine yet. � Tuesday, May 31 View Page The female blossom at 15� opened on my 1989.5 Daletas opened today, an asymmetric 4-lober. Pollinated it with the 2226.7 BoonenHerman. � Friday, June 3 View Page 15� out on my 1938 Sperry. Pollinated it with 2226.7 BoonenHerman today. � Monday, June 6 View Page Blossom on my 1989.5 Daletas this morning, pollinated by 2261 Schmit, 20� out on the main vine. � Monday, June 13 View Page 4 lober blossom 24� out on the main vine of my 1989.5 Daletas. Pollinated it with 2261 Schmit. This is a backup as the 5 lober blossom at 20� seems to have taken. I need to cull the fruit at 15�. � Monday, June 13 View Page 5 lober blossom 24� out on my 1938 Sperry. Pollinated with 1989.5 Daletas. Another backup, as the fruit at 16� seems to have taken. � Monday, June 13 View Page Proud of my large leaves. This one is on my 2989.5 Daletas plant. � Monday, June 13 View Page Whoops! Betcha didn�t know that Steve set a new world record! � Tuesday, June 14 View Page This is the blossom that opened today on my 2226.7 BoonenHerman 17.5� out. I pollinated it with 1938 Sperry. It got to 93 degrees today. I had frozen gallon jugs of water close to the blossom with a fan blowing on it. I also sprayed some cold water on the resin table that was shielding it from the sun. I don�t know what my chances are that she will take, I�ve got my fingers crossed! � Friday, June 17 View Page This is the keeper I have chosen on my 1989.5 Daletas. At 15� from the stump, it has been growing too fast to ignore. It is currently 17 DAP with an OTT of 136�. � Friday, June 17 View Page This is the keeper I have chosen on my 1989.5 Daletas. At 15� from the stump, it has been growing too fast to ignore. It is currently 17 DAP with an OTT of 136�. � Saturday, July 2 View Page Update on my 1989.5 Daletas. Now at 32 DAP, taping around 420 lbs. Decided to name him Sparky. � Saturday, July 2 View Page This is the keeper on my 1938 Sperry. It is 27� out on the main vine at 15 DAP. Decided to name it Tesla. � Saturday, July 2 View Page These are the culls for today. The larger one is from the 1938 Sperry, on a secondary vine. I thought Tesla would grow more quickly without this one on the vine. Still have a small spare on the main vine distal to the keeper. The other 2 are from my 2226.7 BoonenHerman. Still have a 10 day old fruit 27� out on the main vine & a 7 day old fruit on a distal secondary. I am actually favoring going with the secondary fruit because it had been crossed with the 1989.5 Daletas. � Saturday, July 2 View Page These are the culls for today. The larger one is from the 1938 Sperry, on a secondary vine. I thought Tesla would grow more quickly without this one on the vine. Still have a small spare on the main vine distal to the keeper. The other 2 are from my 2226.7 BoonenHerman. Still have a 10 day old fruit 27� out on the main vine & a 7 day old fruit on a distal secondary. I am actually favoring going with the secondary fruit because it had been crossed with the 1989.5 Daletas. � Wednesday, July 6 View Page Sparky was growing into the main vine so I decided to move him while he is relatively small (around 600). So we hooked him up to the hitch of my truck with a Come-along & gently drew him back 3�. Still sphincter-tightening! � Wednesday, July 6 View Page Sparky was growing into the main vine so I decided to move him while he is relatively small (around 600). So we hooked him up to the hitch of my truck with a Come-along & gently drew him back 3�. Still sphincter-tightening! � Wednesday, July 13 View Page Here is Sparky, my 1979.5 fruit at 43 DAP, taping around 785#, averaging about 25#/day. Not satisfied with that at all. The main vine & all secondaries are terminated. There are 7 tertiary vines on the right & 4 on the left. Tomorrow those get terminated. � Wednesday, July 13 View Page This is Tesla, my 1938 Sperry fruit at 26 DAP. He is taping around 291#. Been averaging 31#/day over the last 3 days. He has the main vine terminated about 7� past the fruit. He has 4 secondary & 2 tertiary vines still growing but they will be terminated tomorrow. � Wednesday, July 13 View Page This is Heisenberg, my 2226.7 BoonenHerman fruit at 21 DAP. He should be over 160� tomorrow & on the OTT chart. He has some secondary vines that will be terminated tomorrow but 2 of them are quite vigorous & will be spared the blade temporarily. � Saturday, July 16 View Page This is a leaf stalk on my 2226.7 BoonenHerman plant. Surprisingly, it has tiny roots that have developed at one margin. Has anyone else ever seen this? I figured I might as well bury these tiny roots with my usual technique. I will be sure to excavate this at the end of the season to see how these roots turn out. � Saturday, July 16 View Page This is a leaf stalk on my 2226.7 BoonenHerman plant. Surprisingly, it has tiny roots that have developed at one margin. Has anyone else ever seen this? I figured I might as well bury these tiny roots with my usual technique. I will be sure to excavate this at the end of the season to see how these roots turn out. � Wednesday, July 20 View Page This weird thing is on an old male blossom. Does anyone know what it is? I think I recall seeing another one last summer. � Wednesday, July 20 View Page Sparky on my 1989.5 Daletas is 50 DAP today, taping at around 1,000#. Growing at 32#/day over the last 5 days. � Wednesday, July 20 View Page Tesla on my 1938 Sperry is 33 DAP & taping around 590#. Has been growing at 44#/day over the last 5 days. My wife wants to change the name to Kim Kardashian. � Wednesday, July 20 View Page Heisenberg on my 2226.7 BoonenHerman is 28 DAP and is taping at around 230 pounds.l Growing at 24 pounds a day over the last five days. � Thursday, July 21 View Page This is my driptape from one of my patches. Numerous holes from birds pecking at it. I have 2 other sections that I�ve had to cut out & reconnect the remainders. Don�t tell me to put water out for them, we already have that. � Saturday, July 30 View Page The fruit on my 2226.7 BoonenHerman plant. I found this yesterday morning but I believe it happened Thursday evening. Around 470 by OTT, had been growing at 30#/day. � Saturday, July 30 View Page I just barely touched the blossom end Friday morning, there was a loud �pop� which made me jump back. My 1938 Sperry fruit, taped 975 by OTT, growing at 42/day. � Sunday, July 31 View Page And then there was one. Sparky is 61 DAP today, currently taping at 1,240# & growing 24#/day. Getting a lot of growth cracks. � Friday, August 5 View Page Sparky is currently taping around 1,300. Just trying to keep him going. Trying to keep weeds down around the main vine & promote good air circulation. � Friday, August 5 View Page Sparky is currently taping around 1,300. Just trying to keep him going. Trying to keep weeds down around the main vine & promote good air circulation. � Tuesday, August 9 View Page You have to start somewhere. I thought this a suitable first entry for my giant tomatoes. From my 5.39 Strickler Brutus Magnum seed. � Monday, August 15 View Page Another entry for my giant tomatoes. Seed was Porkchop�s PDX Domingo. Should mention that my team has chosen ETS for our name Extreme Tomato Syndicate. It incorporates the first initial of the members of the team. � Thursday, August 18 View Page I hate when I find this! Circ was 24� Probably a possum, can�t rule out a raccoon. I set my trap up, baited with a small amount of tinned cat food & an apple split in half. � Saturday, August 27 View Page My sweet wife perched atop Sparky. He is 88 DAP today & taping 6.5� greater than my PB. Growing around 8#/day. Grow baby, grow! This fruit has the most growth cracks & canteloping of any AG I�ve ever grown. I figure the walls got to be 12� thick so I have no concerns for that lightweight on top of him. � Saturday, August 27 View Page My sweet wife perched atop Sparky. He is 88 DAP today & taping 6.5� greater than my PB. Growing around 8#/day. Grow baby, grow! This fruit has the most growth cracks & canteloping of any AG I�ve ever grown. I figure the walls got to be 12� thick so I have no concerns for that lightweight on top of him. � Saturday, August 27 View Page What have we here? Something tasty for weighoff season! � Friday, September 2 View Page My latest GPC entry for the tomato team competition, draft division. � Friday, September 2 View Page My Handy Knuckle, courtesy of Jeff Theil. � Monday, September 5 View Page Sparky is taping 417� today, 11� larger than my pb, very excited! � Saturday, September 10 View Page Still hanging in there. This pic from Thursday the fruit was 100 days old. � Saturday, September 10 View Page I really hate to see these late megablooms appear. This one on a 9.90 LaRue Domingo. � Saturday, September 10 View Page Correction: Obviously 9.09 LaRue Domingo. � Friday, September 23 View Page We lifted Sparky yesterday to take him to the Wasson Nursery weighoff in Fishers Saturday. This is my new steel tripod with a Handy Knuckle which worked flawlessly. Thanks Jeff Theil! � Friday, September 23 View Page Midway in the lifting process. � Friday, September 23 View Page Many thanks to the lifting crew! � Sunday, September 25 View Page Sparky went 1739#, 11.9% heavy & took first place at the Wasson Nursery weighoff in Fishers. New pb, we are ecstatic! � Sunday, September 25 View Page My lovely helper with me. � Sunday, September 25 View Page My lovely helper with me. � Friday, September 30 View Page Still have a big one to take to Fair Oaks Oct 8. Grow baby grow! This is on a clone of the 5.61 Konieczny MegaDom that gave me my 8.355 last year. � Friday, September 30 View Page Still have a big one to take to Fair Oaks Oct 8. Grow baby grow! This is on a clone of the 5.61 Konieczny MegaDom that gave me my 8.355 last year. � Sunday, October 23 View Page 5.41 Strickler at the Fair Oaks weighoff Oct 15. First place. Apologies for my tardiness in posting. � Sunday, October 23 View Page 5.41 Strickler at the Fair Oaks weighoff Oct 15. First place. Apologies for my tardiness in posting. � Thursday, October 27 View Page I elected to have a friend with a landscaping business unload Sparky from the trailer. He brought his big Bobcat, told me that he could lift a 3,000 pounder. As if! � Thursday, October 27 View Page That explains 12% heavy! I wasn�t impressed by the number of seeds, given the size. � Tuesday, November 1 View Page Happy belated Halloween from Snoopy! � Wednesday, November 2 View Page I�m used to green & black fungus but red? Never seen that before! � Wednesday, November 2 View Page Time to remove Sparky & get him to composting. � Wednesday, November 2 View Page Time to remove Sparky & get him to composting. �