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saxomaphone(Alan) - 2018 Grower Diary Point your RSS aggregator here to subscribe to this Grower Diary.

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Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 27 Entries.
Tuesday, March 13 View Page
Ugh. It seems that this winter will never end. It just keeps snowing. A few days of a slow melt this week but there is more in the forecast. The patch still has 2 feet to go. Some years I have already tilled by now. The only work I get to do outside is shovelling the mountain of snow away from the house. I can't believe I want wind to dry it all out.
 
Tuesday, March 27 View Page
Ugh. Stupid winter that will never end. We are in a flooding State of Emergency. The big melt started but has no where to go. This picture was taken on the 27th. The drifts are 4 feet high but there was about 1/4 of the patch that was snow free. The greenhouse patch is completely covered. I took the cover off this past fall as the wind destroyed most of the pipes. I was hopeful that spring was on the way but yesterday had 8 inches of heavy wet snow fall in 2 hours. Now a big storm is coming tomorrow with more snow and lots of wind. This may be a slightly different year...
 
Sunday, April 1 View Page
10-20 cm of snow is on the way. No temps above zero for the next five days and more snow later in the week. Ground is completely frozen. I should be starting seeds this week and in the golf course for Spring Break. Looks like I am going to be shovelling snow and freezing all week. At least the threat of floods has been delayed a while....have to look on the bright side of things.
 
Sunday, April 1 View Page
Forgot the depressing picture in the last post.
 
Monday, April 9 View Page
My back hurts! The big melt is back on. Cold and another 6 inches of snow fell this weekend. It started to warm up today so lets try to dig out the garden. There is not a lot of space to put the snow so it is back on my lawn. You can see the amoumt of snow by the trailer. This small garden will have to melt on its own. I may be able to sal age something decent at home. The farm is another story. It will be at least 2 weeks before I can get into the soil there, and that is the best case scenario. Oh, and the forecast for Thirsday is more snow.
 
Thursday, April 12 View Page
Another depressing picture of the farm patch. This was yesterday. Today, it is snowing again. Lots of snow and the ground is still a frozen mess. Previous years I would have plants in the ground by now.
 
Tuesday, May 8 View Page
Well, I am still at this. After a very cold and snowy winter and spring, I have plants in the ground. I never knew when the ground would dry out, so I planted multiple seeds and ended up tossing quite a few. Here's the winners that coincided with decent soil temperature. Here's the plants at home. They went in on May 1st. Two 961 Haist squash.
 
Tuesday, May 8 View Page
The farm was a different story. I had to till the soil a few times to let it dry out. My half of the garden is now ready to go. The other side, still quite wet. Here's Alex planting his 727 squash from last year.
 
Tuesday, May 8 View Page
My pumpkins at the farm. 1450 Lyons and a 1683.5 Warner.
 
Tuesday, May 8 View Page
Alex liked filling the Cozy Coats. I also have some watermelon plants in the greenhouse plot. The frame is pretty much destroyed from the wind last fall, and the roots from the nearby trees are sucking everything from the pumpkins, so I'm trying giant watermelons there this year. Let's try something new. Everything is in late but it's really warm out and the soil is ready. It's going to be a busy summer with chasing the kids to golf tournaments so I'm not really sure how much time I'll have for these things, but Alex and I will give it a good run.
 
Friday, May 25 View Page
Congratulations Andrew on your high school graduation! It has been fun looking back at pictures of him in my diary since 2003. They sure grow up fast. He will be attending Minot State University in North Dakota in the fall and will be playing on their golf team. Great job, Andrew!
 
Thursday, June 7 View Page
After a late start to the season, things are starting to push ahead. A very warm May and start to June. Also very very dry. Time to thin out the farm plants. Alex and his two 727 plants. Soon to be one.
 
Thursday, June 7 View Page
Dry Dry Dry!
 
Thursday, June 7 View Page
After watering and weeding, Alex's 727
 
Thursday, June 7 View Page
My 1450 Lyons. I pulled the 1683.5 Werner. I took the picture after we gave the soil a good soak. I haven't been able to get out to the farm in 3 days. Nice and warm, but way too dry.
 
Thursday, June 7 View Page
Finally at home. I took out one of the 961 Haist plants last week. I just keep watering and watering.
 
Thursday, June 28 View Page
Pollination week. Alex is pollinating his 727 today with the 961 Haist.
 
Friday, June 29 View Page
The 1450 Lyons. This plant got massacred by the wind a few weeks ago. I almost lost it. The wind was coming from the south and tore my shelter apart several times. Alex's shelter was right beside it but the south end was still closed so he got off without a scratch. I selfed the 1450 Lyons on the 28th. The 961 Haist at home was pollinated on the 25th and was selfed.
 
Saturday, July 14 View Page
Out at the farm today. Hot and dry the past few weeks, with some wind thrown in for good measure. In the front is the 1450 Lyons. Considering this plant was almost dead in mid-June, I`m thankful to have something. In the back is Alex`s 727 squash.
 
Saturday, July 14 View Page
The 961 Haist at home. We were hit with hail while we were away for a few days in early July. The leaves on the plant under the shadecloth were well protected. The leaves outside didn`t fare as well. I had the squash covered but the wind blew it over during the storm, hence the hail marks. Oh well.
 
Thursday, September 27 View Page
Well, it has been a different year. Here is my squash in my backyard in late September. Final estimated weight of 750 pounds. Andrew is going to university at Minot State in North Dakota where he is on their golf team. We had a long weekend at Thanksgiving to go visit so we made the drive. Turns out it was the same weekend as Smoky Lake. Not a tough decision at all. It has been a busy summer chasing the kids across Alberta and Montana to various golf events and the pumpkins didn't get nearly the TLC as previous years. Again, not a tough decision at all to make.
 
Sunday, October 21 View Page
Alex's squash. Ended up taping 602 pounds. Both squash got moved to the garage for Halloween.
 
Sunday, October 21 View Page
The farm patch and my pumpkin ended up taping 475 pounds. After taking the plant apart a few weeks ago found the main vine hangimg on by a thread about 6 feet out. I figured the plant was dead for about 2 3 days anyways this June after the wind storms so anything I got was better than nothing. The pumpkin is now sitting on display by the side of the road out at the farm.
 
Tuesday, October 30 View Page
That time of year again. Time to get ready for Halloween.
 
Tuesday, October 30 View Page
Alex and his creation.
 
Wednesday, October 31 View Page
Rickie Fowler showed up at our house for Halloween. It was a nice night with about 110 kids.
 
Wednesday, October 31 View Page
At 930, the kids are all home and time to clean up. We put some sparklers on for one last bit of bling. It was a good run.....
 

 

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