Tuesday, January 29
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I began preparation for the 2019 watermelon season. I collected the soil sample today and mailed it Western Labs for analysis on 1/29/19.
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Monday, February 4
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I have officially started the 2019 season on 2/19 when I planted 52 GL-1 rootstock. I lightly sanded all seed edges for water absorption, pre heated the grow mix , punched drain holes in all styrofoam foam cups with a skewer, set heater temp at 95 degrees and it shake and bake time .
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Monday, February 4
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Germination box setup
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Monday, February 4
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GL -1's about to go down on 2/4/19
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Monday, February 4
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Another shot of the germination box
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Monday, February 4
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Grating in the germination box to allow bottom heat and air flow for better germination %
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Saturday, February 9
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Added aluminum foil to plastic tote to magnify fluorescent lighting .
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Saturday, February 9
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Took from Monday 2/4 to Saturday 2/9 to get the GL-1 to this point . 100 % germination on GL-1's
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Saturday, February 9
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Watermelon seeds in the germination box on 2/9/19. 5 days after GL-1 rootstock
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Saturday, February 9
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Potatoes in the ground on 2-9-19
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Tuesday, February 12
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GL's in the right tote and a few watermelons in the left tote that have just came up.
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Sunday, February 17
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GL-1 rootstock Day 13 after planting .
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Sunday, February 17
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Watermelons on Day 8 after planting .
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Wednesday, February 20
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GL-1 on Wednesday 2/20/19 . Planted them on 2/4 /19 . (15 days old)
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Wednesday, February 20
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Last post wasn't the most recent picture of GL's . This is a current photo taken on 2-20-19 . (16 days old)
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Wednesday, February 20
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Photo of watermelon plants taken on 2-20-19. Planted on 2-9-19 (11 days old)
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Saturday, February 23
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Rootstock and melon about to become one !
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Saturday, February 23
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Doctor Dogg about to do surgery on these two.
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Saturday, February 23
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Successful surgery . Hope the healing goes well !!
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Saturday, February 23
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(50) patients in recovery from their surgeries . They have already been through 24 hours total darkness .
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Monday, February 25
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Day (2) of healing . Some minor drooping going on,but overall looking pretty good .Added fluorescent lighting at the end of the 24 hours of total darkness . (16) hours on & (8) hours off
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Wednesday, February 27
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GL-1 x 146.5 Young at Day 4 with grafting clip removed .
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Wednesday, February 27
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Just removed all grafting clips on Day 4. Some wilting but overall the grafts seemed to have taken real well .
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Saturday, March 2
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Grafted some leftover watermelons and gourds on 3-3-19 . Just putting them into the healing chamber .
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Sunday, March 3
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Grafts at Day 8
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Sunday, March 3
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Lighting on older grafts and younger grafts .
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Monday, March 4
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Got to get better at rotating pictures before submitting !
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Monday, March 11
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Grafts are getting a good hold after repotting and showing new growth. Temperature is kept at least 60 degree's in my little greenhouse. I have 2 cot / 1 cot and hole insertion methods of grafting. Whatever worked best for melon and rootstock size. I have Carolina Cross and (8) other varieties grafted. If all works as planned I will enter in (9) different watermelon categories at the end of July.
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Sunday, March 17
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Planted GL-1 gourd seeds on 2-3-19
Planted watermelon seeds on 2-8-19
Grafted gourds to watermelons on 2-23-19
Resulting plants after 42 total days have passed
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Sunday, March 17
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All the recommended soil amendments have been out for a couple of weeks. Made the beds for the watermelons plants today.
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Tuesday, March 19
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Grafted plants on 3-19-19 before dark.
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Tuesday, March 19
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Another shot of the grafts after dark out in the greenhouse .
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Tuesday, March 19
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One last shot of the plants before heading inside . I also dug 25 holes where the plants will be planted that were 2' deep x 1' wide and will add 1' of pea gravel and 1' of sand at planting time to help with drainage and stump rot issues. I did this during the 2018 season and didn't lose a single stump to rot .
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Tuesday, March 19
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Grafted plants on 3-19-19.
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Tuesday, March 19
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Top shot of grafted plants on 3-19-19.
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Tuesday, March 19
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Grafted plants on 3-19-19 after dark under lights .
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Tuesday, March 19
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One cot graft on 3-19-19 .
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Wednesday, March 27
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(3) rows of watermelons / 25 holes 2' deep 1' wide that are filled with 1' of pea gravel and 1' of sand. Watermelons planted in the top 1' of sand .
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Wednesday, March 27
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Close up of a plant
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Wednesday, March 27
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Still another grafted plant
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Wednesday, March 27
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Last plant picture for today
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Sunday, March 31
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Watermelon plants on 3-31-19 just before I covered them up for the night. We are forecast to reach 38 degree's tonight .
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Sunday, April 7
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Got the middles cleaned up just before the big rain and storms came through last night .Next step is to get straw or hay down in the middles for weed prevention .
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Wednesday, April 10
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All melons are putting on good runners and have a lush green color !
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Wednesday, April 10
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Got some hay down ahead of the runners and I will cover the middles as I have some time .
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Wednesday, April 10
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A shot down one of the (3) rows
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Wednesday, April 10
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Close-up of one of the plants
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