Home What's New Message Board
BigPumpkins.com
Select Destination Site Search
 
Marv. - 2020 Grower Diary Point your RSS aggregator here to subscribe to this Grower Diary.

Show Entries in

Grower Diary Menu
  Back to Previous Page
List Other Grower's Diaries
Submit to Your Own Diary

 
Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 45 Entries.
Tuesday, April 7 View Page
Still stuck in Florida. I thought I would try posting something. This is my very first entry. My garden is planned. I just need to get there and start.
 
Thursday, April 30 View Page
I am just trying to get a diary going. I had trouble doing it from my phone. This is a picture of an old shed near us in Pennsylvania.
 
Sunday, May 10 View Page
Getting ready.
 
Sunday, May 10 View Page
See a groundhog, catch a groundhog. They love apples.
 
Sunday, May 10 View Page
My garden this year is covered with a tarp. This is to prevent leeching and to keep the soil from turning into mud. It will come off the first warm day and my spring nutrients will be added and worked into the top three inches of soil. Then I will broadfork it.
 
Wednesday, May 13 View Page
Nutrients added and raked in to top ten inches of soil. Next comes the fork.
 
Wednesday, May 13 View Page
The fork is 12 inches long. You push it all the way in and then rock it . You do not turn the soil over.
 
Wednesday, May 13 View Page
On the left is an old potato fork. In the middle is a long fork. On the right is a long digging fork. I ended up using the long fork.
 
Wednesday, May 13 View Page
This is what the soil looked like when I was done.
 
Thursday, May 14 View Page
Waiting to start the fire.
 
Friday, May 15 View Page
Walkways and drip lines are in. Have not turned the water on yet.
 
Saturday, May 16 View Page
These two tanks hold 3000 gallons of rainwater which I collect from the roof of my house. After I collect it I pump it to my garden as needed.
 
Monday, May 18 View Page
This twine and these tomato clips along with 9 feet long rebar pieces will make up my tomato support system. It makes it easier to get to the plants as you prune them. I will show a picture of it all later in the season.
 
Thursday, May 21 View Page
Anyone read this book. Cold and windy today. Not good.
 
Friday, May 22 View Page
Clean up time.
 
Tuesday, May 26 View Page
Leaf mold mulch is now in place. Never leave the soil bare. Drip system is under the mulch. Next will come the tomato support system. In about a week I will pull back some of the mulch where the plants will go. It has not rained for over a week.
 
Friday, May 29 View Page
Support twine is in place, long cord from rebar to rebar and then the cord running down to where plant will be. The first cord will hold the first stem. Later another cord will go to the second stem. Tomato clips will be attached to the vertical twine and will hold the stems.
 
Friday, May 29 View Page
The 2020 lineup. Hope springs eternal.
 
Sunday, May 31 View Page
Years ago many Germans and Italians came to this area from Europe. Some Italians were stone masons and they carved huge stones used in buildings and bridges. When the stone was finished they carved their mark into it. Later these stones were repurposed. See the letter S carved in this stone used to make my garden?
 
Sunday, May 31 View Page
See it?
 
Sunday, May 31 View Page
The brewer is getting hooked up. Looks okay.
 
Sunday, May 31 View Page
Made a friend in the garden today. He surprised me. I was working on a wall and picked up a big stone. I let him live. A timber rattler.
 
Friday, June 5 View Page
Starting to drench.
 
Friday, June 5 View Page
Drench materials.
 
Tuesday, June 16 View Page
5 gallon bucket attempt. Way behind Porkchop!.
 
Saturday, June 20 View Page
Nothing exciting yet. Plants are 30 days old. Ivan see a few beginning blossoms here and there.
 
Sunday, June 21 View Page
The beginning. Not really big but something.
 
Tuesday, June 30 View Page
Garlic time. Hot and dry here. Lots of sun. Just starting to get tomato blossoms.
 
Tuesday, June 30 View Page
Compost pile is 100 degrees. Looks like it is fungal. If bacterial temp would probably be higher.
 
Wednesday, July 8 View Page
Hot and dry. We need some relief like lower temperatures and rain. The soil is cracking around the garden.
 
Monday, July 13 View Page
Delicious. At least a triple. So far, so good.
 
Wednesday, July 15 View Page
Pruned by my deer friends. This is what takes place outside my fence.
 
Saturday, July 18 View Page
Here is Lambchop supported by tomato clips and twine.
 
Saturday, July 25 View Page
Just for fun I decided to take some temperatures in my garden. The temperatures of my tomato leaves averaged around 95 degrees, some higher and some lower. Tomatoes averaged 94 degrees. Air temperature was 92. It is around 3 PM and so the sun is a little to the west. Photosynthesis stops at 95 degrees. Big tomatoes need a shade cloth here at midday. I have no really big ones so it probably does not matter.
 
Monday, July 27 View Page
Here is my new idea. This is experimental. There is a tomato plant growing in a pot. Usually I would be growing in the ground. Around the plant is a concrete reinforcement wire cage. On top is an old umbrella. Shade cloth is what I plan on using. It is noon and the sun is directly overhead and heating up my plants. The plant will get all of the morning and afternoon sun but less damaging midday sun. This could be used in late July and early August, the hottest months with the most direct sunlight. This needs work but I think is worth considering.
 
Tuesday, August 18 View Page
Off to a slow start. This was grown from an old seed from Minnie, an original Big Zac.
 
Tuesday, August 18 View Page
Lots of smaller tomatoes.
 
Thursday, August 20 View Page
This just might be my biggest this year. Not good. Too hot and dry for tomatoes.
 
Thursday, August 20 View Page
Getting ready for sauce.
 
Thursday, August 27 View Page
Now they come.
 
Saturday, August 29 View Page
This is it. Not a good year. This is the best I could do in the hottest driest year I can remember. Grown from Domingo 623 given to me by Konieczny. Thanks again for the seed.
 
Sunday, August 30 View Page
Tomatoes in there .
 
Monday, August 31 View Page
Seeds drying for next year .
 
Wednesday, September 30 View Page
My 5 gallon bucket tomato.
 
Friday, October 2 View Page
Here is my single nearly 4 pound tomato grown in a pot using Canadian, a newly introduced seed variety. I got the seeds from Mike Parenty. The seeds were not planted until July 11.
 

 

Top of Page

Questions or comments? Send mail to Ken AT bigpumpkins.com.
Copyright © 1999-2024 BigPumpkins.com. All rights reserved.