Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 40 Entries. Saturday, February 27 View Page Practice grafts in the healing chamber. These are 5 days old, and still alive. Since I killed them all last year I must be getting better. 2 are jelly melon rootstocks with watermelon scions and 4 are the t. squash rootstocks with watermelon scions. I have 15 of t. squash and jelly melon rootstocks in individual cups growing that I started 1 week ago. I also found the bule gourd I had stashed away and pulled 15 seeds from it and started them today after soaking them a while.   Monday, March 1 View Page We spread out the composted cotton burrs from my fil today since we were having beautiful weather. The pile looked huge until we spread it out, and it didn’t cover the whole patch.   Tuesday, March 2 View Page Spreading out compost on the garden patch.   Friday, March 5 View Page Two lone survivors at 12 days from 9 grafts. One t. squash and one jelly melon as rootstocks with the 198 watermelon as scions. Two died right away and the other 5 recently. The jelly melon doesn’t look as good but the scion hasn’t wilted like the other ones.   Saturday, March 6 View Page There are two lone survivors of the 9 grafted plants. One squash and one jelly melon rootstock both with 198 Harrison watermelon scions. I have some more chances growing under the lights and germinating.   Tuesday, March 9 View Page The kids helped water everything today and next week hopefully I’m going to graft the keepers for this season. The squash are ready but I’m waiting for a few more watermelons. Next is jelly melon and bule gourds.   Tuesday, March 9 View Page Today, yesterday, and tomorrow. All windy. A brisk 30 constantly with gusts higher. I’m watering down the patch so it doesn’t blow much. I had the entire patch covered in rye but a family member used the leveler on it and now there are just patches of rye in the patch.   Thursday, March 11 View Page 198 watermelon on a t. squash rootstock looks nice this morning.   Thursday, March 11 View Page 198 watermelon on a jelly melon rootstock. It doesn’t look as nice as the squash, but it also almost died getting too cold in those negative temps we had in February. It went to 38 degrees in the man cave where I’ve put them all under the lights because a certain someone left the door open. Apparently that’s too cold for jelly melons bc all of them were wilted over at that point but we brought them back with warm water and a heater.   Sunday, March 14 View Page We grafted yesterday. All watermelon scions to 3 t. squash, 4 bule gourds, and 4 jelly melons. Then watched the CA seminar which was really enjoyable. I didn’t get to watch the gpc thing so it was nice to listen to other pumpkin enthusiasts before the season starts full force. So today we are watering and running the hot humidifier in the healing chamber and making a list of things to do differently this year along with a plan of action. The plan tends to go out the window in may or June but it gets later every year so a little at a time.   Monday, March 15 View Page Set out everything with a true leaf out under the barn in a mini greenhouse, which is really a piece of 6 mil painters plastic over a cattle panel and weighted down with bricks. I left the side towards the barn(north) completely open so it doesn’t get too hot. Hopefully in 10-14 days I have a high tunnel to keep them in until I transplant them out.   Tuesday, March 16 View Page Spring break fun is cleaning up the hay piles and manure from that awful cold last month.   Tuesday, March 16 View Page At this point we had a small Dr Pepper party in which we all split one.   Thursday, March 18 View Page I thinned the tomatoes to one per cup and the kids took the cuttings and planted them into cups that had grafted plants that had died. They are “no plants left dead” kind of people. They come and find me to report if they believe a plant is about to die. We had slushy snow/ice yesterday which was a quick turnabout from 75 degrees and sunny on Tuesday. The healed grafted plants are looking nice, and the second set is down to 2 bule gourd grafts and several jelly melons. I’m excited to think there might be several we can grow this year and see what works best for us here in the armpit of the farming world.   Friday, March 19 View Page Mowed off the cover crop today. With the moisture have plus the warmth today and the next few days it needed to be chopped before it was too tall to mow. Hopefully this time next week we will have a high tunnel or parts of one in this spot.   Friday, March 19 View Page Make hay while the sun shines, or, work when the weather is delightful? We set the shade cloth posts today and found a cow that likes to eat out of the kids’ hands. Her name is now Licker.   Saturday, March 20 View Page First till of the year today and it went pretty easy. I didn’t do a very thorough job, but it will be tilled probably once more before planting and then 2-3 times through the season for weeds. I couldn’t run a tiller last year, so my husband used the tractor and duck foot plow and it ended up with several ditches throughout. This year it looks very nice and level and even running the leveler over it a few months back didn’t pack it down much.   Tuesday, March 23 View Page Special delivery today. Assembly required but I think it will be worth the trouble in the end.   Friday, March 26 View Page I couldn’t get the whole arch in one photo but 3 down and 8 to go. Sidewalls and arches tomorrow and end walls maybe Sunday/Monday.   Sunday, March 28 View Page A little at a time!   Friday, April 2 View Page 9/9 squash rootstock with my 198 and several other Kansas watermelon scions still going at 1 week. Altogether we have 5 jelly melon grafts and maybe 11 squash grafts to pick from this year. I am also going to direct sow several. We’ve been transplanting tomatoes into larger cups a few at a time and the peppers will need it next. I’m thinking maybe next week for starting pumpkin seeds. I’ve been smelling herbicides every time I go outside lately. All the neighbors are using roundup and broadleaf killers for their cotton fields and pastures.   Friday, April 2 View Page 9/9 squash rootstock with my 198 and several other Kansas watermelon scions still going at 1 week. Altogether we have 5 jelly melon grafts and maybe 11 squash grafts to pick from this year. I am also going to direct sow several. We’ve been transplanting tomatoes into larger cups a few at a time and the peppers will need it next. I’m thinking maybe next week for starting pumpkin seeds. I’ve been smelling herbicides every time I go outside lately. All the neighbors are using roundup and broadleaf killers for their cotton fields and pastures.   Thursday, April 8 View Page Seed starting today! My little girl said she loves the purple one! A big thanks to Cecil for the seeds and always good advice!   Monday, April 12 View Page Marrows up last night. Started April 8.   Thursday, April 29 View Page Well we have been busy. We are working on the high tunnel- maybe we’ll get the side curtains and end wall frames up today. We have planted everything out giant wise except the giant tomato plants, and not all of our regular tomatoes and peppers. Lots of grafted watermelons and several pumpkins. One green giant squash. I will try to get pics and label all of them.   Thursday, April 29 View Page 198 Harrison watermelons grafted to jelly melon rootstocks   Thursday, April 29 View Page 198 Harrison watermelons with t. squash rootstock   Thursday, April 29 View Page 240 Prochaska watermelon grafted to jelly melon rootstocks   Thursday, April 29 View Page Extra 198 on jelly melon rootstock so I planted it by the green squash that doesn’t look as promising yet. 1423 Theil.   Thursday, April 29 View Page 370 Harrison pumpkins. The kids love to dust them with Sevin.   Thursday, April 29 View Page 1086 Weston pumpkins. The plan is to cross the 1086 and the 370 for a nice heat resistant plant that has pretty orange pumpkins to hand out to OK 4H kids to grow. I might grow a few too!   Thursday, April 29 View Page Down to plastic, end walls, and drop curtains. It’s good news because the pumpkin under the cattle panel hoop house is beginning to vine.   Monday, May 3 View Page I found some alfalfa pellets that were just alfalfa so I bought a 50 lb sack. It’s difficult to find some around here that don’t have salt mixed in. When I went home I poured them in a large tub and mixed water with them to turn them to mush. If you let them dry like that they turn into powder. I will till them in with the rye cover as I amend the soil as the plant grows.   Tuesday, May 18 View Page Just got back from the Grand Canyon r2r hike and nothing died thanks to my husband’s care. It is about time to cull though and I snapped off a grafted watermelon accidentally while untangling it this morning after some steady winds last night. I’ve never just snapped anything off before but it may be bc it was the t. squash graft. It was my second choice in that a lot anyway. I really have liked the ureamate fertilizer for feeding the pumpkins and the one squash. I would really like a squash this year!! Maybe pics when I’m outside.   Tuesday, May 18 View Page The 1701 Weston that’s my keeper in the high tunnel if I can ever get it covered   Tuesday, June 22 View Page First pollination on 198 Harrison grafted to t. sq rootstock. Not sure on dap but I think it was during my sinus surgery or right before it last week.   Wednesday, June 23 View Page 198 graft plant   Wednesday, June 23 View Page Graft union on 198   Monday, July 12 View Page 220 ott yesterday at dap 25.   Monday, July 12 View Page Set up on dap 10 and it’s a nice white one. Watermelons doing well, so is other pumpkin and giant squash but the marrow got aphids and didn’t want to set a marrow even before then. I may pull it bc I’m tired of it’s drama lol