Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 68 Entries. Saturday, April 9 View Page Yep, another Dan growing giant tomatoes. It's a good name.   Sunday, April 10 View Page From my no-name 4.82 Big Zac last season. Big boy pants day!   Thursday, April 14 View Page Been working on perfecting my air stone broth recipe. Could make a great appetizer someday. There was a bit of a conflict sharing the cooktop though. Will need to plan a little better.   Sunday, April 17 View Page 1st stringers getting a little taste of real sunlight & a moderate breeze, perfect socal weather.   Sunday, April 17 View Page Seven horses seem to be on the mark   Sunday, April 17 View Page For fun, trying a Chris Brown "wide head" sunflower.   Sunday, April 17 View Page Bud showing on the Farmer Brown Wide-head sunflower plant. Plant is ~6' tall.   Monday, April 18 View Page This is the WR 11.65 clone plant. Recall, I saved a 18" growth tip from the top of the OG 11.65 seed plant and stuck it deep into this pot a few weeks ago. This plant is seemingly doing okay, yet isn't thriving. Had a similar experience last season with a 9.06 Brown clone. IMHO, the jury is still out WRT tomato clones, I've had no success after two seasons. Between the "meh" growth factor, compounded with another round of nill T1 or T2 megas, I've lost interest. In addition, seemingly a case of powdery mildew running through the backyard "garden" is now affect this plant (see bottom left branch) & many of my older plants. I've seen enough and am aggressively clearing things out for the next round plants. Will likely try the 11.65 seed again next season, hope others lucky enough to get a few seeds at auction have better luck.   Tuesday, April 19 View Page Stones hard at work making tomorrow's Soup Du Jour   Thursday, April 21 View Page Received a very cool package, thanks Porkchop and Ron Wallace!!   Monday, April 25 View Page Here's the same seedling from my 4.82 Big Zac grown from big store junk seed. This has been my crash test dummy seedling. I've thrown the kitchen sink at this poor little guy, testing the limits. Looks like I can still press harder. The elite lineage seedlings in the hopper need to buckle up.   Friday, April 29 View Page Same 4.82 plant. 10 days of growth after transplanting. Loving the early tree trunk girth. Was using this plant to test my soil mix, i'm stoked with the results. It's a shame it didn't get a starting spot. Will pot it up this weekend as a standy plant in case one of my competition plants implodes.   Friday, April 29 View Page Dang it, I got the date wrong. Actual transplant date was 4/10. That'd be ridiculous growth for 10-days, lol.   Monday, May 2 View Page This is a 10x zoom from my phone, no tripod. Camera technology is just mind blowing. Really liking the shape of this truss 1 mega from my 4.82 BZ. So far, 3 for 4 on truss 1 megas. My remaining 4 competition plants aren't too far behind from T1 showing.   Thursday, May 5 View Page Groovy, man   Thursday, May 12 View Page What a PIG!! Quad+ maybe, hard to tell? Another experimental no-name Big Zac, hope this translates to my competition plants.   Sunday, May 15 View Page Much bigger than a quarter now. Starting to close up. Man I hope this thing sets. Been pretty chilly at night the last few days so time will tell.   Monday, May 23 View Page From the large Big Zac blossom i posted last week, a nice fruit has emerged. Quite surprised it set cuz the nightly temps were in the low 50s. Seems to be a solid quad or maybe even a quint. This is ~5 DAP. The plant is still fairly small, yet the fruit growth rate is quite impressive (to me anyway, lol). Hoping that the fruit growth doesn't outpace the nutrient uptake ability of the early root system.   Friday, May 27 View Page This T1 mega is a mega hot mess. Can't make much sense of it yet. Guessing it'll be big dud, too much weirdness going on.   Sunday, May 29 View Page These things are pure evil. I'm told they're Blossom Midges, I know them by many other very salty names.   Thursday, June 2 View Page Blossom Midge flak jacket   Thursday, June 16 View Page Same 4.82 Big Zac plant from April 10 and beyond, still in the same 1 gallon pot. I had been keeping it around as an emergency reserve plant, but now I'm keeping it feed just to see what happens. Is there a 1 gallon challenge, lol? Got several nice megas going on the competition plants too.   Saturday, June 18 View Page Jail break, lock the windows and doors!   Saturday, June 25 View Page same 1gal plant.... this poor gal is a real go getter & still going strong, but i never gave her fighting chance. let's how far she goes for fun. a few of my comp fruits are showing some real vigor, excited to see if they can keep up the pace!   Wednesday, July 6 View Page Still going. It's looking like the Charlie Brown Christmas tree after he put on the ornament, lol.   Saturday, July 9 View Page Hooked a nice one.   Sunday, July 17 View Page For fun, attempting to grow a Chris Brown wide head sunflower.   Tuesday, July 19 View Page Same 4.82 Big Zac plant from April 10, still in the 1 gallon pot. It finally flashed yesterday. I'm thankful, it's looking pretty rough. Will post the weight for fun in a few days.   Tuesday, July 19 View Page New PB, soooo stoked! Seed is from the 8.105 MacDonald. Harvested on DAP 42. Was a first truss quint on wide, oblong stem. I'll post a pick of the pedicel's cross-section in next post cuz it seems pretty cool.   Tuesday, July 19 View Page Thought this was pretty neat. Hmmmm, perhaps some internal structure damage on the outer right from the electric toothbrush method during the germination stage? It's def got me wondering.   Thursday, July 21 View Page This is a wonky Big Zac mega, seemingly a leaf that thought is was supposed to be sepal.   Friday, July 22 View Page A lovely Truss 1 fruit has set on the 5.51 MegaMarv plant. Seed was 11 years old. This is DAP 3. Had to go way back on the tomato message board to 2016 to learn about the MegaMarv. According to Mr. Meisner... "MegaMarv is not a cross. It is an heirloom probably originally from Italy. I got it in Canada as a no name heirloom from an old Italian guy at The Great Tomato Hunt. It never had a name and I have long ago lost his if he ever gave it to me. I have grown it now for nearly 10 years."   Monday, July 25 View Page Final post on this plant grown in a one gallon pot.... again, seed was from my no-name 4.82 Big Zac last season. Germinated on 3/14, harvested today 7/25. That's 133 days. Was a truss 1 double. This poor plant had extreme levels of fert thrown at it and OD'd several times, I was experimenting with the limits. The entire plant turned a weird purple hue at some point. I'd heavy flush it and it would eventually bounce back. Final weight 2.262 pounds. Crazy.   Wednesday, July 27 View Page MegaMarv seems to be progressing nicely, 8 DAP. Lots of nooks and crannies. Not sure if that's good or bad.   Sunday, July 31 View Page I'm also taking a crack at a wide head sunflower. Got some great seed stock from my pal Chris Brown. It's now 8' tall. The head showed a few days ago and is now tracking the sun. so freakin' cool, never new that's why called it a sunflower, lol. I have no idea what I'm doing and can't garner any support on the BP sunflower message board, so I'm gonna keep wingin' it. Up to this point, It's got the same ferts as my giant Toms, plus now the SF is getting VERY heavy doses of bloom ferts. Hope i don't OD it.   Sunday, July 31 View Page That's annoying. Not sure why it posted sideways, that's def' not what I submitted. I've seen many, MANY others have the same issue. It's a free site administered by volunteers so we can't complain.   Monday, August 1 View Page 3 DAP on my 2,703 Cutrupi. 15ft out on the main vine. Plant looks fantastic, secondaries spread wide and going strong. No SVBs in sight & no rain in the forecast. More to come next post.....   Monday, August 1 View Page Just kiddin'... but i know most of y'all knew it was just goof. It's a decorative gourd from the seed exchange, lol. Yes, it has leaf borers. This poor plant has been ignored, I'm surprised it even produced a gourd w/o assistance. Hope my gem corn works out so we can have a fun homegrown fall display.   Wednesday, August 3 View Page Got a truss 3 triple (T3T) on the megamarv, but I decided to roll with the Truss 1 triple as it's well positioned and progressing at a good clip. For kicks, but mostly because the timing was perfect, I emasculated the T3T and cross pollinated it with pollen from an elite lineage Domingo. Maybe a fresh cross for next season. I know Wixom (Konieczny) is the real pioneer and has had great success crossing those megamarvs.   Monday, August 8 View Page Here's an updated pic of that wonky sepal/leaf bloom from July 21. The bloom actually took and is swelling at a decent clip. If you look closely, there are quite a few leaves that make up the calyx. It's 11 DAP. I've never named a tomato before, but Weird Wint recommended that I give this one a name.... so I'm goin' with Hydra.   Monday, August 8 View Page Here's the 5.51 MegaMarv today at 20 DAP. The nooks and crannies are scarring over. It's oddly situated cuz the bottom is facing vertical. On the bright side, I can easily inspect for BER. Will take a circ measurement tonight.   Monday, August 8 View Page Uh oh, it was just pointed out that back in 2020 Weird Wint actually called one of his tomato plants "Hydra". Here i thought i was being original, lol. Sorry Austin, I'll go with "Medusa" instead.   Monday, August 8 View Page Hey, check it out... I've cultivated a new species, a RainbowFlower. First time we've seen rain in several months.   Thursday, August 11 View Page The T3T (Truss 3 Triple) cross attempt took! 5.51 MegaMarv (female) crossed with a Sutherland domingo (male) I got from the seed exchange.   Monday, August 15 View Page The Chris Brown widehead sunflower is in the bloom stage. ~14" in diameter right now. Lots of bee activity and i really pissed them off while measuring, which was not the smartest move while on a ladder.   Monday, August 15 View Page Some culls are harder than others. This one was tough. Went all in on a higher up quad+ on the 9.09 La Rue plant.   Wednesday, August 17 View Page I have no idea what i'm doing with this sunflower, but this baby bump sure is cool. Giving it daily crazy high doses of high P & K solubles. Those dang finches love the leaves and could care less about the nearby shiney pinwheel. While they're wrecking the leaves they're always eyeballing the future seeds.   Friday, August 19 View Page The 5.51 MegaMarv, 31 DAP. Good thing it's not a beauty contest, lol. That T3T cross "seed tomato" above it is now growing fast too. In hindsight, maybe not the smartest move cuz it's surely robbing energy and nutrients from this truss 1 fruit.   Friday, August 26 View Page The 5.51 Meisner megamarv fruit is just about al dente. Still looking solid, so I'll let it go just a tad more. This should help out my Tomato Challenge draft team. Hopefully, a few more still in the queue.   Monday, August 29 View Page So here's result from the 5.51 Meisner (MegaMarv). a meager 3.90lbs. Supremely disappointed. So sorry Marv, i did my best given my current knowledge. I did get new cross out this plant, so happy with that.   Wednesday, August 31 View Page Topside of the MegaMarv from the 5.51 Meisner 2011. Not gonna register w/ GPC as its lighter than my first two submissions.   Friday, September 2 View Page A few more tough culls this AM. Last year i didn't have many options & these would have been cherished, lol.   Friday, September 2 View Page I should have pointed out that is Medusa. I had trimmed the textra foliage. After a giving her a chance, she didn't earn her keep, but her younger sibling.... just maybe.   Friday, September 2 View Page Re-posting on the correct date... Bud showing on the Farmer Brown Wide-head sunflower plant. Plant is ~6' tall. Very dense leaf structure.   Sunday, September 4 View Page So here's another blast from the past..... a fruit from the infamous 6.83 Boudyo 2013 seed. Not an eye popping result, but it'll keep the elite legacy going. This 6.83 Boudyo seed has grown several 7 & 8 pound Big Zacs, so i plan to grow this lineage again next year. For some reason I have less BER problems w/ the BZs. I won't be registering this one either, too small, but wanted to at least document it here.   Thursday, September 8 View Page My 1st wide sunflower. Circ 50", over-the-top (no petals) 21.5". Over the top with "petals" 24.5". I'm pleased and will try again next year. Wonder what the CA record is? Are wide sunflowers even tracked? My attempt at growing decorative corn was bust. Beautiful plants, but terrible pollination. Not doing that again. Plenty of sunflower measurement pix & vid available if ever needed.   Wednesday, September 14 View Page My second cross of the season.... This is a "seed tomato" grown from my 8.36 Strickler MegaDom plant. Wasn't getting any megas on the plant, so I meticulously emasculated a fat single and crossed it with pollen from a top-shelf Sutherland Domingo (got Dan's seed in the seed exchange). Effectively, it's parents are a massive MegaDom crossed with a heavy-weight Domingo. So that would make the offspring a MegaDom-Dom cross. Will def' need a better name. Hit me up if you want to try these seeds next year (assuming there are seeds in there, lol). Note, this fruit won't be registered with the GPC as it's lighter than my earlier submissions.   Friday, September 30 View Page This is a pic of my last official '22 GPC submission. Sept 30 is the "Early Tomato" deadline. I have several more in the tank at various stages, but they won't be eligible for online submissions even though they'd be weighed on a official certified scale. This might be against the grain, but in IMHO the "Early Tomato" date (and name) should to be revisited. For better or worse, not all of us live near the 49th parallel nor can attend remote GPC events. Nonetheless, i respect the current rules & totally appreciate all that the GPC does, I know it's a thankless job. Thank you to all that make the GPC engine run.   Saturday, October 1 View Page Next up... a well formed 5+ caterpillar up high on the 8.36 Strickler. Gonna have to cull a nice truss 1 fruit that's mid-stride in favor of this beauty. Plant is looking super healthy w/ lots of roots & leaves to push this one.   Sunday, October 2 View Page House money cull from the 8.36 Strickler MegaDom plant. Rollin' with the upper caterpillar fruit w/ a ribbon stem.   Wednesday, October 5 View Page Ggggaaahhhhhh!! Gosh dang it!! BER is freakin' evil and a soul killer!! This mater is totally gonzo now and i had just culled a nice fruit in favor of this one. I made a rookie mistake that some of you vets will know. I'm still learning and won't make the same mistake again. I have a few more toms still in the works and a bit of time to grow before it gets too cold here... it's experimental time now. I've got a few ideas. Dreaming of '2023.   Friday, November 11 View Page Happy Veteran's to all those USA growers who have serve in the military like myself. Let's all try to put the political divisiveness aside for the day & remember all those current serving and especially all those that have served before us. My flag is proudly flying out front. Still got several healthy tomato plants going. Trying some new ideas out. This fruit is from a Sutherland Big Zac "ribbon" seed (year & weight unknown). Temps are dipping into the low 40s at night so fruit growth rates have slowed dramatically. Got a really nice quad domingo going too from my 5.48 pounder from earlier this season, we'll see where it goes. Also set up a grow tent in the corner of my garage to play with. Wife just asked me why the garage smelled like "the beach" (ie seaweed & fish), lol. I'm attempting to growing a single tomato plant for Chris Brown's winter grow contest. Anyone interest in playing should check out his facebook page "Garden of Giants".   Tuesday, December 6 View Page My indoor "winter" grow experiment is progressing well, so far. Still tweaking the day/night temps and trying to get the humidity down. Will narrow it down to one or two tomato plants soon. Fingers crossed that at least one Truss 1 mega shows up.   Saturday, December 10 View Page My mini indoor grow trial seems to be progressing well. The top two seedlings that made the cut are from the 9.06 Brown lineage. Keeping the other two seedlings around from the 8.105 McDonald line. Trying to be patient while the other T1 buds mature.   Thursday, December 22 View Page Whoa, indoor growing in a small grow tent has proven to be quite challenging & very humbling. Started 8 seeds. 6 of 8 plants we're looking great, but they just didn't produce any impressive T1 megas. As meticulous as I've been, there's obviously an outdoor/indoor growing concept that I'm missing. I can't quite pinpoint it yet & I'm getting a bit burnt out trying. Anyway, this is the last plant standing & this T1 mega is not even eye popping either. We'll see if I can bring it home & at least grow a fruit.   Tuesday, December 27 View Page Grow tent update.... T1 bud starting to drop pollen, hoping it takes. Will try to help it along for the next few days.   Friday, December 30 View Page So, my last remaining outdoor tomato plant had seen better days, but was still limping along with a slowly ripening Truss 1 mega. My goal was to harvest on Jan 01, 2023 so it would count towards an '23 GPC submission. Went out back this afternoon to check on it and to my chagrin found what appears to be bird damage. So this fruit will go down as follows... 5.54 Greene 2022 (UOW & DMG) This would have been a new PB for me by a skosh. The seed was from a 6.23 Konieczny 2019, Domingo. This seed should not be confused with the 6.23 Konieczny 2016 which was a MegaMarv. The 6.23 Domingo is an F1 from the infamous 5.95 Konieczny 2016. Maybe too much information for most reading this (especially those AG growers), but serious tomato growers will surely know the potential of this lineage.   Friday, December 30 View Page It was pointed out that my use of the word "infamous" in describing the 5.95 Konie could be construed as being negative. I hope everyone knows that was meant to be the ultimate compliment.