Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 65 Entries. Wednesday, February 14 View Page Love Hurts – Pliny the Younger (1552 Young x 1634 Rea) lasted until Valentine’s day, or so I thought. When I opened him up, Pliny was just a shell of his former self. His insides had rotted from the bottom up and his guts were mush. Only got two dozen viable seeds…   Tuesday, March 19 View Page Hope Springs Eternal – Poppies and mustard are starting to flower after the long wet winter storms. Today is the first day of spring and the soil is still too wet to work. Most of my time in the patch is painstakingly picking the weeds amid the poppies…   Thursday, March 21 View Page Poppy Riot ‘23 – Last spring, volunteer Flander’s Poppies ran riot in my front patch. I let them hang around and finally hacked some room for the pumpkin plants in late April. Later in the year, I had serious soil disease issues with my pumpkins. This year, things are gonna be different...   Thursday, March 21 View Page Killer of the Flower Moon – The killer tiller is now in the patch turning the poppies under. They had just started to bloom but I will not be seduced. I plan to plant a quick crop of mustard along with a splash of mefenoxam to help suppress some of the pesky patch soil pests...   Thursday, March 21 View Page Don’t Cry for me – The California poppies along the perimeter of the patch look aghast as their red brothers are mowed down and tilled in. Hopefully, their sacrifice will not be in vain...   Sunday, March 31 View Page The Mustard has Risen – The patch shows a faint patina of green as the mustard sprouts ascend on Easter morning. Hallelujah...   Monday, April 8 View Page Tillin’ in the Shadow - I tilled up a new spot for the tomatoes in the half-light of the eclipse. Here’s a shot of the tomato patch right at the peak of the eclipse in my area. (about 40%) The sun clearly dimmed for about ½ hour which helped cut down on the sweat factor. I could use one of these eclipses every day...   Monday, April 8 View Page Who Cut the Mustard? – If you’re wondering why I’m growing mustard while most folks are planting pumpkins, I’m resting most the patch this year due to soil disease issues. I will try to grow a pretty one in a corner of the patch which was not used last year...   Sunday, April 21 View Page Diggin’ for Treasure – While some folks promote no-till, I double till for the tomatoes. I first amend and till as deep as I can. Then I dig a trench along the planting line, amend with lots of compost and other goodies then till it in. The last step is to move the top soil back. 16 inches of fluffy stuff under their belt and the roots are foot loose and dancin’...   Sunday, April 21 View Page Cornered – I tilled the mustard under in a corner of the patch where I will try to grow a pretty one this year. Should end up with over 150 square feet for the plant, but the plant will be restricted from the diseased areas of the patch...   Sunday, April 21 View Page April Showers – It hasn’t rained in a week and the mustard was running out of gas...   Tuesday, April 30 View Page Mustard Monster Mash – The mustard is over a foot tall and I’m tilling it under in the full patch. The tiller is doing a good job of chopping the mustard up as it turns it under…   Tuesday, April 30 View Page Carnage Continues – Mighty Mustard is not so mighty if you knock it down young enough. When I finished, I gave the patch a good soak. We’ll see if this mustard gas treatment helps with the soil disease issues...   Tuesday, April 30 View Page Temple of Light – I draped Christmas lights on my pumpkin lifting rig and had an awesome Christmas display over the holidays. Next I plan on transforming the tripod into a trellis for some pole beans...   Wednesday, May 1 View Page Mayday – Got the girls in the ground on May 1. To the right is Forever Young (1552 Young x Self). On the left is Pliny the Younger (1552 Young x 1634 Rea). I expect them to fight like cats for the spot...   Friday, May 10 View Page Double Trouble – What I hate most about double planting. How do you pick the keeper?   Sunday, May 12 View Page Totally Tomatoes – Finally got the heirloom tomatoes planted in the back patch. I have some Pink Brandywine and another meaty heirloom called Rose. Also planted a couple of Super Sweet 100 cherry tomatoes, just to see if they could live up to their name...   Tuesday, May 21 View Page Pretty Baby – The fight to the death for a spot in the patch is over. The Pliny the Younger plant (1552 Young x 1634 Rea) won by TKO. The Forever Young plant was actually growing faster which made it sensitive to sunburn. Looks like Pliny’s child, a very pretty baby, is gonna become a toddler in the next few days...   Friday, May 24 View Page Reach for the Sky – Pliny’s offspring refuses to lay down - despite my best efforts to coax her down. Why run when you can fly? It’s beginning to look like it’s going to take a kink in the main to teach her that pumpkins can’t fly...   Tuesday, May 28 View Page Kinky Stuff – The main finally landed – hard and leaving a serious kink in the vine. All I could do is build a little elevated landing pad to reduce the angle a bit. I used to think this was a real problem but the juice seems to flow through the constriction ok. What doesn’t kill ya makes ya stronger...   Friday, June 7 View Page Life on the Lava – Spent the last 5 days on the big island at a private ocean-front estate in Waikoloa. It made the nearby Hilton and Marriott resorts look like low rent dives. This is the view from the poolside bar. Worked on my tan with the sea turtles sunning on the tumbled coral beach. Forgot all about pumpkins...   Friday, June 7 View Page Snake and Tomatoes – Back home I found a 3 foot gopher snake hopelessly ensnared in the bird netting over the tomatoes. I thought he was dead but he came to life when I started cutting him out. I had to wrestle with him as I hacked...   Friday, June 7 View Page Say Cheese – The netting was tightly tangled around the first foot of his body. At first he tried to bite as I was sipping him out but he soon seemed to realize I was trying to help and just coiled around my arm and held still as I worked. It took me over half an hour to completely unsnarl him. Happy hunting buddy...   Friday, June 7 View Page Double or Nothing – My plant survived my trip with no care and no water. Over the five days it doubled in size. I have a thin layer of wood chips spread around the plant which really helps retain ground moisture. Gave her a good soaking just to cheer her up a bit…   Friday, June 7 View Page Skydiving Moles – Caught a mole pushing up dirt in the tomatoes. Was able to launch him airborne with one quick scoop of the shovel. Just like the moles, I love that fluffy soil. By the way, moles tunnel better than they fly...   Friday, June 14 View Page Slinky – She’s got legs and she knows how to use them. The main vine has nice long spacing between leaf nodes giving the big leaves lots of room to grow. The main is 12’ long now with the first female at 10 feet...   Friday, June 14 View Page Baby Stripes – Green stripes on baby means a bright orange lady...   Tuesday, June 25 View Page The Wall – The tomatoes have completely swallowed the tomato cages and I’ve got my hokey home-made supports installed to try to contain their enthusiasm. I found a few early sets about the size of apricots on the Pink Brandywines. Tomatoes eagerly promote global warming. They love the heat...   Tuesday, June 25 View Page Idle Hands are the Devil’s Playground – With only one small giant plant to work on, it seems like there is not much to do in the garden. The Pliny the Younger plant (1552 Young x 1634 Rea) always seemed like it wanted to fly so I decided to give her a ramp for take off. This may end badly. Taking off is easy. It’s the landings that git ya...   Tuesday, June 25 View Page Aviation Pioneer – I decided to name the pumpkin on this plant Amelia Airheart. She’s taking off with big plans and a happy heart. No one knows where she’s gonna come down...   Saturday, June 29 View Page Git a Grip – Amelia clutches for traction as she hurtles skyward...   Saturday, June 29 View Page Altitude Adjustment – Altitude is now over 4 feet and gaining 330 milli-inches per hour. Amelia is in a steep climb. When she reaches the top of the escalator, its blue sky’s ahead...   Saturday, June 29 View Page Sky Child – Peering at the cosmos from the wings of Orion...   Wednesday, July 3 View Page Cat Scat – I’ve been wondering why I’ve been seeing very few deer on my property this summer. Then I started catching glimpses of a mountain lion in my backyard security cam at night. I’ve seen him four times now in the last few weeks. You can’t buy a better deer deterrent. Leo the Lion is about the size of a German Shepard only longer, lower and a lot less friendly...   Wednesday, July 3 View Page Cruising Altitude – When Amelia blew through 6 feet elevation, I lassoed her dragon head and gently started coaxing her to flatter trajectory. I set up a landing pad for her but she doesn’t seem too interested...   Friday, July 5 View Page Sky High – Amelia flies high over the waves and waves of wannabe’s. Can you spot her? I think it’s time to trim the entourage back a bit...   Sunday, July 7 View Page Venison Takeout – My backyard buddy, Leo the Lion, culls the herd...   Sunday, July 7 View Page Mile High Club – Amelia is getting the urge to drop her skirts in the morning. She’s the fifth female on the main about 27 nautical feet from the stump. She’s blasted more than 5,000 millifeet over the surface of the planet and will be looking for a good time...   Thursday, July 11 View Page Leftovers – Found some of Leo the Lion’s leftovers out by the tomatoes this morning. Sure is a messy eater...   Saturday, July 13 View Page Fallen Angel – Amelia at 5 dap is in a steep descent toward her landing pad. Her co-pilot to the left just open her parachute this morning and is waiting in the wings just in case Amelia crashes and burns...   Saturday, July 13 View Page Hidden Temple – The scarlet runner pole beans haven’t shown their colors yet but should light up Amelia’s hiding place in center of the tepee when they start to glow. If everything goes to plan, I shouldn’t have to move the tripod when Amelia wants a lift...   Saturday, July 20 View Page Turbulent Landing – At day 12, Amelia Airheart is safely on the landing pad. The landing was rough, however. She suffered a glancing shot as the plywood was moved under her butt and a series of deep splits have opened up on her stem...   Saturday, July 20 View Page Magical Kingdom – Amelia in her special garden...   Tuesday, July 23 View Page Hiding in Plain Sight – Amelia is growing nicely now, gaining 5” circ. over the last 24 hrs. At 15 dap she tapes 50 pounds...   Friday, July 26 View Page Split Personality – Starting around 8 dap, Amelia’s stem started splitting and oozing in half a dozen places. Some of the splits went into the top of the pumpkin. The worst splitting was the interface between the vine and the stem which split over 60% around the stem. I thought she was a goner, but everything has stabilized, healed up and scarred over. My daily dusting with sulfur power seems to have helped give the stem a chance to heal...   Sunday, July 28 View Page Happy Birthday! – Amelia is 20 days old today. She is now taping 134 pounds ott and is 76” circ. She’s bigger than both of her parents were at this age. I’m a bit surprised, since there is only about 200 square feet of plant behind her and the last 8 feet of the main is airborne...   Sunday, July 28 View Page Umbilical Cord – Amelia suckles on her feeding tube which drops down from the fueling station overhead...   Sunday, July 28 View Page Peek-a-boo – The curtain of Scarlet Runner pole beans is slowly closing in. Amelia does not want to be found...   Friday, August 2 View Page Flocks of Tomatoes – My heirloom tomatoes have had a population explosion. The hot June weather caused a massive early set. First time ever I’ve harvested ripe Pink Brandywines in July. In the next few weeks, the dam will burst red...   Friday, August 2 View Page Cucurbita Obscura – From the street, Amelia Airheart has faded from view. Cloaked in a scarlet shield of invisibility...   Friday, August 2 View Page Snug as a Bug – At day 25 Amelia tapes 240 pounds ott in her special private place. Circ. is 98”. She had her first 30 pound day today. You grow girl...   Wednesday, August 7 View Page Triceratops – The scarlet runner pole beans have reached the tripod top. 16 feet up and still running strong...   Wednesday, August 7 View Page Over the Hill – Day thirty and Amelia is estimated at 360 pounds and showing the first blush of orange. Circumference is 115”. Mommy would be proud...   Sunday, August 11 View Page The Red Tide – I’m gonna need a little help here. I’ve harvested a total of 88 pounds of Solanum Lycopersicum so far. The biggest one is just under 2 pounds. There’s an additional 20 pounds of ripe Pink Brandywines now on the vines with a lot more still to come...   Monday, August 12 View Page Rambling On – At 35 days Amelia has more than doubled her weight in the last 10 days. Now about 500 pounds and casually cruising at the speed limit of 25 pounds a day. The weather has been perfect and it looks like green lights ahead...   Saturday, August 17 View Page Inside the Scarlet Womb – I squeezed inside the pole bean tepee to take this shot of Amelia on Day 40. Amelia is starting to color up and rib out. She tapes just over 600 pounds OTT and growth has slowed down to 20lbs/day for the last 5. I’m actually relieved she’s slowing down because she’s starting to outgrow her 4’ by 4’ landing pad...   Friday, August 23 View Page Sweet Curves Ahead – Amelia’s getting some nice curves, in all the right places. At day 45 she’s not in a hurry, averaging about 15 pounds a day. It’s not the meat. It’s the motion...   Tuesday, August 27 View Page Red Rush – Diane processes 80 pounds of tomatoes into 8 gallons of tomato sauce and soup. So far I have harvested over 340 pounds of tomatoes from my 6 plants. No exaggeration. They were coming at some 20 pounds a day for over two weeks. Best harvest ever. Our friends and neighbors seemed very happy to help...   Tuesday, August 27 View Page Dappled Damsel – At day 50 Amelia’s taking on more of an orange glow. Growth rate has slowed the last 5 days to just 10 pounds a day. The latest heat wave has really kicked the plant downhill with much of the plant center now looking badly burned out...   Thursday, September 5 View Page Wet Dream - When I took off the sheets this morning, I found a wet streak oozing out from the bottom of Amelia. That sinking feeling, as a short video of me cleaning up 100 gallons of stinkin’ pumpkin snot flashed though my mind. I wiped some up and gave it a sniff – no smell! Checking carefully, it became apparent that it was just water. Most likely a careless splash from the hand water of the pole beans I did the day before. Good one Amelia...   Saturday, September 7 View Page Ripley’s Believe It or Not – Two days after the first scare, Amelia started oozing from her other side. This time there was a smell...   Saturday, September 7 View Page Angel of Death – The hidden BES. Probably opened up 10 days or more ago...   Saturday, September 7 View Page Last Known Whereabouts – Last picture of Amelia snug in her tepee before her disappearance...   Wednesday, September 11 View Page Gone Girl – Amelia Airheart was last seen flying solo near the coast of California. She was never seen again...   Sunday, October 27 View Page Time’s Up – When you know it’s time to hang up the hoe...