Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 16 Entries. Wednesday, April 8 View Page First Year/New Garden   Wednesday, April 8 View Page Two years ago I moved back to Maine after living in Georgia for 2 years. I've got about 2 acres of field in the very beginning stage of an emerging forest. In the late fall, I bought a (fairly new) rear tine tiller that wouldn't run for $50 on Craigslist, and decided that we were going to have a garden. Back in 2008... I think?I had a dream about growing giant pumpkins, then spent the next 30 days reading on this site planted for the first year and got a 150ish lb pumpkin from some seeds I bought from Howard Dill. 2nd year, I grew a big yellow pumpkin from some seeds donated by a friendly gentleman on this site, didn't get it weighed because I had no real way to transport, but it taped at 450lbs. Here I am again, now with a 2.5 year old that I'm trying to teach gardening the way my dad taught me. Except instead of growing vegetables that I didn't want to eat, hopefully a big orange pumpkin will make it a little more fun. Looking forward to a great year. Any pumpkin on the front porch in October will be a success. Thank you in advance Steve Marley for the start of my new seed drawer.   Wednesday, April 8 View Page Good Morning Canada! So, I have an 1810 Porkchop sprouted, and a 826 Zachmeier on the way. Thank you Porkchop and Zacman for the seeds. When these two mate we'll have the prettiest Pacman you've ever seen. Steve, you'll be glad to know that there are a couple other guys at work who've asked for seeds, so they are going to good use up here in the glacial scraped tundra. I've still got a lot of work to do, we're still drying out from the 8 inches of snow we got last week, so I'm way behind on garden building. I may have scared the lady at tractor supply with how much topsoil and manure I bought. The manure I got from the guy at work is not as composted as he advertised. I think I'll use that to boost the compost pile. I did however get a 275 gallon tote to catch rainwater from the gutters, since the well doesn't produce a ton of water. This should give me some reserve. I'm a little afraid of everyone telling me last frost is first week of June.... I may be building a hoophouse... Got looking back through some stuff and last time I planted was 2003... when did I get so old?   Thursday, April 16 View Page Hmm... I'm struggling with pictures.   Saturday, April 18 View Page So... continuing the tilling.... doesn't seem to be as heavy of clay as I anticipated, which is a plus. Lots of rocks tho.... If i can grow one bigger than the heaviest rock I pull, I'll be happy. The handle on that is 36" for scale... Damn Glaciers.   Monday, April 20 View Page So... 500 square feet of garden tilled. Soil actually doesn't look that bad, less clay than I thought. Fluffs up pretty well once you break the sod. Probably moved a ton of rock tho. 1810 Pork chop is up, Zachmeier is in a Ziploc. Need to at least double the garden size from here.   Tuesday, April 28 View Page The Zachmeier finally decided to sprout, after some gentle peeling back of the seed coat. Finally stretched the belt on the roller enough where it will no longer travel forward or rotate the tines when in contact with basically anything. New Kevlar belt will be here tomorrow. One spot is all prepped for planting, going to cover with plastic to get the soil temp up. Need a second. Let's hope I have something orange at the end of all this. Probably 800 sq ft of field tilled. Not sure how much rock moved. I'm getting proficient at moving rocks that weigh more than I do.   Wednesday, April 29 View Page Hmmm just a few rocks   Friday, May 22 View Page Well, So much to do, so little time. High bush blueberries planted, 2 apple trees planted, hazelnut trees to plant... I did get the 1810 Porkchop in the ground, with a makeshift hoop house. Got a liiitttle too warm and wilted half of one of the leaves beyond recovery. Plant seems to be recovering well. I laid some black plastic mulch down to help keep the moisture in the soil. These windy 80 degree days at 35% humidity apparently require more water than I anticipated. The first 826 Zachmeier didn't want to come out of the seed coat, so it came out all deformed. Was hoping it would take off, I'm a sucker for an underdog, but so far not so much. Started a 2nd. Will put this in the ground once it sprouts. Only got the pumpkin patch about half the size I wanted, before the transmission on the rototiller let go. I guess its a known problem with this particular tiller. I'll put the tiller repair on the list... Way too much on the list... pic is of the Zacmeier from 10 days ago.... hasn't changed much since, but I can't bring myself to put it back in the trash. Went in there once already, pulled it back out just to see what it would do.   Friday, May 22 View Page Attach... then submit... i always get that backwards...   Tuesday, May 26 View Page So... the 741 Porkchop went in the ground next to a 3 day old 826 Zachmeier. I'm impressed by the roots on the zachmeier as the main tap root had done a 1080 around the bottom of the 6" pot I started it in. The 1810 Porkchop is doing well. Should be on the ground soon. Recovered well from the wilt, and looks like a nice strong vine. The wife has us leaving town for 4 days.... lets hope theres no thunderstorms... Temps are supposed to get up to 90! lets hope theres enough water in the clay soil i've got. I'd hate to have to use my back ups to the back ups....   Wednesday, June 24 View Page So far so good I suppose. The 1810 Pork chop is chugging along, 8-9 foot main, and probably 5 foot secondaries. Have a couple females, but I'd like to have a little more plant before I set. Maybe I'll wait for the next one on the main. I'm kicking myself for not getting the 2nd Zachmeier going earlier. I'm just getting ready to touch down, but the plant is stout. Much thicker main than the 1810 and larger leaves. Probably 3 weeks behind, but hey I started with no garden this year, so I'm pleasantly surprised. Let's see if we can keep it going. I'd love to hit a PB this year.   Tuesday, July 14 View Page So... I have a pumpkin set. Closer to the stump than I wanted on the 1810, but I was gone for 3 days and didn't get to pollinate the one that I wanted, and I had set this one a few days before that. So I guess its the keeper. I'll probably set a back up on the next female, but I figure in mid July... its time to have fruit growing. Plant is still smaller than I want, but we'll let her fill in some. the 826 Zachmeier is chugging right along. Such a shame I was so late on re-starting a 2nd seed. From a plant perspective, I expect it to overtake the 1810 in short order. I'll let it get some more plant behind it before setting anything. That will be my orange pumpkin for the little one. Also, looks like my first tomato flower will be a mega. That plant is also smaller than I'd like, but hey, its all about the fun right?   Wednesday, August 26 View Page The largest pumpkin which is on the 1810 Porkchop seems to have petered out after averaging 10 lbs/day. No measurable growth for 4 days... sitting at 360lbs according to the tape. Had a female out at the end of the longest secondary that open pollinated. I think I'm gonna let that one grow just to see what we can squeeze out. Smaller pumpkin on the 826 Zachmeier is chugging along at 5 lbs/day, which is awesome considering how small the plant is. Maybe 80 sq. feet of plant, I knew I didn't have enough water for 2 big pumpkins, so this one took a backseat when the 1810 really started chugging. Pumpkin tapes to 105 lbs this morning, and she is turning a nice pretty orange. I also have a 4 blossom mega on my best tomato plant that is pollinated and growing well, maybe a week old. Lets see what we can get. Considering I didn't have a garden this spring, I'd say this season has been a success!   Tuesday, September 29 View Page Just baarreeellyyy under 2 lbs....   Thursday, October 8 View Page Just a shade over 3 lbs... Thank you again Steve Marley for the seeds. Next year, Maine State record...