Tag Archives: gardening

Snow!

The gardens are under 8″ of new snow since I last wrote. It hasn’t melted yet and another storm is on the way. Ugh! I was done with winter even before winter solstice happened. Cold wet winter so far. Wet is good but being so cold gets to me. So for now I am getting ready for the next season by making a new garden shed out of my tack room in the barn, building storage shelves in it, ordering seeds, and dreaming of spring! I still must put in a second door in the shed so I have two entrances from both the new pumpkin patch and the regular veggie garden as they are on opposite sides of the barn. That way I can access the shed easily from either garden. The new pumpkin patch which will reside in my old corral, will be named ‘Bri’s Pumpkin Patch’ in honor of my horse that passed to the other side in October. A wonderful horse lost way too early in her life. A loss to all..

2010 Giant Pumpkin and Giant Veggies List

Here is a list of Giant Pumpkins and Giant veggies I am thinking of growing.

2010 GIANT PUMPKINS & VEGGIE LIST

2010 GIANT PUMPKINS

895 Grande (1016 Daletas x 1385 Jutras)

1166 Mohr (1385 Jutras x 1055 Jutras)

949 Harp (1689 Jutras 06)

1184 Barker (1631.5 McKie x 1689 Jutras)

GIANT MARROW

206.5 Wursten 09

75.4 Wursten 09

GIANT TOMATOES

7.18 N. Harp 09n (5.58 Timm x open)

5.416 N, Harp 09(5.58 Harp x open)

Big Zac (fr Totally Tomato)

Church

GIANT SUNFLOWERS

Titans

2010 veggie list

Here is my list of veggies I will grow this year for food.

2010 VEGGIE LIST

BEANS-Rattlesnake and Tavera

PEPPER-Shishito

SUMMER SQUASH-ZUCCHINI-Costata Romanesco and Lungo Bianco

SUMMER SQUASH-SCALLOPED-Yellow Custard and Bennings Green Tint

WINTER SQUASH-Marina di Chioggia and Galeux d’Eyesines

EGGPLANT-Little Fairys

CUCUMBERS-Parisian, Boothsby Blonde, Poona Kera, and Parade

CORN-not sure of variety yet

LETTUCES-FR COOK’S GARDEN-Provencal Mix, Mesclun Mix, Buttercrunch, Yugoslavian Red, Santoro Lettuce, and Little Gem

SPINACH-FR COOK’S GARDEN-Indian Summer and Double Choice

CARROTS-FR COOK’S GARDEN-Kaleidoscope (mix of red, purple, orange and yellow)

BROCOLLI-Brocolli Romanesco

ARUGULA-Apollo

BOK CHOY-Extra Dwarf Pak Choy

CHARD-5 Color Silverbeet

PEAS-DWARF SUGAR, OREGON SPRING II

2010 tomato list

Here is my list of tomatoes I want to grow this year. I grow tomatoes for either excellent flavor, or gourmet or for size (competition). I try to pick some new ones I haven’t tried.

2010 TOMATOES

HEIRLOOMS

San Marzano-red plum/80 days/AFN

Striped German-bicolor-SFGH

Black Cherry-black/75 days-AFN

Paul Robeson-black/75-85 days-AFN

Cherokee Purple/80 days-AFN

Cherokee Chocolate/80 days-AFN

Prudens Purple-purple/70 days-BH,TOMFEST

Black Krim-black-69 daysAFN

Pantano Romanesco-red/70-80 days-BH,TOMFEST

Great White/80-85 days-BH,TOMGROWERS

Costoluto Genovese-red/78 daysTOMGROWERS

Goldsman Italian American-red-BH

Aunt Ruby’s German Green-85 days-BH

Gold Medal-bicolor-75-80 days-BH

HYBRIDS

Lemon Boy-AFN

Park’s Beefy Boy-red-70 days-AFB

Big Beef-red/73 days-TOT TOMATO

Bella Rosa-red/75 days-TOT TOMATO

COMPETITION (biggest)

Big Zac-red/80 days-TOT TOMATO/AFN

Church-red/85 days-TOMFEST

Timms-red/80 days-dif growers

Getting beds ready

I started getting the beds ready in the fall by adding some amendments but couldn’t get to all of them because of the weather changing to snow. So yesterday as the weather was beautiful-50 degrees and the ground wasn’t frozen,  In my future giant pumpkin patch particulary where I will put the plants, I mixed up some compost, mushroom compost (small amount), horse manure (somewhat composted), Winterizer Yum Yum Mix, and pelleted gypsum which helps break up the soil and adds calcium which pumpkins so love and need. I still need to put some composted horse manure all over the patch but that will be another day.

Hello fellow gardeners!

Welcome to a new year and to my first blog on growing vegetables and particularly giant vegetables! I wish to share with you what I have learned during my attempts and trials of growing many veggies through 25 years and to share this year’s season as it unfolds.

First I am an organic grower. So I will be sharing my knowledge from that point of view. I don’t believe in spraying for bugs with poisons or fertilizing with chemicals that kill the soil. I don’t believe in GMO seeds and try to grow heirloom varieties as much as possible but do also grow some hybrids.

So enuf! Let’s get down to talking about growing stuff! What can you or I do in winter? Prepare for the next season! Get catalogs, order seeds, prepare the soil just to name a few things. So far I went on line and got my catalogs. Ah, they feed my soul while it is cold and snowing outside. I love going over them by the fireplace, dreaming of what I might try to grow this year…