Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 15 Entries. Friday, January 10 View Page 2025, here we go! First soil test of the year. � Friday, January 10 View Page Something I've never tested for before... Nematodes. � Tuesday, January 14 View Page The trio of pre-season reporting is complete (for me). Got this back from Western Labs, and the results are pretty much what I was expecting. I've already done one mustard cover crop. Over the weekend I threw seeds out for Hairy Vetch, Clover, and Winter Rye in the patch for my second crop cycle. I just sprinkled a handful of mustard seeds in as soon as I got home today after seeing this. If the weather plays nice I just might be able to squeeze in a 3rd cover crop before the season begins, and that would be more mustard. I need to do some research on biologicals that could assist to combat the specific diseases I have... � Friday, January 17 View Page I�m posting some thoughts looking back at last season� with photos. How can roots penetrate clay? Simply put, they don�t. My roots last year did not go deeper than 12� in most areas. In those areas, they were also 1/2� - 1/4� in diameter. Some of the tap roots never got deeper than 3� and ran almost 3� laterally just under the soil surface. That�s simply insufficient. However, I found positive results in the areas that I dug out when burying vines. Some of those root nodes were 29� long and over an inch thick! Talk about a noticeable change� Imagine what positive results my plant & fruit would have had if my entire patch had loose / aerated soil? � Friday, January 17 View Page Weak! � Friday, January 17 View Page My goal this season is to be a root farmer first. The plant and pumpkin will follow. I hope to see big improvements this post season when I pull the plant. � Sunday, February 2 View Page Today was a maintenance day. Cleaned out the water tank to prep for the season. Received my drip tape shipment to be assembled another day. Drenched a mix of Clearys 3336 and Stergo MX to combat disease. The off season days are just as important as anything else. How many days until the show? � Saturday, March 15 View Page Getting closer to the final cut and till of my off season cover crops. We�ve had a bit of rain lately and that is causing the invasive weeds to explode on the hill side. I have started gathering materials for my shade structure and have gone so far as to build out a special calendar on my phone for my grow plan this season. Excited for the season. � Saturday, March 29 View Page Shade structure up. Drip lines next. � Sunday, March 30 View Page After a pressure test, my drip system is set. � Sunday, March 30 View Page This season I�m trying to do things slightly different in the patch� One of those things is to bring 110v power in. It opens this season up to soil heating cables, non-battery powered fans, cameras, sensors, those inflatable wavy-arm things you see at car dealerships, you name it. Pictured is my thermostat for the heating cables, which are buried. The white PVC pipe will be topped with a small bucket to keep water off the electronics if needed. � Thursday, April 3 View Page After a soak, the 2025 season is officially underway. Good luck this year everyone. � Saturday, April 5 View Page In keeping with my goal of being a root farmer this season, I�ve made up some walking planks for the patch. Last year I didn�t make a whole hearted effort to keep the soil compaction to a minimum. This will help. � Friday, April 18 View Page Plants in the ground! Still figuring out the heating cables, soil temps were 60* before I flipped the power on. This season I�m also trying out new cameras for a time lapse. Anyone have experience with that? I�m not sure if a photo every 10 mins is too infrequent� � Wednesday, April 23 View Page My final �pre season� test. I was able to get a lot of the numbers where I wanted. A few pretty close�. �