Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 42 Entries. Saturday, January 23 View Page Got the soil sample results back and all looked pretty good but very low on nitrogen as expected due to two seasons on winter rye cover crop. Adding three more yards of nicly composted chicken manure with bedding. Boron and sulpher were also lowso will add some calcium sulfate ( gypsum). Note to self pile composted manure next to the patch in previous fall so you dont sink driving across the field....   Saturday, January 23 View Page Lets see if I can a photo to go along with tha last entry...   Monday, February 8 View Page Double digging the new patch, only 3000 square feet to go...   Friday, June 10 View Page Pollinated 2230 Wallace wit& 5 females from the 2185 Brandt this AM st 9:45 AM.   Tuesday, June 14 View Page Pollinated 2185 Brandt with the 1965 Brandt this morning. First female on her was 13.5 feet out. Beautiful little 5 lobe female. Still under the 16 x 20 green houses but cold st 58 degrees for a high today. Hope the pollination takes... pS love the new Stihl 450 mist blower!   Friday, June 24 View Page All three plants are chugging along 2230 Wallace front right, 2185 Brandt front left and 1965 Brandt way in the back. Have set fruit on all but the 1965 which was a back up that I am coaching along. Should set a nice female on her about 14 feet out this weekend.   Tuesday, June 28 View Page Plants are almost fully grown now, buried vines with secret mix and foliarly sprayed them with my other secret mix with my trust mist blower this evening after the stomas opened. All organic fertilizer, fungicide and insect control but I have to say the Western Spotted Beatles dont seem phazed by neem oil so I may have to hit them with something a bit stronger.   Saturday, July 2 View Page Photos from the patch, here is the 2230 being misted.   Saturday, July 2 View Page Photos from the patch, here is the 2230 being misted.   Saturday, July 2 View Page Full paches with 2230, 2185, 1956 and Danis tomatoes. Beautiful weather!   Saturday, July 2 View Page Full paches with 2230, 2185, 1956 and Danis tomatoes. Beautiful weather!   Saturday, July 2 View Page Full paches with 2230, 2185, 1956 and Danis tomatoes. Beautiful weather!   Saturday, July 2 View Page Fruit on 2230 @ 13 feet out, looks like the one early will start culling others tomorrow.   Saturday, July 9 View Page Got a new "Cool Tool" today to open up a couple new plots and help with the soil prep.   Saturday, July 9 View Page The new tractor will sure beat the heck out of using the old man beater!   Saturday, July 9 View Page Heres a picture of the existing patch, getting ready to open up some new ground with the John Deere 1025r   Saturday, July 30 View Page Backed off on the ferts to try and slow it down a bit still put on 31 pounds a day for the past 5 days. This ones going to hurt when it blows its guts...   Tuesday, August 9 View Page We all know what a hole in the patch this early means... Pulled the 2185 Brandt today, it was tapeing 480 pounds and was crossed with the 1965 Brandt. The green house colapsed on it early this spring during a heavy storm and split the main 3/4 of the way through. first time in 21 years of griwing we had a green house colaspe due to build up of rain water. Still have quite a few seed from it and will be growing it next year. The pumpkin was supee thick at the stem and shoulders with very little cavity   Sunday, August 14 View Page The 2230 Wallace stem split was not into the cavity and we had been backing way off on water and ferts for the past month. Developed a blossem end split last week that ended her run. Crossed the 2230 with the 2185 Brant final measurements were 365" OTT Ouch! Down to one plant now we held as a back up and stuck in a crappy spot in the corner of the west patch. Its chugging along but is a long way from 365".   Sunday, August 14 View Page undeturd by the tragic loss of our 2230, and 2185 we put the new tractor to work this weekend prepping for next year.   Sunday, August 14 View Page We hauled in 20 yards of chicken poop with bedding mixed in and built mount poopeus. Kinda looks like mount saint hellens erupting with the sprinkler on top! The plan is to saturate the pile and then tarpbit to speed the composting process. the field its piled next to has baby Buck Wheat just starting to come up.   Sunday, August 14 View Page Heres the photo of poop mountian   Tuesday, August 30 View Page crop rotation, buckwheat in background with 20 yards of composting chicken manure.   Tuesday, August 30 View Page Been a great summer for roses this year, Dani has 52 plants around the front of the house. sure glad I put in that irrigation system!   Tuesday, August 30 View Page Been a great season for apples from our orchard too,   Tuesday, August 30 View Page we finaly got our soil in the main patch dialed in which is something I am not used to. i learned to not be a "more on" with the ferts when your soil is balanced.... the little guy under the hut was a back up I couldnt bring myself to kill and stuck it in a not so tuned up corner, glad I did its all thats left. The plant and stup are still really healthy and the ffuit is young and smooth. Hopeing for a PB   Tuesday, August 30 View Page picked this today in the cucumber jungle, twould cucs fused goge t her. Would this count as one cuc like mega bloom tomatoes? Could have left this grow but it was get ten dark when collecting the evenings dinner salad.... (will save the seeds though)   Tuesday, September 13 View Page Heres a picture of our "lil shi++er" back up plant we stuck in a corner of the patch last spring. After losing our two main plants this little gal is all thats left. Probably wont win any trophies (or beauty contests) but we love her. Taping 360" last Sunday morning averaging 23.7 pounds per day, plant, stump and roots are still really healthy. Hope to best Danies 1112 family record from 2006...   Friday, September 16 View Page Beautiful day with a pic of Mr Lumpy (the punkin not me). Lightly drenched with seaweed, TKO and Essential Plus. Fingers crossed I don't blow this one up too!   Saturday, September 17 View Page Decided to take the day off and try to fill the freezer with more Salmon. Here's a beaut from this morning caught at the "swirly hole" on the North Fork of the Lewis river. Also caught a Coho Jack, 2 lbs of so tasty! Pouring rain today after drencing the plant yesterday so we are a bit worried, Stupid weatherman...   Friday, September 30 View Page Loaded for Baumans farms tomorrow AM.   Sunday, October 2 View Page Great day at the Baumans Weigh off in Canby Oregon! Lots of massive pumpkins and squash were weighed. Grew a new personal best at 1405 from the 1965 Brandt it was tsping 387.5" orv1245 pounds and went heavy at 1405! Thank you Baumans farms and the PGVG for putting on such a well run and packed weigh off. See you all next year! Gerry Gadberry   Sunday, October 2 View Page Baumana was in Gervais Or , Canby was like 20 years ago... Jimmy, I call everything between Portland and Salrm "Canby"   Thursday, October 13 View Page Going with a blended cover crop over the 50 x 120 patch for this winters cover crop.   Thursday, October 13 View Page Caught a 3 day break between down pours and managed to spread and deep till poop mountian (20 yards of composted chicken crap) into the patch with the new JdD tractor. Heres a pic of finish hand tilling in the 60 pounds of winter rye mix cover crop for our 2017 garden. We always enjoy this time of year after the garden is put away. Time to do all the chores I neglected during the pumpkin season, and hopefully get out to catch some winter steelhead!   Saturday, October 29 View Page Been collecting leaves with the lawn tractor all week and decided the compost pile needed some chicken manure mixed in. Here a pic of the foster farms chicken operation thats about 5 miles down wind of our farm. 18 bucks a yard loaded is not to shabby!   Saturday, October 29 View Page Loadining 3 yards was the easy part, wheres Sherwood when ya need him....   Saturday, October 29 View Page The patch is completly water logged with the 7 + inches of rain we have had this month, even the edge is trecherous!   Saturday, October 29 View Page Heres a pic of the lovely and talented Dani Gadberry bringing in another load of shredded mapel leaves for layering in the pile.   Saturday, October 29 View Page The cover crop is a bit behind due to all the rain but its starting to thicken up a bit. We spread 20 yards of composted chicken manure and bedding before tilling it in and planting the Winter Rye mix.   Saturday, October 29 View Page Well that took all afternoon! Will stir up the piles Sunday with the tractor and tarp them to keep the rain off. Hope to see ya in the winners circle again next year Jim!   Saturday, November 5 View Page Viable seed counts on the 1405 were terrible! (1965 x 2230). Had over 300 seeds but only 45 were auction worthy. The 1405 put on over 500 pounds in September so cant help but wonder if the other seeds would have matured if we had left her on the vine?