Pumpkins planted

I planted four varieties of pumpkins on June 11. The next day, 1/8 inch of rain fell. The following day, a little more rainfall brought the total of to 1/4 inch.

I planted the pumpkins by mid June this year so that they will be ready for harvest at the beginning of October and therefore suitable for market.

Last year, I planted pumpkins on July 4, and they were not ready to pick until a few days before Halloween. More became ready in November, which was too late for seasonal pumpkin buyers.

The varieties in 70 basins are: Cinderella, Big Max, Howden, and Halloween, all from Willhite Seed Company.

To prepare each basin, I added Texas green sand, Sul-Po-Mag, soft rock phosphate, and Agronomic Partner's 14-0-0 sustainable nitrogen from soy.

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Sweet peas sown January 27, 2017

On January 28, 1986, I skipped classes at Waxahachie High to sow sweet peas in the field next to my house.

I was unaware that the Space Shuttle Challenger had exploded that morning until my friend called me and asked if I had heard the news. Immediately, I turned on the TV and found all the major networks covering the story.

Still, the events of that day are tied together in my memory, and each year that I sow sweet peas, I remember the date that I sowed Wando sweet peas and harvest the greatest yield I've ever picked.

This year as the date approached, I made sure to have seed on hand, and I sowed the peas on Friday, January 27, 2017, in the same field where I grew sweet peas in 1986.

Gourd harvest

Today, the gourds were harvested, just before a quick rain.The vines grew in 10 Bato buckets in an outdoor hydroponic system.They were started as plugs back in late May and grew through the summer.

Experiment in cucumbers begins

I began a test to see if cucumbers started in small pots could be transplanted into a hydroponic system for more efficient change out of plants between crop turns.The hybrid cucumber seeds were started in mid-August and grew until the end of September in the pots before I transplanted them into Bato buckets.Each cucumber plant was a foot and a half to two feet long, therefore giving each plant almost a month head start before being placed in the system.So far each of the transplants seems to have fared well even though cucumbers are not usually suited for transplanting.

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