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.

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.

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.

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