1999 Growers Log - May
You just have to love the beautiful spring days in May. Blue skies, puffy white clouds serenely floating by, the warm gentle sunshine heating up the garden........Yeah right! Maybe where YOU live but here is Alberta we've being going through near freezing temperatures and wet snow, as seen above. A few weeks ago when I was planting the weather was beautiful, but it is typical here to get snow and cold up until the end of May, hence the need for cold frames and electric heaters. The photo above was taken this morning.
The plants outside are all doing well. The Cramer 652 and Kournikakis 508 are at the 4 and 5 leaf stage outside (snug in their little houses). The Sproule 968 is doing really well and is now 1.5 to 2 feet long and clearly vining, as seen below. The object to the right of the plant is a small fan heater unit that I have hooked to a thermostat. I run it at a 500 watt setting and as you can see the plant is doing quite nicely despite the snow and cold. I may have to switch over to a larger cold frame by next week the way this plant is going.
Yikes! That Sproule 968 was crawling out of the cold frame. It was grabbing onto the opener and a watering can I left in the cold frame. As you can see in the latest photo below (the cold frame has been pulled aside) the vine is just about 4 feet long. I've now placed the 8 foot A-frame over the plant. Now that it finally seems to have stopped raining I should be able to get my last patch set up over at my in-laws place. The Cramer 652 and Kournikakis 508 are both doing well, but not ready to catch up to the Sproule yet.
OK, so this might not qualify for being in a growers log, but its pumpkin related so why not. For my birthday today my wife gave me a really cute pumpkin teapot and cup (shown below). It was a nice surprise, and I've never seen one like it anywhere else. My girls gave me two tickets to see Star Wars this week. It was my 8 year old daughter Kaylee's idea. Guess who the second ticket is for.
It was a beautiful and hot holiday Monday today. The plants are all doing well. The first image below is Shellie Cramers "grandchild" from her 652. It has 12 leaves now and is starting to vine.
Next after that is the plant from my last seasons efforts, the Kournikakis 508. Its not growing quite as well as the Cramer, but its a bit handicapped in the spot its in due to a tree in the next yard. Its now grown enough to provide a lot of shade in this patch during the morning hours and that seems to have slowed it down.
The plant from the Sproule 968 is still in the lead (photo below). I have it covered by an 8 foot A-frame shelter (tipped up for this picture). I can still cover the plant if there is a risk of frost, but right now I have the whole A frame supported on cinder blocks so its right off the ground. The vine itself is about 7 feet long, so in a few more days it will be growing right past the edge of the frame. The risk of frost over the next week is minimal, but still a possibility.
