Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 161 Entries. Saturday, January 10 View Page Here we go for 2015 and this is year 10 in the diaries. The new glass is doing well and they started putting in the glass last week. Stuart is here looking after the build and I'm at the old nursery knocking it down. All the time we have this years crop going in so were in for a busy year.   Wednesday, January 14 View Page The glass is in the roof and they are working on the sides on the Pumpkin house. We want to put in 50cm of growing media and the bulk of it will come from the first glasshouse that's coming down. As we used to grow cut flowers in the ground,the soil is very good but we will still need to put in a lot of peat to get it where we would like it. We have been looking for a very young peat that really aerates the soil and we will take that one step further by using "peat fractions". Basically most peat is just shredded in the field and then hovered up. To make peat fractions they cut the peat into blocks and dry them before gently braking them up. They then grade them and we want the coarsest one to keep the soil structure as open as possible.   Wednesday, January 14 View Page At last the "Man B Q's" are back in the production line   Wednesday, January 14 View Page Believe it or not this is where the 2016 GPC Big show will be held.   Thursday, January 15 View Page Stuart working on the new watering headers. The plants are way wider than ever before and we are also putting the drip tube just a little closer together.   Friday, January 23 View Page I have just been awarded "Pot plant grower of the year" in the UK and it was a very nice surprise   Wednesday, January 28 View Page Two of us took all 200 sheets of glass out of the side of this house in 33 min. Sweet   Saturday, January 31 View Page Scott and I had a little fun on the "widespan" glasshouse.   Thursday, February 5 View Page You can almost smell those ribs. I wonder if this photo will be the right way round?   Wednesday, February 18 View Page I got Stuart and I 180 cubic meters on soil today and that will got down to the new nursery where it will be mixed with the peat.   Wednesday, February 18 View Page The "Man B Q's" are doing great.   Tuesday, March 17 View Page I just got back from two great weeks in Cuba. I had to take my rod and well worth it too when Tarpon like this take the lure. I had an amazing day losing a few more including one around 6ft long and approx. 100lbs. 36 hours and I off to the big show.   Wednesday, March 25 View Page What a great few days and very fitting that all those amazing growers got up to honour and collect Beni's prizes. I found a little/big mistake in my calculations of the patch size today. It looks like we are going to need some more soil as the patches have grown from 8M X 10M to 10M X 12M. It can only be good.   Friday, April 3 View Page We have been hanging up the mist lines to help keep the plants cool this year. I had to weld short chains onto the heating pipes and having small beads of molten metal running down the back of your neck is not recommended. We are sowing two weeks later this year as the growing conditions will be better and we expect faster growth.   Friday, April 10 View Page The first plants in the new Glasshouse.   Friday, April 10 View Page I look at Don Young on the diary and we are all doing the same thing : moving soil. We have to get 360 cubic metres on site and mixed.   Tuesday, April 14 View Page This is the new packing and spacing area and hopefully the robots will be going in the next few weeks.   Wednesday, April 15 View Page This is the line up for this year and not all the 1985's in the photo just 3. We have put in our remaining few 1884 seeds as back ups.If it ever hits the big time there will be well over 200 seeds out there and we will have to buy one back. Hay Ho.   Wednesday, April 15 View Page A beautiful sight and two weeks later than last year. I hope we know what were doing.   Friday, April 17 View Page Things aren't looking to Rosie on the pumpkin front all of a sudden. There's probably only 50/50 chance of us getting the soil sorted out in the patch. The new build is certainly taking it's toll and I need to talk with Stuart when he's back from holiday on Monday. We started to move all the potting machinery today and at least that when well.   Wednesday, April 22 View Page And off goes the peat bale cruncher   Wednesday, April 22 View Page Now that is one big hot water tank   Wednesday, April 22 View Page On to some real work at last   Wednesday, April 22 View Page The first run of eight   Wednesday, April 22 View Page Now that is nice soil   Wednesday, April 22 View Page This is my buddy Scott helping out in the patch   Friday, April 24 View Page Finally things are happening in the patch and half of the soil is in. You can see our new way of walking around the patch on 4mm 6x4 sheets of plywood.   Friday, April 24 View Page We ended up with 3 x 1985 Miller's 2 x 2323 Meier's and a 2102 Meier. The 2009 didn't germinate and our 1885 seeds were absolutely pigs to germinate with only 2 out of 10 seeds popping up their heads.(thanks for the heads up Brad)I only did one seed as a germination test so lesson learned, plant a few more.   Friday, April 24 View Page Looking through the glass gives a sort of idea of how big the patch is and I'm going to grow a few marrows for a bit of extra entertainment.   Friday, April 24 View Page The new build is driving us nuts but were getting there   Saturday, April 25 View Page You might of noticed that we don't have hoop houses over the plants this year despite not having any of our overhead heating yet. The reason is that we felt we did to much damage to the soil and the root system putting it in and pulling it out. It's a definite advantage to have the extra heat at night but long term in this years patch we want to try the perfect soil route. Actually we don't have the vents working either at the moment and they are just left open a little but we hope to get that sorted next week. Here's a photo my garden this morning and spring is here.   Tuesday, April 28 View Page I just thought I would run over a few products that we will be using this year just in case anyone out there is interested. First is Trichoderma from "The nutrient company" He also does a range of other products and we also have a little of his Mico.   Tuesday, April 28 View Page Opps never seen mico before. Stuart and I have struggled to get RTI products over here but Ron kindly got a bag of Wow to us at the big show.   Tuesday, April 28 View Page And then there is Compost tea and for that we use "Revitealised". Our reason for using these three is that we totally believe in the people developing and making them. After reading some of the posts about products on the message board trust is these companies is paramount.   Friday, May 1 View Page This is the first soil sample out of the new patch and considering we have made a blend of media I think it looks fairly good. There are a few obvious amendments needed but nothing that can't be put through the drip irrigation.   Saturday, May 2 View Page Stuarts been getting the mist lines done and the vents and shading are now working but not by the computer.   Saturday, May 2 View Page I gave 5 marrow seeds so they all went in today.   Friday, May 8 View Page I finally got a day fishing yesterday and spent the whole day fishing for carp on floating dog biscuits. It's a great way to fish and certainly up close and personal. Believe it or not this stunning 22lb chestnut coloured common carp was no more than four feet away from me when I caught her and under the cover of magical moss coated trees. Just in front of me I had a nest of one day old chicks and on the bank I was feeding a small mouse:- fishing doesn't get better than that. I got two more 20lb fish on another lake and a couple of smaller but perfect fish to boot. Sweet   Saturday, May 9 View Page And here's another "finally". The pit smokers are nearly done.   Tuesday, May 12 View Page I'm not sure which one this is but they are all about the same size.   Tuesday, May 19 View Page This is the first pot spacing robot to go in.   Tuesday, May 19 View Page And this is the crane that moves all the benches around. It basically picks up all the dirty benches, takes them to be cleaned by it's "mate" and puts the clean ones where we want them we want them.   Wednesday, May 20 View Page The plants are looking fine at the moment but one of the 2323's was looking like a ribbon vine. I noticed today that the head had two growing points so I pinched out one of them and we will see how it goes. This is one of the 1985's.   Wednesday, May 20 View Page Stuart's still trying to get the mist lines and drip irrigation finished so we haven't been able to get any amendments on but hopefully it will all be online next week. Looking on the bright side of that it does give us an excuse if we do crap this year but were not going to do crap this year.   Saturday, May 23 View Page Plenty of room for these to grow   Sunday, May 24 View Page One of our 1985 plants decided to grow the wrong way so a little persuasion to go the right way is needed. Stuart is down in Cornwall this weekend visiting David Thomas and I put the first amendments on with the irrigation. Unfortunately the pump needs to be upgraded to a bigger one so I will have another go next week. One little tip with irrigation is to put test collection points around your system to make sure it is working evenly   Monday, May 25 View Page Three very nice looking 1985's in a row, what's not to like.   Monday, May 25 View Page We've been marketing plants from the new Pinetops for the last couple of weeks.   Thursday, May 28 View Page This is the 2102.All the plants are fairly similar in colour and leaf quality which is great.   Thursday, May 28 View Page The 2323 (front right) will be losing her head tomorrow and we will go with a side vine for a bit of fun.That said you never know. You might be able to make out a row of marrows in the middle which have not had a great life so far.   Saturday, May 30 View Page Here's a 1985 with a bit of attitude about her.   Thursday, June 4 View Page After far from perfect rooting from the vines we have come up with a new plan for this year. First of all we felt that although we were burying the vines, light was still getting to the nodes and inhibiting the new roots. The second thing we felt was that the material covering the vine was getting too dry before the root had developed. Third,was why not put some rooting hormone on the node as well.   Thursday, June 4 View Page So we have a load of pots with peat that is totally soaked. We sprinkle our "stuff" over the top and simply turn over a pot on every joint. We are going to leave the pot on for a while to keep the moisture on the node. This is of coarse top secret so please don't tell anyone.   Monday, June 8 View Page All the plants look fine at the moment including the 2323 that is growing in a side vine. These sheets are working very well and far better than the walking boards we had last year. This is a 1985   Friday, June 12 View Page This year and last year the 1985 plants always seem to get the photo shot and to be fair they are the best plants. Certainly when it comes to breeding, taking the plant quality of the 1985 it's a very important consideration. I do feel that pumpkin size and colour comes way to far in front of plant quality when it comes to breeding. This is a very healthy looking 2012   Friday, June 12 View Page And here are three very tidy looking Meier plants. Remember the one in the far distance is the 2323 that we went with the side vine.   Friday, June 12 View Page And three 1985 plants, who wouldn't like those in their patch. One thing I would say this year is that having lower potassium in the patch has really improved the plants and cut a fair amount of work spraying Epsom salts once a week. We have put on just 300g per plant per week of Calcium nitrate to raise very low levels of nitrogen. Those levels are about right now and my point is; just be carful off how much fertilizer your putting on because a little may well go further than you think   Tuesday, June 16 View Page The plants all look fairly good at the moment and Stuart did pollinate the first couple today but I have no idea what and what with.   Wednesday, June 17 View Page We already have a bucketful of improvements for next year but are still happy with the way the plants look at the moment. This is a 2323.   Wednesday, June 17 View Page And in comparison a beast of a 1985   Friday, June 19 View Page My mum and I packed the last six plants and Pinetops. She and my dad started from nothing in 1959 and it's great to see their dream move on. Best mum in the world.   Friday, June 19 View Page Stuart got some white on the end of the glass house.   Friday, June 19 View Page The plants all look extremely good and a country mile better than ever before.   Friday, June 19 View Page This 2323 is doing well.   Friday, June 19 View Page The 2323 that we went with a side vine looks perfectly normal and probably around ten days behind the rest. Plenty of time.   Friday, June 19 View Page The 1985 plants are just ..............Big.   Sunday, June 21 View Page Stuart finally got the mist lines working and they come on from 10am to 6pm for 2min every 30min. This is a first for us and we will need to do a lot of fine tuning.   Sunday, June 21 View Page There are times when humidity is the worst thing in the patch but there are also times that humidity is a good thing helping the plant keep working through hot days.   Saturday, June 27 View Page The last sheet of glass from the old nursery is out and boy did Scott and I keep the girls at the hospital busy patching us up.   Saturday, June 27 View Page Scott was just one stitch ahead but I got to take the last pane out.   Saturday, June 27 View Page It's not proving particularly easy to get the soil nutritional levels just right and I'm sure we will be a lot more accurate next year. As the soil is very deep it's not easy to work out where we should be taking the samples from. The pot system that we are working on appears to be doing very well with five out of five inspections positive. I think I would encourage all growers reading my diary to try this on a couple of vines. The reasons for doing this are back in my diary   Sunday, June 28 View Page Just the frame of the old house to go   Sunday, June 28 View Page Some happy looking Meier plants but the 2323 that we went with a side vine is not that great.   Sunday, June 28 View Page Some very happy Miller plants   Sunday, June 28 View Page The three 1985 plants all have keepers on at somewhere around 12ft out so we will be doing a little moving around tomorrow. We will probably do the two good Meier plants in the next couple of days. The 2323 fruit doesn't look like the greatest of shapes but all of them on that plant are exactly the same.   Monday, June 29 View Page First of all, "Roots". We sorted out our 1985 final pumpkins today and removed some of the side vines. Every one has rooted from the top and bottom but the top root is just the same size which means we must be doing something right.   Monday, June 29 View Page Not a great photo but you get the picture. It's also very nice not to have the whole vine under soil.   Monday, June 29 View Page The first of the 1985's was pollinated on the 18th June and is a Sib   Monday, June 29 View Page And the plant   Monday, June 29 View Page The middle 1985 was pollinated on the 16th June and will have a tinge of orange going on. She is also a sib and I forgot to mention that the first one had a dose of Ethrel (I don't think it's catching).   Monday, June 29 View Page And the plant.   Monday, June 29 View Page And the last 1985 was pollinated on the 19th June and guess what? She's a sib as well. Stuart only had 1985 females so there you go. I could give you a photo of the plant but there's no point as it is just as good as the other two. I sent another soil and leaf sample away today as the one last week was not exactly what we wanted to see. We will keep gently trying to amend the soil but next years plants will be going into a better balanced soil for sure.   Tuesday, June 30 View Page This is the pumpkin for the 2323 and she was pollinated on the 20th June   Tuesday, June 30 View Page This is her on the plant and it's certainly refreshing to have decent wide plants for a change   Tuesday, June 30 View Page And this is our pumpkin for the 2102 which is crossed with the 1985 and pollinated on the 21st June. I think this is the other pumpkin that Stuart did the Ethrel thing. I forgot to say that the 2323 was crossed with the 2102.   Tuesday, June 30 View Page And the plant. She is the better looking of the two.   Thursday, July 2 View Page The pumpkins are off to a good start and I'm just putting these photos up to see how well they are growing. This is the 1985 in the far right and the first one I put up a couple of days ago.   Thursday, July 2 View Page And this 1985 is just inside the door to the right.   Saturday, July 11 View Page Just a quick update on the patch and on the whole things look ok. We don't have any measurements yet but will probably start in the next week. This is the 1985 in the far corner and she is 23 DAP.   Saturday, July 11 View Page The middle 1985 is not the full ticket and the chances of this one lasting in the patch is pretty much zero.   Saturday, July 11 View Page Just inside the door the 1985 is looking good and is 22 DAP. The middle one is 25 DAP by the way.   Saturday, July 11 View Page I really like this pumpkin on the 2102 and from what I read on BP the vibes are better about the 2102 than the 2323.   Saturday, July 11 View Page The shape of the 2323 has improved and the pumpkin certainly has great potential. Her DAP is 21 and the 2102 is 20.   Monday, July 13 View Page So here are some measurements at last but first of all we pulled the middle 1985 and the far corner 2323. There was no potential in either of them and with work the way it is were not looking for any more. I have to say we both seem a little nervous about this year and Stuart noticed in me and I noticed it in him. I guess we have both so stressed out with the new build that we both feel we could do with a break. Anyway going on,"our glass is half full" we've done a good job this year and both well aware of improvements for next. First up is the 2102 Dap 22 and is 126lbs. She has a nice shape and had a treatment with Ethrel.   Monday, July 13 View Page The 2323 DAP 23 is 148lbs and she is fine but does have a sort of cone look about her on the stem end. Now as far as keeping the stem away from the pumpkin this could be a very good thing.   Monday, July 13 View Page The 1985 in the far right DAP25 is 236lbs and she also had the ethrel treatment. Lots of ribs on this babe and very nice shape.   Monday, July 13 View Page And the last up is the other 1985 Dap 24 and 198lbs and again a nice shape.   Monday, July 13 View Page This is a photo that can lift your spirits, beautiful white roots going down right to the gravel. To be honest all the plants now look very much the same in size and quality.   Saturday, July 18 View Page This is last Mondays soil sample but we don't have the leaf sample back yet. We put on 6oz of Borax through the drip tubes and I imagine we will put some morn but that will be after another soil sample next week. Although the Manganese and Sulphur levels in the soil look fine they generally are a real pain in the butt when we get the leaf sample back and something I personally need to get my head around.   Sunday, July 19 View Page Our plants are looking nice and fresh for the time of year if you know what I mean. This is the far right 1985.   Sunday, July 19 View Page And this is the back of the 1985 just inside of the door. Normally at this time of year we would start to see these leaves looking tired. We always knew that our plants were way to narrow in the past and I think we did well to get a 1884lb pb. Now that were seeing the wider plants I can see where a new pb will come from.   Monday, July 20 View Page Here's this weeks measurements starting of with the 2102 DAP 29 323lbs up 197lbs for the week.   Monday, July 20 View Page The 2323 DAP 30 is 352lbs up 208lbs this week.   Monday, July 20 View Page The 1985 in the top corner DAP 32 is 495lbs up 260lbs this week which is only 4lbs of our record growth in one week   Monday, July 20 View Page Last up is the 1985 just inside the door and at DAP 31 is 467lbs up 269lbs for the week which is sweet as it is our best ever growth in one week. Today we have actually managed to get the heat on at night and it will be running at 20C or 70F. Obviously growth should speed up a little but the main reason is to try and remove the temp fluctuations not to get ridiculously fast growth.   Sunday, July 26 View Page I didn't manage to get the leaf sample up on my diary last week so here is this weeks soil and leaf sample together. I know it's not everyone's cup of tea looking at these but I know some growers will get something out of them.   Sunday, July 26 View Page And here's the Manganese and Sulphur thing I need to get my head around. The pH will need to be lifted for next year and that should help our Calcium.   Sunday, July 26 View Page We do have totally new soil conditions this year and getting the soil, not dirt, right will not happen over night. Anyway, the plants don't look too bad and if we can get a new PB it's great to know where we can improve on next year. One thing I would say is that sharing information will push this sport forward which is why Stuart and I do so. I'm sure growing these beasts has not caught up with genetics so we have an exciting future ahead.   Monday, July 27 View Page Stuart went in today to find that the 1985 at the far end of the glass house had split and after an autopsy we found out why. Yep you guessed it, too dry. We've been watering 50gall a day and as the plants are twice the size we should have been putting on more. We have increased the water for the remaining plants and we are fully aware that it may well end in tears. We did tape her and DAP 39 she was 830lbs up 334lbs for the week and averaging an remarkable 48lbs a day. Anyway what's done is done and we can only keep our fingers crossed for the last three. The 2102 DAP 36 is 594lbs up 271lbs.   Monday, July 27 View Page The 2323 DAP37 is 661lbs up 309lbs for the week and that's around 44lbs a day.   Monday, July 27 View Page And our last 1985 DAP38 is 794lbs up an incredible 327lbs for the week which is around 46lbs for the day.   Monday, July 27 View Page We have only managed three nights with heat which is really meant for these red weeds. Lots of problems with bits on the new build but plants do care, don't give them the conditions they need at your peril.   Thursday, July 30 View Page We pulled the 1985 today and might be doing the other one next week but we will see. I did do one last tape and it was still doing 48lbs a day so in a nut shell 480lbs in ten days. I was going to count all the pots today but forgot but one thing for sure, we will be doing the same next year.   Thursday, July 30 View Page If you want to try this yourself perhaps try your local commercial pot plant grower as they do tend to have plenty of second hand pots.   Thursday, July 30 View Page And there you go a perfect root and every time.   Thursday, July 30 View Page All along the stem it is lovely and clean with no sign of rotting.   Saturday, August 1 View Page Were still not sure if the other 1985 will make it but were very happy with the quality of the plants and in particular the back which by now in previous year would have been looking a little sorry for itself. This photo was taken through a window so the plant looks even better the other side.   Monday, August 3 View Page Here are the measurements for our last three pumpkins. The 2102 DAP 43 is 866lbs up 272lbs for the week.   Monday, August 3 View Page The 2323 DAP44 is 948lbs up 287lbs for the week.   Monday, August 3 View Page The 1985 DAP 45 is 1089lbs up 295lbs for the week and appears to be ok at the moment (touching wood). If she makes it she will be a seriously big pumpkin.   Monday, August 3 View Page Don't faint, I finally fired up the Man B Q.   Monday, August 3 View Page Smoking   Monday, August 10 View Page Just a quick update as it has been a long day. The 2102 DAP 47 is 113lbs up 247lbs this week. She does have a couple of small hoes on the stem side so time will tell.   Monday, August 10 View Page The 2102 was actually 50 days old. This is the 2323 DAP 51 and she is 1228lbs up 280lbs and still averaging 40lbs a day.   Monday, August 10 View Page Last is the 1985 DAP 52 and 1364lbs up 275lbs for the week.   Monday, August 17 View Page Here are this weeks numbers for the patch. The 2102 DAP57 is 1228lbs up 115lbs for the week. The 2323 DAP58 is 1372lbs up 144lbs for the week. And the 1985 DAP59 is 1502lbs up 138lbs for the week. This is the 1985 and I would love to see it tape 1700lbs and beat our tape pb.   Monday, August 24 View Page Well that's a bit of a bugger. We lost the 1985 last night with a hole on a Dill ring. On just DAP 66 she taped 1641lbs putting on 139lbs last week and realistically would have finished taping 1850 to 1950lbs if she had held together.   Monday, August 24 View Page The 2102 is still plodding along and DAP 64 is 1296lbs up 68lbs for the week.   Monday, August 24 View Page And DAP 65 the 2323 is 1484lbs up 112lbs for the week and hopefully will keep a little respect in our patch.   Monday, August 31 View Page Another week on and we still have a couple of pumpkins left. We didn't get round to pulling up the 1985 this week so we decided to tape her and DAP 73 she is 1745lbs up 104lbs for the week and that will be her est weight. Like I said last week she would have probably ended up tapping around 1950lbs or more. The 2102 is still slowly growing and on DAP 71 is 1381lbs up 85lbs for the week. DAP 72 the 2323 got too 1588lbs up 104lbs for the week and thumps like a rock. I do get the thumping of pumpkins thing but last year we were 100% sure that the 1623 was going to go light and you all know what it did. I was talking to Mehdi last week about Mildew as he got it in his patch a month earlier this year and we were the same. It's a pity we don't have the amazing forecasting that they have in the USA. This is the 2323 which has very little mildew and still a cracking plant.   Monday, September 14 View Page The last couple of weeks have been slow but sure in the Paton patch. On DAP 85 the 2102 is 1441lbs up 60lbs for the last two weeks and probably nearly done. On DAP 86 the 2323 is 1693lbs up 105 for the last two weeks. We would like to see her tape just into the 1700's to give us an exciting weigh off day with a PB chance. For my own record this has been the crapiest year ever with all three of us boys and our Mum being stressed 24/7. The one thing that has keep Stuart and I going has been the pumpkins and that includes losing two enormous beasts. Oh Yeh,it can be a cruel sport but it is also uplifting for sure.   Monday, September 28 View Page Meet Ralf Hamilton my great nephew and stunning super model extraordinaire. I didn't do a diary entry last week as the pumpkins are growing slowly and I didn't want to bore you. The 2102 has grown 52lbs in the last two weeks and is now just under 1500lbs.Next Monday she will be going to the RHS show in London which is not a GPC show (working on it) but a show very dear to our hearts. The 2323 is now just under 1750lbs on Day 100 up 52lbs in the last two weeks and she will go to our GPC show a week on Saturday.   Tuesday, October 6 View Page Great roots on the 2102   Tuesday, October 6 View Page Here's the bad news. When we taped the 2102 she was 1502lbs and she weighed just 1122lbs which is something like 26% light which is the lightest pumpkin by far I've ever seen.   Tuesday, October 6 View Page And here's the really good news. These young growers grew this 800lbs plus pumpkin outside at school. Their teachers are a great inspiration to them in fact there enthusiasm is infectious. This is our future and I forgot to say last night that if they can "con" their teachers to bring them down to our patch next year Stuart and I will show them round the whole nursery as well. By the way, the 2323 is now 1770lbs and nearly done. Perfect for this weekend.   Friday, October 9 View Page If was a bit of a fight but we got the 2323 on of the patch   Friday, October 9 View Page Job done and what a beast. Not me the pumpkin you fool   Sunday, October 11 View Page How about this for a boring photo, I spent so much time enjoying the day I forgot to take any photos. We were so close to a PB it wasn't true and our 2323 became the 1861 Paton. The photo is of some onion seeds I sowed but more about them later. Thanks for everyone making it such a great day.   Monday, October 12 View Page I actually worked out our little darling wrong and it was 1866lbs after the KG's were work out on the official site so happy days. This is sunrise over our new lake.   Saturday, October 17 View Page I started three new smallish projects a few weeks ago. This is the cover for my Man-B-Q all in green oak and I will slate the roof.   Saturday, October 17 View Page Behind it I took down my old shed and I'm building a long shed right across the bottom of my garden. A small part of the shed will have a separate door for bikes and stuff and the rest will be a Man shed.   Saturday, October 17 View Page In return for my Man shed it was only fair that I built Sarah a lovely summerhouse over looking the pond so this is project number three.   Friday, October 23 View Page The first of the red weeds went to market this week.   Friday, October 23 View Page and the winter lawn is on the way up   Sunday, November 1 View Page This is my daughter Katie modelling with our pumpkin and an amazing traction engine.   Sunday, November 1 View Page Off she goes to lead the kids Halloween fancy dress procession   Sunday, November 1 View Page The first onions I sowed were not treated well so I had to get some more seeds from Peter and I also got some from Keith.   Tuesday, November 10 View Page I have to apologize to Peter for managing to have yet another rubbish germination of his onion seeds. Keith sent me a load of seeds and even with my lack of germination talent I have more than enough.   Saturday, November 14 View Page Not a great deal to see but I pricked out these onions ready for the next stage. I do have a reason for growing onions again this year which is to satisfy my own curiosity. I actually have a theory which has come from reading many jaw dropingly boring articles and I need to prove to myself I'm on the right track. My problem is that although growing some big onions I'm along way short of the top growers. Anyway I can't tell anyone what I'm going to do but I'm sure it will be of some interest.   Saturday, November 21 View Page Stuarts giving the patch a good soak to get rid of any unwanted salts.   Saturday, November 21 View Page Now that was a long day. We shipped 12000 red weeds today and 1000 hairy balls (Hellebores). We started a 4.30am and 18 hours later we were done.   Friday, December 18 View Page I potted the onions up today and put the lights onto 12hrs on 12hrs off. I cut one of the pots in half and put that in another pot so when it comes to planting I don't have to tip the pot upside down. Try this yourself if you have to pot pumpkins into big pots it works a treat.   Friday, December 18 View Page I talked to Keith Foster today and the amount of research he's doing is amazing.I really hope he has a great year, deserves it. For me, I would just like to see some interesting results in my experiments to spur me on for another year.   Monday, December 28 View Page My outdoor kitchen is coming on well   Monday, December 28 View Page Sarah couldn't decide what reclaim stained glass windows to buy so I got all five that she liked and put them in.   Monday, December 28 View Page The Man shed is also moving on but as it is pretty much all DIY it is taking time.   Monday, December 28 View Page I've been getting in the insulation today and hope plaster the ceiling, in part of it next week.   Monday, December 28 View Page The summer house is also coming on well but the one thing I'm having made for me are the doors and windows are not ready yet.   Monday, December 28 View Page I have also made a few supports for the onions. I complain that I don't have time for fishing but I'm my own worst enemy. Anyway I'm fishing tomorrow for the first time in four months. Cant wait.   Wednesday, December 30 View Page Just a minnow but still a lovely fish and great day out. Anyway...........Still got it.   Thursday, December 31 View Page The first of 2016 crop head for the glasshouse. Happy New year to you all.