Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 248 Entries. Tuesday, January 9 View Page Today I lost the man who got me into growing things the right way. Whether that be in gardening or myself, you always pushed me to be better. I never had a dad but great grandpa, you were the absolute closest thing to it. I love you, rest in peace. I will try to do everything in 2018 the way you would have even if it means putting in twice as much work, in the end more work pays off. You taught me how to be a man and I will always cherish that.   Thursday, January 11 View Page Hard to tell size from the picture but here is the basic patch perimeter for 2018. We are expanding to 36 feet x 60 feet (2160 sq. Feet) as soon as the New England weather allows for it lol   Monday, January 22 View Page Here is the patch last year. Take notice of the tree in the upper left-hand corner.   Monday, January 22 View Page 2018 patch perimeter, courtesy of a half hour of free time and a shovel lol. It will be a very nice expansion of about 1,000 square feet. See you in spring !   Tuesday, January 30 View Page Getting my seed starting set-up figured out. This is in my bedroom closet. Nothing fancy, only starting 4 competition plants this year (not including tomatoes). Hope to add a couple CFL grow lights to this set-up and a small fan for airflow. The light will also be adjustable to be raised when needed to avoid light oversaturation.   Tuesday, January 30 View Page Here is my 2018 seed lineup, notice any similarities between parentage of the seeds chosen lol? But in all seriousness I believe the Holub genetics would be my best bet for a 1,000 lb green squash. The 2, 2118's will be planted facing the west side of the patch (next to each other) and the 1807 and 512.5 will be planted next to each other on the east side. After a couple weeks, the strongest plants on either side will be the 'chosen one' and the weaker will get culled.   Thursday, February 1 View Page Here is the 1252.5 Jutras (1060 Holub x 1060 Holub). Since there is a good chance this plant would produce a pumpkin, it made a good candidate for one of my practice plants. I hope to keep this plant for about a month and practice different lights and a soil mixture on it to see if it's suitable for my competition plants.   Thursday, February 1 View Page A perfect example on why to never put all our eggs in 1 basket, and why to start doubles of the same seed, the 1079.5 Kline squash is a mutant (Club root).   Monday, February 5 View Page The makeshift grow room is really starting to come together. Doesn't need to be pretty (or expensive). Just needs to get the job done. I want to add better fixtures for CFL bulbs. I have found that CFL's work great in addition to LED panels and aid in making a stockier plant. Also: Day 4, I believe, on the 1252.5 Jutras practice plant   Monday, February 5 View Page Picture for last post   Wednesday, February 7 View Page 1252.5 Jutras practice plant doing well. Day 6 today. Learning from over-watering last season, I'm Letting the soil get bone dry on top before I water & it seems to be doing the trick. I feel that by watering less am encouraging the roots to go deeper into the pot looking for water (as there is still very moist soil down there) Also keeping my temps where I want them. So far so good.   Thursday, February 15 View Page 1252.5 Jutras practice plant - 14 days old   Tuesday, March 20 View Page Just spread "maintenance" levels of ferts all over the patch with a slightly heavy feeding of potassium. Hope to get soil test in this weekend. Happy spring!   Friday, March 23 View Page eventful day... she said yay lol   Friday, March 23 View Page Also, has been in the 40s long enough to get some tilling done... this is before   Friday, March 23 View Page This is after. Expanded patch, added about 1,000 square feet. Obviously just a start so far, have to till a few more times before plants go out to break up grass even more and have to add more compost to even out the look of the soil   Friday, March 23 View Page Pic for last post   Sunday, March 25 View Page Spreading the black stuff   Sunday, March 25 View Page Gonna need to do this a few more times..   Sunday, March 25 View Page So after about 15 hours of work over the past few days, here is what the patch now looks like. Compared to the picture a few days ago it has really improved! Added some compost and evenly spread it to areas of the soil that needed it (mostly where I had expanded the patch). Also added some more goodies to the soil. I feel confident about my soil as of now.   Friday, March 30 View Page Giant Maters started Lineup: 3 - 8.22 Porkchop(s) 3 - 6.13 Konieczny(s) 3 - 5.31 Ellis(s) 2 - 2.06 Spaziani(s) *this is a potentially new tomato cross* I plan on getting them under a hoop house outdoors in about 7-8 weeks. Let's go A-team!   Monday, April 2 View Page onions growing well   Tuesday, April 3 View Page So far 8/11 tomatoes are up. Only ones yet to pop are the 8.22 Porkchops, I planted those the deepest if I recall correctly. One 2.06 Spaziani was up after only 3 .5 days   Monday, April 9 View Page Hoop house up. After a full day in the sun the outside soil temperature (6 inches down) read 38°F whereas inside the hoop (6 inches down) it read 61°F. A few more weeks, and some soil cables and we hope to bring that to about 70-74°F   Wednesday, April 11 View Page Starting 6 seeds tonight. 2 - 2118 Jutras (1844 Holub x self ) 1 - 1807 Holub (1844 Holub x self) 1 - 1701 Jutras (1844 Holub x 1445.5 Jutras) 2 - 512.5 est* Rouse (1844 Holub x self)   Wednesday, April 11 View Page *excuse the dirty hands lol, been playing in the dirt over here* Rotary tool is great for sanding seeds...   Wednesday, April 11 View Page 2118 Jutras all sanded up and ready to be soaked for 4 hours in 87° water and seaweed mix   Wednesday, April 11 View Page 2 gallon grow bags ready for action as soon as roots pop (hopefully in the next 36 to 48 hours)... Soil mixture is Fox Farms potting soil (most people use it to grow pot lol), perlite & worm castings.   Friday, April 13 View Page 3 seeds have germinated so far!!! 32 hours In   Friday, April 13 View Page Here is what I did to get such a fast germination. Here we have my 6 seeds. They are just resting below the surface of soil that has been heated to a constant 87° F. (Don't worry the genetics of the seeds has been written on the seed coat in Sharpie). For me I've always had trouble starting seeds using the paper towel method, and thanks to some ideas shared between some Utah growers have developed this idea to get a seed to germinate in such a way you can directly plant germinated seed into their final growing containers, no need for any stressful transplants. Was waiting to post this strategy in fear it would fail but so far everything looks to be going great!   Friday, April 13 View Page Here is the most aggressive seed (it surprised me), the 1701 Jutras - having only germinated in 30 hours. So far a 2118 and a 512.5 Rouse have also germinated   Friday, April 13 View Page Exposing the seed tip as you see in the picture is so you can see as soon as the root pops out, just make sure to keep the rest of the seed moist. Keeping in germination box will keep humidity high.   Friday, April 13 View Page 4/6 So far... just 1, 2118 and 512.5 yet to pop out   Friday, April 13 View Page 2118 Jutras ready for the 2 gallon pot   Saturday, April 14 View Page Phew. 100% germination... ready to rock.   Monday, April 16 View Page Official 2018 goal: MA state record squash. Currently 1,137 lbs.   Monday, April 16 View Page Zacheart tomato plant   Wednesday, April 18 View Page Everything's looking good so far. Soil cables will be put in soon. Hoping to get plants in the ground within the next 2 weeks.   Monday, April 23 View Page It's crunch time. Soil temp 8 inches down is now mid 70s   Tuesday, April 24 View Page Seems like everyone's 2118 Jutras' are growing very ugly and deformed. I am no exception, cots are twisted together. My friend Lou's is exactly the same. However I grew a test plant last year with cots just as twisted and while it took longer to "get going" after the initial seedling phase it did grow out of it. Here's hoping it does... if not my 1807 Holub and 1701 Jutras are doing pretty well and the 1701 may take the 2118's spot.   Tuesday, April 24 View Page 82° in the hoop house. Plants are loving it.   Thursday, April 26 View Page In the ground a full 16 days earlier than last season. Soil cables are a godsend.   Sunday, April 29 View Page 1701 jutras is the fastest grower compared to his buddies here in the hoop house   Monday, April 30 View Page 43 degrees outside... 82 degrees in hoop... soil 7 inches down stays at 72 degrees. plants have doubled in size since putting them in the ground...   Wednesday, May 2 View Page 1701   Wednesday, May 2 View Page Surprise - a 2261 Wallace given to me a week ago by a grower in our local club. Backup plant   Friday, May 4 View Page 1701 jutras continues to impress me, especially considering only 10 days ago the plant was just 2 cotylydon leaves.   Friday, May 4 View Page 1807 Holub Starting to put It Into gear   Friday, May 4 View Page a very "special" 2118 Jutras... not everyone deserves a trophy. Will likely not end up growing this plant... but it may turn around   Sunday, May 6 View Page 1701 is still the king of the patch   Tuesday, May 8 View Page 1701 jutras is easily the most aggressive plant I've had at this stage... That's a 2 gallon watering can to the left of it! Leaves are massive! Vine almost ready to come down   Tuesday, May 8 View Page 1807 Holub doing well   Tuesday, May 8 View Page 2118 Jutras... A for effort?   Wednesday, May 9 View Page Pulled my 2118, sorry Joe. I was holding hope for a while but I didn't really have a vine tip forming, just a 3rd leaf. Down to the 2261 vs 1701 and 1807 holub by itself.   Friday, May 11 View Page I gotta get this 1701 lying down soon.. grew 5 inches in the past 18 hours   Friday, May 11 View Page Picture for last post   Friday, May 11 View Page This leaf measures 17.5 inches across right now   Friday, May 11 View Page 1807 in the background and 1701 in the foreground. I want to step up my nitrogen slightly once the vine is laying down as I feel my leaves could be a bit darker   Saturday, May 12 View Page Happy birthday Henry! (Henry- the giant pumpkin grower)   Sunday, May 13 View Page Cousin climbed in the hoop house - perfect picture opportunity. 1701 Jutras babbbbby   Monday, May 14 View Page Competition tomatoes planted. Here is one of my Zachearts - beautiful plant so far. All tomato plants were intentionally grown leggy (to provide a long stem where many roots can form when trenched) and burried up the the top node or 2. All other branches were removed and soil was treated with root shield to prevent disease. My hope is the extra rooting provided through drenching my plants and working for the past few weeks to get my soil where I want it can land me a 5lb tomato. Who knows... never grown one before.   Monday, May 14 View Page Here is the Zacheart tomato plant all trenched and ready to grow upwards!   Tuesday, May 15 View Page 1807 holub should be down and running by Thursday or Friday   Tuesday, May 15 View Page 1701 jutras did 7 inches in 24 hours, now sitting at justb over 3 feet long   Wednesday, May 16 View Page As there was only a few inches of space left for the plants to grow in their hoop house I decided to.... Build a 20 foot long hoop house lol   Thursday, May 17 View Page Bad news. Asking everyone to please keep my dad in your prayers. He was just rushed to the E.R. About 5 years ago he was diagnosed with congestive heart failure . Today his heart was only working at 8-10% function. His doctors have told us that he is actively dying and at this point we are hoping to be put on the heart transplant waiting list. Not only that but they had previously thought only one chamber of his heart was failing, but now they believe it's both bottom chambers. In really scared because in about 1 week it'll be the 1 year anniversary of my mom passing away...   Thursday, May 17 View Page I just don't get it. I'm only 17 and my parents are only in their thirties. Why is this happening   Thursday, May 17 View Page 1807 holub on left, 1701 jutras on right   Thursday, May 17 View Page Some better news is the vine on the 1807 is 25 inches and finally got her to lay down. The 1701 is already past 49 inches long with 23 inch fan leaves! This is going to be an epic season if all goes well   Thursday, May 17 View Page If you look close you can see my feet for scale. I am in awe, Joe your seed rocks!! Visiting my dad soon, will post updates on his condition as well.   Friday, May 18 View Page Dad's heart is doing ok. Still around 10% function. Waiting til tomorrow until they can go in with a camera and check his heart chambers and valves to determine what his options for treatment are   Sunday, May 20 View Page Brother with the 1701 - the 1807 Holub behind it is doing well.   Monday, May 21 View Page Had to take my hoop off tonight, plant was only a few inches from the end and leaves were pressed against the sides. Nights still in the 50s but soil cables will be on 24/7 - hope the pace doesn't slow down too much   Monday, May 21 View Page Roots already pooping from beneath the pots placed on nodes a few days ago. Filled with mychorizae and compost   Monday, May 21 View Page Lol in my last entry I meant to say popping** not pooping Oh well   Tuesday, May 22 View Page The 1807 Holub on left and 1701 jutras is on the right, 5 foot & 7 foot main vines.   Tuesday, May 22 View Page 7 feet out on 1701. Another 8 feet to go   Tuesday, May 22 View Page Is this tomato plant a sativa or indica lol?? Jk, but interesting how it's growing so symmetrical. 6.13 Polish last name   Tuesday, May 22 View Page 2.06 Spaziani "Zacheart" - beautiful plant.   Tuesday, May 22 View Page Update on my dad: they did a cardio-MRI today on him and in 4 weeks they have schedualed surgery to implant a defibrillator (basically a pacemaker on steroids) into his chest - in case his heart stops and needs to be re-started. They are also increasing his meds and he needs to go to the hospital every 2 weeks until further notice for checkups. With any luck he will be put onto the transplant list.   Tuesday, May 22 View Page sorry for all the posts... but looking on the bright side... My dad going through his ordeal has brought us closer together. I live with my grandparents and hadn't been allowed to see him for some time. In the past year he has made huge efforts to be back in my brother and I's lives. The future is hopeful & God is good.   Wednesday, May 23 View Page Just found out my dad got to go home today! He's feeling a little better too. And - it was my last day of high school. More time to the veggies   Thursday, May 24 View Page Season ending??? Lol zoom in   Monday, May 28 View Page Question for tomato growers..is this a megablossom? Looks much larger than the other blossoms (about 3x the size and wide) - first truss on the 2.06 zacheart   Monday, May 28 View Page The 6.13 is looking nice, I think.   Monday, May 28 View Page One of my 5.31 Ellis plants... Not loving the cooler temps as much as the others   Monday, May 28 View Page This is the one with blossoms on it. The other zacheart plant is an almost exact twin   Tuesday, May 29 View Page 4 days ago we had some really strong winds that sent a board I was using as part of my wind fence flying right into both plants, the 1701 getting the brunt of it. The board landing directly on top of the plant and I had to cut away at about 50% of the broken adult leaves... looked rough   Tuesday, May 29 View Page The 1701 this morning, looking much better and filling in. Luckily I only ended up losing 1 secondary vine tip, so the rest should do a good job at replacing what was lost. Longest secondary is now just about 4 feet, plant is 3 inches from 10 feet. I will no longer be using boards as part of my wind fence lol.   Tuesday, May 29 View Page Secondaries are a bit slower on the 1807, sitting around 7 feet long - longest secondary only a foot. Warmer temps and some RAW NPK bloom fertilizer should bring them out fast in the coming weeks.   Tuesday, May 29 View Page 1701 jutras looking even better this evening! Filling in nicely   Tuesday, May 29 View Page The 1807 may not be as fast, but she sure is a pretty plant.   Wednesday, May 30 View Page Starting to get some real nice looking blossoms on the tomatos...time will tell. This is on the 2.06 Zacheart 'B' plant   Wednesday, May 30 View Page Quite a monster forming on the 6.13....   Wednesday, May 30 View Page I think this one may be a triple fused? Zacheart 'A'   Thursday, May 31 View Page 1807 Holub (left) is at 9 feet 1 inch, the 1701 Jutras (right) is at 10 feet 10 inches. The wind damage seems to have made little to no effect.   Monday, June 4 View Page 1701 front view, 12 feet wide.   Monday, June 4 View Page 1701 side view, 13 feet long.   Monday, June 4 View Page 1807 left, 1701 right. Patch starting to fill in! Tilling around plant every day now.   Monday, June 4 View Page Definitely gonna be pollinating on a much larger plant this year… I have a female on the end of the main Vine that should be ready to pollinate in about 2 weeks (female should open around 15 to 16 feet out with 23 or 24 secondaries behind it).   Monday, June 4 View Page Flashback to June 8th, 2017.. here is the 1844 Holub that grew our 512.5 in just over 35 days. Late start, bad vine maintenance and training, late pollination. What could be grown by one of my plants this year makes me dream. There is something magical about these plants that always puts me in awe watching them grow.   Wednesday, June 6 View Page Sorry for all the posts... but the 1701 Jutras is just blowing me away. Very resilient plant, seems more aggressive than my 2624 from last year.   Wednesday, June 6 View Page And now the small plant, the 1807. No complaints with this plant so far, been easy going.   Friday, June 8 View Page Decent mega going on the 2.06 Zacheart... I think I may roll with it. Rick, your plants are real fun to grow, and on the 2nd Zacheart plant I will be growing out the first 2 suckers in hopes for that nice mega to form on one of them (as per your advice).   Saturday, June 9 View Page Henry-the giant pumpkin grower was in the squash patch... phase 1 of my evil plan to convert orange growers to the green side has begun lol.   Saturday, June 9 View Page Right side up this time...   Saturday, June 9 View Page Well.. 98 degrees predicted here on Monday... that's when I'll have a pollination ready.. Joe Jutras called me today and gave some great tips on pollinating squash when it's hot. Now I gotta go buy some Styrofoam coolers lol   Monday, June 11 View Page It may look yellow due to camera flash... But this mega ain't even ready to pollinate (still mostly green) and she's looking pretty good already...found on the 6.13   Tuesday, June 12 View Page 1807 getting decently wide   Tuesday, June 12 View Page Battling UV today. Overheard watering necessary. Pollinating in about 5-7 days.   Tuesday, June 12 View Page Pollination on 1701 May be in the 7-10 day range while 1807 has one that should be ready in a week.   Friday, June 15 View Page So is this 1 DAP? either way, I'm happy with this tomato set. Not from the biggest megabloom, but not from the smallest either. I think it'll grow to be a nice one.   Friday, June 15 View Page Stump and main vine on 1701   Friday, June 15 View Page Intense 'S curve' action going on here   Friday, June 15 View Page Pollination in T minus: 5-6 days   Saturday, June 16 View Page 5.31 Ellis 'A'   Monday, June 18 View Page Pollination 15.5 feet out. 1807 Holub x 1701 Jutras. Highs predicted to be mid 90s today, currently I have ice and a plastic cooler keeping baby squash cool...   Monday, June 18 View Page 1807 plant with shade canopy   Tuesday, June 19 View Page Here Is the 1701 Jutras, if you look close I have my first pollination on it set to open in the morning, about 17.5 feet out on the main vine. This is the largest plant I've personally ever pollinated.. there are 22 strong secondaries behind this fruit.   Tuesday, June 19 View Page Meet "Kim Kardashian". I want this fruit to be so big and round people think it's fake. 1 DAP, pollination looks good so far but won't be sure for a few days   Wednesday, June 20 View Page Pollinated the 1701 Jutras, 17.5 feet out, with the 1807 Holub. Symmetrical 4 lobe female   Wednesday, June 20 View Page 1701 plant, measures 29 feet wide and 21 feet long. Need to till ahead of plant and bury vines again.   Saturday, June 23 View Page 5 DAP on the 1807, nice shaped fruit. Need to prepare bed of sand soon.... growing faster than I anticipated.   Monday, June 25 View Page 1807 in front and 1701 in back   Monday, June 25 View Page 1701 side view   Tuesday, June 26 View Page 2.06 First truss growing nice. No monster fused but I gotta feeling about this one...   Tuesday, June 26 View Page 2.06 plant, hopefully not sideways in post   Wednesday, June 27 View Page 1807 day 9   Wednesday, June 27 View Page Patch getting full   Wednesday, June 27 View Page Welp... Zacheart doubled in size overnight. Tomato growers - what do you think? My goal is 4-5 lbs this year. Keep this one or wait for another bloom? Decisions decisions, gotta top plant off soon if she's the keeper...   Saturday, June 30 View Page 1807 Holub growing nice 11 DAP   Saturday, June 30 View Page Spraying the plants with my "secret sauce"   Saturday, June 30 View Page 1701 Jutras loves the secret sauce, plant growth has not slowed yet since pollination (can't say the same for the 1807 Holub plant)   Saturday, June 30 View Page 1701 Jutras 10 days after pollination, really trying to keep up with the 1807 now. This fruit may have had a tiny bit of captan spilled on fruit a few days ago, whooooops - glad it isn't a beauty contest. Norm, want any captan?   Monday, July 2 View Page 1701 Jutras day 12. Gained 5.5 inches in circumference last 24 hours, nice fat fruit so far..   Monday, July 2 View Page 1807 Holub Day 14.... gained 7 inches in circumference the last 24 hours.... this is gonna be fun   Monday, July 2 View Page Accidentally posted day 11 picture for the 1701, here is day 12.   Tuesday, July 3 View Page Zacheart tomato. Will this be 3 lbs in 3 weeks? We shall see.   Wednesday, July 4 View Page Kim Kardashian (1807) day 16   Wednesday, July 4 View Page Envy (1701) day 14   Thursday, July 5 View Page Score!!!! Sue Chadwick gave me a potted 'Delicious' variety tomato plant she never wanted to put in her garden. It has a real nice tomato going on it I think has some potential. She only grows eating tomatos but knew I was trying giant Tomatos this year and gave me the entire plant. The plant is currently about a 7/10 health, but ill nurse this baby into a good one... at least that's the plan. Thank you Sue!   Friday, July 6 View Page Envy (1701) did 18 lbs last night. Day 16 today.   Sunday, July 8 View Page Envy (1701 Jutras) at 18 days old. Tomorrow she should surpass the 2 day older 1807 in weight.   Monday, July 9 View Page 2.06 Spaziani, around 20 days old. I will call her "beefcake"... If she ain't one of the prettiest tomatoes I've seen I won't know what is.   Monday, July 9 View Page 1807 yesterday day 20. Growth has been good   Wednesday, July 11 View Page Forgot to post - Envy (1701) day 20. This one is really picking up the lbs... Meanwhile the 1807 isn't doing too much.   Wednesday, July 11 View Page Picture for last post (1701 Day 20)   Friday, July 13 View Page The first tomato I've ever grown is looking good to me. Zacheart plant, talking to rick Spaziani we guess this one has 18-20 days left to grow. Currently doing around .5in/per day cc   Saturday, July 14 View Page C'mon baby... 17-19 more days left...   Tuesday, July 17 View Page Good news and Bad news. Good news is today I turned 18 years old... Bad news- Lost 1701 and the 1807. 1807 aborted day 19 likely to heat stress. 1701 stopped doing anything day 24, around 200 lbs. (Today is day 27). I went out today and the fruit was soft. Plant health took a fast downward trend leading me to suspect possible YVD. Sucks because I only saw a handful of bugs all year & been spraying for them every week. I have another pollination tomorrow ill try it just for shits and giggles. If it truly is YVD ill know when that one aborts and remove plant off site.. 1807 has a 4 day old pollination on it looking good.   Tuesday, July 17 View Page 1701 measured 183 lbs est. Stopped doing much day 24. Have an 8 day old pollinating and 2 day old Pollination on it ill try to grow out   Wednesday, July 18 View Page Grow beefcake grow!!! First tomato I've ever grown should be taping over 2 lbs tomorrow.... still got a ways to go before she starts turning red. Daily growth is still going good. I have a feeling this solid tomato will go heavier than expected.   Wednesday, July 18 View Page Don't post sideways..... anyway here is the plant that Beefcake is on... Zacheart 'A'   Wednesday, July 18 View Page Beefcake has a little sister... calling her meatloaf...today she turns 9 days old. I have a gut feeling about this one. She is on the zacheart 'b' plant that is larger and healthier, and has a more developed root system... this tomato is also double the size of beefcake day 9 AND is a triple fused not a double like beefcake.   Wednesday, July 18 View Page Here is the plant Meatloaf is growing on... about 4 feet tall and very wide. If you look close you can see she's already in a hammock All my plants were 'trenched' for the first 12-18 inches of stalk.   Wednesday, July 18 View Page Now... onto the 'delicious' variety plant sue chadwick gave me with a decent tomato going on it. The plant amazingly looked even worse than this a week ago... I cut more holes in the bottom of it's pot and placed it into a 5 gallon bucked with my super secret soil mix... Ok just organic compost... but theory being the roots will grow down into the bucket and have more roots to grow that fruit   Wednesday, July 18 View Page Here's Envy, est. 183 lbs :( I have 2 more pollinations on that plant I'm letting grow just to see what happens.. However, I completely get it why squash are rarely grown. These things are bad luck traps. Pumpkins next year....   Saturday, July 21 View Page 2.06 Spaziani 'Zacheart B' plant.   Saturday, July 21 View Page Everyone, may I introduce you to: Meatloaf. Meatloaf is 12 days old. Meatloaf is 11.75" in cc. Doing nearly 1 inch in cc every day since pollination. Meatloaf is the 'Zacheart B' fruit, huge plant to power it.   Saturday, July 21 View Page Right side up this time?   Tuesday, July 24 View Page C'mon beefcake... weigh 3 lbs please. First tomato ever grown. Lots of fun so far.   Tuesday, July 24 View Page Picture for last post.   Thursday, July 26 View Page Meatloaf (2.06 Spaziani Zacheart) is taping 1 pound today. Averaging 0.882 inches per day in circumference gain since pollination.   Friday, July 27 View Page 6.13 Konieczny   Friday, July 27 View Page 5.31 Ellis, 10 days old   Saturday, July 28 View Page 1701 plant pulled today.   Sunday, July 29 View Page Tomato Alley. Just 5 plants. I'm lucky to have all plants with giants set and growing well. You can really see the variation in genetics between the two zacheart plants on the left and the megazac (the heavily pruned 6.13) & bigzacs (5.31 Ellis) on the right.   Sunday, July 29 View Page Beefcake is now around 45 days old. Still growing and green as a bean... but growing slowly. Creeping up on the 3 lb mark, not there jusssst yet.   Sunday, July 29 View Page Meanwhile Meatloaf.... is a solid 5 inches ahead of where beefcake was same day.. Day 20 today.   Tuesday, July 31 View Page Picked the first 2.06 zacheart, beefcake. Flashing red and wanted to give the baby tomato on top of the same plant a fighting chance.   Tuesday, July 31 View Page She weighed in at 3.03 lbs... she's solid.   Tuesday, July 31 View Page When I asked the lady at Big Y to weigh this tomato she gave me quite the attitude lol. Barely had time to snap a pic before she handed the tomato back to me. I will try another store next time. Also- first tomato ever grown!   Tuesday, July 31 View Page Thank you Rick for the seeds and all of the advice so far this year! I'm sure the next 2 Zachearts I have growing won't disappoint   Wednesday, August 1 View Page Go meatloaf go (another zacheart) ... should be 2 lbs by tomorrow morning. Day 23 today.   Wednesday, August 1 View Page The 6.13.. which I am now calling Freddy Krueger just passed the 1 lb mark. Should have another 35 days left of growing.   Saturday, August 4 View Page Here's the 3.03 compared to meatloaf. Meatloaf is 26 days old. The 3.03 was picked at 46 days and could have easily waited until day 50. Let's hope there's at least 25 more days left for meatloaf before she turns red.   Saturday, August 4 View Page Right side up?   Sunday, August 5 View Page Freddy Krueger (6.13 Megazac) is now around 2 lbs, I have a good feeling about this one   Wednesday, August 8 View Page So I have double... even triple checked the numbers... meatloaf (2.06 Spaziani 'Zacheart') is averaging .30 inches per day in cc growth and shouldn't flash red for another 18-21 days if she follows the growth curve of my 3.03. All I need is 2.5 inches until she is in the 4 lb range. Praying meatloaf makes it there.   Wednesday, August 8 View Page Bottom of meatloaf. Nice & solid. Hard angle to photograph   Wednesday, August 15 View Page The 6.13 is flashing red way before expected. We have gotten 3" of rain every week for the past few weeks, really slowed her down. The 6.13 (Freddy Krueger) stopped doing much after the hard rain. The other tomatoes are still chugging   Wednesday, August 15 View Page Meatloaf is nearly an inch larger than the 3.03 was.. Should have another inch of growth left in her!! I beliveeeee   Wednesday, August 15 View Page Patch update. From right side moving back we have: the 5.31 Ellis A, the 5.31 Ellis B, & the 6.13 Chris K megazac. The back left is Meatloaf (2.06 Spaziani Zacheart) Front left... suprise Zacheart that is yet to be named... day 18 today, 17.5" cc.   Friday, August 17 View Page Weird shaped coconut in this mini coconut tree??   Friday, August 17 View Page Woohoo 2.77 lbs... my 2nd tomato ever grown, off the 6.13 Konieczny   Friday, August 17 View Page Bottom of the 2.77... She would have gone 3+ lbs I think, had she not ripened early starting from a split in her skin.   Sunday, August 19 View Page Lol my brother wanted to compare his head to this 5.31 Ellis I have going, which I have named "Pacman". Pacman could be something special.. in 4 days his 3 way measurements tell me he gained right around 1 lb...roughly 3 lbs now...should have at least 20 more days with these cooler nights.   Sunday, August 19 View Page Lol my brother wanted to compare his head to this 5.31 Ellis I have going, which I have named "Pacman". Pacman could be something special.. in 4 days his 3 way measurements tell me he gained right around 1 lb...roughly 3 lbs now...should have at least 20 more days with these cooler nights.   Wednesday, August 22 View Page Meatloaf has been picked. Guess the weight begins now and ends in at 9:30 p.m. I'll add that she is a new personal best. Winner gets a 1% boost in pride, non-refundable.   Wednesday, August 22 View Page The bottom of meatloaf...just by feel I knew she was larger than the 3.03 was...   Wednesday, August 22 View Page You can imagine how I'm feeling...1.5 ounces away But she went slightly more than I expected so I am happy. Grown from the 2.06 Spaziani "zacheart" Gmay won the guess the weight contest.   Tuesday, September 4 View Page First college course down in the books today! Intro to environmental studies. I am majoring in business & agriculture   Sunday, September 9 View Page Root system on the plant that grew my 3.90... main tap roots have a 5 foot spread.... this plant was trenched in June.   Thursday, September 13 View Page Meatloaf lives!!! 2.06 spaziani clone (the one that grew my 3.90) is liking its 30 gallon hydro bucket. This setup includes: ?600w LED panel. ?Hydropinic grow nutrient feed ?coco (soil-less media) ?750 gallons of air being pumped through an air disk into the bucket via a 120v air pump (well oxygenated rootzzz). I'm excited to see where this project goes.   Thursday, September 13 View Page Stocky lil thang   Sunday, September 16 View Page The Hydroponic Zacheart tomato is growing rapidly now. Roots have descended into the aerated nutrient solution. Bnot, you'll be interested in knowing the LED panel I'm using right now is specifically designed for the light spectrum cannabis thrives under.   Sunday, September 16 View Page Right side up?   Sunday, September 16 View Page Yep... that's one blossom. On a zacheart too. Zoom in to see the size of its stem... seems like a much larger flower bud than how my other zacheart megablossoms started out?   Sunday, September 23 View Page This hydroponic stuff is amazing... this zacheart clone has only been in a hydro bucket for 10 days. The growth compared to soil is by leaps and bounds.   Thursday, September 27 View Page Zacheart clone update   Thursday, September 27 View Page Hydro buckets 2.0, growing two f2 generation plants from the 5.31 Ellis 'bigzac'. These are 30 gal. Tall trashcans, lids are able to support a 20 lb payload. PH set at 6.8 All hydro buckets are connected to the same air pump & now receive ~ 300 gals/oxygen per hour. Will update again in a month.   Thursday, September 27 View Page Picture meant for last post   Friday, September 28 View Page The grow room just got super charged. I now have 4 1000w HPS lights, ballasts, and hoods to mess around with. My uncle gave me his whole setup... very thankful indeed.   Tuesday, October 2 View Page Zacheart clone... zoom to see big(ish) blossom on main stem that should be ready to open within a week.... Plant growing quickly. Roots growing quicker. Getting exciting now. 3 weeks until an update on the f2 generation of the 5.31 Ellis plants.   Thursday, October 11 View Page F2 generation of the 5.31 Ellis 'Bigzac' Top pic: Oct 7th Bottom pic: Oct. 11th Fried one seedling by pushing too heavy on the ferts... water was testing at 2,000 ppm lol.... (whereas this plant is in a solution testing at about half that)   Saturday, October 13 View Page Uh oh.... whats hayden about to do?   Saturday, October 13 View Page A peek inside...   Saturday, October 13 View Page A snip here... a snip there..   Saturday, October 13 View Page Fits around stem pretty well... now time for the soil...   Saturday, October 13 View Page Only the best for my tomato babies   Saturday, October 13 View Page Now need to make sure the root systems will be separated... check   Saturday, October 13 View Page Annnnnnnnd boom. Maybe the first giant tomato that will have a true hydroponic + seperate soil based root system, on a Zacheart clone nonetheless. My theory is nutrients like calcium and mg will be easier to feed through the soil based roots, while the hydroponic roots system will be fed the macro-nutrients. Hopefully this is a worthwhile idea.   Saturday, October 13 View Page Also today marks 1 month since I placed this clone in its hydroponic bucket!!   Friday, October 19 View Page 14 day old seedling, roots finally dropped into hydro solution, should really take off now.   Monday, October 22 View Page Zacheart plant pulled. No super impressive blossoms and it was getting quite tall. Will try airpot + hydro idea on another plant this winter. In the meantime, a few 5.95 domingos are soaking in the germination chamber.   Tuesday, October 30 View Page Attention indoor tomato growers: the 5.95 domingo has germinated   Wednesday, October 31 View Page The coveted 5.95 Domingo, 24 hours old. Growing in 30 gal. Hydro solution. Warning everyone who tries hydroponics for the first time this winter... a little fertilizer goes a long way and the "range" I have found best for my plants is between 400-800 ppm. Anything over 1200 ppm may destroy your seedlings.   Thursday, November 1 View Page Yesterday On my way home from work I totaled my 1st car. I've had that car for a year and a 1/2 and put over 45,000 miles on it. RIP to the mustang, thank God ot was only the car   Tuesday, November 6 View Page 1 week old 5.95 Domingo. Perfect plant so far.   Tuesday, November 6 View Page Who ever said you can't grow a dwarf giant-head sunflower in hydroponics? 6 days old.   Tuesday, November 6 View Page Pic for last post   Tuesday, November 13 View Page Hydro sunflower will be 2 weeks old tomorrow   Tuesday, November 13 View Page 2 week old 5.95 Domingo   Saturday, November 17 View Page Spence and I were talking and he brought up a good point. I am counting the # of days my plant has been alive SINCE germination, not when I started soaking seeds. With that in mind, the 5.95 soaked for 3 days before germinating, so depending how you define a plants age, today is either day 18 or day 21 for the 5.95. For my own sake in accuracy, I will call this plant 21 days old from seed soaking. In other news: I can spot a blossom forming in the growth tip.   Saturday, November 17 View Page Also can't post a 5.95 picture without a sunflower update. 16 or 17 days old today.   Saturday, November 24 View Page Bob, I think you're right about some real competition this winter! Zowie has niccccce big plants already and I hope he does better than he expected :) Here is the 5.95 Domingo last night at 24 days since germination, 27 since seed soak. If you zoom in you can see a mega forming that I expect to open in about a week or less.   Saturday, November 24 View Page Here is the giant head sunflower growing in hydro.. kinda looks like a cabbage! Just over 3 weeks old today   Saturday, November 24 View Page roots on sunflower   Wednesday, November 28 View Page The 5.95 at 29 days sice germination, 32 since seed soak. Now have 2 more potential megablossoms on the way   Saturday, December 1 View Page First truss blossom on the 5.95, beginning to open at day 32 from germ, 35 from seed soak   Tuesday, December 4 View Page Built the 5.95 a new hydro bucket, out of a 12 gallon shop vac and a window fan lol. Although PH will need to be adjusted more in this smaller container, the shop vac allows for much easier water changes (only done 2 full water changes so far this grow)   Sunday, December 9 View Page 5 week old giant head sunflower. Perhaps hydroponics is a good method to grow these things? This is the stockiest sunflower I've ever personally seen   Sunday, December 9 View Page Top view   Sunday, December 9 View Page Stalk view, already 2" thick at widest point, plant is less 20" tall   Sunday, December 9 View Page And at 5 weeks old, sunflower head is peeking through. Lots of light and bloom ferts from day 1...   Monday, December 10 View Page The 5.95 tomato plant is a beast, day 42 today (6 weeks old)   Monday, December 10 View Page growing multiple "suckers" off the branches already   Monday, December 10 View Page Also... my first pollinated blossom looks to have taken, pulled petals off today (making it day 1 in my eyes)   Monday, December 10 View Page Forgot to crop photos, apologies as the last 3 are flipped sideways   Wednesday, December 19 View Page Biggest mega forming on the 5.95, liking the looks of it so far. It is the top of the plant   Wednesday, December 19 View Page Giant head sunflower update... plant is growing SO STOCKY in hydro... about 2 feet tall   Wednesday, December 19 View Page Sunflower stalk...   Wednesday, December 19 View Page Baby sunflower head forming   Wednesday, December 26 View Page Since Henry posted I will too - no need for thanks man; I love growing & would only be where I am today because you pushed me in 2016 to get in touch with the NEGPGA and come to the growers meetings & dinners. Since then, my love for competitive growing has just snowballed. You and I will be friends for a lifetime Henry - I'll always be here to help   Wednesday, December 26 View Page Last few posts of 2018! What a wild year it's been... who knew I'd develop such a fascination with giant tomatoes? Makes me rethink my gardening goals (slightly) as I still want a 1,000 - 1500 lb pumpkin, and personally believe there is already 500 lb potential in bushel gourds.... the drawing board for next year is currently a work in process... but just know... 2019 - I'm coming for you   Wednesday, December 26 View Page Now, onto the 5.95.. this plant is currently about 3 feet tall, and topped at truss #2... (my uncle "accidentally" took off my truss #1 set a little while ago).   Wednesday, December 26 View Page Ah! A Christmas miracle... overnight 90% of the petals came off (marking in my books day 1 of this tomato). Hopefully there's decent potential here?   Saturday, December 29 View Page Offical last post of 2018, day 3 on the 5.95 - good growth indicates a successful pollination