I'm back.
Hi, all!
Sorry for a long hiatus, but a sudden, unforeseen health problem precluded my
presence on the list. It's good to be back. After going through over 500
messages, I was happy to learn of Mike Nep's new GA record and sorry to hear
of the pumpkins that were lost at this late date.
Earlier this month, I did manage to visit Ontario, Canada to see the patches
of Al Eaton and Paul McIntyre. Both patches are meticulously maintained and I
was delighted to see these growers' plants and fruits as they are developing.
I must make special mention of Paul's patch. He has followed suit this season
with many dark orange, large fruits on the vine. Paul has a gorgeous
homestead with a vegetable garden adjacent to his patch. Paul uses sunflowers
to mark off each plant's growing space. He even engraves wooden signs for
each of his plants. There is no doubt that Paul's garden has thousands of
sunflowers in full bloom. It's a spectacular sight to see. Paul grows the
Russian Giant sunflower variety, many of which are over 10 -12 ft. tall with
huge heads.
Paul is definitely a force to be reckoned with. He has quite a few beautiful
fruits in his patch and will make a great showing in Ottawa this fall.
Paul also grows handsome sweet Spanish onions, growing in perfect rows, all
the same size (larger than a softball!).
Al has some lovely shaped fruits in his patch. His plants' leaves are waist
tall, which amazed me. I also saw Jurassic vines, which were pruned with
precision. There was no doubt about Al's professional plant management
skills. His pruning techniques are unique and effective.
While we toured Al's garden, he cut open a culled fruit to harvest seeds. It
was a handsome fruit with enormous seeds and superb parentage.
The day we visited Al and Paul's patches, the temps were easily in the higher
80's with a slight soft breeze. This was a regular August day in Ottawa.
Should be a great season for our fellow Canadian growers.
As usual, we received a warm, Canadian welcome and look forward to returning
to Ottawa soon.
It's good to be back and to all you fellow southern growers, cooler weather
is coming. The leaves in the Adirondacks around Saranac Lake and Lake Placid
are turning and fall's just around the corner.
Barb
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