This is a public-interest archive. Personal data is pseudonymized and retained under GDPR Article 89.

Medicine Hat Update

Greetings from Southeastern Alberta in the Canadian West.

My tiny (20 x 25) patch has been tilled and the cold frame (about 4 x 4)
is in place. I have it set up with a heating cable in the soil, a small
device to automatically lift the lid when it gets too hot (from Lee
Valley Tools), a max-min thermometer to keep an eye on the temperature
and a 100 watt bulb as a "night light" for a little extra warmth. Last
night the temperature got down to -1 Celcius (about 30 degrees F)
outside but only +5 in the cold frame. During the day it gets up to
about +30 in the cold frame (85F)

I've germinated two seeds, the Greer 1006 and the Geerts 894 (Both from
the Ottawa-St Lawrence Growers seed draw).  The 894 germinated far
faster than the 1006 and after a few days the roots were at least twice
as long.  I set them out in the cold frame Tuesday evening and when I
got home from work today the 894 had broken through the soil and the
seed leaves were out.  The better plant will stay where it is, the
lesser will be shifted to the other side of the garden as a backup and
as a possible pollen provider for cross fertilization.

Our normal last frost date is usually around the end of May, so the cold
frame will probably be out there until June 1st.  After that I still
intend to have some type of a transparent cover  over the vine until the
end of June.  The reason for this is that we usually get some good hail
storms in June.  Last year my plants were shredded twice by hail (a
sorry sight).

My best pumpkin was a 336 in 1995 (7th at Smoky Lake weighoff) and last
year I had a 341 squash (not entered due to a tiny hole through the
wall) and a 201 pumpkin.  My space has been reduced this year due to the
sale of the home next door where I actually do my gardening.  The new
owner was kind enough to let me continue to use 1/2 the garden space. 
The Alberta record is a 693.5 grown by Robert Lobay of Smoky Lake, so I
have a quite a way to go to catch up.

Bill Kournikakis
Medicine Hat, Alberta
Canada
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index