Topic: our biggest veggies 09

[manicscousers]

let's have some pics, here are some of ours..btw, the fielderkraut cabbage was 11lb 5ozs  :o ;D

[saddad]

Bump...  :-\

[sunflower_info]

We just had killing frost a few days ago; so I took down most of my plants and measured them.  Here is the some of the good ones this year.  I had a pretty descent year 

I have videos of all my plants being measured in case anyone wants to see them
http://www.youtube.com/user/bdmoore12771

Of the corn I measured so far, tallest are as follows: (I still have several around 20 feet tall or so to measure so the list will change)
Tehua - 25 feet 9 inches
Tehua - 25 feet 2 inches
Tehua - 24 feet 6 inches
Uchima - 23 feet 2 inches
Olotillo-Tuxpeno - 22 feet 3 inches.
Uchima - 22 feet 3 inches
Olotillo-Tuxpeno 21 feet 1 inch
Montana 19 feet 5 inches
Uchima 19 feet

I also have a personal best for my giant amaranth (Amaranthus australis) at 24 feet 4 inches.  I also have a new personal best for my sterile-hybrid amaranth (Amaranthus hybridus X Amaranthus australis) with two plants at 22 feet this year.  I also have a new personal best for a Amaranthus hybridus at 19 feet 2 inches.  I also had a personal best for Amaranthus cannabinus (tidal marsh amaranth) at 21 feet.

25 feet 9 inch tall Tehua Maize from Mexico


same plant next to a street light


same plant next to the garage


24 feet 4 inch tall giant amaranth (Amaranthus australis)


19 feet 2 inch tall Amaranthus hybridus


Picture of the giant corn and amaranth at the back of my house


other angle of the back of my house


Giant 22 feet all sterile-hybrid amaranth (A. hybridus X A. australis) at my garden plot at my job in Princeton, New Jersey


55 pound zucca gourd and some large vegetable marrows



My daughter with some sunflower heads


My daughter with a giant amaranth


My mom and my daughters next to some giant Tehua Maize


my kids with a vegetable marrow

[thifasmom]

 :o :o

do you eat the marrows/ squash?

[1066]

wonderful photos - and veg Sunflower!!

[sunflower_info]

:o :o

do you eat the marrows/ squash?

     Most years I eat them, but this year I didn't.  I just saved them all for seeds.

[thifasmom]

:o :o

do you eat the marrows/ squash?

     Most years I eat them, but this year I didn't.  I just saved them all for seeds.

the varieties that you grow are they also good eaters then? you saved the seeds this year but was the flesh not still edible or had it sort of gone past its best?

and what do your feed your plants with, i was always of the assumption that monster veg used such a high amount of man made fertilisers that it made the vegetables produced inedible due to chemical build up.

did you also save the seeds of the sunflowers? i would love to grow sunflowers that big, i like to save the heads for the birds in the winter. how tall did the plants grow to produce flower heads that big. and was there only one flower per plant?

sorry about the 20 questions but monster veg growers always fascinated me, as i grow to eat i can never quite get my head around the concept of concentrating on the size issue to the 'detriment' of all else iykwim.

i have a couple more questions but I'll let you answer these first ;) :D. hope you are having a great day.

thanks in advance for the replies.

[sunflower_info]

   The marrows are good until they are a foot or so.  If you let them get bigger then they don't taste good. 

   I went higher nitrogen this year.  I would top dress weekly with urea.  I would also use small amounts of nitrate nitrogen daily or every other day.   I was also experimenting with foliar sprays of plant hormones.  The only thing with promising results was with the tidalmarsh amaranth.  Plants sprayed with my hormone combination (Gibberellic Acid mixed with Indole Acetic Acid).  Plants sprayed were over 20 feet tall.  Plants that were not sprayed were about 15 feet tall. 

Sunflowers were all grown at my plot at work.  That plot did not receive any care; so I guess you can say it was organic.  :)  Plants were about 10 feet with 14-15 inch heads on all the plants.  Single headed plants.  You usually don't get 15 inch heads on multi-headed plants.  More heads, the smaller the head size.

Growing things large is totally different.  You want to avoid flowering and fruiting as long as possible.  That is your enemy!

the varieties that you grow are they also good eaters then? you saved the seeds this year but was the flesh not still edible or had it sort of gone past its best?

and what do your feed your plants with, i was always of the assumption that monster veg used such a high amount of man made fertilisers that it made the vegetables produced inedible due to chemical build up.

did you also save the seeds of the sunflowers? i would love to grow sunflowers that big, i like to save the heads for the birds in the winter. how tall did the plants grow to produce flower heads that big. and was there only one flower per plant?

sorry about the 20 questions but monster veg growers always fascinated me, as i grow to eat i can never quite get my head around the concept of concentrating on the size issue to the 'detriment' of all else iykwim.

i have a couple more questions but I'll let you answer these first ;) :D. hope you are having a great day.

thanks in advance for the replies.

[thifasmom]

thanks for clarifying for me, i did have other questions but now i can't remember them ::) go figure.

so what's your goals  for next year?

[sunflower_info]

   My goal is the same every year.  BIGGER!   ;D   I want to get my world record back for giant amaranth.  I had the world record at 23 feet 2 inches, but it was broken by someone I gave seed to.  The new record is 27 feet 10 inches.  I had one this year at 24 feet 4 inches.  I'm getting closer!  I also want the corn record, which is 31 feet tall (held by Dan Radda, Iowa  since 1946).  I've trialed many races of tropical corn and I've narrowed it down to a few that I think will get there.  Next year my entire garden will be filled with them.  Another goal is a 20+ feet tall sunflower.  I'm usually against poison, but I've started to use systemic poison for the sunflowers to stop the borers.  They really keep me limited to the 14-16 feet range.

You want the secret to giant vegetables?  The biggest secret is finding the variety that grows the largest.  Sure, you have to take care of it, but you can give plant minimal care and still grow giants.  I had a 22 feet tall amaranth this year without giving it any care at all.  I grew at my garden plot at work and left it growing in the weeds.  Most of my time is spent researching on the internet.  I'm always looking for some clue for a new race of tropical maize or some news story about some person growing a giant sunflower somewhere.    I trial many different varieties and select the best ones.  I then experiment with hybrids between different giant types as well.   For example, I have tidalmarsh X giant amaranth hybrids that are much faster growing then a giant amaranth, but they don't get quite as tall.  I've also created a sterile hybrid between a A. hybridus and a giant amaranth that I consistently get near 20 feet tall.  I had two this year at 22 feet tall.  My main focus is growing things for height.  My garden staples are corn, amaranth, and sunflowers.  I also grow pearl millet and sorghum as well.  I actually created a tall purple millet from a cross between that commercial purple majesty and my giant african millet (12-14 feet).  I now have them producing 8-9 feet tall purple millets.   I keep saving the seeds to the tallest and trying to push them even taller. 

thanks for clarifying for me, i did have other questions but now i can't remember them ::) go figure.

so what's your goals  for next year?

[saddad]

Now I can see a niche market for a tall purple millet... that's a back of the border plant with an attitude...  :)

[thifasmom]

   My goal is the same every year.  BIGGER!   ;D   I want to get my world record back for giant amaranth.  I had the world record at 23 feet 2 inches, but it was broken by someone I gave seed to.  The new record is 27 feet 10 inches.  I had one this year at 24 feet 4 inches.  I'm getting closer!  I also want the corn record, which is 31 feet tall (held by Dan Radda, Iowa  since 1946).  I've trialed many races of tropical corn and I've narrowed it down to a few that I think will get there.  Next year my entire garden will be filled with them.  Another goal is a 20+ feet tall sunflower.  I'm usually against poison, but I've started to use systemic poison for the sunflowers to stop the borers.  They really keep me limited to the 14-16 feet range.

You want the secret to giant vegetables?  The biggest secret is finding the variety that grows the largest.  Sure, you have to take care of it, but you can give plant minimal care and still grow giants.  I had a 22 feet tall amaranth this year without giving it any care at all.  I grew at my garden plot at work and left it growing in the weeds.  Most of my time is spent researching on the internet.  I'm always looking for some clue for a new race of tropical maize or some news story about some person growing a giant sunflower somewhere.    I trial many different varieties and select the best ones.  I then experiment with hybrids between different giant types as well.   For example, I have tidalmarsh X giant amaranth hybrids that are much faster growing then a giant amaranth, but they don't get quite as tall.  I've also created a sterile hybrid between a A. hybridus and a giant amaranth that I consistently get near 20 feet tall.  I had two this year at 22 feet tall.  My main focus is growing things for height.  My garden staples are corn, amaranth, and sunflowers.  I also grow pearl millet and sorghum as well.  I actually created a tall purple millet from a cross between that commercial purple majesty and my giant african millet (12-14 feet).  I now have them producing 8-9 feet tall purple millets.   I keep saving the seeds to the tallest and trying to push them even taller. 

thanks for clarifying for me, i did have other questions but now i can't remember them ::) go figure.

so what's your goals  for next year?

wow what a hobby, thanks for sharing your interest so patiently. here's wishing you a great record breaking growing season next year ;D.

[GrannieAnnie]

Have you ever grown a bushel gourd?  Somewhere I read one was grown 8 feet in diameter.
That is the only "monster" plant I've tried but didn't fertilize it so the gourd is probably not even a foot in diameter.

It looks like your stems would make great bean poles!

[sunflower_info]

Yes, I've heard of bushel gourds.  I never found a really good seed source for them and I usually use my space for giant vegetable marrows.  Someone from Germany sent me the seeds to the zucca gourds; so I thought I would give them a try.  I had 55 pounds on my first attempt.  I really didn't do much with them except let them grow. 

[kt.]

Manic,  I only ever get to eat the top half of parsnips as the root growth comes up looking like something out of Day of the Triffids...  Never had a full parsnip yet......

[manicscousers]

ours in the ground were like that, kt..we have a dedicated  18" tall pasnip bed, leaves in the bottom and mp compost in the top, it gets emptied every year onto the raised beds , only way we can grow them in this heavy, v wet clay  ;D

[chriscross1966]

and what do your feed your plants with, i was always of the assumption that monster veg used such a high amount of man made fertilisers that it made the vegetables produced inedible due to chemical build up.
*S*N*I*P*
sorry about the 20 questions but monster veg growers always fascinated me, as i grow to eat i can never quite get my head around the concept of concentrating on the size issue to the 'detriment' of all else

It's almost a backlash against the "scored to points" vegetable shows.. No matter how much they try to claim objective procedures for marking there's always a feeling that it's a bit of a closed shop.... whereas I remember a giant leek (I think) grower being interviewd on BBC4 saying "there's only one biggest"...

chrisc

[craftsmaster]

That's going to be an annual food stock. Looks great!
__________________
Removed link

[Jeannine]

I was given seeds for Giant English marrows a couple of years ago by Brian from the US  who came on here,,yooo hooo Brian where are you XX Jeannine