Pumpkin Pickin

Last Sunday before the Chili Fest Jimmy, Richie and Grandpa G picked a few of their pumpkins. We left a few in the garden in hopes for a heavier pumpkin.

Jimmy picks his largest pumpkin. He had three very nice fruits on his vine. We wonder how big this one would have got without the other two. We bought our pumpkin plants from Cooks nursery. They were labeled as "Atlantic Giants". Unfortunately I don't think they were from the largest of fruits.

Richie picked his pumpkin and we were surprised to find the pumpkin wall was very thin in comparison to pumpkins we have grown in the past.

Richie and Jimmy measure height, length, and ground to ground. We will be posting these for all to beat. Yes our pumpkins are little this year. They had so much promise but just did not grow. We received some good seed from David but they would not set fruit. He had a few grow over 100 pounds but ours started, then shriveled. One of our vines would start to grow into the air and then break as it grew longer. We are joining the Utah Pumpkin Club (yes there is such a thing) and they will help us with some good seed. David's seeds were good genetics we just started growing them a little late and had a problem with fungus and setting fruit.


Richie and Jim weighed the pumpkins on our bathroom scale.

They looked a lot bigger in the garden. I commit myself to growing a much bigger specimen next year. I talked with some other growers and one of my problems might be fertilization temperature. I was trying to do my crosses in mid July and the temp is just to hot for a good set. They explained how to get around that issue and still set fruit in the heat. I will share this next summer. We will be carving these soon with Jacob. I am not saving any seeds even though I we did cross the mutant pumpkin with some pollen from a few of David's plants.

David came over for the chili fest and brought his big pumpkins. The pumpkin on David's left is over 100 pounds. It has a great shape and will be the future of one line of Glassford Pumpkins. Conner's pumpkin is just under 100 pounds... his daddy beat him. I think the one to David's right is called a Cinderella pumpkin. It has a great color and shape. I don't know how large they get. Thanks David and Conner for bringing your champion pumpkins.

This year the Giant Pumpkin Award goes to ..... David and Conner. They are fierce but generous competitors. I hope you continue to grow large pumpkins.

Tallest Cherry Tomatoes

Tallest and Most Productive Cherry Tomatoes

One of my goals this year was to beat my tallest cherry tomato record. I smashed my record by at least 1 foot. Lynne was a big help and I owe all my success to her support.

Heather took some images of me in my tomato patch. While typing this I had to stop and go pick some of these bright antioxidant loaded fruits. I measured the stems at just over 10 feet high. Next year I am going for 12 feet.

The plant to my left is the tallest of the two. Each cherry cage has 3-4 plants in its center. Lynne and Richie helped preserve these plants from late spring snow fall. If you look at this springs posts you can see our early spring set up.

The fruit I am holding is Mr. Stripey its an heirloom variety growing with my cherries. I would recommend this plant if you have some extra space. Its not as productive as modern hybrids but very tasty and when sliced it is a very attractive tomato.

The number of cherry tomatoes on these plants is impressive. We grew sweet million, sweet 100 and a wonderful orange cherry. The orange cherry was the most vigorous of the three. All tasted very good but if I had to pick only one to grow..... I would go with the orange.

I have really enjoyed my garden this year and our tomatoes have been a very bright spot. We have bottled and eaten so many tomatoes I think my family is getting tired of tomatoes. I would like to challenge all within the view of this blog to beat my 10 foot cherry tomatoes. If you think you have game... step up and give it a try. You will enjoy the harvest. I happily award myself with the largest cherry tomato plant among all competitors. This is kind of like my gold metal I won weight lifting. I was about 12 years old and Grandpa wanted me to do some Olympic weight lifting. I was the only competitor in my age group so I won a gold.

Some daylily images





Ye-Ha!!

Wonderful Basil

Heather was a big help this year in the garden. She really used the fresh basil in many of her summer dishes. She made me a basil zucchini dish that was excellent. We grew sage, rosemary, fennel, oregano and basil. Heather enjoyed using the fresh stuff.

Heather's basil is strong and very tasty. A hardy variety that keeps on giving. Thanks Heather for your great culinary dishes this summer. I hope you dry some of your leaves and share the taste and aroma with us throughout the winter season.

With the quality and use of basil Heather you receive the coveted herbal award. Many have tried and failed ( I will not mention any names) but your dedication to herbal culture is unmatched. For this reason we give you "Herb Award 2010". Keep up the good work and hopefully you can repeat another year.

Watermelon Champion

Melon Champion Richie Glassford

Raises the Bar for Sweet Fruits

This is the first year we have successfully grown watermelon. Thanks to Richie and his efforts we have enjoyed some new sweet treats. He planted two different varieties. One was more circular and another bacilli like.

He also grew some fantastic cantaloupe. We have a couple more left on the vine ready for this weekend. I recently spoke to Richie and asked him what kind of advice would you give young melon growers around the world ? He paused and said, "give them water ". I also saw him give liquid fertilizer and work tirelessly on soil condition.

Richie grew both watermelon and cantaloupe. A total of four different varieties.

I think Richie is trying to save a few secrets for next year. We are all proud of your botanical prowess and give you the "melon award" for 2010. Richie keep on growing !


By the way this photo shoot was very difficult because the said subject would not smile. Many different faces were pulled to deceive and throw off his identity. Secretly he does not want to be known as the champion for fear of botanical retaliation.

Thanksgiving Point Pumpkin Weigh Off

Wow check out these pumpkins !! Grandma, Grandpa, Richie and I went to Thanksgiving Point to witness the giant pumpkin contest. This is the official pumpkin weigh-off in the state of Utah. I was very impressed with the monster pumpkins grown in our local area. Utah is about 700 pounds shy of the national record but I am sure one day will be in the running for the biggest pumpkin.

Many people wandered up and down the display gawking at the mega fruits. I was surprised so many people came out to witness the giants. Those who grow big pumpkins put in many hours of observation and work to get their plants to perform at their genetic potential.

Richie stands next to two large fruits. I talked to some Utah growers and they invited us to be apart of the pumpkin brotherhood. We will join the group this spring and hope to receive a generous number of seeds.

Grandma calculates how many pumpkin pies she can make with this big one.

Richie announced his intention to grow the largest pumpkin in Lindon. He wants to experiment with his own hill next year. We will have at least four big pumpkin growers in our house next year. Grandpa G, Pappa G (me) Jimmy and Richie. We are hoping to have at least 10 different plants next year. This Sunday we will be posting this year's fruits. David (my brother) and Conner (nephew) will try to bring their large pumpkin to the festivities.

We will be sharing our pumpkins success this Saturday or Sunday.

The Glassford Family Fall Festival Begins

Fall Festival

The second annual Chili/Pumpkin Fest is only one of the many activities going on this week. The Annual Glassford Family Fall Festival began today with 5 members sitting down to lasagna, homemade bread sticks, salad and some fresh tomatoes (hybrid and 2 different heirloom varieties) For desert we made a peach (Elberta queen) cream pie, tasty!!

Fall is in the air and the harvest is being celebrated this week. The climax of activities is happening Sunday afternoon at the "Chili/Pumpkin Fest" Those in attendance will bring their favorite pot of chili along with a delicious pumpkin treat.

Everyday this week (if I have time) we will celebrate our harvest. We have been greatly blessed this year with a bumper crop in all areas of the garden. I wish we could have had more time to bottle and preserve more of the garden.

Wow look at those pumpkins. Lynne harvested her little pumpkins this week. Out of all the little pumpkins growers, Lynne produced the most little pumpkins on one plant. Her record is 15 ripe mini pumpkins. David and Gina came in a close second place with 10 mini pumpkins.

Here Lynne is trying to rush my photo shoot. I am sorry but there are certain things you just cannot rush. This is one of them.

Lynne was a huge competitor this year in the mini pumpkin class and she is definitely the one to beat next year. I encourage all to try your luck and dedication to the smallest of pumpkin fruits. The competition is to grow the most mini pumpkins on a single plant.

Lynne grooms her little beauties before I took the first shot on this blog entry. Congratulations Lynne on a wonderful growing season. Lynne I challenge you to better your pumpkin skills and beat your record. Don't settle on this years success. I encourage you to study soil science and use nematodes and fungi to improve your soil culture. Good job Lynne you are the first place mini pumpkin champion of 2010.

Canning Update

Let the Harvest Begin

We have been canning at least 2-3 times a week. We have been putting up Spaghetti sauce, salsa, tomato paste, tomato sauce...you can just imagine how much you can do when you plant almost 80 tomato plants! I personally think they out did themselves but we are now reaping the rewards.

We also have been making a lot of jam. We started out with plum jam, which I have never tried before (kind of sounded like prune jam to me) but can I tell you--it is delicious! We also made peach jam and nectarine jam...yummmm! I think the family has already eaten about 4 jars of jam since we started.

When we get too tired to actually can the food, we put it in freezer bags and freeze it-- our freezer is full of plenty of fruit for smoothies and tomatoes for sauces! We are going to start making apple pie filling and applesauce soon.

Our garden has been a true blessing for us this year, it has been so nice to just go outside and grab a vegetable to cook for dinner, lately we have been eating green beans, beets, fresh salsa with onions, peppers, and tomatoes. The guys have done a great job this year on the garden. Thanks for all your hard work!

Grandpa G Turns 81

Wow, looking back at the years I have spend with Grandma and Grandpa has been wonderful. Last weekend we celebrated grandpa's birthday with good food and conversation. Thanks for the great times, we expect many more years of unpredictable experiences.

Grandma, Lynne and homeys were hard at work making grandpa's birthday dinner. We also had roast beef and gravy. I could not resist having a little gravy.

Grandma's famous pie crust. This is the best pie crust ever made. You might think I am partial but this crust is simply the best. I have never had a pie crust this light, crisp and flaky. Tasty stuff!

Birthday Grandpa and Jacob hang out before desert is served.

Happy Birthday Grandpa

Check out Grandpa's birthday dinner.



Grandpa does a fantastic job blowing out the candles. Watch closely because he will jump the gun and get a head start.

August Fun

Now that school has started it is nice to look back on the fun of summer. We had a busy August, Jamie got married and the Sinks came up to visit.
Jamie was beautiful, and so was the ceremony. We are so happy for her and wish the new couple a world of happiness!These where the only pictures that I , Jessica, have on my computer. There was lots of other pictures taken by my Dad, the master photographer.

It was super fun hanging out with the Sinks, it seems like their stay is always to short. We where able to go swimming with them one of the days. They played water baseball and it got super intense and fun to watch.

We celebrated another wedding this summer--our niece Stephanie married Justin. We posted some images of their engagement already, but we will get some images of their wedding soon.

Congrats to the entire Scott family for practically doubling this summer--you both had wonderful weddings and receptions--Stay Happy :)

Now here we go in the Sink Swimming Pool--Bring on the competition!!!

Dad is trying to take Mathew down! He might not be in the same weight class as Mathiew, but he has some good wresting moves!Here is Richie and Jim going after the ball. I can tell it is Richie because of his back muscles.I love Richie's face in this picture, he is trying to throw Mathew off him... and it isn't going so well. Derek was a little trooper, even though he hated the water. I did also, way too cold for my taste.

Dad's Home Town!!

San Diego Here We Come

So this past week, Me (Heather), Richard, Mom, and Dad all jumped in to Moms new car and headed to California!! Dad has been pestering us all summer about his need to feel the ocean breeze, to place his abnormally big feet into the mushy and grainy sand that lay beside the freezing cold and salty water. He has consonantly talked about his desire to hop on board a deep sea fisherman's boat and stick his Alaskan pole into to the waters of California. He has somehow talked Richard into enjoying something this crazy... We all packed light, got some snacks, videos, (obviously a book) and drove to California!

The First Day...
We planned on leaving on Sunday morning but... daddy decided to change plans!! We left Saturday night and drove to a crazy place in Nevada that was down right dangerous!! We went to bed at the hotel and woke up bright and early and arrived in San Diego later that afternoon.

The Second Day...
(By the way.. dad is making me post it like this.. Not my fault!)
So we woke up, got in the car and Drove... Now dad had a great idea, or so he thought... it was to teach me how to drive on the highway... now can i just say that i am okay with driving.. under 45 miles an hour... anything faster and I start hyperventilating.. anyway long story short, I drove for ten min before Mom finally asked dad if I could pull over. I am perfectly fine with not being able to drive on the highway! So after all the driving, we finally ended up in Sand Diego around 4:00!! We went to the hotel and then off to the beach, it was very pretty but I'm afraid it was freezing cold! Dad and Rich were brave and went in to the water for about 30 minutes before they no longer felt their legs.

We enjoyed the smell of ocean and of course sand. Lots of sand.... I hate sand. Richie and Daddy played in the water.

Hey Richie see those fishing boat? That is where we are going tomorrow. In actuality we went off the cost of Mexico instead of La Jolla .


The water was cold and it took a little while for them to get into the water. Richie tenses his body and prepares for the cold as Dad watches him. As for me only my feet touched the great Pacific.

Daddy does a back stroke through the wave.

Awe....... jez lauwese that is cold

Conquering the little waves was quite the accomplishment for these two Richards.


On the look for sand crabs.... oh my!

Later that night we went fishing along Mission Bay Jetty. We were using anchovies and casting just beyond the seaweed. We had lots of bites and had fish on but dragging them through the kelp proved to much for the two macho anglers. I basically read my book while they tried to bring the fish in through a bunch seaweed. Needless to say, the kelp won, but they had fun trying to catch them.

Day Three started early....

We had to be at the boat dock by 6:00 am. and we were not sure how long it would take to get there, so we headed out really early. We were there about 40 minutes early! We went on a half day fishing trip into Mexican waters. We caught all the sand bass allowed, and had a nice long boat ride in the open ocean.


Richie and Dad plan how they are going to stake clam on the back of the boat. This can be prime area because of the amount of chum (fish) that is tossed over the back of the boat. The chum is gross but attracts the fish. They are preparing to give each other knuckle as they proclaim
"the back of the boat is ours".

The captain helped me bring in some fish. This was one of the babies I caught. I did hook into some big bottom dwellers but daddy did not take pictures of those.

Mommy enjoying the calm seas. She caught some big fish. You can see the Coronado Islands in the background.

Seagulls were always flying around the boat just waiting for us to turn our heads so they can steal live bait. If you listened carefully you could here them say.... mine... mine mine... mine....mine... mine mine... mine.......mine... mine

I am freezing in San Diego.... in July, go figure.

Even big birds like this pelican wanted a handout.

Daddy and Richie dump the fish to get a count.

We could only keep 20 of the fish. The deck hands fillet the fish for us. We brought back four big bags of fish and stuck them in the cooler.

Here is one of our largest fish.

When we got done fishing, exhaustion set in so we headed back to the hotel and rested til dinner. Mommy and daddy wanted to take us to Old Town, so that's where we ate dinner. Really cool stores and good food too!


Yummy to my tummy

Two worn out old people.... fishing took every bit of energy they had.

We went shopping for Jimmy's birthday in the little shops near the restaurant. We got him some hot sauce.

Day Four....

Richie has never been to Sea World, so we decided to spend the day there. Don't I look excited next to the pretend walrus. We had a really good time, it wasn't hot or crowded. We took lots of pictures but these are some of our favorites.

We went to the new dolphin and pilot whale show. I talked with the dolphins and they said they enjoy living at Sea World. If they did not like it here I would have busted them out.

Mr. Pilot whale showing off his tail.

I love seals. They were all fairly active except for this one taking a little snooze.


Daddy spent a lot of time with the beluga whales. If you have seen the movie the Incredible Mr. Limpet.....well this is the same fascination daddy has with these white whales.


They do not have very big eyes. This picture is with its eye open.

Smile. . . . these whales always had a smile on their face.


Hey wait for me guys.....

I am teaching Richie about these sharks.
Big fish... daddy wanted to fillet the big guy for food storage. Look at the kids face in the reflection.
Daddy took a no look picture trying to surprise us and get a funky picture. To bad we caught we him in the act. We were watching the the seal and otter show. Mom and I really liked this show. It was very funny.


Daddy likes taking pictures of things sleeping. I think its because he is getting old and likes to sleep.

Any time daddy can get a good shot of an insect he is there taking his time trying to get "the shot". We just leave him behind and he catches up to us later.

Richie and daddy play with the sting rays. I would not touch them because that would mean I have to put my hand in the water.... not going to happen.

Ok there is a task for you to accomplish..... can you see Mommy or me (Heather) in this photo. If you look carefully you can see one of us on our way to the Ship Wreck Cafe.

Give it another try.... Can you see me.

We had a great time in San Diego and hope to visit next year.