Nobody's Mad

Victoria
This is a green rhubarb

06/22: Bought.
06/24: Planted.
07/18: 11″ tall with 22″ foliage diameter.
07/24: 16″ tall with 24″ foliage diameter.
07/28: Sprayed with 0.001% spinosad, an organic pesticide.
08/01: 20″ tall with 36″ foliage diameter.
08/07: 25″ tall with 36″ foliage diameter.
08/15: 26″ tall with 39″ foliage diameter. Slight red coloration in stalks.
08/16: Harvested one test stalk … for a very tasty mini-crumble.
08/23: 28″ tall with 44″ foliage diameter.
08/30: 26″ tall with 39″ foliage diameter.
09/23: Harvested roughly a third of this vigorous plant, yielding four cups for MJH’s glorious sweet and tangy rhubarb crumble.

Issai (self-pollinating)

06/22: Bought.
06/24: Planted.
07/18: Three runners, longest is 42″. Many yellow leaf edges as roots aren’t able to deliver enough water yet.
07/24: Three runners, longest is 40″. Overall little changed since last week.
08/01: Three runners, longest is 37″. Half leaves are dying, presumably due to heat.
08/07: Three runners, longest is 35″. More than half of leaves are dead or dying.
08/15: Three runners, longest is dying back and now only 33″.
08/23: 17″ tall. Longest vine is 30″. Vines still dying back but some healthy new growth.
08/30: Considering only the healthy new growth: 18″ tall with longest vine 36″.

Captivator

06/24: Bought, already in fruit, and planted.
07/06: Harvested a few berries, eaten with ice cream.
07/18: 20″ tall and 35″ diameter. Straggly and lob-sided.
07/24: 22″ tall and 34″ diameter.
08/01: 20″ tall and 34″ diameter.
08/07: 22″ tall and 34″ diameter.
08/15: 21″ tall and 35″ diameter.
08/23: 20″ tall and 35″ diameter.
08/30: 21″ tall and 35″ diameter. A little new growth.

Cherry Red

06/22: Bought.
06/24: Planted.
07/18: 32″ tall and 26″ diameter. No fruit this year. Leggy but balanced.
07/24: 33″ tall and 24″ diameter.
08/01: 32″ tall and 28″ diameter.
08/07: 32″ tall and 28″ diameter.
08/15: 32″ tall and 28″ diameter.
08/23: 32″ tall and 26″ diameter.
08/30: 33″ tall and 28″ diameter.

Blackdown

06/24: Bought, heavy with almost-ripe fruit, and planted.
07/04: Harvested a few berries, eaten with ice cream.
07/08: Harvested one cup, for a crumble.
07/18: 44″ tall and 24″ diameter. Losing lower leaves as roots aren’t delivering enough water yet.
07/19: Harvested 7/8ths of a cup, for a crumble. No remaining fruit at this time.
07/24: 45″ tall and 26″ diameter. Still slowly losing lower leaves.
08/01: 45″ tall and 25″ diameter. Heat damage to most leaves in the lower two-thirds of the plant.
08/07: 44″ tall and 25″ diameter. Little changed.
08/15: 45″ tall and 24″ diameter. Little changed.
08/23: 45″ tall and 24″ diameter. Little changed.
08/30: 45″ tall and 24″ diameter. Little changed.

We tested near two corners of the lawn, an irregular half of which is to become the new veggie plot.

The N center of the garden is the NE corner of the lawn and is the sunniest. It was originally the lowest point so it has the most fill dirt.

The SW corner is the shadiest. The lawn there is mostly moss. It was originally the highest point so there may not be much topsoil over the subsoil.

The 700 sq ft to be fertilized includes both the new veggie patch and the remaining portion of the lawn. Each is about 350 sq ft. For simplicity we applied the same fertilizers throughout despite the differing phosphorus levels. We applied fertilizers containing unneeded potassium because they were much less expensive than fertilizers without potassium.