Nobody's Mad

Sierra Gold
Expected germination: 7 days
Expected harvest: 90 days

9 seeds

06/02: Planted 1 per cell in 9 cells.
06/06: No visible change.
06/10: 6 of 9 (67%) have shoots 0″ to 1/4″ tall.
06/14: 7 of 9 (78%) have foliage 1-1/2″ to 2″ diameter and another 1 (11%) is just emerging.
06/14: 8 of 9 (89%) have foliage 2″ to 3″ diameter.
06/21: Planted out in hill with black plastic mulch.
07/18: 6″ to 8″ tall, with foliage diameters up to 14″.
07/24: 9″ to 11″ tall, with foliage diameter 16″ to 29″. Flowers developing.
08/01: 9″ to 11″ tall, with foliage diameters to 50″. Huge numbers of yellow flowers – perhaps a hundred. Vines now growing a couple of inches per day.
08/04: Startled animal must have run through patch, snapping off some leaves and a couple of feet of vine.
08/04: Pruned to fit in assigned area.
08/07: Patch is approx 10″ deep and 73″ by 45″. Still many yellow flowers. A few marble size gourds.
08/15: Patch is approx 13″ deep and 80″ by 42″. Still many yellow flowers. A few gourds 3/4″ to 1-1/2″.
08/23: Patch is approx 13″ deep and 86″ by 50″. Several yellow flowers. A few gourds to 4″.
08/29: Was over pumpkin and starting to encroach on sunflower #2. Moderate pruning.
08/30: Patch is approx 16″ deep and 92″ by 42″. A few flowers. A few gourds to 4″ long and 3″ diameter.
09/22: Removed two sunflowers and trimmed squash to provide better light to melons and pumpkins.
09/22: Moved plastic cover from (a few) tomato vines to (all) melon vines.
10/13: Dying back fast. Harvested final gourds and cleaned up.

Harvest: ???-133 days
Yield: 6-8 gourds about 1 lb each