I've been really busy this summer with my plants; so I haven't logged on in a while. I still need to submit my claim to Guinness World Records, but the Mercer County, NJ Weights and Measured Dept. measured my Amaranthus australis (a.k.a Giant Amaranth) at 23 feet 2 inches, breaking the current world record of 15 feet 1 inch. I almost didn't get the record. The official measurement was taken this Monday, but on Friday we had very strong winds, with gusts exceeding 45 mph. I almost lost the plant, but I was able to tie it down enough to save it for the measurement. Also, I gave seeds to a friend in Rhinebeck, NY (Dutchess County) and his plant was over 4 feet taller than mine in the early summer, but I changed up my fertilizer routine and my plant grew 5 feet in two weeks, passing his plant. It came down to only a foot or so at the end of the year.
Last edited by Jiffymouse; Apr 5th, 2008 at 12:42 PM. Reason: removed hyper links
That is cool! Is it really supposed to be a weed? Were you the one who grew the sunflower patch or corn patch last year I think? And as the lady said, it is remarkable for anyone to break a horticular record for biggest...and by such a large margin!
Helping the world one seed at a time
When weeding, the best way to make sure you are removing a weed and not a valuable plant is to pull on it. If it comes out of the ground easily, it is a valuable plant. Mary Ann LaPensee
That's terrific! Thanks for sharing. You made me a little homesick, though, because I grew up reading the Trentonian....
We were given two hands to hold, two eyes to see, two ears to listen & two legs to walk. But why were we given only one heart? The other heart was given to another for us to find.
That is totally cool!!!!! What's your secret? :wink:
1. get a plant that is capable of getting giant. Everything else is secondary.
This is what I did as far as water and fertilizer. I was in competition with my friend from Rhinebeck, NY (Dutchess County). His plant surged 4 feet past mine, and I started to doubt that I would get it. At that point I got very serious and started to fertilize heavily. My plant grew 5 feet in two weeks and I ended up getting 23 ft to his 22 feet. Although, he has a stem circumference of over 4 1/2 feet. I do not because I purposely grew them close to try to push them up instead of out.
Basically I started the ground in the beginning of the season with Espoma Garden Tone. The plants were put out in the beginning of May at about 6 inches tall. He surged past me in June; so end of June I started fertilizing heavily. I knew I had to find something special to beat him; so I used a newer product called Espoma Bio-Starter. Bio-Starter is basically the good bacteria and fungi that is in the soil. Espoma recommends 1 oz. every two weeks. I was pouring 64 oz. per week at a cost of $40. Within two weeks the plant started to take off. Once it was in it's growth spurt, I went out and bought a calcium nitrate hydroponic solution and would use that 3 to 4 times a day in small doses. Nitrate is taken up immediately and leaches easily, thus the reason for the 3 to 4 times a day. I was also pouring 1 to 4 gallons of hot tap water on the base of the plants 2 to 4 times a day to keep the soil temp as close to 90 degrees as possible. This was to maximize the uptake of nutrients. These plants are marsh plants; so you can't overwater them. If anything, they were under-watered. I would also do once monthly tablespoon of SuperThrive. I also built a container around them and filled it with soil (bi-weekly) I built the soil to well over a foot over the base of the stem. When I would do this, I would sprinkle root-hormone around the stem to get it to re-root. These plants easily root from stems if covered. I would also add a layer of espoma bio-starter plus granule, kelp meal, coffee grounds and green tea as I increased the soil level. When I finally measured the plant, I removed all the soil, cut off the new roots on the side of the stems.
Wow! Did you get the certificate from those Guinness guys yet?
Helping the world one seed at a time
When weeding, the best way to make sure you are removing a weed and not a valuable plant is to pull on it. If it comes out of the ground easily, it is a valuable plant. Mary Ann LaPensee
New York state gardener/farmer Jesse Eldrid specializes in growing heavy, tall, and large vegetables and annual plants. On October 25th, 2007, after a long summer of working, watching, and waiting, he finally contacted county officials in order to obtain a legitimate measurement of the Amaranthus Australis plant he had been growing since the beginning of the year. When Jesse contacted the local bureau of weights and measures, he knew that he had a record-breaking plant -- but he didn't know that his plant would be almost twelve feet (11.98) taller than the the goal he had set for himself in the existing record: the official measurement of the plant, he would learn that afternoon, was 27'10". In the early spring months of 2007, Jesse received several amaranth seeds from the USDA NCRPIS (United States Department of Agriculture, North Central Regional Plant Introduction Station). Although one wouldn't think it from the size of the mature plant, Amaranthus seeds themselves are actually quite small (smaller than the head of a pin.) Germinating them was fairly difficult, however. Once he managed to get a handful of young plants growing well, he knew one of them was destined to be huge. On May 15th, when Jesse transplanted the young seedlings outside, they started growing rapidly. The plant that grew the fastest also happened to have the largest trunk (measuring almost five feet around) which may have helped the plant grow significantly taller than normal. (An average "trunk" would have a five to eight inch circumference.) As the temperatures rose, the plant grew faster and faster. Competition, too, was on the rise. In spring, Jesse shared a small number of cuttings among friends, and their plants had begun to take on considerable height at around this time, as well. As it turned out, many of these cuttings exceeded the 15' benchmark, some even stretched to 20+ feet. In the early autumn, near the end of the amaranth's life cycle, Jesse's record-breaking plant was still growing several feet per day. Just before the official measurement, the plant also began producing flowers which also contributed to the overall height of the amaranth. Another factor contributing to the overwhelming size of the plant was the amount of water it received per day -- approximately 30 gallons per plant, per day. In order to give the plant extra support (and to determine the benchmark for the old record) Jesse built a fifteen foot tall trellis for the amaranth. It didn't take long for the plant to outgrow it, though. By the middle of August, it was no longer possible to measure the plant with a ladder alone. (For the official measurement in October, professional arborists were called in, and a bucket-truck was necessary to get a measurement from the very top of the plant.) Jesse Eldrid has been growing unusual plants for many years, and gardening is a life-long obsession for him. In the future, he plans on challenging the millet, sorghum, and historic corn records (for height.) He also intends, one day, to beat his own amaranth record. By growing crops such as these, Jesse hopes to raise awareness about the natural world and the potential for alternative energy.
Sorry folks It's not bad sportsmanship. It is a long story. It comes down to who grew the bigger plant, not who brought in the bigger media or the better cameras. It's about gardening. I had twelve plants over 23' tall. Most of Brian's plants were *clones* of my certified 27'10" plant. He has left that information out of all of his articles, and posted up elsewhere that my plant is a "bigfoot" type of claim. Not only does he know better -- but he should have *acted* better, too. It's a much longer story than this, and it would probably make a good book. Maybe Brian would be interested in helping me write it??
Garden_monster, it is not all about who grew the bigger plant. Brian achieved a wonderful accomplishment and was given an award for it...A very proud moment for any gardener.
By the way,links to other gardening sites are not allowed.
~~Tam~ You can bury all your troubles by digging in the dirt.
Garden_monster, it is not all about who grew the bigger plant. Brian achieved a wonderful accomplishment and was given an award for it...A very proud moment for any gardener.
A true statement indeed Tamara!
"Grace without perfection is more to be desired than perfection without grace."
You guys have been posting and arguing over every possible gardening forum (google), it seems to me that it's just a matter of time when the plants were measured. Don't loose your friendship over a certificate, I'm sure everyone's astonished with the giant plants, and not just about a certificated amaranthus
Helping the world one seed at a time
When weeding, the best way to make sure you are removing a weed and not a valuable plant is to pull on it. If it comes out of the ground easily, it is a valuable plant. Mary Ann LaPensee
You guys have been posting and arguing over every possible gardening forum (google), it seems to me that it's just a matter of time when the plants were measured. Don't loose your friendship over a certificate, I'm sure everyone's astonished with the giant plants, and not just about a certificated amaranthus
well said kenny. and on that note, i'm locking this topic so it can't be used to continue the argument.
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