Tom,

Grow the Diva Cucumber inside a screened in area. Plants are gynoecious (all-female) and parthenocarpic (they grow fruit without pollination). The Diva looks like a regular salad cucumber but with a much smoother, thin, no-peel skin. Distinctly tender, crisp, sweet, bitter-free, and seedless. They are especially flavorful when harvested small around the size of a pickle.

Lou

Well, I will for sure grow Diva next season. I am so tired of waiting and waiting for the female blooms.

Thanks Lou, I actually grew three parthenocarpic cukes this season; Diva, Cool Breeze and Sweet Success. Diva was the slowest to take off but I do like those cukes the best. I'm still spraying but in the last week I've lost about half of the cukes to the worms...will definitely go "indoors" next season and use my double-tiered tomato cages to grow them on. Do you put two plants in a container or just one?

Tom

BTW Lou, I'm growing parthenocarpic squash now and going to move those buckets inside to try to salvage what I can this season, the varieties are Perfect Pick and Caveli. Looks like they're not carrying Perfect Pick now but I have plenty of both seeds. Do you want to try either of these?

Tom

Tom,

I grow most of my veggies in Earthboxes. The dimensions of the EarthBox are 29" L x 13.5" W x 11" H. They are a complete self contained garden growing tub on wheels. I have over 30 of the Earthboxes, so I'm sorry I cannot help you with your question of how many plants per pot. I use pots mostly for testing new single plants of how well something will grow here.

I would love to try the parthenocarpic squash as hopping around the Earthboxes to hand pollinate like a bee is tedious to say the least. I have been getting pretty good at making the bee buzzing noise, but my wife says my stinger has been getting limp :o(

Lou

I grow most of my veggies in Earthboxes....

That's right, I forgot you're an EB guy. I tried the concept here but being so close to Tampa Bay my humidity is problematic for capillary-action container gardening.

Drop me a line and I'll send you some of the squash seeds. Would you like to try the other parthenocarpic cuke seeds?

Tom

Thanks Tom,

I sent out the email but now realize I had forgotten to ask if you ever got around to try growing the rice? My little earthbox with planted rice has produced rice seed heads all summer long and still has new green seed heads. So far I have picked around a quart of rice from the original 25 planted seeds. I make a little harvest on the golden heads with scissors every two weeks.(about a half cup)

Lou

Lou..

I have been getting pretty good at making the bee buzzing noise, but my wife says my stinger has been getting limp :o(

OK, that was a pretty good one... :)

Most round ball shaped mushrooms are called by the unscientific name of 'puffball' whether they grow on the ground, plants, or on wood, etc.
See the link below for more info;

Lou

Here is a link that might be useful: puffballs

WOOPS

I posted "puffballs" to the wrong thread!!!!
as Emily Litella on SNL would say... "NEVERMIND!"

I'm just having another senior moment,
Lou

Hey Tom! I wanted to share my experience with worms. Last year I sprayed Bt religiously every week and my squash and many tomatoes got worms. This year I tried Silvia's regime with the spinosad/serenade weekly and my squash has had no worms and only a very few tomatoes have gotten them.

I am aware of the harm to bees with spinosad, and I love my bees and nurture them. The label on the spinosad addresses this by saying it should be sprayed at dusk, when the bees are home. That's what I do, and I have loads of bees everywhere in my yard, including my veggie garden. You might try a few plants this way next spring.

Anna

I have been getting pretty good at making the bee buzzing noise, but my wife says my stinger has been getting limp :o(

I agree, that's pretty funny Lou ;-)

Anna - I'm getting desperate, I'll give it a try again but I'll have get a new bottle of Serenade I think, mine is two years old...just seems like spraying at dusk and getting the leaves wet then would invite mildew problems rather than treat them. How much of each are you mixing together? I think Silvia said to use half of what the directions call for but I'm skeptical that would work for me so close to the water.

Tom

Hi Tom,

I know Silvia says she uses it at a reduced rate, but I don't know what that is. It takes about 2 1/2 gallons to spray my veggie garden generously, and I use about 7 Tablespoons each of the spinosad (the one I get is called naturalyte), and the same amount of serenade in that amount of water. I mix them both in the same sprayer and spray all at once. At the recommended rate on the labels, I would be using 10 Tablespoons of each for that amount of water. I just chose those amounts arbitrarily.

I thought the same as you about spraying at night. However, I have not had one bit of trouble with mildew. Maybe it's because the weather has been so dry, I don't know. Maybe because it's only once a week. Maybe the serenade is just that good. I just hope I have the same luck next season!

We just had four roasted zucchini tonight for dinner, and there were no holes or worms at all. The leaves on the plant are pretty, and without mildew. It is the butterstick variety you like. My tomatoes were without blight for the first time ever. I had the best crop of tomatoes I've ever had. Now, if I could only get my greens to grow. And they're the ones I never had problems with in the past! Go figure. Every year is a mystery.

Anna

Tom - As a rule I use less amounts of sprays and fertilizers, but I am very consistent. You can start with the full spray till you have the problem under control and maybe reduce after that. I only spray very early morning as soon as I can see the light, bees are not active then, I don't spray the flowers only veggies. In the zucchini and cucumbers plants occasionally I use the same mixture at the base of the plants, all I can say is that I never seen a worm on these veggies. Remember Tom, I am no master gardener,lol, I only do things by feeling and instinct, same like in cooking.

Anna - Are you using fertilizer on your greens? that might be the problem.

Silvia

Remember Tom, I am no master gardener,lol, I only do things by feeling and instinct, same like in cooking.

I beg to differ, you're a Master Gardner whether you have the official title or not, nobody has better "instincts" than you ;-)

Yea, Silvia is the original "plant whisper lady". I got the inside scoop on that subject and saw the results!

I sprayed with 1/2 the specified amount and was doing very good until I missed a week when we in Belize. Still not sure if I have TSWV or not. Since everything seemed to be showing the effect, decided to gut it out. Maybe it was the one morning we had temps below 40. ??

Thank you Tom and Bernie, I also saw the results when I went on the vacation. The first week that I was back I saw white fly and everything and I got all the weapons that I have. I mixed in the same spray Serenade, spinosad, pyola and neem oil till things got better, after that I went back to only spraying the usual 2.
I cut all the foliage that does not look good and keep a can of Lysol to spray my hands and pruners.
Bernie, don't be discouraged, spring season is coming soon and will be time to start tomatoes again, try to plant more than you think you need because the leftovers can be put in the freezer in a nice sauce to take out when you don't have tomatoes.
And Tom, I wish you a great tomato season! Tomatoes are more popular than squash anyway.:)

Silvia

Well, I'll spray the zukes but I'm pulling the cukes tomorrow, the worms are too far along for them to recuperate and I have cukes coming out my ears :-) :-( I'll plant super sugar snaps in their buckets, time for the more cold-tolerant short-day stuff :-)

On the tomato front, I'm just starting to get the Beefsteaks and Brandywines but the squirrels are getting all my cherries :-[ I'm on the verge of buying a BB gun and doing something in violation of the city ordinances...ggggrrrrrrrrrrr.

Tom

Tom , get a good pump pellet gun, far more effective than bb's. Are you sure they are illegal. PETA cats may sue you, but do not believe law enforcement will bother you.

Tom -

The squirrels are probably eating your tomatoes because they are thirsty and we've had no rain. Try putting a water bowl at the base of the tree that they live on. See if that helps?

Also, the cukes you gave me are doing great! All but one survived. It's a miracle! If you want another cuke plant, I can give you one. Just let me know.

Hi SPF,

The squirrels are probably eating your tomatoes because they are thirsty and we've had no rain. Try putting a water bowl at the base of the tree that they live on. See if that helps?

I have two glazed 12"saucers at the top of the arbor, they drink their daily, then raid my cherry tomatoes :-(

Also, the cukes you gave me are doing great! All but one survived. It's a miracle! If you want another cuke plant, I can give you one. Just let me know.

I'm glad yours are doing well, mine did too until the worms set in. I've pulled them and started my first succession of Super Sugar Snaps in five of those buckets. Are you spraying with anything? I sprayed with BT and the worms just laughed at me :-( You enjoy them, trust me, I've got cukes coming out my ears before the worms showed up.

Tom

Tom - those must be some really tasty cherry tomatoes. It's frustrating though when it happens. I had a Mockingbird poking holes in every single one of my ripe tomatoes one year.

I'm not spraying but thinking that I might start since you've had so many worms issues. I picked my first ripe cuke tonight and will eat tomorrow.

I really think you are correct and that I need to start using better soil. Your plants are doing so well compared to the ones I started.

I really think you are correct and that I need to start using better soil. Your plants are doing so well compared to the ones I started.

That's good to hear girl, which veggies are you talking about and are they in containers or in the ground?

Tom

I bought two tomatoes from HD and one is doing 'okay' and the other is struggling. I did my usual - just stuck it into the old existing soil in the old pot and top it off with bagged potting soil.

Yeah....I know....youre cringing thinking about it...;-)

The cukes are in the fancy double-bucket containers that you gave me, except one is in another large pot.

I think last years raised beds failed because the soil just didnt work for some reason - even though I added cow manure. Oh well. Every year is an experiment.

...I did my usual - just stuck it into the old existing soil in the old pot and top it off with bagged potting soil.
Yeah....I know....youre cringing thinking about it...;-)

It's just too much work to me to try to amend Florida soil every year, unless you could do it like Christine, have hubby bring home a bulldozer, grade it out a foot and then have the dump trucks drop in a load of mushroom compost ;-) Much easier to just make a yard every of Al's mix on a tarp every season, then start fresh with good draining soil....

Tom,

I received the package of parthenocarpic seeds from you. Now I'm anxious for Feb to come so I can get them started for my spring planting. Again I want to thank you for your kind generosity.

Lou

My pleasure Lou, seems we're kinda limited on the squash selections, I hope this works out....

Tom