Welcome to the forum, Paul! It's a friendly and helpful bunch, mostly, and there's always someone who shares your interests.

No vegetables here, no sun either. Got lots of thunder and lightning and rain, though.

Claire

Welcome.. i am in the same boat.. first year gardening, been 20 years. I live in Manchester and my name is Kim
What do you have planted?

I think I went a little much for my first year out. In my garden I have growing asparagus, carrots, beets, canteloupe, cucumber, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, green beans, peas, potatoes, tomatoes, turnip, corn, peppers, pumpkins, onions, eggplant, butternut squash, summer squash and zucchini. Whew!

I just picked 2 summer squash and 2 zucchini just yesterday.

Must be nice.. my viney plants (zuchhini, summer and winter squash) are dying in the ground.

I thought all this rain was going to kill everything in my garden. Nothing was really growing, and then we got 2-3 days of a little sun and the rain stopped for a bit. Things really took off then. I also started my squash seed inside. I think most people start them outdoors. I didn't know any better, but I think it worked to my advantage. I have papper buds forming on my peppers, but the plants haven't got any taller since I put them in the ground. Hopefully we can get a little sun soon.

Paul,

Welcome to the forum! One thing I learned in my first years of planting summer squash is to beware of the squash vine borer. I live near Boston and have idea whether it will be a problem in your area, but it is the reason I plant summer squash late. Keep an eye on the stems near the ground for something that looks like cornmeal. It is called fras (?spelling) and is the poop of the borer. You need to act quickly if you see this telltale sign, or the plants will suddenly die. There is all kind of information on the web about how to cut into the stem, kill the borer and save the plant, if you need it.

Thanks. I have seen some info on the squash borer. I keep a look out for the signs, but ok for now. I have lost numerous pumpkins though, to a little white-grey maggot. I think it is the larvae of some pumpkin fly or something. Funny thing is, that I have 4 pumpkins for pumpkin pie growing ok. Right next to them, I can't seem to get giant pumpkins off the ground. These maggots keep coming back even after throwing soil from the area away, and then trying to sprout new seeds. As soon as they come up, they die off. I finally sprouted some more giant pumpkin seeds in a jiffy pot and placed 2 plants down the other end of my garden.

Welcome Paul. I live just north of Concord NH and haven't even got much in the way of zucchini blossoms yet. Wow, you have a lot planted. Last year was the first year I had a real vegetable garden again instead of just growing some things in pots. We grew Confection winter squash from Johnny's which was a terrific keeper. Some molded in storage but mostly kept into the early spring. Was too dry at first. Needs to cure a couple of weeks before the eating is really good. I used instead of pumpkin in some of my recipes.
My beets are not doing well but we have started eating sugar snap peas. (and lettuce and mustard greens)

Thank you. Yeah, I think I went a little crazy with planting for my first year. Does most winter squash need time to cure? My beet tops are doing ok, but nothing as far as a swelled root goes. I would like to be eating peas too, but I didn't have the ground ready for anything that early. I didn't understand all the different planting dates, spring or fall harvests, and so on. I always thought people planted the seeds around labor day and wait for them to grow. I have found a world of information online so this year my garden is a work in progress, but next year I can have peas and lettuces planted early. I already lost all my broccoli due to late planting, I think. It was starting to form heads, then we had 2 days of 90+ temps about a month ago. It bolted, flowered and got pulled up, and thrown into the compost bin.

Hey. Look at that. I think I see sun. I haven't seen the sun in so long around here.

I'm new to the forum too, so I'll drop in my hello. I'm excited to start sharing stories and ideas with you. I don't have any gardening buddies and struggle with a too-large organic (read: weedy) garden/yard in Burlington, MA that I try to manage on a budget. Hoping maybe I can find some plant swaps to participate in too.

Signed,
Your new garden pal

xanthangum, welcome. The best weeding tool I have found is a Cape Cod weeder or a version of it. The cobra head weeder is something like it. Basically it's an L-shaped blade so you can drag it thru the soil about a 1/2" down or less, it doesn't really matter. This is especially helpful if you have a weed that has trailing roots like quack grass or sorrel. If the weeds are small enough, sometimes you can just leave them there but most of mine seem to be able to rejuvenate. It helps if the soil hasn't been compacted because of constant walking which is why narrow raised beds are so good, you don't walk on them at all.
Keep watch for fall plant swaps. I went to my first swap in NH this year. Really nicely done (thanks Annie!) with a great assortment of plants. Maybe time is in our favor ... we'll have more plants as the current ones mature and spread. I have started saving seed from nasturtiums, calendula and scarlet runner beans. I need to save seeds from more things.