Mirrors will cook your plants. You can try digging up, you'll likely lose 2-3 weeks of the season.

This issue of the fact that trees grow is my current research focus - trees and solar panels. So you are not the only one.

Dan

Thanks, Dan!

Whoops! I accidentally posted this reply over on your August 1 thread! Meant to post it here, so here is the exact same thing!

You mentioned in the other post that you thought they were "only" getting 7\-8 hours of sun a day. Did you revise that estimate? If theyÂre getting anywhere near that amount of sun, the sun isnÂt the problem! Mine are on the east side of my house, behind a 6' privacy fence, and between two two\-story houses, and they donÂt get anywhere near 7\-8 hours of direct sun a day, but I have squash starting. The first one is about ready to pick, and I donÂt get a lot, but itÂs way plenty for one person! So how much direct sun are they actually getting now that the trees are bigger? If itÂs more than a couple hours, I doubt that thatÂs the problemÂor at least that thatÂs "all" of the problem. If it were me, I wouldnÂt try to dig them up and transplant them this late in the year. By the time they got going again, I doubt that thereÂd be time for them to produce fruit. At least theyÂve started producing flowers where they are, and you may not get much, but once they start producing female flowers, you should at least get SOME where they are. With the hot weather weÂve had this year, IÂd recommend keeping them well watered, and I think it would be a good idea to also mulch the surface of the soil with a thick layer of grass clippings to keep the soil consistently moist. And, do you know that the first flowers are "male" flowers, and they always just kind of shrivel up and go awayÂhey, theyÂre guys! Whadaya expect! ;\-) When you start to get female flowers, youÂll be able to see a teeny, tiny little squash at the base of the flower. Then, if it gets pollinated, itÂll develop into a squash. Mine bloom with just male flowers for AT LEAST a couple weeks before they start to get female flowers! Keep an eye out for the teeny, tiny squash! YouÂll get them! Skybird

Soil moisture could be an issue. Over watering is possibly a bigger problem than under watering in my opinion. Moisture meters can be purchased for $5 to $10. They are a very good investment. Just be careful that you don't push the probes in too forcefully.

My experience is moving squash or mellons is futile. That is why you start them in peat pots and plant them.

I stopped using peat pots here as they don't rot down fast enough and the roots never recover. But I agree that you'll lose production time if moving them now.

hey, theyÂre guys! Whadaya expect!

Heeeeeeeeeyyyyy!

Dan

So, it's time!
I'll be putting the squash seeds into the raised bed this week.

Last year they didn't do very well, and I think it's due to 3 reasons.
- not really enough sun.
- not planting the seeds directly into the soil.
- starting the seedlings indoors, too early in the season, so it wasn't warm enough yet outside when they needed to be put in the ground.

Here is the bed from last year:

My new raised bed is about 10 ft away from the old location, with no trees !

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Last year's bed is where the orange bucket is sitting.

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The water bottles are an experiment... I put a few small holes along the lower edges of the bottles, and I'm planning to use them as a back-up watering plan if I can't run the soaker for some reason.

I have 3 varieties of squash seeds:

Question:
Should I soak the seeds in water before I put them in the bed? Or just plant them dry?

I ran the soaker hose for a good while tonight, after filling the enclosure with the peat moss, and compost, and vermiculite.
('Mel's Mix' ...thank you gardenfiend!)

And I plan on planting them on 6/8/11...My calendar says that's the best day this month for squash seeds. I'll use any helpful hint I get!

Thanks for looking, and thanks for any feedback.
Betty

I have such a short growing season that I do both - plant directly and plant in pots - as an insurance policy.

Conventional wisdom as it that curbits are difficult to transplant from pots to soil. I don't find it so, I do it all the time. I get better germination in pots because I can manipulate the soil temperature.

Hi David!
When you do start them in pots, when do you start them? And how long do you leave them in the pots before you put them in the outside soil?
Thanks!

I like to set out plants that have grown the first true leaf, and let that get to a good size. So generally, I plant the seeds in qt containers around May 15th, they germinate in 5 days, and I can set them out the first week of June.

This year I planted Diva cucumber, and two winter squash varieties from Johnny's - ChaCha and Confection. I've started setting them now.

Forgot to mention that when the plants have one true leaf, they have a remarkably well developed root structure. So I dig the hole, just slip the plant between my ring and middle finger, invert the pot, then flip the plant into the planting hole. Water it in and away we go. They usually don't miss a beat - although this year, we have high winds with very low humidity and this seems to be setting everything back.

Oh my! So less than a month altogether, from seed to outside soil?

I had no idea it would be such a short time. Somehow I completely missed any information about how long the seedlings should be in small pots.

I think last year, my first leaves from the indoor pots were already sprouting on April 11th. Then I put them in the ground on May 31st.
So almost seven weeks. :(

Thanks, David! I know better now!

I usually direct sow my squash--hate to bother with growing things in pots and then transplanting them, but the soil isn't ready in that area yet, and I couldn't wait much longer to start them, so last Monday I sowed them in 3.5" pots. By Friday 3 of the 4 pots had germinated, and today I knocked one of them out to check for roots, and they already have multiple roots down to the bottom. By the time they have a couple true leaves, they're gonna be WELL rooted, and I'm planning to be able to stick them in the ground NO LATER than when they have the first true leaf or two--aiming for late next week. Like David, I'll carefully tip them out of the pot and put them in the ground without disturbing the roots.

I don't know for sure, but I'd be surprised if your emergency bottle watering system worked very effectively. I suspect it would just moisten the soil right in the middle of your bed, very close to the bottles. If you want to check it out, why don't you fill the bottles now and see what happens. I think a more effective method, if you ever need to use something besides the soaker, would be to just dump a bucket of water at the base of each plant.

Also, since you used vermiculite, that stuff holds a lot of water, so in the beginning be sure you're checking to see what the moisture level is near the bottom of your bed before you water again. Remember, staying too wet is way worse than a little too dry.

Skybird

Thanks Skybird!
I put the seeds in yesterday morning, so i'll keep my fingers crossed. Should I check tonight for sprouts yet? ;)
(just kidding) It's sure tempting to check the bed 3-4 times a day!

Lookie!!

5 sprouts!!

Yayy!!
Six days since planting.

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