Just planted a tray with squash and cucumber seeds.
(in order of my favorites:)
Squash: Waltham butternut, Buttercup Burgess strain, Jarrahdale pumpkin, New England Pie pumpkin, Hubbard blue ballet, and Acorn Honey Bear
Cucumbers: Diva, Tokiwa, Sooyow nishiki, Straight 8, Sumter pickling
How do you get your squash and pumpkins to grow so well? For about 4 summers now I've tried growing 3-5 varieties of heirlooms and I might get a pumpkin or two. It seems like by the middle of the summer every year the leaves are yellow, wilted, and the vines are brown :(
ReplyDeleteI think it's stem borers. They are terrible and always get into squashes. Maybe powdery mildew too . Mid season it infects the leaves. . The trick is to get the squashes growing so well that they out grow the borers and the mildew.
DeleteSquash must have full sun, rich soil with lots of compost, evenly moist, nice and warm. If you have full sun and warm climate, focus on the soil. Use lots of compost. And different varieties perform better in different locations. In my garden nothing does better that Waltham butternut. I like jahhsrdale pumpkins and little NE pie pumpkins too. I tried to grow Hubbard last year with no luck. I'll try again this year.
Are you making adjustments to your planting schedule due to later than average frosts? I'm debating if I should plant my direct sow crops a couple weeks late.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to following you. I am a SoCal gardener in a suburban lot. Very different growing conditions but same love of the garden. Happy spring.
ReplyDeleteLindsey,
ReplyDeleteI am not adjusting any of my indoor seedling. I am late planting out my seedlings only because I am coordinating a new garden.
This is perfect timing to plant seeds directly for hardy crops. I know gardeners who planted a couple weeks ago.
Direct seeding is a safe method as the seeds know when to sprout. If it's too dry or too cold, they won't sprout. Then, when conditions are good, they'll take off. I suggest you go for it and plant when you have time.