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Pacific Missouri USA

Hello to Everyone and heres wishing you all well...

As a matter of fact I am not real certain where to go with this question.
Second year attempting to grow things. Last year I started with flowers in the yard. Found myself enjoying my time planting, watering and what have you. Missed it through the winter so when we got past the freeze this spring I was excited about getting in the yard.
My husband and I decided to try our hand at a veggie garden. Everything is doing very well for two people who really have no clue what to do. Cucumbers have taking off producing half a dozen cucumbers already good size not ready to pick. Not sure when to pick them. Could use some adivice there. Same with the zucchini, not real sure when to pick them... My sister in law gave me a couple zucchini plants and talk about easy gardening that thing is pretty self sufficient darn thing was determined to survive regardless of my gardening ignorance.
My most pressing question for me is... My sister in law also gave us some little watermelon plants. So I decided to give them a go and see what would happen. Watermelon challanged as I am the only thing for sure I knew was that it needed room and rooted deep. So I dug a hole about two feet deep and filled it with fertilizer and top soil, and a bit of sand since the soil where I planted it is naturally sandy, and fertilized every couple weeks with miracle grow, not sure how great that stuff is I just know it isn't complicated to do. Anywise Watermelon plant just took off. We have almost a twelve foot vine going one way with three nickle size watermelons on it. So my question is now what? About two weeks ago we had one nickle size watermelon on the same vine it never got bigger and after about a week rotted... So did I do something wrong planting it to begin with, or is there something I can do for it now while the watermelons are in this baby stage?
Any information would be appreciated...

Smiling at cha,
Regi

6/22/2007 1:18:23 PM

Ohio

Regi, your water melon 'aborted' on you, its pretty common for some to rot and fall off the vine, reason why that might have happened is because you might not have had any male flowers to pollinate that female flower in order for your melon to start the growing process, or maybe you had male flowers but no bees around that day to pollinate your female. This is just one of many reason why your baby watermelon might have fallen off.

good luck,
Brooks

6/22/2007 4:49:11 PM

[email protected]

Heat or excessive Nitrogen can cause aborts. Rain at pollination too. Old fashioned bad luck gets a few too.

Welcome to BigPumpkins & the wonderful world of gardeing Regi!

Next year, GIANT PUMPKINS!!!

Steve

6/22/2007 7:28:27 PM

Pacific Missouri USA

Okay thanks so it aborted. That makes sense. This morning I went to look at the three females then I guess is what they are by what you both are suggesting to me, anyway went to see if any of them got bigger, and the two were the same size but there is one that was like three times the size it was a day or so ago, and then even bigger at the end of this days stretch. So now I am excited. Took a picture of our baby melon.
Tremor your mention of giant pumpkins next year reminded me of something.
After the labotamy we gave a couple of pumpkins to create jack o lanterns last year for halloween, we decided to take the pumpkin goo up to our property and just spread 'em about and see if they would take (real fertile ground up there).
I forgot all about them and I have been caring for an ill famliy memeber so haven't been up to the property for sometime.
So I took a check and see today not expecting much... lol, low and behold we have a li'l pumpkin patch growing up there five huge plants with large leaves and huge yellow flowers on them, looks a lot like the zucchini.
Go figure ;0)

6/23/2007 9:11:46 PM

Ohio

thata neat Regi, if you can try to spray the pumpkin plants with a merit or triazicide a couple times this year, if you dont its a good chance the vine borers will eat em up.

Good luck with em
Brooks

6/24/2007 7:30:41 PM

Pacific Missouri USA

Merit or Triazicide... Okay I am guessing I can pick that up at the nursery up the street. Promblem is we spread the seeds about as just a "Huh, I wonder if this will work kind of thing." We haven't nursed them at all. We did not even turn the soil we just put them down and had some straw and threw it on top last October and came back to check on them this past weekend. I was just talking to my husband about it. We don't even have a water source up there.

We are thinking it threw. The property is only five minutes away. My brother in law lives on the property connected to it, we might figure something out.

Vine borers don't sound pleasent. I will have to look them up.

We are having a hard time trying to decide when the cucumbers are ready. We have picked two both were bitter. We were told by one person... That they were bitter because they were not picked soon enough... and by another stating we did not let them grow long enough. How the heck do you know when a cucumber is ready to be picked?

6/25/2007 9:12:36 PM

Long Island,New York

Bitter cucumbers....AS I UNDERSTAND IT........are a result of inconsistent watering.

6/26/2007 7:37:35 AM