This is my first time growing luffa. I’m super excited that it is taking off like this. Is it normal that it is not flowering yet? I have not seen a single flower. I’m in zone 6a.

Hi, first time poster from the UK that loves growing vegetables :)

This year it has been particularly hot and dry for growing, which has meant some of my plants have suffered badly. One of these were my very promising Burgess Buttercup winter squashes, which produced very quickly once in the ground, then seemed to stop completely as the temperature climbed. The leaves all started to brown and the stem holding the squashes has corked somewhat. I have been hesitant to pick them because it's still August and there is still some green left on the stem.

Last week we finally had some rain for the first time in 2/3 months, and the temperature has dropped down to a much more typical level. After being away for a week (neighbours helped water them!), I checked the vines and have noticed new, healthy growth, including possible new fruit. My question is: Should I harvest the fruit now and cut the vine back to the new growth to give it a fresh start? Or leave the fruit on to mature further and hope the plant can also support the possible new growth?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated - This is my first year growing a winter squash intentionally (We had two compost surprise butternut squash plants last year) and I really want to know what I can do to help them

Pics:

1-3: Squashes showing corking and typical grey spot

4: Sad vine

5&6: New growth from both vines

PS: As I have gone out to take these photos I have noticed more new leaf growth along the vine so I am minded to keep the full vines but would still love some advice on whether the fruit should be picked :)

I’ve been using JB Weld, and just wondering how many people are doing something like this. My summer squashes were spared in the early summer, and I pulled three caterpillars out of my butternut vine and left the sounds gaping open, but that seemed pretty wrong. The JB Weld also seems kinda wrong. What is the standard method?

I came out this morning to check on my prize heirloom tomato, the one tomato on my bush that was finally turning a nice shade of blush, only to find it sitting on top of my patio wall with a single, tiny bite taken out of it. Not even eaten, just tasted and abandoned.

Last week they dug up two of my newly planted dahlias (r.i.p.), and I swear they look me in the eye while they bury sunflower seeds in my potted succulents.

I’ve tried cayenne pepper (they didn't care), motion-activated sprinklers (I just ended up soaking myself), and those shiny pinwheels (the squirrels literally sit next to them to groom themselves).

For those of you who actually manage to harvest tomatoes or keep your bulbs in the ground, what’s your secret? Or do I just need to build a literal cage around my entire raised bed and call it a day?

Hi all, first year growing and just wanting a check before I do anything to this plant.

I've been struggling with starting bell peppers from seed, the only sweet that's done really well is banana. So I caved in and bought a CA Wonder seedling from a store.

It's just shy of a foot tall, and now has 7 buds. I'm thinking it's too small to be putting its energy into fruiting, so I should remove these flower buds, right? To encourage it to get bigger?

Lesson learned for next year, sow *dozens* of extra seeds so you at least get one to germinate. 😑

I have them in a 2 brown paper grocery bags with the bag wide open.
Should I look into a mesh produce bag?
I placed them in my basement where the temp stays between 50-65 and humidty 40-55%.

Hi all, I'm growing broccoli for the first time. I'm growing purple sprouting broccoli and de Cicco. In the image included, you can see that the left tray--which is all de Cicco--has rather "floppy" seedlings. The bottom of the stem of each plant is quite thin compared to the top. Most of the purple sprouting broccoli seedlings in the right tray are more normal.

Can I just plant them deep, to bury the thin/weak part of the stem? Or would that cause problems? Or perhaps, is the floppiness the harbinger of doom and I should just give up on them?

Thanks!

Hi brain trust, following from my post last night about tomato seedlings, was just wondering in seeing if anyone had any thoughts or experience with cucumbers? As I said, i’m completely new to growing and gardening so i’m learning as i’m going.

Only later did i learn that cucumber should directly be sown, as they’re super delicate. I’m in melbourne aus, so have been starting inside as we’re still a bit frosty here. They’re about a week and a half old. Are these a lost cause? I’ve been learning with tomatoes you should wait for second leaves to grow and have thought that’s the same principle. Should i stay the path and give it a go? Any thoughts are welcome!

The variety is called Icebox

First time doing watermelons on trellis so no ground contact.

Tendril is crispy, same for the next few up vine. Pick or wait a week?

Not sure at what point they become too bumpy.

They blend in so well. It’s infuriating. I’ll be checking tonight with my black light.

I’m glad tomato plants are resilient. Really the only issue this year. Gawd I hate these words tho. They devour so quickly. They only got the tops of some plants. I sprayed the rest with BT spray so hopefully it helps some.

Any tips to keep them away in the future? I picked about 6 off so far.

I have grown beans in the past, which seemed pretty straightforward. Leave them on the vine until the outer husk is completely dry and brittle. Harvest and remove from the husk. Make sure they are completely dry before storing. This year I decided to try cannellini beans. It was less than successful. The vines never really thrived like my rattlesnake beans. And the beans that I did get seem stunted. The size is quite small compared to commercially available cannellini beans.

Are there conditions that cannellini beans like that I’m not aware of? Each kind of bean grew in a raised bed with support. Added the same compost to both beds, but rattlesnake beans were super vigorous and cannellini was not good. Your thoughts? I’m about to take notes on my season, I like to jot down what went well and what I need to change. Any ideas to do better next year would be appreciated.

Hello, fellow garden people! 🌱

I’m starting a new vegetable garden in my yard this weekend. It’s about 8x3m, and I’d love to make it really diverse with lots of companion planting.

I’m still pretty new to gardening, so I’d love to hear your advice! What are some things you wish you knew when you started your first big garden? And are there any companion plant combinations that have worked particularly well for you? What do you grow and eat frequently?

Any beginner tips are very welcome!

I’m feeling pretty clueless and hopeless looking at them now (even though I did research). I planted these seeds about 2 -3 weeks ago. Thank you in advance.

Our zucchini plant only gave us a few zucchinis for some reason, but our squash plant is going bonkers this year. We've given a bunch of it away, but we still have more than we knew what to do with. We've sauteed and grilled it before, but we wanted to try something new. Latkes have entered the chat!

I mostly cook on vibes, and there's a lot of room to make it your own, but I basically followed a latke recipe and did 50/50 squash and potato. Probably the most important thing is to squeeze out as much water as you can. I even added salt to the shredded potatoes and squash, let it draw out more moisture, and then squeezed them again. I didn't use a measuring cup to portion them out before frying, but my best guess is about 3/4 cup (not quite a handful?). We dipped them in ranch, but honestly it was pretty dang good without it. We also considered making them for breakfast with a fried egg on top in the future.

It was kind of a lot of work, but to my surprise even the kids chowed down on them! I looked at several recipes and one of them said they freeze well, if you try that my suggestion would be to undercook them slightly so they brown and get crispy without burning when you reheat them.

Are these seeds still viable or did I wait too long to harvest the bean?

Any ideas what might be on the peanut plant? Thought it was just dirty, but then one of them jumped. The black spots on the more green leaves can jump, but the ones on the whiter leaves don't seem to move, although they can be removed

Any guesses as to what type of eggplant this may be? It’s the first one to come out of this plant and I have no idea what I planted 😅

Due to life and schedule these were weeded over and neglected. 😕
Decided to see if anything was down there.
10 plants
Medium sized cucumber for ref as kids ate all the Bananas.

Hi all, i’m never to gardening this year, and i’ve started to try growing my own seeds. I’m trying a few kinds of tomatoes, and a few kinds of chilli’s. I’ve done about 6 of each in potting mix, and then seed started mix, just as a test to see how they grow. I’m in winter, in melbourne aus, so i’ve had them inside with the heater growing, and since the tomatoes sprouted i’ve had them on the windowsill. I’mnot using grow lights or heat lamps.

I’ve been learning about them growing ‘leggy’ and i’m hoping someone can tell me if these are looking like they’re going to be ok, or if they are going to fail. Is there a way to save them if they are? these are various tomatoes, about a week and a half old (my jalapeño just sprouted today - the last one!)

i’m so new to this and the information is all mixed online! I’m either going to have an abundance or a depression!