Need Help with New Vegetable Garden

Hi,

I first started gardening about 7 years ago while housesitting for 3 yers, then moved and for 4 years, had no opportunity to garden. I now live in southern Ohio and my landlady has allowed me a good size spot on her land for a vegetable garden. I started planting about 3-4 weeks ago, and with the hot weather and much rain, my vegetables are growing. However, when I planted, I placed 2-3 seeds in each hill and did not have a chance to thin out the "weaker" plants because of the constant rain and there didn't seem to be any weaker seedlings.

Well, it looks light I might have at least two of each plant growing in each hill. I planted corn, tomatoes (beefsteak, yellow pear and cherry), bush beans, dragon beans, yellow wax beans, cukes, zucchini, straightneck squash, Indian squash, mesculun, cabbage, broccoli, mesclun, sugarbaby watermelon, cantaloupe, peppers, spinach. I'm growing a lot because I also want to donate to local food pantries in my area, plus give some to my landlady.

ANYWAY, do I have to worry about plants choking each other out because I didn't have a chance to thin them? Also, this is also my first attempt with vertical gardening for the cantaloupes and watermelons. I grew them about 4 or 5 years ago and they spread all over my garden, which is why I'm trying vertical this time.

By the way, the seeds I planted are about 3-4 years old. I refrigerated them and pulled them out this year. The reason I planted 3-4 per hill was in case they all didn't germinate, and definitely, most of them have.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Jane

Some of these crops could be treated several ways, but here is how I would do this:

Leaf Crops- allow both (all) to grow. When you harvest use scissors and cut off one plant out of each group, leaving the other to grow.
mesculun, cabbage, spinach.

Big plants, best if you thin to a single plant:
tomatoes (beefsteak, yellow pear and cherry), cukes, zucchini, straightneck squash, Indian squash, broccoli, peppers. Use scissors to cut off the weaker without disturbing the roots.

Probably will do OK with 2 in each hole, but if one is looking great, then I would take the scissors to the weakling.
corn, cukes, zucchini, straightneck squash, Indian squash, sugarbaby watermelon, cantaloupe.

Note that you can eat the thinnings of:
mesculun, cabbage, broccoli, spinach.