where are you?

I would gladly move to a cooler climate if I could find work there......

So pretty :o)))

Resin, want some seeds for Polar Baby? I seeded those indoors in February, set the pots outside (this is a determinate, so I grow it in pots, which stay warmer than the ground, anyway, and can be brought inside if necessary) in April, started picking tomatoes on my birthday in May, and it will produce until frosts. Another good one is Silvery Fir Tree, also grown in pots. I planted it directly in pots on June 1st, have been picking tomatoes since late July and it's just about done, because it hates the heat!
I've a friend in Edinburgh who grows tomatoes outside and always gets a good crop. Not sure what he's planting.

Tropical hibiscus>

Hello - Rosie here :-)). I always start my tomatoes off in January but keep them wrapped up in a propagtor until the weather is really warm. If they get too big for the propagator - and iv'e got a BIG propagator, I move them into the house which seems to me to be the same temperature as my propagator because my partners elderly father likes it that way. I always get an amazing crop of toms and this year was picking my first fruits in early June - a bit of a cue for this neck of the woods. These were San Mazano which I had grown for the first time - I was really proud too. The weather here is abysmal. I think we got one week of nice dry weather - in April.

I find that the biggest problem with tomatoes is not heat (there are always ways to provide that, either in a propagator, greenhouse or with eldercare :)) but light. Most tomatoes like long days, so, especially when they are seedlings, some kind of prolonged lighting usually has to be provided.

S'funny Potagere, I haven't had a problem with this. They get a bit leggy to start with but then when I plant them in the grow bags they just seem to get stronger. I don't know whether or not it's better to start them off this early - a lot of people start them off much later and still get good results. I suppose tomatoes are just something I really can't wait to plant.

Well, Rosie, if it's working, that's what matters!

Resin; Oh Hvide Sande, that says it all ;o)

Hello - I am Judi and I live in Portland, Oregon. It have enjoyed reading all your postings. My favorite growing thing are cherry trees - the blossoms are so beautiful in spring!
Here in Oregon tomatoes grow very well - mine are beginning to turn red. I will probably have about 60 tomatoes at the same time so maybe I will make tomato paste and freeze it.
I am interested to know opinions regarding our coming presidential elections - are we allowed to discuss that on DG?

Hi Judi!
I don't think political discussions are allowed on the message boards at all.

I agree about the cherry trees too, they are so beautiful, as are all trees in blossom.
Lucky you to have a good crop of tomatoes!

:o)

Terri

I guess I will not mention politics!

I am happy about my tomatoes but the cucumbers are not so great. I will be lucky to get one!

Yep, only got 1 myself this year portland. Tomatoes grand though.

This year I have been growing "Lemon" cucumber, "New Horse Silver" (an open-pollinated Korean cucumber" and "White Star" (an Oriental Hybrid cucumber). While I wait for tomatoes to ripen, I have more cucumbers than I can eat or give away.

Just ordered a pack of "crystal apple" cukes for next year Pot. They are yellow too. I'm determined to do better next year.
:-)) Rosie

I am growing lemon cucumbers and pickling cucumbers but neither are doing well. We are not having a great growing season here. As a matter of fact it has been snowing at 5000 ft elevation in Oregon. We are not ready for winter yet! I hope my tomatoes have a chance to ripen.
Meanwhile I am watching a hurricane hit New Orleans on television. That poor city.

It feels quite autumnal here in Ireland too Judi. No snow yet though. Mind you I wouldn't be at all surprised if that's what natures got in store for us next. We had a rainstore this afternoon which looked more like hail! In September?
BTW I personally don't have any views on any country's political shenannigans. It's one of those subjects that makes me want to curl up and hibernate LOL.
I haven't seen the news today. Poor New Orleans. Hope it doesn't get too bad.
Rosie

I looked those "Crystal Apple" cucumbers up on the Web and almost every photo was identical to the 'Lemon' Cucumbers growing in my garden. These and the Korean cucumbers are all I grow anymore. They are prolific, fairly resistant to mildew, have almost 0 bitterness and retain crunchiness even when you "overlook" one until it has grown big enough to replace the family pet!
It's not looking too bad for N'Orleans, but other parts of Louisiana are gonna have it tough this time around! And also looks like the "Elephant Party" has turned Gustav into a "political shenanigan"! We NEED more tomatoes!!!

LOL pot. If my cukes got as big as my dogs I would be seriously worried - even the little one. All those perfect fruits look exactly the same - photo opportunity for retouched veg . Seed companies just have no imagination. Want to swap some cukes for a boat load of San Mazano?
Do your cukes grow outside or in the greenhouse?
Rosie

Well, imp, my cukes aren't retouched, and they do look like those photos! I just went and checked the fridge! I'm growing them outside now; in the greenhouse in winter. Next summer I will probably grow only the NHS open-pollinated cuke because I am running out of seed and don't want it to cross. I'm lucky; my neighbours only grow the cucumber plants I give them!

Have ordered Sakamari, a Japanese cucumber so maybe I wil have more luck next year. I haven't grown cukes outside for years. Hand polinating old telegraph types was just too tedious but there was always a good crop.

Next year I may try a Japanese cucumber. I will also hand pollinate. Maybe it is time to help out Mother Nature a little. I love lemon cukes but this year is just not a good one here.
Potagere - are you French or an American? I am not a member of that "Elephant" party and after their choice of a mate nothing would surprise me. They are an embarrassment to our country. Despite that, they may be the successful party this year - frightening!
Can I grow cukes indoors?

I'll be interested in how those do. Not least because they are green.

I've given up on green cucumbers in recent years because I can't take the bitterness and seem to lose the plants to mildew about when they start to produce well. I occasionally buy an "English" (I think these are the 'telegraph' type??) cucumber at the store.

Another thing I like about the NHS is that it keeps making me think it is "parthenocarpic", because it thrives in a closed greenhouse in winter without hand pollination; but then, it does not seem to lose quality in open-pollinated conditions where it is visited by numerous pollinators. I wish I knew or could find out more about it. It is just a super cucumber!

I'm American living in France, Portland1; originally from Spokane. No, no, no!!! Donkeys must rule!!!!

I grow cukes in my greenhouse all winter. So does my sister-in-law in Spokane. The Korean cukes (and even the Lemons) don't seen to require high temps so long as it never gets much under 50 US. Light is more critical; they need good, strong light for at least 6 to 8 hours each day. The windowsill probably won't work.

Hmm strange! You have animals running the country in the US. In the UK they're more like vegetables. Survive better in an enclosed space, come in various hues but all look the same and don't function at all when there's a half an inch of snow on the ground.

That is a totally unfair image of vegetables, imp!

I know but it was funny :-))

Pot, when did you start putting "JIm" after your handle? I've only just noticed it.

I just learned how to do it!!

LOL, How's that then. I don't know either.

All you have to do is go into your member page and where you put the city and state, put your name wherever you want it: at the end or the beginning, in brackets; and it will show up if you'd like to have your name there.

?

??

Oh Bum.I'll try it tomorrow.

I tried putting my name in and can't do it. ?

ha ha
I did it
~Sylvia