Thanks to this board's help, I'm reaping my first picking of crookneck squash! I planted four seeds to my 4'x4' square bed 44 days ago and I have several squash fruit on each plant. And guess what, not only is this my first time ever growing squash but I had to hand pollinate the flowers! There isn't a bee in this entire neighborhood. I can't believe it worked, but I have maturing fruit to prove it. Now what do I do about the cucumbers?

EG - I don't know if I will come close to your harvest of 50+ of last year, but I will be quite happy to harvest even half of that.

Also, IMP, the tomatoes don't belong in the raised beds unless the beds are given totally over to the tomatoes and they are planted much further apart. I'm in day 45 with my tomato transplants and they are already 3 feet tall and sprawling over everything. I'm growing Celebrity and I was told they were a "bush" tomato. Well, these plants grew out of Mel's Mix like they were on steroids and there is no taming now! The only fertilizer I gave them was seaweed kelp & fish emulsion until this week when I treated them to a high phosphate liquid feeding. The plants are covered with setting fruit so I don't believe they have been push with too much nitrogen. I'm already planning my Fall plantings, all the tomatoes will be in Mel' mix but in 5 to 10 gallon pots with fence wire cages.

Mary