I hope someone will answer your question granny, I don't know, but I know I'll need that answer. I wish I could get someone in my fam interested in zucchini, lol. I'm eating them by myself. I have forced the hubby and kids to eat some raw at meals, but I will eat it anyway you hand it to me: grilled, fried, steamed, bread, everything. I love that stuff and this year, I'll get some year round because of the dehydrator. I'm hurting my hand congradulating myself.

ours is just now starting to kick back in again!! but i noticed some bugs out back, prob the same one's that took out our other zuk vine!! and this one is a melon vine. i may have to do some serious squashing pretty soon and some serious soap and water!! LOL i just don't like them messing with my melons!! LOL or legs!! LOL ~Medo

p.s. this dang thing is still doing its thing, but i did notice that the dvd "button" won't come on and it did all the time until this past month or so. if you barely even touched it. so i don't know how to check and see what the dang deal is??? errrrr frusterated mommy here!!!! ~Medo

Well, I did get two zucs this morning that were too small last night, it's unbelievable how quickly they grow! And my neighbor spotted a crookneck on her side, so she picked it for me. Those squash bushes are so danged big, it's hard to see if there's anything in them. They are over four feet high now, and if the fence weren't in the way I'm quite sure they would be nearly 8 feet across. The leaves on the east side are smashed up against the fence, but on the garden side they've spilled out a good three feet from their bed.

I notice a ton of buds on the crookneck, but they all look to be males. I wonder if they kind of go in cycles...they started off with mostly male blossoms, then I got a lot of females that produced, now it's back to males.

Medo, as to the frustration: Handle every Stressful situation like a dog. If you can't eat it or play with it, pee on it and walk away.

Granny

Here is a link that might be useful: Annie's Kitchen Garden

I was just going to post this in "Cool Climate Tomato Recommendation", but I'm half afraid to join in on some of the posts, as I might be too off topic. So..I'll just tell you guys!

I don't live in a cold climate now, but when I did I gave a friend a tomato plant. She wasn't a gardener, but she planted it right outside her kitchen door. One day she complained that it never would get tomatoes on it, just lots of blossoms. I told her to give it a good shake every time she went in/out the door. A month or so later she called and told me it was loaded with tomatoes, so I asked if she's shaken it. She said no, that she figured if shaking it would help, then beating it would be even better....so she beat the holy crap out of it with a broom! She sent a picture, and sure enough that plant was flattened, but absolutly full of tomatoes!

Granny

Here is a link that might be useful: Annie's Kitchen Garden

Wow! That is really interesting. I know my mom swears that beating tomatoes makes them very hardy, high-producing plants. I told her that probably just shaking them would do the same thing, but after reading your post, I am not sure any longer. It would be neat to hear some more feedback on this subject.

Granny - I sure hope your squash plants aren't done. I am looking forward to hearing more about how to know when they're done. I thought they kept going until first frost.

~Angela

Wha? Beating tomatoes?

Granny....ever run over 'em with that ford ranger? or cause a stampede with the local cattle....causing them to run over your tomatoes? I'm thinking about taking a flamethrower to one of mine....it looks dead, or something. Oh well. I haven't been able to look at the thread from yesterday....this stupid firewall won't let me.

Carolyn - I could take some zucchini intravenously right now. Next year, i'm going to have to a freezer dedicated to nothing but the big "Z". I even thought about taking some of my yellow squash, and painting it green yesterday. Oh well....

Medo - Umm....yeah....don't forget your meds. Hee Hee

Angela - did ya get back from the trip yet?

EG

LOL i told ya about my friend who does the potatoe's in straw? well he also grows tomatos' in his house all year round!! he does that, shakes them when he walks by them!! and he's had them for about 5 years. and he does that with the bell peppers too. so ya, it works!!
i won't forget to take my meds!! i really need to now!! LOL i tell ya, this thing is really irritating me!! i think i feel like talla, just want to growl, LOL now how in the world can ya'll tell if they are male or female blossoms?? ~Medo

EG - Nope, I'm still on my trip. I have about another 10 days or so left, but I'm sure you can't tell with me hopping on here every chance I get. LOL After tonight, I may not be able to get back on at all since I'll be at another relative's house that may not be able to get wireless connection signals from the neighbors like I'm stealing now. LOL About that firewall, that's a pretty extreme firewall to let you read only new threads. ??? weird...

Medo - What a trip... having the same plant for 5 years? seriously? Wow! I think I'm going to keep one inside, too!

~Angela

Angela - the firewall only gets involved if there is certain types of popups on the page...like an ad for a casino, or something like that. The network administrator has certain keywords entered into the system, and if it picks up on one of them - it won't let the page open. I'll look at the other one tonight, from my own connection.

Medo - male and female blossoms on what kind of plant?

EG

Medo, the male flowers have a long, straight slender stem attached to the flower and the females have a bulbous swelling just below where the flower joins the stem.

angelady, I don't have the nerve to beat my tomatoes down with a broom! Of course, mine are a determinate variety so they aren't real tall to begin with. I could try it on a cherry tomato.....but I'm afraid I'd kill it.

Another way to pollinate tomatoes in the house is to attach an electric toothbrush to the stem and turn it on once or twice a day.

EG, no smart remarks from you about girl tomatoes and vibrators, hear me? Run over them with the Ranger? Giggle. Snort.

Granny

Here is a link that might be useful: Annie's Kitchen Garden

ROFL

Granny - Great idea with the vibrating toothbrush. Does that really work?

Also, I'm curious how much tomatoes in the house produce if they are not directly in front of a window with direct sun.

~Angela

angelady, I have no idea if it works or not, but it sounds reasonable. And I've never grown a tomato indoors. Heck, I've killed every house plant I've ever had except for the three my husband killed! My green thumb turns black as soon as I walk in the house :-(

Here is a link that might be useful: Annie's Kitchen Garden

so just like a male and female parts. i can remember that!! LOL
ya, talla is watching nanny mcfee now, as if we haven't seen this a thousand times, but we took it back to nana's and now we are there, and staying the night, so daddy can do doubles, and i can do his clothes. so yep, LOL he said do doubles get a few hours of sleep and go right back to work that night. but the overtime will be killer for us and pay some serious bills!! YAY!!!
ya know annie, if ya talk to your plants, they absolutely LOVE it!! when talla talks to them and sings to them they just perk right up, some bloom, those are the inside ones. she of course, gets a huge kick out of it! LOL i told her it was her fairie magic!! LOL ~Medo

So...tomatoes like to be shaken, or better yet beaten? Or...vibrated?!? (Perhaps they have body parts that are more similar to ours than we think!) That practice is just BIZARRE...and so I'll have to try it!

Regarding raising them indoors: I wonder if they'd get little white flies on them like my basil and mint did when I tried to grow them indoors. I know they're not directly related plants but they like the same environs, right? (Keeping in mind that I'm still learning!)

I know how it's generally polite to stay on topic, but that is so difficult for me, so I really appreciate the OT threads and tacit permission to let the mind wander in a healthy and fun way. :)

I want to thank everyone for the nice thoughts for my friend that passed away. He was only 41 - heart attack. Unbelievable...

Granny - What? I think you've got me mixed up with someone else....Hee Hee. RLS is definitely not my friend either.

Medo - I don't talk to my plants. I talk to my bugs. Yeah, that's right! I always tell them that they have come to the wrong address. BTW...where's msyoohoo? I hope she don't make me hunt her down again....

Angela - What? the spongebob thing? Hey....I got er done....Yeah, just pushed all those little kiddies out of the way, and got the picture.

Ok...gawd....here's the picture.

Here is a link that might be useful:

EG, which one are you?

Granny

Here is a link that might be useful: Annie's Kitchen Garden

LOL now that aint so bad!! LOL you almost look like steve, he's our hmmmm.....ok, My hubs mom's hubs son. did ya get that?? LOL
so i can NEVER stay on subject either!! so i really appreciate the ot thing too!! i think i must have overactive add!! LOL my mind just goes like the energizer bunny on acid!! and sometimes my mouth too!! LOL i'll be the first one to admit that!! LOL but shhhhhh don't tell anyone!! let them find out on their own!! i'm sure ya'll suspected that all along!! Hee Hee Hee
well, i've been doing some research and apparently this dang vista has problems with their dvd not recognizing the drive all of a sudden, ahhhhh i'm in such trouble, i can not afford to get this darn thing fixed. is there any way i can just reload the melinium in it and be ok? please say yes you'll be ok and all of a sudden it will work again!! its definately NOT the hardware!! it's less than a year old.
ok i'm done griping.
that's just a cute pic!! and geeze your taller than sponge bob!! WOW!!! ~Medo

Granny - you think you're cute..don't ya??????? LOL Hmm....i'm gonna have to do something "special" for you. You'll see! hee hee

Medo - Of course i'm taller than SB. The only one that was taller than me was shrek. We always get our pictures taken with the characters at the theme parks. The boys don't, though. They think it's just for kids. I'm like "Uh, yeah....i'm a big kid" Woo Hoo! As far as the pc goes....I have about 4 computers/laptops at home - and I re-format them once a year. It makes them run smooth. I can't help you with vista, sorry......

EG

Yea! Just had the first tomato of the year. I will post pics later of my grape tomatoes. They were as big as a regular roma at the store. I'm hoping to sneak a couple into the store and take pics. That way I don't have to get stuck purchasing any of their awful produce. Sigh! I AM going to try and save seeds from these. These Juliettes just produce their little hearts out. They choke the snot out of everything around them and make more more more tomatoes.
Per Dr. Carolyn Male on the tomato forum (I think it was her) there is NO scientific proof that shaking tomato plants makes them produce more. For the record, I shake my tomatoes every morning and every evening. I think she admitted she does the same. Just one of those maybe it might work things...

i thought i wanted millenium, but hubs reminded me that xp i liked better. i was like OHHHH YA!! so i think i want that in. a friend is supposed to call me and see if she can help me, she has vista. and dislikes it as well.
WOW carolyn!! i think i want some of those seeds!! HMMM hint hint!! LOL they'd go good with my mammoth maters!! LOL just think if we could breed them to be huge and go like crazy!! WOW!!! how do they taste?? i did find out that mine do taste pretty good!! we had them with hubs mexi food. he makes that stuff good!! LOL
hope ya'll have a great day!!
p.s. ok eg, time to track her down, i miss her too, its my job to track you down and yours to track her down!! LOL **big grinn** ~Medo

Granny - Because of my inability to grow thriving house plants, that is why it took me so long to come around to gardening at all. I'm so glad that SFG gave me the confidence to try. So far, I'm actually doing REALLY well. I just about can't believe I did it all by myself... just had my SFG book handy. ;-)

Medo - That is too cool that y'all talk and sing to your plants. I knew how awesome talking to your indoor plants could be, but wasn't totally sure about outside vegetable plants. My daughter was talking to the little plantlings when they first came up, so we just went with it. So far, so good! As for the computer, I did have two different operating systems on one computer once, but I personally think it's best to reformat, like EG said. I also reformat my 4 computer once a year or as needed. My new laptop (the fifth computer) is the only one with Vista, though, so I can't say anything much about that OS yet.

Laura - You're hilarious! Welcome to the great OT world, girl. We're very grateful to have ya here. As for the white flies... boy, I sure hope I do not get any flies at all based on vegetable/fruit plants in my house! I don't like spraying any chemicals at all, so I'd have to get a hundred fly swatters or bug zappers or something.

EG - Awesome pic!!! You can't even see all the bloody knees of the kids you knocked over to get there or their poor, pathetic cries, either. Great job! I seriously was laughing out loud. I almost dropped on the floor to roll with laughter. ROFL (almost) hahaha

Carolyn - I bet that tomater was yummy! It's pretty funny envisioning you 'sneaking' tomatoes into the store. I can see you tippy-toing with them hidden under your shirt. I also see them catching you putting them back under your shirt and the cops throwing handcuffs on ya as you try to explain what happened. "See... MY tomatoes look so much better than THOSE puny, yucky looking things... How on earth can you not believe me? Just LOOK at the difference! Just look... no really... just look... don't you see it????"

~Angela

Mine taste great to me medo. Send me your addy and I'll mail you some seeds, lol. Just remember this is my first time saving seeds, so no promises.

carolynp, I made a note to myself to try Juliettes next year. I'm quite disappointed in my cherry tomatoes (bought them late, all they said was "Cherry").

I might not be making an appearance around here for a while. EG is gonna get me if I do. Gosh, I'm real scared EG. Not. Just kidding....Smooches.

Medo, if I could make my houseplants grow, I'd be willing to sing, dance, recite poetry, strip....ok, I won't go THAT far, LOL. There again, I have the problem of living in two places, 1200 miles apart, during the year. I had a lovely snake plant/mother-in-law's tongue given to me last winter in AZ. I put it in a big box, wrapped it in insulation and covered it with a blanket for the trip home in the back of the Ranger. Within two weeks after transporting it to WA, it turned to a slimy mush. It had frozen, even with all those precautions. We turn our heat off in WA when we leave for AZ, and with nobody to come in and water for us, plants just die. I've given in, I only grow silk plants in the house now.

Granny

Here is a link that might be useful: Annie's Kitchen Garden

Yoohoo....I'm right here! This place truly gives me some belly laughs! Medo hunts down EG who in turns hunts me down - too freakin' funny!

I was MIA for a few days because my daughter and I went down to Cape Cod for a couple of days. Finally able to escape the relentless rain! She leaves tomorrow so I will definitely be visiting here for a laugh after she leaves. Mamadukes (as she calls me) will be sad tomorrow. I'll need some belly laughs. In the words of Ahh-nold - I'll be back!

P.S. I don't remember who started these OT Chit Chats but great idea!

Angela- yah....I moved all of the carnage out of the way, before the picture was made. They were all like "i'm tellin'" uhh uhh uhh.....WAAAAH! Heh..Bunch of snotty nosed kids....

Granny - Can you do that "digging taters" dance, like Jethro's granny on the beverly hillbillies? I bet you can......that'll probably make them house plants grow.Heh

Maureen - you made it just in time. I was just fixin to get in the truck....Yay!

EG

EG said: "Granny - Can you do that "digging taters" dance, like Jethro's granny on the beverly hillbillies?"

EG, not until I figure out how to get my rockin' chair down offen the back of this dadburned Ford Ranger.

Granny

Here is a link that might be useful: Annie's Kitchen Garden

LOL!!!! Good one, Granny!

EG - You're too much! I love it. Thanks for another big laugh!

Mrs. YooHoo - Glad you're back... Hope you had a great time.

Now, we're off to a Dodger's game. You know how they say everything's bigger in Texas? Well, everything's more expensive in California. Unbelievable! Disneyland was over $500 for a day of fun and this ball game is $200 if you include snacks. Games out where we are run about $9 a seat on the busy nights. Of course, it's not anything like the stadiums here, but still! I'm glad we don't live here. It's very nice to visit, but too expensive to do more often than once per year. LOL

~Angela

hey myoohoo!! nice to see you!!
glad your trip was good angela,
ok, i know this sounds dumb, but i don't know how to reformat, and i don't have the disks, which i hear you have to have. ya, i did back it up, but i misplaced them somewhere. how smart am i?? LOL please don't answer that!! LOL

i can just see eg pushing and shoving all these kids out of the way so he can get to sponge bob, LOL
and all the kids crying and bawling cuz they couldn't get to s.b. and telling him he's so mean!! and eg with a big HUGE smile on his face, he knew he won the ultimate prize!! a pic with s.b.!!! LOL that would be talla to get a pic with tinker bell or another fairy if they have one!! LOL she might even look back at the carnage!! not really though. LOL she's very mild with people she don't know!!
p.s. the ot was MY idea!! so we us could chit chat and get away with it, ya know how we like to carry on!! LOL and NEVER stick to one topic!! LOL ~Medo

And, it was a GREAT idea, too, Medo! It's a very busy and fun thread, so thanks! As for reformatting, yep, you need the disks. Sorry that I don't have any bright ideas on what to do now. Ugggh

~Angela