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mindingthemanor

Newbie gardening in SoCal

mindingthemanor
13 years ago

I started my first vegetable garden this spring - raised beds. Everything is looking a bit long in the tooth... not sure whether and what to pull out. Some are easy to figure out - for example, the cucumber is looking fabulous - more healthy than ever with plenty of new growth and blossoms. The corn is still ripening. Peppers are producing abundantly. Tomatoes are looking kind of worn, but still producing.

However, I can't tell what to expect from my monstrous zucchini plant. Can anyone tell me... do they go on into fall? What is the visible sign that it is time to pull it? I had a yellow straightneck squash that I pulled a few weeks ago because it wasn't giving me blossoms any more. The zucchini seems to be slowing down, but lately there seem to be a bunch of new healthy looking leaves. I'm still getting some blossoms. Keep going?

Will my bush beans keep going? I just harvested a bunch of the beans and there are some more to come. Wondering if they will keep going?

Wondering about honeydew and watermelon vines. Neither gave me much fruitage (1 watermelon, 2 honeydew) but they seem to be putting out new foilage. Keep them? (Or are they just playing with me?)

Any advice much appreciated. I'm in zone 9- SoCal.

Thanks!

Comments (2)

  • wantonamara Z8 CenTex
    13 years ago

    Are they beans Pole beans or bush beans. Bush beans get played out and fresh beans will produce better than old beans. When is it recommended in your county to plant beans in the fall??. In 8B texas. It is sept 1st, Tomorrow.The county agent says to keep the pole beans if their foliage looks good. I Was asking this very same question a while back and was told to pull all the beans but then I read the county agent advice AFTER I pulled my pole beans. OH, well. It is time to plant so I pulled instead of waiting around to see if the beans would produce. The beans are charging out of the ground. And the control bush bean that I left is looking sadder and sadder. True, it is 99, 103, 98, 97, 99 and no rain. It has beans but they don't seem to be getting any larger. I think They will be in the compost pile tomorrow. The cow peas are doing well and I am eating them like string beans, But I think they are coming to their logical end.

    Squash bores decided it for my squash. My Fall squash came in quickly last year with a heavy performance. One could do half and half as an experiment. My cucumbers got killed by a string of 103, 104,....... I didn't water just once when I got over loaded in my job and got home at 11. The new cucumbers are charging out of the ground.

    The county agent said to pull the tomatoes if the plant did not have 20 tomatoes on it. Only my Sungold has had 20 tomatoes on it at any given time.I don't know what world he lives in or what tomato juju he has, So I am ignoring him on the amount but I am going to take out some of them that aren't performing. Some people will trim the tomatoes up or thin them out . Last year I had better luck with the ones I left alone, but I think I over trimmed on the trimmed ones.

    I am not an expert... I was just asking this very same question and this is what I was told and what happened to me last year. This is my second fall garden. I had a great winter garden last year. So I am definitely wanting to clear out some space to get my vegetables in.

  • mindingthemanor
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Thanks - I do appreciate your input. I decided to pull the especially raggedy tomatoes and keep the ones that still look okay. Not a very scientific method. :-D

    The beans are bush beans. I think I'll wait until the current batch of beans is ready to harvest & then move on with new plantings.

    My zucchini is the big dilemma. I've been observing it for the past couple of days and had decided to pull it but then today I spied several blossoms, female & male. So it has earned a temporary reprieve. Maybe it was just overstressed because there was a heatwave here while I was on vacation last week. I'd left a soaker hose on a timer and it might be that it just wasn't enough water. We'll see.

    I'm still open to comments from other gardeners on how they are making the decision to pull or turn plants.

    Thanks again!

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