Hi, am interested in trading. It's a long list as I moved and is starting over. I hope you can find something on my list. I would like your: Peppers (sweet):Banana Pepper (hot):Anaheim, Jalapeno M Squash:Blue Hubbard Squash, Early yellow Crookneck Squash Cucumbers:Burped hybrid II, Straight eight, Muncher Cucumber Lemon Balm Oregano Spicy Globe Basil (Dwarf plants) Russian Tarragon Florence Fennel Mammoth Dill Bok Choy White Stem Pumpkins, Sugar pie Thank you, JQ

CarolynCl, I think the Japanese are excellent breeders of hybrids, but are there any true Japanese heirlooms? I love their Sunrise melon but don't know if it's Heirloom/OP or hybrid. Some of the other melons (Gaya, Hanmei, Kondoz) at the Asian markets were nowhere near as good as that. I've had some Vietnamese melons, too - I think those were heirlooms and they were also just OK. And they were supposedly grown near Bakersfield. The one heirloom from Khazastan (Kazakh), a white fleshed melon, was excellent. Last few years in the fall, the stores started carrying a large football shaped melon with netting, I forgot what it was called. It was good, but not great, and the local store told me they only sold about half its inventory. reign - Concord grapes for watermelons sounds like a great deal to me. And if you make jam or jelly from a neighbor's pickings, that's outstanding. Nothing beats homemade. As for foliage reports, I have been through the Adirondacks, Shenandoah, and Colorado during fall leaf drop. It's truly beautiful and eerie knowing that after all those gold and red leaves fall, it'll be nothing but limbs and branches for another six months or so. Wayne 5 - Thanks for your reply. I am often in shock when someone says I hate cantloupes/melons. They will eat them in a fruit salad and if the flavor isn't too pronounced. I don't grow the Crenshaw/Sugarshaw varieties, but I do buy them when they're in season. They have a silky smooth texture bursting with juice. Alas, I have one melon that isn't doing too well again for the second year - Montreal Melon. It's turning yellow, and the growth has slowed and looks like early blight is taking hold. Our June Gloom with cloud cover till 1 PM and high humidity 72 degree days just aren't warm enough. The first Ambrosias are looking great and should be ready this week. It should be around 2-3 lbs, though they grow to 5. The charentais planted the same time as Montreal melon have lots of blossoms. The Yellow Doll hybrid watermelon is about softball size now. Butterscotch is now getting fruit (planted about 45 days ago).

This seems to be a popular thread, so I thought I would put in my 2 cents worth. I finally have been able to harvest and try the great Petit Gris de Rennes that I've heard so much about. Unfortunately, I was a bit disappointed. We've had so much cool, rainy weather this year that they just aren't sweet. Other than the lack of sweetness, they did have a unique flavor that I think could be quite good in different weather conditions. I could say much the same about my Charentais and my Blacktail Mtn. Watermelons. Just not sweet. So far the Butterscotch Melons have been the sweetest. They have been my best melons this year and the most productive by far. I think the smaller fruited varieites are less affected by excess rainfall. It seems to be true with my tomatoes. Today I pulled my first Piel de Sapo (frogskin) melon. It was slipping from the vine, which I didn't think they were supposed to do, but the vine seemed to be dying. They can be extremely sweet, but I'm afraid with this year's weather these will also prove disappointing. I'm almost afraid to cut into it. I have one more that is still maturing and an Amarillo Oro, that is very small but seems to be turning yellow.

A couple of years ago (and prior), we had good cuke-growing weather thru the season(s). With the right conditions, cucumbers are easy to grow and those vines can be very, very productive. Off we'd go with coolers full of cukes to the farmers' market. We had one customer who would come just about every marketday to buy lemon cukes - only lemon cukes and a dozen at a time. We liked this guy and he liked our lemon cukes. Taste is subjective. I'm trying those Poona Kheera cukes this year. I hate the looks of them but I'll get past that distaste for the brown skin if what's inside is worth eating. It will be a new experience. My suggestion is to not deny yourself any experience with veggies. I really wanted to try Diva (a hoity-toity Beit Alpha type) last year. Well, try it I did. I had one cuke out of the hill of 3 puny plants. No cukes did well in "Melon Killer 'o8" but that was a disappointment. Lemon cukes can quickly get past prime condition. My policy is that if it looks like a lemon - throw it away. Just before . . . just that first hint of yellow, that's the moment to harvest. I once had a garden in a vacant lot across the alley from my home at the time. The owner lived in another town but I tracked him down thru the courthouse and telephone book. It was awfully easy to go out my backgate, run a hose across the alley, and care for that garden. There were some piles of dirt where a dozer had (almost) leveled the lot and an apricot tree. I turned most of the lot into a nice garden, made apricot jam and sent the owner 2 pints every year we were there. d'S'