Hi I am looking for "Cucumis metuliferus," or the African horned cucumber or melon seeds. check my trade list if you have this and would like to trade thank you :) Zenbeans http://members.gardenweb.com/members/exch/zenbeans> Here is a link that might be useful: trade list

Hi everyone. I'm a newbie gardener so I have never had the opportunity to experience what you're talking about, BUT!, read this in the Feb/March issue of "Organic Gardening" magazine's letters to the editor. "Squash Those Bad Bugs"....I read the article on organic squash-bug control in the June/July issue (Ask OG). Years ago, I had just about given up on raising squash, as I could not defeat the bugs using Sevin dust. Then I read an article - possibly in Organic Gardening - that recommended grinding up onions and garlic in a blender, adding water, and spraying the squash requently with the mixture. The theory was that the smell kept the bugs away. This seemed like a lot of work. So, the next spring, I saved some onion bulbs and planted two with each hill of squash and cantaloupe. As an extra precaution, I took a handful of onion tops, cut them into short pieces and dropped them on and around the plants. I have not had any squash-bug damage for 15 years. I have passed this idea on to several friends and they have all had similar results. A reader from Abilene, TX" I hope that helps! I will be interested to hear a follow-up if anyone tries this because hopefully next year my squash won't freeze and die and I'll try this method to keep bugs away.

I planted 16 seeds per square. No thinning. All were planted 3" apart which corresponds to the seed packet requirement. I checked them again tonight. The leaves are still small on a few of them. I poked around a few of the larger ones and didn't find any radishes. I pulled one and saw the red root was less than 2" long and thin. These are Pink Beauty, an early variety that should mature in less than 30 days. Going to pull them and plant something else. Also going to try and plant them in the ground and see if it makes a difference.

Hello. I am container gardening on a terrace in zone 10. When I planted patty pan squash, zuch, cucumbers, and midget musk melons in March, they all did very well until the midsummer heat was unusually high for a long period of time. They had been dark green and productive. During the hot spell, all of the plants's leaves and stems turned uniformly yellow and became brittle, though they were rarely wilted in the afternoon sun. The lower leaves died. Perhaps I overwatered. No amount of compost or other fertilizer helped. Two of the plants developed clear powdery mildew, and I removed those right away, but the yellow had preceeded the PM symptoms by a full month. Ultimately I removed all of the plants. None of the roots appeared rotted, but I will admit I am a novice gardener. In late August, I tried planting all of these again for a fall harvest. Initially I planted in containers which held different vegetables prior, augmenting the substrate with compost. Then I planted in completely new containers with completely new substrate (a mix of coconut coir and compost, the same as my initial, healthy for months, plantings in March). The results were the same for all four plants, twice over. The seedlings came up quickly, they were dark green for about one week, but then they turned uniformly yellow and brittle, with very little growth. The leaves of the squash began to curl and turn gray/brown at the edges in discreet areas. Again, the bottom leaves of the vines died, as below. None of the plants grew more than a few inches. Again, out of eight plantings, two had clear white patches of powdery mildew. The others did not, but their overall health was the same. Is it all PM, or are there more fungus/virus/etc's at work? The blue is from my attempt at spraying a copper fungicide, but they looked this bad before that as well. This was one of my original melons. None of the new seedlings ever grew beyond 6 inches with small leaves, and they all flowered at their tiny sizes ( which I understand to mean distressed). Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated. Again, I am very new to gardening, especially container gardening.