From what I have seen, I don't think the answer has been thrown out to ditnc--the plants will produce both male and female flowers along their vines; no reason for multiple plants (tomatillos, on the other hand, need at least two [sexless] plants, say some folks...). You can tell the male from the female flowers on curcubits because the females look "pregnant" under the bloom--a mini-fruit that will either die off if not pollinated, or will mature after successful pollination; male flowers typically have a somewhat longer, skinny "stem" to them. agngg, if you're going to transplant to a bigger pot, you should probably do it sooner rather than later; the plant will get stressed out, and the hotter it will be, the more stressed it will be. Also, your little chopsticks won't hold that puppy for long (if it hasn't already outgrown them!), so plan on planting in a place where the vine can lay over, or else it will break. One last bit: if you are going to transplant (which I recommend; if the container dries out just once, the whole thing's a goner), let it rest in the shade of your patio if it's a hot & sunny day; ideally, you could transplant to it's "final home container" on a cloudy/rainy stretch of 2-3 days. Heat/sun will stress a newly transplanted baby, and you may lose the fruits. However, the plant will recover and you will have even more. Looks good!

If your patio is warm and sunny and traps the warmth then you may have what's called a 'microclimate' which can be different/higher than the general local one. This can be really useful for you as a grower. You can maybe start growing earlier and expect plants to carry on growing for longer - just because you have a sunny, warm, and sheltered site. If you have room on your patio for a long table, not too wide - and not too scruffy(!) - you can put your containers up at a height where you can tend them more easily. One with a metal frame would be good. It would be possible to make a small 'tent' frame to go over the containers and sit on the table top, too. If you then covered this with horticultural fleece/frost cloth - or thick, clear glasshouse type plastic - you'd protect your plants from frost and could grow on for longer. Right now, even without having that protection you could plant up fancy lettuces or a mesclun mix (posh name for lots of different leafy plants picked regularly as a mixture) for salad greens and just cover them at night with either bubble wrap or cardboard to protect from early frost. Another plant that will probably tough it out through winter with a bit of shelter - and can be cut a stalk at a time - is Swiss chard. It comes in plain white stem/green leaf - and varieties with coloured stems which lets it double as decoration. What to do with the soil after a crop has finished? Unless you had a diseased crop, you can reuse the mix. Add some slow release fertiliser which looks like little balls, mix it through - and plant something different. If you grew peas - use the mix next time to grow lettuce. If you grew lettuce - move on to carrots. Just don't feed the carrots too much. There'll likely be enough goodness left over after the lettuces have finished. (This is what the books are talking about with 'crop rotation'. It helps to keep bugs and diseases at low levels.) From time to time - add some fresh mix. Say every time you take out plants you've finished with. When you come to grow tomatoes - they are hungry plants and have big root systems - even the little cherry tomatoes. They drink heaps, too, so acquire bigger containers - four gallons is probably useful. Those dear little plants simply shoot up - and down. If there's only you, or just two people in your household - go for the 'baby' varieties unless you love lots of coleslaw, for example. There are plenty of just-for-one varieties now. You can mulch to keep the soil cooler and hold in moisture by using 'dead' things - like pebbles and big glass beads that are about half to one inch wide. Big enough for you to easily take them off the surface to wash in a bucket and reuse on the next crop. (Keeping things clean is more important with containers than in gardens. There aren't so many friendly microbes in a bag of sterile potting mix.) If your local plant supply places are selling strawberry plants now plant them up in a container of their own. Don't buy the cream just yet because they'll need to grow on for a year (unless your local conditions say otherwise) and you'll actually have to take off any young fruit before it ripens. It's worth it, though. And you can use the tent to protect your crop from strawberry-hungry birds if you cover it with some nylon netting.

Melissa, You're welcome. Here's the list of vegetable varieties suitable for growing in containers. This is not an all-inclusive list but it does give you several options for each type of vegetable on the list. With certain vegetables, like bush beans, for example, literally any variety available can be grown in containers. With tomatoes, literally any variety can be grown in containers, although the larger the mature size of the plant, the larger the container it will need. This year, I had several varieties of tomatoes, including Chocolate Stripes, Momotaro, Tropic and Red Defender reach 7' in height in molasses feed tub containers, which probably hold about 20 gallons of soil. Many other tomato plants, including Scarlet Red, Glacier, Sophie's Choice, New Big Dwarf and Red Defender reached about 3 to 4' or so in 7-gallon containers. Still others, including Ildi, Sioux, San Marzano Redorta, and Yellow Ball reached a height of 5' or taller in kitty litter buckets that hold about 5 gallons of soil. All of the container-grown plants produced heavily all season long. So, matching your plants' ultimate size to a container of the right size pays off. If I know where the seeds are usually offered online, I mention the company. However, some companies haven't updated their websites for 2010 so I can't say that they'll have the seed for 2010, just that they usually have it. Dawn Here's the abbreviations for the sources: BCHS = Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds www.rareseeds.com BURP = Burpee Seeds www.burpeeseeds.com CG = The Cook's Garden www.cooksgarden.com CON = Containerseeds.com (I only listed broccoli for this company but it probably has many of the varieties on this list) JSCH = John Scheepers Kitchen Garden Seeds www.kitchengardenseeds.com NIC = Nichols Garden Nursery www.nicholsgardennursery.com PARK = Park Seed www.parkseed.com PINE = Pinetree Seeds www.superseeds.com VS = Victory Seeds www.Victoryseeds.com SSE = Seed Savers Exchange www.seedsavers.org SESE = Southern Exposure Seed Exchange www.southernexposure.com TGSC = Tomato Growers Supply Company www.tomatogrowers.com TT = Totally Tomatoes www.totallytomatoes.com BEANS: Roma II (BCHS, VS, BUR) Contender (BCHS, VS, BUR) Top Crop (VS) Gina (romano type) (NIC) Provider (PINE, SESE, SSE, BUR) Tendergreen (PINE, SSE) Bush Blue Lake (BCHS, BUR, PINE, SESE) Sequioia Purple Roma (BUR) Royalty Purple Pod (BCHS, NIC, PINE, SSE, SESE) Golden Wax Improved (VS) BEANS, LIMA Thorogreen (NIC) Henderson Bush (BCHS, PINE, SESE) Bush Jackson Wonder (BCHS, SESE) Fordhook 242 (SESE) BEETS Red Ace (PINE) Golden Globe (BUR, SSE) Cylindra (BCHS, BUR, NIC, PINE, SSE) Ruby Queen (PINE, VS) Burpee's Red Ball (BUR) Bull's Blood (highly ornamental foliage) (BUR) BROCCOLI Early Dividend (Territorial Seed used to carry it but I haven't bought it in several years so don't know if they still do.) Small Miracle (PARK, CON) Packman (NIC) CABBAGE Gonzales Mini-Cabbage (PINE) Red Acre (SESE, VS) Golden Acre (VS) Savoy Express (JSCH) Primero Red (JSCH) Caraflex (JSCH) CARROTS Adelaide Baby (JSCH) Short 'N Sweet (BUR) Thumbelina (BUR) Little Finger (PINE, VS) Minicor (JSCH, NIC) Mokum (PINE) Parisian/Tonda di Parigi (PINE) Red-Cored Chantenay (BUR, VS) Improved Nantes (VS) Scarlet Nantes (VS) Parmex (JSCH, CG) CAULIFLOWER: Early Snowball (SESE) Igloo (PINE) CHARD: any---they all get about the same size CORN (SWEET): Early Sunglow (BUR, NIC) Blue Jade (dwarf) (SSE) Quickie (PINE) Golden Bantam (BUR, SESE) CUCUMBER: Salad Bush (NIC, PINE, TT, BUR) Spacemaster (PINE, BUR, SESE) Bush Champion (BUR) Fanfare (TT) Picklebush (BUR) Bush Crop (PINE, VS) Homemade Pickles (PINE, VS, TT) Muncher (PINE) Bush Pickle (TT) Ellen's Family White (pickling) (SESE) Arkansas Little Leaf H-19 (pickling) (SESE) EGGPLANT: Bambino (BUR, CG) Fairy Tale (BUR, NIC)) Long Purple (BUR) Slim Jim (PINE) Raveena (PINE) White Fingers (PINE) Applegreen (BCHS, SESE, SSE) Casper (SSE) Diamond (SSE) Neon (CG) LETTUCE: any, but here's some of the more compact ones Tom Thumb (heads get tennis-ball sized) (NIC, SESE, VS) Little Gem (VS) Tennis Ball (SESE) This variety was grown by Thomas Jefferson at Monticello Bronze Mignonette (VS) Buttercrunch (SESE) MELONS: These would need large containers--nothing smaller than the size of a half-whiskey barrel or child's wading pool. Old stock tanks are great for growing melons too. Minnesota Midget (BCHS, SSE) Green Machine (BCHS) Sleeping Beauty (BCHS) OKRA: Little Lucy (NIC, PARK) Baby Bubba (BUR) Pitre's Short Bush Red Cowhorn 3' tall (BCHS) Vidrine's Midget Cowhorn Okra (BCHS) Choppee (SESE) Dwarf Green Long Pod (VS) ONION: any short-day or intermediate types or any bunching types PEAS: Little Marvel (SESE) Sugar Bon (BUR) Snowbird Snow Pea (BUR) Knight (PINE) Lincoln (aka Homestead) DeGrace Snow Pod (BCHS) Oregon Sugar Pod II Snow Pea (BCHS) Wando (BUR, SESE, VS) Laxton's Progress No. 9 (VS) Sugar Ann (SESE, VS) Dwarf Gray Sugar (BUR, SESE, VS) Tom Thumb (SESE) Oregon Trail (NIC) Sugar Spring (NIC) PEPPERS: almost any pepper can be grown in containers, but these few listed here are especially compact Hot: Biker Billy Jalapeno (BUR) Pizza (NIC, TT) Super Chile (TT) TAM Jalapeno #1 (TT) Thai Demon Red (NIC) Medium: Tangerine Dream (BUR) Blushing Beauty (TT) Redskin Red Bell (TT) Mini Belle Mix (TT) Mini Bell Choc (TT) Mini Bell Yellow (TT) POTATOES any fingerling type like Russian Banana, Austrian Crescent, etc. Red Pontiac or Red Norland any other potato can be grown in very large containers PUMPKINS Cheyenne Bush (SSE) Orange Smoothie (semi-determinate) (BUR, PINE) Jack-B-Little (trellised) (BCHS, NIC, PINE) Wee-B-Little (trellised) (NIC, PINE) RADISHES: any type excet the very large winter radishes or the very long Daikon types Cherry Belle (PINE, NIC, SESE, VS) French Breakfast/Early French Breakfast (BCHS, NIC, PINE, VS) Easter Egg II Blend (TT) White Hailstone (BCHS, PINE, VS) Pink Beauty (BCHS, BUR) Purple Plum (BCHS, SSE, VS) Early Scarlet Globe (VS) SQUASH (Summer): Peter Pan Green Scallop (BUR) Sunburst Scallop (PINE) Saffron (PINE) Eight Ball (NIC, PINE) Greyzini (NIC) Ronde De Nice (PINE) Cocozelle (NIC, PINE) Early White Bush Scallop (VS) Yellow Bush Scallop (VS) Papaya Pear (NIC, PINE) SQUASH (Winter): Bon Bon (NIC) Butterbush (BUR) Autumn Glow Butternut (BUR) Bush Table Queen (BUR, SESE) Bush Buttercup (BCHS) Early Acorn (BUR) Cornell's Bush Delicata (NIC, PINE) Blue Baby Hubbard (BUR) TOMATOES: You can grow some ultra-small tomato plants in containers as small as 4" (Red Robin or Micro-Tom), in hanging baskets (Tumbler, Tumbling Tom, Florida Basket) and in larger 5 to 20-gallon containers, taking care to put Determinates in 5 to 10 gallon containers and Indeterminates in 7 to 20+ containers. Here's some varieties that do well in containers. Micro-Tom (TGSC) Florida Basket (TGSC) Elfin (TGSC) Small Fry (TGSC, TT) Tiny Tim (TT) Tumbler (TT, BUR) Tumbling Tom Red (PINE, TT, TGSC) Tumbling Tom Yellow (PINE, TT, TGSC) Balcony (CG) Red Robin (TT) Orange Pixie (NIC, TGSC) Canary Yellow (TGSC) Totem (TGSC) Patio VF (TT) Patio Princess (BUR) Window Box Roma (NIC, TGSC) Bush Early Girl (BUR, PIN, TGSC) Better Bush (PINE) Bush Big Boy (BUR) Bush Goliath (PINE, TT) Bush Beefsteak (TT, TGSC) Bushsteak (BUR) Martino's Roma (PINE, TT) Sweet Baby Girl (BUR, NIC, TGSC) Lime Green Salad (BCHS, TGSC, VS) New Big Dwarf (TGSC) Southern Night (a rare black determinate since most black tomatoes are indeterminate) (TGSC) Green Grape (TGSC, VS) Glacier (SESE, TT, TGSC) Husky Red (TT,TGSC) Husky Cherry Red (TT,TGSC) Mountain Princess (BCHS, SESE) Sophie's Choice (SESE) Green Zebra (NIC, VS) Black Sea Man (TT) WATERMELON: You should grow these in containers no smaller than 20 gallons, such as whiskey half-barrels, children's wading pools, trash cans or stock tanks. Melons (and pumpkins too, in fact) need a lot of water and have very vigorous root systems so the large containers are necessary in order for them to do well. Bush Sugar Baby (BUR) Sugar Baby (BUR) Blacktail Mountain (BCHS) Golden Midget (BGHS) Yellow Doll (NIC)

Hard to get a decent shot but hopefully this helps. I have two separate setups in the photo. The 11 gal rubbermaid tub on top holds the nutrients for the 3 gal lettuce tubs in the upper grow area. Gravity feeds it through 1/4 in black tubing. I have a valve inline with each tub to shut off feed when I am filling nutrients. The 18 gal tomato nutrient tub also connects through 1/4 in line to ll gal tomato tub recessed in floor of grow area. So all gravity feed, no fluid or air pumps. Needless to say a lot of my setup is based on working with a very small grow area. It sits in my unheated basement so is sealed up and heated in the winter. Basic idea is minimum nutrients in the valuable space of the grow area, reservoirs outside the space. I just harvested all the lettuce again today - hard to see i know- and this makes 6 weeks of harvesting once a week, and 10 weeks since I planted seeds. Just refilled the 11 gal lettuce reservoir today for the first time in the 10 weeks. The 18 gallon tomato reservoir is still about 1/3 full after 10 weeks and my first tomatoes are just starting to turn color. So all in all, pretty easy stuff! Setup: I preset the adjustable float valve in grow tub to maintain fluid 1.5" below the net cups. Then I fill the grow tub so nutrients touch the bottom of the net cups. Basic idea is level drops slowly at first as seedling takes in nutrients and float valve only opens once level gets to the 1.5" setting where it is maintained as long as there are nutrients in the reservoir tank. Working well so far, roots very healthy- much better than when I refilled manually and levels went up and down. Float valve between the roots: Float valve going through tub wall to 1/4" tube and shutoff valve on way to nutrient reservoir. The parts: http://www.amazon.com/Rykey-Straight-Connect-Fitting-System/dp/B018W0IB8C?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00 http://www.amazon.com/Kerick-Valve-MA252-Float-Adjustable/dp/B0077RAX4W?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00 http://www.amazon.com/John-Guest-Polyethylene-Drinking-Aquarium/dp/B00KYL1PD6?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00 http://www.amazon.com/Fittings-Bulkhead-Connector-connect-Filter/dp/B00YGR2ILM?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00 Hope it helps someone!