I am growing two kinds of Cuc's in 5 gallon buckets this year with excellent results. I used fresh Sta-Green Container soil in all my buckets. I have plenty of holes at the bottom/sides of the buckets and there is a piece of landscaping cloth in the bottom to keep the soil from washing out. I fertilize with 15-30-15 MG and Epsom salts every two weeks. 1 teaspoon each of MG and Epsom to a gallon. About 12 ounces of the mixture above gets dumped into each container. I have about 25 x 5 gallon buckets in my garden. Several kinds each of peppers, tomatoes, cuc's suger snap peas. I water when needed using a moisture meter to make sure I do not overwater or under water. The meter makes a big difference in containers since it is so different than ground planting watering. Just throwing out info, maybe something will help.

I agree with Jenny, as long as the plants keep bearing, don't worry about it. Leaf yellowing/dying is normal. In my experience (YMMV) cucumbers are one of the very few vine crops I can get to grow to maturity in my garden. Nearly everything else gets decimated by cucumber beetles. It is ironic that cucumber beetles don't bother my cukes, but they do bother every other vine crop including pole beans in my garden. As far as fertilizer, I just use some 10-10-10 granular stuff and feed them a handful maybe 3 times per year. I have a clay/loam soil which is naturally high in fertility so you may need to adjust accordingly if you have more sandy soil. Sevin does indeed kill beneficials. I encourage you to avoid the use of anything on your vegetable plants including organic, but toxic chemicals. You can try milk as well as soapy water which will control a lot of things, but if you are going to be eating the produce, don't put anything on it you don't want to eat. Cukes are something of an exception though as the skin is usually cut off before consumption. In the event you do have issues with a particular pest in your garden over time you will come to recognize what those pests prefer. One trick is to plant something you don't care about that the pest loves and nuke it with poison. The idea is to kill off the pests on a plant you won't be eating from.

Star stuff--most of them are in regular containers and some are in Earth Boxes. I have limited ground space. Even with this I have to worry about deers, bunnies, neighbor's dog, etc. Still, I have planted Ramapo toms, grapes, peanuts, onions, potatoes etc in the ground. Anna

Yes, that recipe for German apple pancakes is very similar to what I use. Here the one from Röckenwagner (now called Four Square) restaurant in Venice, CA: Pancake Batter 7 large eggs 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract 1/4 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 1-1/2 tsp baking powder Apples 2 tbsp unsalted butter 3 Golden Delicious apples, peeled if desired, cored and cut into 1/2” wedges 1-1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 1-1/2 tbsp granulated sugar 1 tbsp confectioners’ sugar 1/4 cup crème fraîche 1 cup strawberries, for garnish Batter In a blender or food processor, combine the eggs, vanilla, and sugar and blend for about 15 seconds, or until combined. Add the flour and baking powder and mix for 60 seconds more, or until very smooth. Apples Preheat the broiler to medium-high heat. Heat a 12” nonstick skillet over medium heat and add the butter. Add the apples and sauté for 4 to 5 minutes, or until softened. Add the cinnamon and sugar, sprinkling them evenly over the apples, and stir for 2 minutes, or until the apples are glazed and slightly translucent at the edges. Assembly Distribute the apples evenly in the skillet and pour the batter over them. (You may also make four individual pancakes, using a smaller pan. Just use one-fourth of the apples and one-fourth of the batter for each.) Cook until the bottom seems quite firm, about 8 minutes. Transfer the pan to the broiler and, while watching carefully, cook until the pancake is firm throughout and golden on top. Cut the pancake into 4 wedges and transfer them, apple side up, to serving plates. Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar, place a dollop of the crème fraîche on top, and garnish with the strawberries. Yield: 4 servings Author’s note: We’ve had these apple pancakes at Röckenwagner since we opened, and I think they are fantastic, especially for lunch. One of the things my mom cooked well was apple pancakes. She used to slice the apples into discs so that they had a little hole in the center where the core was. Then she just dipped them in the batter and pan fried them. That’s a little different than the way I like to do it now (mine is more like an upside-down apple pancake), but I have wonderful memories of her apple pancakes.