They can be picked young and taste like summer squash. If left on the vine, they will grow to about 3 feet long and when mature will taste a lot like butternut squash. I like their double personality! They grow quite long vines, so make room for them to climb. Enjoy.

Thanks EG! It doesn't seem like a lot, but I figured why not try a little of the plants I REALLY like :-) As I said, the drip irrigation system worked really well and when I expand the garden next year, I plan on expanding that also. Although not as 'elegant' as the EB AWS or Raybo's, the water timer helps with the overflow since it only allows water to enter for about 15 mins 2 times per day. I thought about the nutrient leaching and so I did exactly what you suggested by placing the drip hose directly into the fill tube. The fertilizing...especially over the long-term, was problematic for me mostly because I really didn't think it through enough. The mix I add to the soil at the beginning of the season got the plants off to a great, sturdy start, but about half way through it, I knew I was in trouble. I'm thinking about burying a small, covered container at the same time I plant the veggies. Then about half way into the season, I'll push aside the large bulk mulch, remove the cover (which will be at ground level), place in a mixture of potting mix and another batch of fertilizer and then see what happens. I'm not sure it will work, but I much prefer adding the fertilizer to the soil rather than top-down watering. And since minerals are heavier than water, I don't think that a completely soluble fertilizer will give the plants all the extra nutrients they need as they head into their fruit production. The 'natural' fertilizer formula included in Ed Smith's book was a CRF so that may be all I need (in addition to the extra lime.) What do you think? Donna H.

Awesome, you guys are making me jeolous, all I have are green pods. The one thing I have that is almost ready is a Burpee "Sweet to Hot" that I bought Friday. it had one pepper on it that was green, I re-potted and in a couple of days it was almost completely red

Here's a quick shot of the baby figs of my main crop. They are about the size of my thumb. We just moved to a new house little more than a year now, so all of my trees are still rather young, so that means they provide me a bundle of that first year harvest excitement/happiness :) video