Alas, you are not alone; contact the nice folks at the Home Orchard Society based out of Portland OR. www.homeorchardsociety.org Their quarterly publication is called Pome News, mostly based on apple but also covering fruits for the Northwest. Applenut

" Even with a great result, I doubt most hobbyists would make much money off it- the joy of showing off their creation would be the main reward." That was my thought as well. Even if one were to discover a superior apple, unless he/she had a big name in the industry, it would probably be pretty tough to get it tested in large plots across the country. Without broad testing I don't think any nursery would sign a license agreement and start propagating it. If you browse the online patent database for plant patents you'll come by plenty of hobbiests who hold patents for some variety of tree fruit, but it's always a variety nobody's ever heard of. Sadly, with the regard to tree fruit, in modern times virtually all the patents that generate income have come from large scale breeders, universities, or people established in the industry.

Squash are not normally an all season grower. They put on a lot of fruit and then die back. They are susceptible to a number of insect borne diseases and stem borers. The big picture of the squash plants looks like it is healthy. The one yellow leaf in that pic looks normal. Tomatoes will begin to drop leaves from the bottom up. If your tomatoe leaves are yellowing at the bottom, that is probably NOT a sign of problems. Give them a shot of lime to see if that helps. 3 qts of water every day MAY be too much. Try 30 minutes of watering for week to see if it helps. BTW, you can start some squash seeds now and extend your squash harvest until frost. If you plan on preserving squash, here is a helpful hint. First plan on how often you will eat squash. If once a week, then you need 52 bags. If once a week and then one more time a week for veggie soup, then double that number. Don't save too many. They take up too much room in the freezer and you never use them all if you freeze all of the excess. Rather than heat a big pot of boiling water for blanching, which also heats up the kitchen and overworks the A/C, cut them in slices in a casserole dish, add some water and heat until hot through-and-through. Dip them out, put in plastic bags and let them completely cool before putting them in the freezer. It sure keeps you and the kitchen a lot cooler. You can do the same for okra, peas, beans and corn.

Debbie, I'm a master gardener in Orange County and had the priviledge of being at our research facility when this guy from San Diego was there tending to his "dragon fruit". Anyway I will find his card and give you his info. I was so intrigued after eating the 3 varities I had to have a plant myself. There is a group called "Rare Fruit Growers" that have meetings to exchange cuttings etc. Google them and they can help you. I do know that Pitiya do best when they have a second plant, preferablly a different Pitiya to cross pollinate then. This guy had set up an experimental crop in OC and in 2 years was yielding lots of fruit that were fabulous tasting. I just know if you get a hold of anyone at the rare fruit growers association group they will tell you what to do to turn the situation around. Good Luck! If you do propagate a piece of yours, make sure you let the cut end form a callus on the end before you pot it up. You don't want to just stick it in the potting medium as an open cut end will get fungus into it etc. Reason for the callus and that is how they like it. Couple of weeks and should be rooting. That is the success to getting succulents/cactus to take root. Use a cactus soil mix too.