Hi I mailed you the Genevieve Costoluto and other heirloom tomato seeds we discussed. The Sioux tomatoes I am growing are from this same group of seed packs. You are the first person I am sending Sioux tomato seeds and Indigo Blue Berries cherry tomato seeds. You should receive them on Monday. cottonwood/ragtime

Gardneralive, Thanks. Sungold is the very sweet yellow tomato. To me sungold and black cherry are the best cherry tomatoes. But Sungold is a hybrid so the seeds I harvest from my plant may not come true. I did grow out one from last year's seeds it still comes out as a yellow sweet cherry but a little bit smaller. I am very interested in your seeds but I can't find your member's email address. Could you send me an email? Thanks. Newgardener_tx

Most day length sensitive beans flower during short days, around the equinox. I've grown a few such beans here that were given to me in swaps, and I have no hope of getting dry seed without a greenhouse. In much of California, where the growing season extends well after the equinox, there would still be plenty of time to get a good crop. However, I doubt that day length sensitivity is the root of your problem. Nearly all of the yardlong beans sold commercially appear to be day neutral... because if they will flower in mid-summer during my long days (at latitude 44 degrees N) and for a fellow collector in Batesville AR (latitude 35 degrees N) they should flower normally just about anywhere. Even commercial varieties developed in the Philippines have done surprisingly well here. And if you want beans in mid-summer, you would want a day-neutral cultivar. From the years I lived in California, I suspect that the problem is not day length, but heat. The Central Valley gets pretty hot in mid-summer, which would cause blossom drop for many beans - including yardlongs. Some gardeners in Texas have a mid-summer heat problem too, and can harvest most beans early or late in the season - but not during 100 degree days. In between, you just have to keep the plants alive. Are you sure that there were no flowers, or did the flowers or buds form, but just drop without setting pods? It might be that you will only be able to get beans during the months of more moderate temperatures. To get long beans in April, you might want to start them early as transplants, and use a variety with a short DTM. I have a bush variety that is very early, but only has pods 10-12" long. For pole varieties, the black-seeded types (such as "Asparagus" and "Taiwan Black") tend to be the first to bear. I would also suggest that you mulch your yardlongs heavily, and irrigate them more often than your other beans. Unlike common beans (which don't like wet feet) yardlong beans are water hogs; they do their best for me if the soil is never allowed to dry out. Edamame soybeans like those conditions too, so if you are growing any, you might want to place them both in that "extra water" zone. If you still want to try a day length sensitive long bean, I have one. When I lived in San Diego, I grew an heirloom yardlong bean from the Philippines ("Philippine Purple") that was day length sensitive. It has purple pods longer than "Chinese Red Noodle", that are very slow to develop - which is a good characteristic for beans which are eaten as pods. My own seed is getting pretty old, so it might need a little TLC... but I would be happy to send you a little. Fusion_power (who also posts on this forum) has been growing "Philippine Purple" recently, so if you inquire from him, he might be able to send you more viable seed than mine.

Roger, Sugar apples prefer soil pH that is mostly alkaline between 7.0-8.0. At the bottom is a guide to growing them. It was written for the growing conditions in Florida but just make adjustments that suit your region. I feed mine a water soluble complete fertilizer 20-20-20 with minor elements every two weeks. To a gallon of water I mix 1 oz of water soluble fertilizer then I pour it at the base of the trunk. I start seeds in a pot with quality soil. when they are about 3 inches high I feed them a weak solution of the same water soluble fertilizer as above but I use 1/2 oz to a gallon of water. When they reach a foot high I plant them in the ground near a wind break. When I grow them using this system they bloom sooner. To make the plant branch out more, pinch back the tips periodically. Seedling 1 foot tall with bloom (in black circle) Another seedling also 1 foot tall with bloom (in black circle) How to grow links: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/MG/MG33000.pdf http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/sugar_apple.html Here is a link that might be useful: Sugar Apple Growing in the Florida Home Landscape