Without doing a soil test, you won't know if you have to my Nitrogen. A way to make plants seed/fruit is to stress them. My neighbor stressed her plants with the lack of water and they went to fruit. All the fruit were small, but there are reasons behind it. She didn't mean to stress them but when you plant with a larger of cardboard and a few inches of top soil on top, you have to water non-stop. She missed a day and everything started to wilt. When she got back to watering, within a couple days, everything had flowers on it and started to fruit. As to the reason her peppers and such are small is because she really needs to water twice a day, and she still misses some days. Good luck in getting your plants to fruit... BTW, here plants went to fruit within a couple weeks from planting. I planted a week or more before her, and mine didn't start to fruit for a good 3 or 4 weeks after her's. I've got 3 or 4 peppers per plant now and have picked a couple of good sized greens already.. Basically I could pick a full sized bell pepper ever few days and have plenty.

I have the following: Pepper, Hybrid Redstart Pepper, Hybrid Chocolate Bell Cucumber, Hybrid Eureka Cucumber, Hybrid Sassy Cucumber, Hybrid Cross Country Summer Squash Sunny Delight Squash, Hybrid Orange Cutie Squash, Hybrid Heavenly Hubbard Squash Buttercup Squash Golden Hubbard What do you have to trade for the above? I also have some heritage Montreal melon seeds. Cheers, Nancy.

Dave, thanks for your help. I do have the ball blue book and just got home with ball complete book and better homes and gardens (you can can)book. In that book I found this recipe for corn relish:). The book says all the recipes are tested and approved. What do you think. Thanks again Mike corn relish Tangy, sweet corn relish perks up the mild-tasting meats, such as roast pork, chicken, or turkey. the recipe If you're lucky enough to have fresh corn, by all means use it. But if fresh corn isn't readily available, you can substitute frozen whole kernel corn. Corn relish adds pleasing flavor and texture. Ingredients: 12 to 16 fresh ears of corn 2 cups water 3 cups chopped celery (6 stalks) 1-1/2 cups chopped red sweet pepper (2) 1-1/2 cups chopped green sweet pepper (2) 1 cup chopped onion (2 medium) 2-1/2 cups vinegar 1-3/4 cups sugar 4 teaspoons dry mustard 2 teaspoons pickling salt 2 teaspoons celery seed 1 teaspoon ground turmeric 3 tablespoons cornstarch 2 tablespoons water Step 1. Instructions: 1. Remove husks and cut corn from cob. To prepare the corn, pull the husks from the ears and remove as much of the silks as you can. Use a stiff brush to remove any remaining silks. To cut the kernels from the cobs, hold the ear of corn so an end rests on a cutting board. Using a sharp utility knife cut a strip of the kernel from the cob, moving the knife from the top of the ear toward the cutting board. Do not scrape the cob. When you have finished, you should have 8 cups of corn. 2. Chop the vegetables. When cutting the celery, sweet peppers and onion, chop them into pieces about the same size as the corn kernels. Cut celery and peppers into strips; then gather several strips in a bunch and cut crosswise into small pieces. 3. Cooking the corn and vegetables. Combine the corn and the two cups water in an 8- to 10-quart Dutch oven or kettle. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 4 to minutes or until corn is nearly tender. Drain the corn and return it to the Dutch oven. Add the celery, red and green sweet pepper, and onion. Stir in the vinegar, sugar, mustard, pickling salt, celery seed and turmeric. Bring the mixture to boiling. Reduce the heat and simmer gently, uncovered, for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Step 4. 4. Cook relish until thickened and bubbly. Stir together the 3 tablespoons of cornstarch and the 2 tablespoons of cold water in a small bowl. Stir the cornstarch mixture into the corn mixture. Cook and stir until the mixture is slightly thickened and bubbly; continue to cook and stir for 1 minute more. The additional cooking ensures that the cornstarch is completely cooked. 5. Filling jars and processing. Ladle the corn relish into hot, clean pint canning jars. Use a wide-mouth plastic funnel and fill the jars to within 1/2-inch from the top. Remove the funnel. Release any trapped air bubbles in each jar by gently pushing a narrow rubber spatula down into the jar around the sides. If necessary, add more corn relish to maintain the headspace. Wipe off the jar rim with a clean, damp paper towel. Any food left on the rim will prevent a perfect seal. Add the lid and screw band, tightening the band according to the manufacturer's instructions. Place each jar into the canner as it is filled. Leave enough room between the jars so they do not touch. Cover the canner. Process for 15 minutes in a boiling water canner. Begin timing when the water returns to boiling. Remove jars from canner and cool on a wire rack. 6. Makes about 5 pints. 7. Serving relish. When the jars have cooled, press the center of each lid to check the seal. If the dip in the lid holds, the jar is sealed. If the lid bounces up and down, the jar isn't sealed. Unsealed jars should be stored in the refrigerator and used within 2 weeks. Label the sealed jars with content and date. Store in a cool, dry place for up to 1 year.

Back from vacation. The "Amish Gold" is still not *really* set, though it's probably fine for cream cheese. The green peppers stayed fairly green - or at least didn't turn the jelly an off color. Good to know about the cranberries though - I'll save those for snacks, or maybe a conserve. I threw some chopped bells and Hinkelhatz in the freezer for another batch later this year. The Cranberry Lime Jalapeno Jam is really set up, for some reason the jars in the basement look darker/browner than the nice red color of the ounce I have leftover in the fridge. Cranberry Jalapeno Jelly with the homemade apple pectin hasn't quite set up either, the Red Pepper (bell and jals) with quince pectin is a little more set but nothing approaching those jellies made with Ball or Surejell pectin. Still hoping for something in between sloshing and not moving at all - maybe a nice quiver? But I tend not to cook my no-pectin jellies enough, even Paradise can be a little loose.