Hey brother my first 24 plants I planted in March shriveled up so I put some more seedlings in there place in May. I have learned that these melons adapt well and thrive if you do this 1. Before planting the seed I keep mine in the freezer, thaw for a day then put them in warm well water until they start to crack open 2. While there still wet spread them out on a towel to dry a little then put in a zip lock bag and add 2 table of antifungal powder shake it Good. 3. I like to use the 3x3" square starter pot and be sure to use mirical grow potting soil, 4. Place the treated seed in the center @ 1 1/2" deep ( under the moon phase of Scorpio ) 5. Important fact ! These melons grow in the desert So they must be planted in very loose sandy soil with a ph of 6.5 so do a ph test and adjust if need be. 6. Transplant the seedlings in May or June as they just will not grow below 85 f. Into a mound about 12" tall & 3 dia.( Secret ) I put my mounds together in February using 3 tbsp. Of triple 13 fertilize & a 1/4 cup of cotton seed meal about an inch above it. Let's that set and rot into the soil. I use the wire flags to mark my spot. When my seedlings are ready in late May I remove the flag,dig down to the decayed meal and place an empty 3lb. Folgers coffee can in the center and rake loose soil around it and pack it a little pull the can out and fill with the potting soil add the seedling in the middle. 7. Water real good using a root stimulater mix then about every other day for a week. When runners reach 3 ft. Add 2 more tbsp. Of fertilize to soil around the base 3" away from stem and bring soil into and around plant mix antifungal powder to water n pour about a cup to plant. 8. Do not water anymore unless the leaves wilt if they do just add a pint or so. Oh and 1 other thing plant some cucumbers nearby they love the taste of cucumber pollen and will help bring in the bee's to pollinate the female flowers. Call me 409 673 6425 if you need me.

Karyn, Did you let your Tamarillo die in the cold? If so, when did it go? I'm curious partly because Annie's Annuals claims that they are only hardy to 41 F. I passed on one last time I was there partly because of that: http://www.anniesannuals.com/plants/plant_display.asp?prodid=306&account=none The only Physalis fruit I've tasted are tomatillos--so the cape gooseberry will be new to me assuming it fruits. I started a few of the seeds early since I have more than I'll need--they germinate quite well and I have a few very young seedlings both inside and outside. I'm really interested in seeing how these turn out. Purdue has a nice collection of articles on them. From one: http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=1398&page=241 "Goldenberry fruits are succulent golden spheres the size of marbles with a pleasing taste. They are protected by papery husks resembling Chinese lanterns. The attractive and symmetrical husk with its edible yellow fruit inside gives it an eye-catching appearance and potential market appeal. In most places where they are grown, goldenberries are now considered fruits only for backyard gardens or for children to pluck and eat. Given research, however, they could become commercial fruits of particular interest to the world's up-scale restaurants and bakeries. This is the strategy that established markets for kiwifruit in the 1960s and led to a multimillion dollar annual crop. Goldenberries already carry prestige in some international markets. Europeans, for example, often pay premium prices to dip them in chocolate or decorate cakes and tortes. In addition to having a future as fresh fruits, goldenberries make excellent jam; in fact, in India, they are known commonly as "jam fruit." In the United States they are best known as preserves marketed under the Hawaiian name "poha."" Another article, titled "Goldenberry, Passionfruit, & White Sapote: Potential Fruits for Cool Subtropical Areas" describes their apparently easy cultivation as annuals in Watsonville, about 50 miles South of me (similar climate, slightly cooler highs in summer): http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1993/v2-479.html And yet another: http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/cape_gooseberry.html Great to hear about the giant passionfruit. I have a vague memory of reading somewhere that plants arise that produce giant fruit but that it wasn't as tasty. So do you think this is the product of another bud sport? Were there other fruits on that same branch? I guess I'm curious what the chance is that the seedlings will give giant fruit. Grapefruit size--off a regular P. edulis f. edulis plant? I guess I don't know enough to know how unusual that is. Weightwise, how much bigger would you say it was than the others from that vine? We have a loquat that got hundreds of fruits this year. Then I pruned it back literally about 75%--it was necessary and the trees tolerate pretty much anything. I saw one flower spike a week or two ago, I've been meaning to check again to see how well the tree is going to do after all that trauma.

I've never seen root rot on a jaboticaba. Mine, which are in ground of course, are in the lowest point in my entire property. There have been some multi-day rain events that have left standing water in this area for a full 10 days without any root issues. During dry season, I'll let the hose run completely flooding the area. That doesn't leave any standing water for more than a day, but I usually have to do it a day or two in a row before flowering commences. Good luck. Harry

Kent. was the abbreviation for Kentucky when Calif. was the abbreviation for California. Zip codes came in about 1961-62 (guessing, but definitely by 1963, because I still remember the zip code for the house we moved away from that year); the two-digit state postal codes were later. [Okay, I correct some of this below. *lol*] Mont., Nev., S. Dak., N. Dak., W. Va., Ala., Miss., Tex., Wisc., Minn., Tenn., Ark., Colo., Wyo., Ore., Wash., Del., Conn., Mass., Ill., Mich., Ariz., O., Lots of sources online (just google "old state abbreviations).: According to Wikipedia (which seems to have the most thorough information; I just hope it's correct) my "Kent." was unofficial (as were others of the old abbreviations I remember using), and both zip codes and the 2-letter abbreviations were instituted in 1963. I can remember filling in forms long after 1963 where there were more than two spaces for the state (or at least I think I remember that). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._state_abbreviations