How do YOU decide "when" to plant your various veggies? Me...well, I figure many seeds are cheap and I can sow early and if the weather holds I may get an early harvest. If not, I resow in two weeks and have only lost a few seeds that were probably extras anyway. With more expensive seeds I'll wait or only put in a few hoping for an early start. If I were farming a huge area this would not be the mindset I'd use. You can't give many absolutes with gardening since conditions change from day to day and year to year. It keeps gardening challenging...and maddening at times. If one wants to fuss with season extenders many dates can be pushed a bit. If you want things easier and less stressful you can give up possible earliness and wait a bit. In some areas this might mean things get too hot at the other end of the season so you have to decide what you want to try. Don't let worry stop you and figure some things will not do well. Every year it seems that conditions are such that some veggies grow great and others don't do so well. Two years ago when it was very hot and dry I had amazing peppers. Last year with cooler temps the peppers weren't so good but lettuce grew much longer into the summer. We can't control everything and the varying answers people give you may well reflect the way they choose to deal with the uncertainty. If you want to garden you will have to accept that not all will go perfectly no matter how much you plan and how well you care for your plants. But planning and good care will usually give you a fine harvest...not perfection, but close enough.

If there are no male flowers my impression is the fruits will never taste very good so don't think too much about what to do. If you don't already have a Chocolate get one, it produces many male flowers. The female fruits on it also are very good. I have had bad luck keeping Maru grafts alive, so I have yet to taste a Maru. Scott

hey chet.. you a really FREAKIN frustrated.. it says at the link: The use rate is 1 ounce of the product per 1 inch of distance around the tree trunk (circumference). ===>>> that means the circumference of the TRUNK.. not the branches.. or canopy ... so a 5 inch circumference trunk would require 5 oz.. properly diluted in however much water they tell you to use ... and there is a specific height at which you measure ... now.. what is the circumference of the TRUNK???? and if the trunk is 188 inches.. that is ONE BIG FREAKIN' SPRUCE .... which i doubt you can pick by hand anyway .... hope you see some humor in this.. ken PS: my hope would be that you can wipe out a generation.. and then be free of having to do this every year .. but i really dont know much about this specific bug.. except that one type in endemic to hemlock ... if this particular bug is that bad in your area.... perhaps removal is cheaper than a lifetime of care.. sounds like an issue for resin ... or one of the tree scientists ... Here is a link that might be useful: link

Dale, There is more variation in varieties so I'd answer NO ; some heirloom types almost need to be pried from the stem and it may be preferrable to pick those types less ripe rather than have the ripe tomato squash in your hand before it will release from the stem. I am fairly confident that many of my customers can tell the difference between a vine ripened tomato and one that is picked early and allowed to develop its color off the vine. For that reason I try to pick as close to ripe as possible. I'll agree that risks go up as that tomato hangs on the plant but you need to evaluate priorities. For different varieties you should soon be able to tell when they are ready. It may take a little trial and taste but you soon learn. I know a few years ago I was picking Green Zebras when they first got a yellow stripe and they tasted horrible. Later a few hidden in the foliage ripened to the golden stripe stage and they were much better tasting. I let a few Anannas Noir fruits go too far that they tasted winey. If you are concerned about the burden of the ripening fruit on the plant then why not selectively harvest green tomatoes. I cull a few bushels of green tomatoes from my plants each week once the picking season begins. Doing so allows me to thin heavy clusters and odd shaped tomatoes before their blemishes become pronounced and still obtain a profit from the fruit. I've already picked off numerous developing tomatoes this spring that might be better circus entries. Catfacing is fairly obvious at the earliest stages of the green fruit development. If you want to spare the plant of wasting resources cull those odd fruits early.