Brady, I have Hawaii. It is similar to Golden Delicious but with a bit better flavor; its quite sweet. My tree has gone through a series of travails involving deer, weedeaters, fireblight, etc, and is finally recovering so I hope to soon get apples from it again. Hman is pointing out there are two notions of sweet for apples, one is sweet vs sour the other is the absolute amount of sugars. I was taking the latter meaning but maybe the poster was asking about the former. If an apple is not sour but has a lot of sugars it tastes cloying, so it tends to be only more acidic apples have very high brix. Scott

Outsmarting the tree rats (squirrels) around my house is a full time job. This past spring I hit on a new idea. When I plant a container I invert an empty wire hanging basket over the container and the plant gets sun and can be watered but the squirrels can't dig in it. Another idea: I bring in a lot of plants to "over winter" under lights in my garage. I have so many that it is hard to reach my hand under the lights (4 shop lights) to the middle for watering. So I bought a pump sprayer with a long wand and it works great! In late winter I add a little liquid Dawn detergent, few drops, to each gallon of water and not only does the soil get wet easier but the worms that are waiting to hatch into distructive pets just don't hatch. Don't know what it costs me to run those four shop lights all winter but I don't care. It is a small price to pay to be able to "garden" every weekend in the garage. Many people have mentioned that they mark their outdoor plants with a "permanent Sharpie". In my experience there isn't a "permanent Sharpie", they all fade and quickly too. A grease pencil/china marker or expensive "no fade" garden center marker are the only markers I have found that won't disappoint you by fading. Eight years ago I decided to learn about gardening so I tapped into my local library. I checked out nearly every book they had on gardening and learned so much. The Gardenweb forums are also a wealth of information and entertainment. There is always something new to learn and I appreciate all of you who take the time to write in your ideas. One last idea from me...I keep a small notebook on my computer table and jot down any idea I find that's new and I will want to try. Little pieces of paper get lost but I always know where my notebook is and also use it when I order "on line" so I will remember the name of the company and the order date. Tina or Trowelgal

Goddess and Athena, when picked before they turn mealy.. 65 days. First picking will be ones closest to hill ctr. When grown with ample nutrients.& With compost you will experience one of the finest taste sensations available another one to try is sugar cube which is a personal size 1-2 ..pounder.......pounder.....there are newer hybrids coming out being sold in netting by trade names sugar kiss and honey kiss bred by savor farms LLC. These melons offer incredible flavor if bought before over ripening buyer beware mealy melons are a disappointment ...... Good luck ....submitted by farmer Phillip southern Maine market gardener

Yeah, CP. This is a 5 year old thread and the QUESTION is always new. The search for the " Best Tasting and the Most Sweetest .." tomato continue. This is a never ending thing. OK. My definition of good tomato taste is not "the sweetest". I like a tomato with a delicate balance of sweetness and acidity, with a juicy texture and nice color when sliced. I have found one such tomato: ANANAS NOIRE (pic below ) Another one is CHEROKEE PURPLE PLE