Harvest constantly only really applies to harvest as snap beans. Once the beans get full grown as either green shellies or dry as in seed aor dry beans, the plant has done its thing. Especially true of bush beans. Dry means just that the pod will be dry. Leathery the pod will have changed color, beans will be full, and the pod will be thin and a texture reminding one of thin leather. At that point the the beans will contain a lot moisture, be considerably larger than their dry state, and be easy to shell for green shellies. For snap beans the pods are harvested before the beans form. You eat pods not beans.

Hey Agavegrove, I grew pumpkins this year in Garland, TX, not far from you. Results were not bad for the first time, and learned A LOT too. I grew the "sugar pie pumpkins". Next year, I am expanding my garden by cutting a tree, and will grow try and grow cindarella pumpkins, maybe hubbard squash too, and pie pumpkins again. two things I had to deal with: - squash vine borers - they were pretty bad in the summer, but with egg-picking, and burying vines I had some partial victory. They disappeared around late Sept. - powdery mildew - this started late Sept. and got real bad in Oct/Nov. I think it got worse because the vines were not getting as much sun anymore, and that contributed to their decline. Check out my blog. I have lots of into there. Here is a link that might be useful: my blog

Indeed Trudy ! I was, as some would say, aggressive in my approach. :) I was especially interested in your Hosanna and Bee Glorified. Steve had alerted me to their origin since he wanted to make some Fascination x Elegans crosses this year. Unfortunately he did not have any Elegans pollen. A shame really since I could send him pounds between the three of mine. :p In any event, I had a BLAST !!! It was so exhilarating to sit there like a rabid animal, constantly clicking refresh and throwing my âÂÂbudgetâ to the wind. Since IâÂÂm still starting out, I have a lot of capacity, figuratively speaking. My âÂÂprogramâ has only birds-eye-view goals. But with all the seeds I managed to win IâÂÂll definitely have a nice array on which to draw from for my breeding stock. From there . . . genes are the limit. :) Thank you again to everyone who made this happen, and a big Gratz! to Josh and his family on the groundbreaking !!! Cheers, Ludi These were the auctions I won. I sat at my computer for almost 5 hours to watch them all . . . . . . . obsess much ?!? ::giggles:: CBCT 1 - âÂÂIce Age Trailâ x OP - 50 seeds CBCT 7 - 'Sea Tornadoâ x OP - 20 seeds Huseman 3 - âÂÂRosedale Shady Ladyâ x âÂÂKrugerrandâ - 25 seeds Goodenough 1 - âÂÂUberVirgoâ x Mr. Blueâ - 15 seeds CBCT 9 - âÂÂDark Forestâ Streaked x OP - 50 seeds Bendig 4 - âÂÂBlue Lightningâ x OP - 25+ seeds Shaw 5 - (Epson Derby x OP) x QOTS - 25 seeds TVW 21 - âÂÂMcWilliams #2â x QOTS - 20 seeds - âÂÂMcWilliams #2â x OP - 25+ seeds Ramsey 11 - âÂÂGlorious Dayâ x OP - 50 seeds TVW 23 - âÂÂHosannaâ Collection - #4 - âÂÂHosannaâ x âÂÂQueen of the Seasâ - 20 seeds - âÂÂHosannaâ x OP - 25 seeds Ramsey 12 - âÂÂGlorious Graceâ x OP - 50 seeds Port 8 - (First Meeting x Pink Flamingo) x OP - 25 seeds Shaw 6 - âÂÂFoxfire Chinese Dragonâ x OP 136 (aka âÂÂFFCDOP136âÂÂ) x self - 25 seeds TVW 26 - Prairie Meadows x OP - 20 seeds - Joy, Unspeakable Joy x OP - 15 seeds Kuenster 4 - âÂÂMominatorâ x OP - 25 seeds Milt 3 - (My Friend Mary x Blue Angel) x QOTS - 30 seeds

Here's the opening paragraph from a Penn State Extension publication http://extension.psu.edu/plants/vegetable-fruit/news/2010/factors-affecting-pungency-in-sweet-onions : "In order to produce a truly sweet onion, a number of factors must be considered. The process begins with the selection of a variety that possesses suitable genetic characteristics. Variety is the main factor in determining pungency in onion cultivars." And this is from a University of Florida Extension publication http://hendry.ifas.ufl.edu/HCHortNews_Onions.htm : "Sweet "Vidalia" onions have become very popular over the past few years. These sweet, large bulbed onions are produced in the vicinity of Vidalia, Georgia."..."To be marketed as a true "Vidalia," an onion must be grown in the Vidalia area and conform to the Yellow-Granex type. So what is so special about "Vidalia" onions? In a word-nothing, but a very clever sales promotion. The Granex-type of onion, along with the old Texas Grano are short day varieties that do well under Florida conditions. This type of onion is typified by the Granex 33 strain. Granex 33 has been the standard recommended onion variety for farm and garden in our state for many years. Testing and research with sweet onions in the Hastings area, near Saint Augustine, has demonstrated that Florida grown onions could match the quality of the proper "Vidalia." This is good news for local gardeners, who wish to produce their own sweet onions. Gardeners, who wish to grow a sweet bulbing onion should select a Granex-type short day variety." So while it's true there are some environmental factors that can make an onion more or less pungent or sweet. Such as giving them plenty of water, growing them at the right time for your area, giving them plenty of nitrogen, and having low sulfur soil (all of which is just good onion growing protocol). The actual variety of onion is the most important of all. If you plant two different varieties, one of which is known for being sweet with the other being known for good storage qualities, under the exact same conditions they will not taste the same. The sweet onion will be sweeter while the storage onion will be more pungent. That's just how it is. Rodney