Mine did well, I am also going to plant several varieties this year. The melon below was supposed to be seedless but I think Burpee got the seeds mixed up or something. I did taste good though.

This year our garden, for the most part, did very well. Corn was a bust. But that was because it didnt get the fert that it needed. Melons were fantstic!!!!!! First time I have ever gotten fruit. Have eaten 2 muskmelons so far and 2 watermelons. Have a bunch more to harvest, better do it soon! Carrots did great. Peas did great. Sweetpotatos are looking like I may get some. Thanks to you all I decided to plant some. Yukon Gold did pretty good, even with all the tater bugs. Kennibeck taters are doing ok even with the bugs. Tomatoes grew, but are just now getting ripe. Hot peppers are in the green house and are doing great. Cukes were a bust for me. But MIL's did great til she got powdery mildew. Lakota squash are doing great also. Got some noce and big ones. Onions did ok. Didnt get any to the size I wanted. Late cabbage are doing great also, used row cover to keep moths off the and think that helped in two ways. Beets did excellent. Pickle beets, cant wait!!!! Pie pumpkins did ok, but my Prizewinners only put out 3. Herbs did great. Got 3 brussel sprout plants, who were mix in with the cabbage we bought, and look like we may get some. Have tried to grow these on purpose and have never had much luck. But with them under the row cover with the cabbage, it looks like we may have success. Our wild (?) horseradish is doing excellent as always. A friend of ours dug them up when he found them in the woods someplace, and gave them to us. So all in all, we had a pretty successful year. Except for the corn which was a bust. But because of the advice I recieved here it should be a better year for them next year.

I have never started them early - I plant them directly in the ground after last frost date. In past years certain varieties have put out more flowers than I can keep up with - none did that this year. Isn't Long Island always a little cooler in summer because of ocean breezes? I've always assumed it's a gardener's dream location. And because dahlias seem to be happy in the NW (who isn't?), maybe LI is the next best thing. The humidity tends to hang in the air here (think Louisiana) but refuses to rain. The green parts of my plants appear healthy though, just few or no flowers. Baltimore Cty, isn't this later than normal for you? I'm sure you had some high temps this season.

TN, you bet, yours look really good ...to be put in the ground during the height of summer, you are doing something RIGHT. And Eleven, my choices were from the ones on hand at the time. I added olla jugs to Empress Wu and S+S to keep water in the root zones Winter Snow was doing fine until DH stepped in the middle of the crown. It is making a valiant effort to reflush, and is beautifully bright green. I care not for Minuteman nor Patriot, so they were chosen as sacrificial lambs. Fragrant Queen is a duplicate, nonessential. Alabama Gold well I wanted a hometown boy to be among the volunteers. For good reason I call it the experimental driveway bed. It runs along the driveway on the west side of the house. Neighbors to the south have water oaks, sweetgum, and camphor trees along an unmaintained yard. It is fairly dry and I water this area lightly. We have good rainfall annually so this is tough love. One which is doing beautifully all season long is Millies Memoirs, a medium.