Hi! Yes, We have successfully had TONS of squash here previously. We had a VERY wet month in late May to Early June (12" rain) and not quite hot days, then it turned just hotter than hammered hades. I have upped the water a bit and it seems to be helping the plants, and am keeping an eye out for girly flowers. I guess some days we are the dog, some the bone. My tomatoes are doing awesome though, and considering, I have had some nice Japanese eggplant. Green Beans are a bit slow, but picking up. Ah well, there's always next year! Thanks for your comments, and I will keep updating on any progress. Happy Gardening!

If your soil is almost pure sand then you need to improve water retention, organic matter levels, and ideally restore the living top layer to its potential glory. Things to add to typical Florida sand (in order): Two weeks before planting - sphagnum peat moss, aged cow manure, compost One week before planting - 1 cup Epsom salt per square foot, greensand/azomite (if using), dolamite lime (about handful/square foot, it depends) Day before - add a 5-5-5 CRF and water thuroghly every two hours for at least three cycles. The order in which I put them on is exactly that listed. I let them sit for a week then till. You may need to make plant specific ammendments such as more lime or less epsom to control the pH. This yields a very good soil, and the next season is even better. Another thing to consider is proper crop rotation: grow legumes one season, then tomatoes, grow root veggies to breaks up the soil, NEVER grow tomatoes in the same spot consecutively (same for any alliums (onion, garlic, leeks) or as a general rule, don't grow members of the same family in the same spot twice), and take advantage of companion planting to maximize yeilds and use of space.

Thanks guys. I am glad that there are many boring people here (LOL). Now you will all leave me alone. I got to read a few telephone directories. (heheheeee) dcarch Spice= Allspice. Spice= basil Spice= basil Spice= basil Spice= basil Spice= Black pepper Spice= Cardamom Spice= chili pepper/thyme Spice= chili peppers Spice= cilantro Spice= cinnamon Spice= cinnamon Spice= cinnamon Spice= Cinnamon Spice= cinnamon Spice= Cinnamon Spice= cinnamon Spice= cinnamon Spice= Cloves Spice= cumin Spice= cumin Spice= cumin Spice= Dill Weed Spice= garlic Spice= garlic Spice= garlic Spice= garlic Spice= Garlic Spice= Garlic if for food or Old Bay Spice= garlic powder Spice= Ginger Spice= ginger Spice= ground coriander Spice= Nutmeg Spice= Nutmeg Spice= pepper Spice= pepper Spice= Tarragon Spice= thyme (ok it's a herb I know - but I love it) Spice= Tie between garlic and black pepper Summer Meal= anything from the grill Summer Meal= BBQ Summer Meal= BLT Summer Meal= BLT (during tomato season) Summer Meal= BLT Sandwich with fresh local tomatoes and sweet corn Summer Meal= burgers on the grill Summer Meal= chicken harvest salad Summer Meal= Chicken Shish Ke Bob Summer Meal= Creamy Lemon Potato Salad/Burger Summer Meal= fresh veggies with sliced tomatoes and cornbread and lots of sweet iced tea with lemon Summer Meal= Gazpacho, and grilled veggies Summer Meal= grilled bacon & potato kabobs, corn on the cob, sliced tomatoes Summer Meal= Grilled Bone-in Chicken Breasts w/ grilled mixed vegetables Summer Meal= grilled burgers Summer Meal= grilled chicken and pineapple Summer Meal= grilled langoustines with a fresh salad Summer Meal= grilled pork tenderloin Summer Meal= Grilled rib-eye, corn-on-the-cob, watermelon Summer Meal= grilled shrimp and fresh corn on the cob Summer Meal= grilled shrimp, stuffed tomatoes Summer Meal= grilled steaks Summer Meal= Grilled veggies and good bread, followed with ice-cold watermelon Summer Meal= Hummus with pita chips Summer Meal= lobster and corn on the cob - both steamed Summer Meal= Pork salad, like taco salad but with sweet pork, or a burrito on a plate Summer Meal= ribs with corn on the cob Summer Meal= salad Summer Meal= Salad, big layered salad Summer Meal= Salad, Chef Salad Summer Meal= Salad, chicken caesar salad Summer Meal= Salad, chicken salad, cantaloupe,and garlic toast Summer Meal= Salad, cold pasta salad Summer Meal= Salad, my mom's warm potato salad & chili con carne & green salad Summer Meal= Salad, Taco Salad Summer Meal= Salad, Tomato, Onion and Cucumber Salad Summer Meal= salads Summer Meal= Salads. Summer Meal= sashimi Summer Meal= Seafood Buffet at the Hilton, AC, NJ. Summer Meal= steamed mussels/shioyaki Summer Meal= watermelon & grilled cheese sandwich Veggie= All Root Vegetables. Veggie= artichoke Veggie= artichoke, This is tough. I love 'em all, but maybe steamed artichoke. Veggie= artichokes Veggie= asparagus Veggie= asparagus Veggie= asparagus Veggie= asparagus Veggie= broccoli Veggie= broccoli Veggie= Brussels Sprouts Veggie= carrot Veggie= Carrots Veggie= Carrots Veggie= cauliflower Veggie= corn Veggie= Corn Veggie= Corn Fresh Veggie= Corn on the cob Veggie= corn on the cob Veggie= corn on the cob Veggie= eggplant Veggie= fresh garden peas Veggie= Green Beans Veggie= leek Veggie= lettuce Veggie= okra/greens Veggie= parsnips Veggie= parsnips Veggie= potato Veggie= red peppers Veggie= roasted Red Peppers Veggie= snap peas Veggie= snow peas Veggie= Spinach Veggie= Stir fries. Veggie= Tomato Veggie= Tomatoes Veggie= tomatoes fresh field Veggie= Tomatoes sliced from my garden (Yes, I know it's really a fruit) Veggie= tomatoes vine-ripened "Th-th-th-that's all folks!"

I wish the public schools that need to would revamp their curricula and teach each grade two grade levels higher than what is currently taught. Emulate the private schools. You will then see more students performing at least at their grade levels in reading and math. What you must understand about public high schools: We essentially operate two schools in one. - The kids in our AP /honors classes are being taught at a high level, challenged and well prepared for college -- in terms of scholarships and college admissions, they're kicking the private schools in the pants. Numbers say it year after year. - In contrast, our general-level classes are filled with children who haven't been exposed to books and reading at a young age, whose families haven't provided a good example of spoken language -- and we have to meet them where they are. It'd be great to suddenly be able to teach them at a higher level, but when they come into my class senior year reading below grade level, it's better to improve their current skills than to wish they came in stronger. The most usefully class I took was four years of journalism.I learned how to write stories using proper grammar and proper punctuation. Yes, reading and communication skills are the most important thing anyone learns in school. In my area, nickel, there are a lot of kids whose parents may not speak English well or at all. Some are illiterate. Others may be affluent immigrants with poor English skills. If you subscribe to the notion that the bell curve of intelligence is about the same for all communities and ethnic origins, as I do, there are brilliant kids who in addition to needing to deal with the same problems of poor schools that others do, have the added handicap of having parents who sometimes can't provide anything more than a humble existence and moral support. Yes, one of the neighborhoods our school serves is a trailer park. The trailers are crammed in sideways with about 15' between them. Most of them have a little deck or porch on one side, which tends to be furnished with bucket seats taken from cars (it seems to be a fashion). One home I visited had a hole in the door and a hole in the plywood living room floor; admittedly, it was the worst of the worst -- most of the trailers are old, in poor condition, but not open to the elements. Whether we like it or not, some kids DO live in these conditions, and education isn't their families' biggest priority. Again, we have to meet them where they are and work to improve what they have. Few of these kids are "brilliant" -- the truth is often obscured with adjectives, and few of our kids who grow up in lovely custom homes with all the advantages are genuinely "brilliant" -- but few of our students are unable to learn the basics. And for those who genuinely can't learn what we teach in a mainstream class, we have several levels of special ed class. I seem to be saying this often in this thread: We meet our kids where they are. A quote attributed to James Nicholl: "english doesn't borrow from other languages. english follows other languages down dark alleys, knocks them over and goes through their pockets for loose grammar." That is a great quote! However, it seems that many people (including journalists who should know better) cannot diagram sentences and therefore often use "whom" instead of "who" for the subject of a dependent clause. They seem to think that because the clause is the object of a preposition that they should use "whom" without realizing how that word is used in the clause. True, but this doesn't bother me half as much as the imaginary word "alot" or the constant misuse of pronouns. But bad teachers, of whom there are far too many, still get their paychecks, can still get by with half-hearted efforts, and have job security such that absent a gross violation of pretty lax rules, cannot be terminated for poor performance. Blatantly untrue -- any school who is harboring a poorly performing teacher has administrators who aren't doing their jobs. Or who have no balls. The high school where I teach is ranked #15 for academics in a large state, and one reason is that our administrators pay attention to what's happening in the classrooms. A teacher on "career track" -- often incorrectly called tenure -- cannot be fired without reason, but they absolutely can be fired. Can we send all the anti-vaxxers back to school to retake biology and civics? I've thought that so many times in the last year. Perhaps a visit to an English classroom to discuss identification of "fake news" would be worthwhile as well.