"brooklyn1" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 13 Aug 2010 15:37:36 -0400, "JoeSpareBedroom"
wrote:

"Chris" wrote in message
...
On Aug 13, 12:07 pm, John McGaw wrote:
On 8/13/2010 4:58 AM, donhkcs wrote: For several years I have tried to
plant a garden of different vegetables
in my backyard and have had no success. I do not know what I am doing
wrong. The place where I have decided to plant the garden gets a lot
of
sun light during the day plus it does get shade. I have used many
different fertilizers to get to grow but nothing seems to work. I want
to grow cucumbers and pumpkins this summer. What do I need to do to
get
my garden to grow?

What happens to the plants? I am far far from an expert but if you've
been
fertilizing heavily you might have over-done it and poisoned everything
you
plant there. How is the drainage? Neither plant you name is difficult to
grow as long as you aren't looking for record-breaking results. Is there
any place you can have a soil analysis done so that you will know what
your
starting point is? There is always the fallback of adding organic matter
to
the soil and it never hurts and almost always helps.

Also, when did you plant? Did you check your USDA zone? Cukes are
pretty quick but pumpkins need a long growing season. Also, were you
planning on starting them from seed, or as seedlings from a garden
store? I would avoid places like Wal Mart and Home Depot for
seedlings- better to go to a garden store that's been around a while.
If you are in the rural US you could give a call to your county
agricultural extension agent, and if you're in an urban area, give the
local botanic garden a ring.

What about watering? How much, and what time of day? Try to water
before the sun is full on the plants, but not at night (that might
encourage fungus growth).

Chris
=======


Why water before the full sun is on the plants?


I think Chris addressed that with his comment about mold. It's best
to water any outdoor plants during very early morning, wastes less
water to evaporation as averse to watering during the heat of the day
and when the sun does comes up it will dry the plant foliage quickly.
The worst time to water is late afternoon... it's not even good for
the top layer of soil to remain damp all night. I've seen lots of
people who work all day, come home, eat dinner, and then drag a hose
around all evening, then they wonder why their plants and especially
their lawn becomes diseased. Sometimes we can't control watering
times, during periods of rain, but other times it's best to water at a
time that leaves adequate time for plants to dry. And with large low
growing vining plants it's not reasonable to expect using a watering
method that won't wet foliage. And pumpkins and cukes are very prone
to mold and rot from excessive moisture, one of the main reasons they
should be grown on mounds.


I was wondering if the "water droplets & sun will burn the leaves" nonsense
was about to make another appearance.