The size of the leaves contadicts what you've stated. I
did plant a zuchini but it didn't make it through Hurricane
Frances. The other cucumber plants I have, a extra long
yamato (Ferry Morse) never fruited. I had two of those
growing side by side, but neither fruited and one died.

The yamato were planted in well fertilized soil outdoors,
while the Marketmore 76 were planted in sandy soil. I
applied some slow release fertilization at the time of
seeding.

The cucumbers seem to like sunlight as long as the temp
isn't too hot.

The Marketmore 76 cucumbers start off growing with
prickly nubbies on it and I wonder what's up with
the nubbies. :-) They seem to rub off and I'm thinking
along the lines that over time, only the nubbie cukes
survived the insects (?).

Also, I noticed something likes to burrow into them
when they reach ripeness. I need to find some more
information about cukes and start reading up on
them again.

Thanks, John for your comments. It's been awhile since
I've posted this and didn't think anyone ever replied. I'll
have to look over google for the replies.

--
Jim Carlock
Post replies to the newsgroup.


"John Savage" wrote:
"Jim Carlock" writes:
How do you tell a zuchinni plant from a cucumber plant?
Do you have to wait for the fruit to grow?

You can tell at an early stage. The zuchinni is a much sturdier
plant, with thick stems and leaves larger than an A4 sheet of paper,
and flowers opening to about the size of man's fist. The cucumber is
a more delicate plant, with leaves smaller than a cigarette packet
and flowers no larger than the size of a man's thumbnail. The cuc is
a spreading creeper, while most of the newer zuchinnis are clumping.
--
John Savage

Jim;

John is right on on the difference between a cucumber plant and a zucchini.
Most zucchinis are stocky bushy plants with leaves at leat 4 times larger than
a cuke. There are vining zukes but they are relatively rare most cultivars bush
like other summer squash. Blossoms are also huge in comparison to cucumber and
cantaloupe plants. Even a blind man would not confused the two when grown side
by side. If you are in the southeast (texas to Georgia, fall plantings are very
suceptible to pickle worms. The only control is more insecticide applications
than I am willing to use.

Thanks FarmerDill.

I've posted some pics of the cucumber that came off the plant.
The cuke was planted outside from a packet of Ferry Morse
Marketmore 76 seeds.

The leaves are about 5 inches wide, 5 inches high... John
Savage mentioned an A4 size paper. If that's the 11x17 I
will be thrilled and I think I will plant some seeds tonight.

I did pull some out of a package at one time, but I don't
think they ever germinated. If they did, they were the
plants that never made it past 3 inches high. Oh I have
some DM Ferry Poinsett seeds as well that have been
opened. Could be that set of seeds as well.

The Zuke seeds I have are some from a Walmart American
Seed (Squash Dark Green Zucchini) 10 cent package. g

You guys got me excited about 20 inch leaves. If the Zuchs are
not vines... what a shame... I got all excited about 17 inch leaves
on a vine. Awhh shucks. 17 inch leaves though... awesome! I
guess I'll have to space it away from some of the other stuff.

I'm in Tampa, FL. The soil is sandy for the most part. I've
been throwing some of that Viagro fertilizing pellets around.

I'm thinking the Yamato Cucumbers didn't fruit because they
are in the shade all day long, getting indirect sun. While the
Marketmore 76 cukes are in the shade getting some direct
sun, but not too much, as they are in the shade as well. They
seem to like the watered down fertilizer I've been using.

Water seems to pass down through their soil/sand pretty easily
so I threw a bunch of sphagnum peat on top, I'm not sure if
that is the way to go.

Coffee grounds don't seem to be very helpful for Cucumbers.
I'm wondering if I should be throwing some banana peals
down there?

In May or June, we had some roses that were hit by Black
Spot. All the leaves and branches were cut off because
baking soda and vegetable oil didn't seem to help. It struggled
to grow leaves, and I decided to stick some banana peels into
the blender and put the peels into the area around the roots.
That worked wonderfully! The bush grew plenty of leaves and
roses in about a month.

So I'm wondering if the same thing might help with cucumbers.
I want to take some of the burden of using that powdered
fertilizer away. Any comments or suggestions regarding that
will be greatly appreciated.

http://www.microcosmotalk.com/images/garden/cucumber/

The only thing I was unsure about was that all of my cuke
leaves are bigger than cigarette packs, so I was just leaning
into that John might have misposted something, because
the cuke leaves I'm seeing are 2x the size of a cigarette
pack... of course I don't smoke and maybe John's smokes
cigars and calls 'em cigarettes. ;-) What do I know? I've
seen Arnold Schwarzenager smoke a good size cigarette
(cigar) in a movie but that was just a movie and we all
know about the "bigger fish" stories that movies employ.

--
Jim Carlock
Post replies to the newsgroup.


"FarmerDill" wrote:

The size of the leaves contadicts what you've stated. I
did plant a zuchini but it didn't make it through Hurricane
Frances. The other cucumber plants I have, a extra long
yamato (Ferry Morse) never fruited. I had two of those
growing side by side, but neither fruited and one died.

The yamato were planted in well fertilized soil outdoors,
while the Marketmore 76 were planted in sandy soil. I
applied some slow release fertilization at the time of
seeding.

The cucumbers seem to like sunlight as long as the temp
isn't too hot.

The Marketmore 76 cucumbers start off growing with
prickly nubbies on it and I wonder what's up with
the nubbies. :-) They seem to rub off and I'm thinking
along the lines that over time, only the nubbie cukes
survived the insects (?).

Also, I noticed something likes to burrow into them
when they reach ripeness. I need to find some more
information about cukes and start reading up on
them again.

Thanks, John for your comments. It's been awhile since
I've posted this and didn't think anyone ever replied. I'll
have to look over google for the replies.

--
Jim Carlock
Post replies to the newsgroup.


"John Savage" wrote:
"Jim Carlock" writes:
How do you tell a zuchinni plant from a cucumber plant?
Do you have to wait for the fruit to grow?

You can tell at an early stage. The zuchinni is a much sturdier
plant, with thick stems and leaves larger than an A4 sheet of paper,
and flowers opening to about the size of man's fist. The cucumber is
a more delicate plant, with leaves smaller than a cigarette packet
and flowers no larger than the size of a man's thumbnail. The cuc is
a spreading creeper, while most of the newer zuchinnis are clumping.
--
John Savage

Jim;

John is right on on the difference between a cucumber plant and a zucchini.
Most zucchinis are stocky bushy plants with leaves at leat 4 times larger
than
a cuke. There are vining zukes but they are relatively rare most cultivars
bush
like other summer squash. Blossoms are also huge in comparison to cucumber
and
cantaloupe plants. Even a blind man would not confused the two when grown
side
by side. If you are in the southeast (texas to Georgia, fall plantings are
very
suceptible to pickle worms. The only control is more insecticide
applications
than I am willing to use.

Thanks FarmerDill.

I've posted some pics of the cucumber that came off the plant.
The cuke was planted outside from a packet of Ferry Morse
Marketmore 76 seeds.

The leaves are about 5 inches wide, 5 inches high... John
Savage mentioned an A4 size paper. If that's the 11x17 I
will be thrilled and I think I will plant some seeds tonight.

I did pull some out of a package at one time, but I don't
think they ever germinated. If they did, they were the
plants that never made it past 3 inches high. Oh I have
some DM Ferry Poinsett seeds as well that have been
opened. Could be that set of seeds as well.

The Zuke seeds I have are some from a Walmart American
Seed (Squash Dark Green Zucchini) 10 cent package. g

You guys got me excited about 20 inch leaves. If the Zuchs are
not vines... what a shame... I got all excited about 17 inch leaves
on a vine. Awhh shucks. 17 inch leaves though... awesome! I
guess I'll have to space it away from some of the other stuff.

I'm in Tampa, FL. The soil is sandy for the most part. I've
been throwing some of that Viagro fertilizing pellets around.

I'm thinking the Yamato Cucumbers didn't fruit because they
are in the shade all day long, getting indirect sun. While the
Marketmore 76 cukes are in the shade getting some direct
sun, but not too much, as they are in the shade as well. They
seem to like the watered down fertilizer I've been using.

Water seems to pass down through their soil/sand pretty easily
so I threw a bunch of sphagnum peat on top, I'm not sure if
that is the way to go.

Coffee grounds don't seem to be very helpful for Cucumbers.
I'm wondering if I should be throwing some banana peals
down there?

In May or June, we had some roses that were hit by Black
Spot. All the leaves and branches were cut off because
baking soda and vegetable oil didn't seem to help. It struggled
to grow leaves, and I decided to stick some banana peels into
the blender and put the peels into the area around the roots.
That worked wonderfully! The bush grew plenty of leaves and
roses in about a month.

So I'm wondering if the same thing might help with cucumbers.
I want to take some of the burden of using that powdered
fertilizer away. Any comments or suggestions regarding that
will be greatly appreciated.

http://www.microcosmotalk.com/images/garden/cucumber/

The only thing I was unsure about was that all of my cuke
leaves are bigger than cigarette packs, so I was just leaning
into that John might have misposted something, because
the cuke leaves I'm seeing are 2x the size of a cigarette
pack... of course I don't smoke and maybe John's smokes
cigars and calls 'em cigarettes. ;-) What do I know? I've
seen Arnold Schwarzenager smoke a good size cigarette
(cigar) in a movie but that was just a movie and we all
know about the "bigger fish" stories that movies employ.

--
Jim Carlock
Post replies to the newsgroup.


"FarmerDill" wrote:

The size of the leaves contadicts what you've stated. I
did plant a zuchini but it didn't make it through Hurricane
Frances. The other cucumber plants I have, a extra long
yamato (Ferry Morse) never fruited. I had two of those
growing side by side, but neither fruited and one died.

The yamato were planted in well fertilized soil outdoors,
while the Marketmore 76 were planted in sandy soil. I
applied some slow release fertilization at the time of
seeding.

The cucumbers seem to like sunlight as long as the temp
isn't too hot.

The Marketmore 76 cucumbers start off growing with
prickly nubbies on it and I wonder what's up with
the nubbies. :-) They seem to rub off and I'm thinking
along the lines that over time, only the nubbie cukes
survived the insects (?).

Also, I noticed something likes to burrow into them
when they reach ripeness. I need to find some more
information about cukes and start reading up on
them again.

Thanks, John for your comments. It's been awhile since
I've posted this and didn't think anyone ever replied. I'll
have to look over google for the replies.

--
Jim Carlock
Post replies to the newsgroup.


"John Savage" wrote:
"Jim Carlock" writes:
How do you tell a zuchinni plant from a cucumber plant?
Do you have to wait for the fruit to grow?

You can tell at an early stage. The zuchinni is a much sturdier
plant, with thick stems and leaves larger than an A4 sheet of paper,
and flowers opening to about the size of man's fist. The cucumber is
a more delicate plant, with leaves smaller than a cigarette packet
and flowers no larger than the size of a man's thumbnail. The cuc is
a spreading creeper, while most of the newer zuchinnis are clumping.
--
John Savage

Jim;

John is right on on the difference between a cucumber plant and a zucchini.
Most zucchinis are stocky bushy plants with leaves at leat 4 times larger
than
a cuke. There are vining zukes but they are relatively rare most cultivars
bush
like other summer squash. Blossoms are also huge in comparison to cucumber
and
cantaloupe plants. Even a blind man would not confused the two when grown
side
by side. If you are in the southeast (texas to Georgia, fall plantings are
very
suceptible to pickle worms. The only control is more insecticide
applications
than I am willing to use.

Jim. Your pictures are about right for cucumbers.
http://davesgarden.com/pdb/go/65600/index. contains picture of the zucchinni
Senator which is somewhar similar to the Dark Green.
O fcourse if you want large leaves on a vining plant, try a winter squash or
pumpkin. Of course these vines take up a lot of space.

Poinsett will be visually indistinguisable from Market more 76. You may notice
a difference in yields.

The soil in this part of Georgia is also sand and benefits greatly from any
type of organic matter being incorporated. If you use spagnum however, you wil
need to add dolomitic limestone to keep you soil pH up.
I've posted some pics of the cucumber that came off the plant.
The cuke was planted outside from a packet of Ferry Morse
Marketmore 76 seeds.

The leaves are about 5 inches wide, 5 inches high... John
Savage mentioned an A4 size paper. If that's the 11x17 I
will be thrilled and I think I will plant some seeds tonight.

I did pull some out of a package at one time, but I don't
think they ever germinated. If they did, they were the
plants that never made it past 3 inches high. Oh I have
some DM Ferry Poinsett seeds as well that have been
opened. Could be that set of seeds as well.

The Zuke seeds I have are some from a Walmart American
Seed (Squash Dark Green Zucchini) 10 cent package. g

You guys got me excited about 20 inch leaves. If the Zuchs are
not vines... what a shame... I got all excited about 17 inch leaves
on a vine. Awhh shucks. 17 inch leaves though... awesome! I
guess I'll have to space it away from some of the other stuff.

I'm in Tampa, FL. The soil is sandy for the most part. I've
been throwing some of that Viagro fertilizing pellets around.

I'm thinking the Yamato Cucumbers didn't fruit because they
are in the shade all day long, getting indirect sun. While the
Marketmore 76 cukes are in the shade getting some direct
sun, but not too much, as they are in the shade as well. They
seem to like the watered down fertilizer I've been using.

Water seems to pass down through their soil/sand pretty easily
so I threw a bunch of sphagnum peat on top, I'm not sure if
that is the way to go.

Coffee grounds don't seem to be very helpful for Cucumbers.
I'm wondering if I should be throwing some banana peals
down there?

In May or June, we had some roses that were hit by Black
Spot. All the leaves and branches were cut off because
baking soda and vegetable oil didn't seem to help. It struggled
to grow leaves, and I decided to stick some banana peels into
the blender and put the peels into the area around the roots.
That worked wonderfully! The bush grew plenty of leaves and
roses in about a month.

So I'm wondering if the same thing might help with cucumbers.
I want to take some of the burden of using that powdered
fertilizer away. Any comments or suggestions regarding that
will be greatly appreciated.

http://www.microcosmotalk.com/images/garden/cucumber/

The only thing I was unsure about was that all of my cuke
leaves are bigger than cigarette packs, so I was just leaning
into that John might have misposted something, because
the cuke leaves I'm seeing are 2x the size of a cigarette
pack... of course I don't smoke and maybe John's smokes
cigars and calls 'em cigarettes. ;-) What do I know? I've
seen Arnold Schwarzenager smoke a good size cigarette
(cigar) in a movie but that was just a movie and we all
know about the "bigger fish" stories that movies employ.

--
Jim Carlock
Post replies to the newsgroup.

If I want to make the vine healthier, grow more cukes,
is there something suggested in order to do this?

--
Jim Carlock
Post replies to the newsgroup.
"Besides, how comfortable do you think will you feel
if you jump off here and break the hearts of millions
of people and leave Bernie Laplante vomiting on kids
instead of inspiring them?"

"FarmerDill" wrote:
Jim. Your pictures are about right for cucumbers.
http://davesgarden.com/pdb/go/65600/ contains picture
of the zucchinni Senator which is somewhar similar to the
Dark Green. O fcourse if you want large leaves on a vining
plant, try a winter squash or pumpkin. Of course these vines
take up a lot of space.

Poinsett will be visually indistinguisable from Marketmore 76.
You may notice a difference in yields.

The soil in this part of Georgia is also sand and benefits greatly
from any type of organic matter being incorporated. If you use
spagnum however, you will need to add dolomitic limestone to
keep you soil pH up.

"Jim Carlock" writes:
The leaves are about 5 inches wide, 5 inches high... John
Savage mentioned an A4 size paper. If that's the 11x17 I
will be thrilled and I think I will plant some seeds tonight.

By the time it is bearing a zucchini will have broader leaves, yes,
up to about 20 inches would be right.

I'm in Tampa, FL. The soil is sandy for the most part. I've
been throwing some of that Viagro fertilizing pellets around.

They like good drainage, plenty of mulch, and regular watering.

I'm thinking the Yamato Cucumbers didn't fruit because they
are in the shade all day long, getting indirect sun.

Also, the bees can easily overlook the smaller flowers of cucumbers
when there are bigger flowers around. You can try pollinating them by
hand: pick the male flower, strip off all petals, and rub the stamens
inside that day's newly opened female flowers.

In May or June, we had some roses that were hit by Black
Spot. All the leaves and branches were cut off because
baking soda and vegetable oil didn't seem to help. It struggled

Mildew is the bane of cucumbers and zucchinis. When you water don't
wet their leaves. Poke the end of the hose into the soil near the
plant and gently soak the soil that way. Avoid splashing the leaves.
I believe the homemade remedy for mildew is baking soda and milk, not
oil. Full cream milk at that. I haven't tried it myself.

The only thing I was unsure about was that all of my cuke
leaves are bigger than cigarette packs, so I was just leaning
into that John might have misposted something, because
the cuke leaves I'm seeing are 2x the size of a cigarette
pack... of course I don't smoke and maybe John's smokes
cigars and calls 'em cigarettes. ;-) What do I know? I've

I had in mind the apple cucumbers, but as you say the bigger varieties
do have proportionately bigger leaves.

A good thing about growing zucchinis is that you don't need the bees.
If you pick the fruit when the flower is fully open then you can eat
both fruit and flower (fry the flower in batter). Otherwise, pick the
fruit as soon as the flower is spent.
--
John Savage (news address invalid; keep news replies in newsgroup)

"Jim Carlock" writes:
The leaves are about 5 inches wide, 5 inches high... John
Savage mentioned an A4 size paper. If that's the 11x17 I
will be thrilled and I think I will plant some seeds tonight.

By the time it is bearing a zucchini will have broader leaves, yes,
up to about 20 inches would be right.

I'm in Tampa, FL. The soil is sandy for the most part. I've
been throwing some of that Viagro fertilizing pellets around.

They like good drainage, plenty of mulch, and regular watering.

I'm thinking the Yamato Cucumbers didn't fruit because they
are in the shade all day long, getting indirect sun.

Also, the bees can easily overlook the smaller flowers of cucumbers
when there are bigger flowers around. You can try pollinating them by
hand: pick the male flower, strip off all petals, and rub the stamens
inside that day's newly opened female flowers.

In May or June, we had some roses that were hit by Black
Spot. All the leaves and branches were cut off because
baking soda and vegetable oil didn't seem to help. It struggled

Mildew is the bane of cucumbers and zucchinis. When you water don't
wet their leaves. Poke the end of the hose into the soil near the
plant and gently soak the soil that way. Avoid splashing the leaves.
I believe the homemade remedy for mildew is baking soda and milk, not
oil. Full cream milk at that. I haven't tried it myself.

The only thing I was unsure about was that all of my cuke
leaves are bigger than cigarette packs, so I was just leaning
into that John might have misposted something, because
the cuke leaves I'm seeing are 2x the size of a cigarette
pack... of course I don't smoke and maybe John's smokes
cigars and calls 'em cigarettes. ;-) What do I know? I've

I had in mind the apple cucumbers, but as you say the bigger varieties
do have proportionately bigger leaves.

A good thing about growing zucchinis is that you don't need the bees.
If you pick the fruit when the flower is fully open then you can eat
both fruit and flower (fry the flower in batter). Otherwise, pick the
fruit as soon as the flower is spent.
--
John Savage (news address invalid; keep news replies in newsgroup)

"John Savage" wrote:
Mildew is the bane of cucumbers and zucchinis. When
you water don't wet their leaves. Poke the end of the
hose into the soil near the plant and gently soak the soil
that way. Avoid splashing the leaves.I believe the
homemade remedy for mildew is baking soda and milk,
not oil. Full cream milk at that. I haven't tried it myself.

Don't have a mildew problem on the cuke leaves. Had
the black spot on some roses. I think I read to use a little
corn oil to make the baking soda stick... but I had
problems getting a squirt bottle to work using baking
soda and oil so I gave up on that. Ended up cutting all
the rose bush leaves off, and tried some fertilizer and
after a couple weeks nothing seemed to happened so I
went to Home Depot and noticed that the stuff there for
roses seemed to indicate potassium so I chopped up
some banana peels in a blender and put that into the
dirt around the roots of the rose and watered them. A
month later there were not only leaves, but roses as well
and for the next two months we had some nice roses.

I think the Yamato cucumber seeds I have are sterile. I
didn't see any female flowers blossom. Something just
isn't right for them. Coffee grounds kill them. :-) I'm going
to plant some more seeds and try the banana peel thing
on them and see what happens. I'll try them in a sunnier
location. The soil here drains super quick. So maybe I'll
mix some sphagnum peet in there as well.

There aren't too many bees around. There are alot of lady
bug type bugs and wasps though. I see wasps everywhere
and have seen some nests in different places. There's a ton
of lizards everywhere as well. I was feeding the lizards
some cabbage worms over the summer. It's amazing to
watch the little lizards. They look like the lizards in Jurassic
Park and I get the feeling that those that created the move-
ments of the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park took it straight from
the little garden lizards that run all over Florida.

I've got some corn stalks left over that I'm going to take
down. The corn stalks I'm noticing are soapy sometimes,
they seem to be basic (opposite of acidic). Does anyone
know if corn stalks are basic and can be used to raise the
PH? :-) I'm speaking from high school chemistry and
knowledge that soap and oil are basic (alkaline). Is that
correct?

I'm reading that potassium is alkaline. I'm not sure on
just how alkaline it is though and if that makes banana
peels alkaline. I would think so but if someone can comment
on that, and guide me in some way, that would be great!

Thanks for the clarifications, John.

--
Jim Carlock
Post replies to the newsgroup.

I've got some corn stalks left over that I'm going to take
down. The corn stalks I'm noticing are soapy sometimes,
they seem to be basic (opposite of acidic). Does anyone
know if corn stalks are basic and can be used to raise the
PH? :-) I'm speaking from high school chemistry and
knowledge that soap and oil are basic (alkaline). Is that
correct?

I'm reading that potassium is alkaline. I'm not sure on
just how alkaline it is though and if that makes banana
peels alkaline. I would think so but if someone can comment
on that, and guide me in some way, that would be great!

Thanks for the clarifications, John.

--
Jim Carlock
Post replies to the newsgroup.
Some plants can buffer the soil, but ther none that I am aware of that will
raise the pH and that includes corn stalks. On the other hand the decomposition
of some plant matter like oaks leaves and pine straw releases weak organic
acids but the results are somewhat transitory. Peat is usually acidic for that
reason.

Soap is basic, but here we are talking old fashion soap (sodium or potassium
salts of fatty acids) like Granny's lye soap. Most soaps (detergents )
commercially available are neutral.

Potassium is a metal. Plant uptake must be in ionic form usually a salt.
Commercial fertilizers will use eaith potassium oxide (basic) or potassium
chloride (neutral).

The safest way to raise pH to neutral fror vegetables is ground limestone.
Slaked lime (calcium hydroxide) is faster but you hav e less control.

Sheep manure is the best amendment I have ever used on cucurbits, but composted
cow manure will work and it is a lot easier to find.

The first cucumber plant I grew was a couple of Yamato
types. They never fruited. They flowered quite a bit.

The second cucumber plants I tried out, were put in
a shadier area and I did get one cucumber off it.

However, it is having a second fruity due going on and
I now have two cukes on it. Not far away is another
cuke seed I planted at a later hiscadoo date. It also
initiated with one fruit. I'm hoping that it'll take off
bare some more fruits.

I've been chopping up a bunch of leaves and breaking
up a bunch of small dead branches and feeding the
sand (and cucumbers) and that seems to be helping.

I saw my first snail out here sucking on some dead
leaves (possibly corn stalks I chopped up). I seen
plenty of ladybugs scooting around and wasps flying
about. There aren't too many bees though. Everything
seems to be getting ready for the winter. Throughout
September there were quite a few ladybugs. I caught
a few doing the mating dance every so often. They are
only slightly bashful about it. Wish my camera could
do some good closeup shots of small bugs.

Thanks for the help with the potassium and such. I
wonder how many times the cukes will blossom and
bare fruit?

I've read that mulching up bananas does a good job
of putting potassium and nitrogen into the soil. And
from what I see by the fact that banana peels turn black
(oxidize). I image it puts some oxygen and carbon
into the soil as well. Anyone ever studied the oxidation
of banana peels?

The following link indicates that tea leaves are best when
non-oxidized (ie, green leaves/green tea vs. black leaves/
black tea). They mention oxidation of a banana peel in
a comparison to oxidation of tea leaves.

http://www.teasofgreen.com/oxidation.asp

I'm reading that a banana peel inside a jar surrounded
by petroleum jelly is used to catch roaches. That a
banana peel can be taped over a wart to get rid of a
wart. Somewhere a few days ago, I read that banana
peels are great for roses, and I can personally confirm
that.

And while I can't be too sure about the banana peel
and the cucumbers because I didn't isolate the incident
from other things... I stuck a bunch of other dead
decomposing leaves on top of the soil where the cuke
is planted, as well as a bunch of sphagnum peat. The
peat didn't seem to upset anything too much (create an
intolerable acidity). Coffee grounds though, seem to
upset the balance of cucumbers. The coffee grounds
probably need to be mixed with other things for a
beneficial result (coffee grounds are acidic?).

There seem to be a thousand and one uses for
banana peels... Charlie Chaplin thought so in describing
a comical use for a banana peel:

Show a goofy man walking. Show a banana peel.
Present them both together displaying the man
stepping over the peel. Then have the man fall
into an open manhole cover on the other side of
the peel.

--
Jim Carlock
Post replies to the newsgroup.