@The MillennialGardener Why can’t you put you example zucchini in a larger pot?

Do you find pumpkins are better at handling cold than melons?

Thank you for sharing this!

Same here zone 9b they start sprouting in a week be careful though I'm sticking with picklebush so it stays short in a big pot.

I would advise against that, unless you live in a place where the soil stays warm all year, like South Florida. You truly get a big jump start in the year with transplants. If you put transplants in the ground 3 weeks after your last frost date, then sow seeds on the same date, there's no way the seeds will catch up. That being said, it's a fine idea to do exactly that: put your transplants in and on the same date, sow additional seeds so you have a second crop before your first crop that will take over when the original transplants get tired.

I'm in zone 7. I agree and the same goes for squashes and melons, okra and corn. I think they just get transplant shock. But definitely tomatoes and peppers do better earlier started. But I will plant seeds in understory and they tend to be better producers in fall when the ones I started are puttering out. Any volunteers hands down do the best.

I start all my cucurbits seeds inside and have never had issues with transplanting them after the last frost, but note that they all need minimal handling and no jostling.

I used to live in zone 5, and I managed to sow my cucumbers straight into the ground, in a greenhouse, around mid-April! The secret I learned was to dig trenches, rather deep, maybe about 2 feet deep, right under the middle of my garden beds and to pile up fresh manure in those trenches, about a foot or so. Then I would return the soil back into these ditches, right on top of the manure. The heat produced by my "secret ingredient" from a neighbor's cow warmed up the soil above it and even warmed up my very no-tech greenhouse. Presoaked cuke seeds would go into the warm soil and most germinated and became extremely prolific producers. I grew more than I knew what to do with them.

By planting directly in the garden around June 1st… you mean planting the seeds directly in the garden or you start them indoor before? Thank youuuu (I’m in zone 5b so all your tips are welcome hahah)

Marilyn, I plant the seeds directly in the garden. Of course I have to keep in mind how long they take to grow and when my first frost usually is and choose varieties that will work based on that.

I'm going to do the same. I've done experiments so far and for some reason the plants that come from seeds I put DIRECTLY into the ground outgrow the transplants. As soon as I transplant a pumpkin or cucumber or melon or something it decides to just not grow much at all and be a stunted miserable plant.

i left the burdock in my yard since it can be used they grew underneath some cardboard once i cleaned up the cardboard i had 3 huge burdock plants randomly. i had to look it up in my organic gardening encyclopedia but now im gunna use them hopefully.

but my point was im kind of just doing the random gardener thing also lol

It's such a wonderful time of year. I love late February! So many possibilities for the new year.

Go!!!

I can hardly wait, got another month before I can turn on the lights.

Wow, sounds fantastic! But I am in zone 5A, way too early for me. What zone are you in? I feel is is very pertinent to include what growing zone you are in when posting what you are doing and when so that other growers in a different zone don't start at the incorrect time for them. Thanks, and have a great growing season. Eric

@@erictownsend4236 I'm in zone 7B.

Thank you for this! I wanted a greenhouse but I work all day and I'm afraid it will get too hot and kill everything! This makes me want one now!

I'm happy to help!

"What's Growing ON!" would make a great T-Shirt!!!

It’s never fun managing large plants 😂 We have had “late springs” the last couple years with late frosts and it has been annoying dealing with large transplants.

It's no big deal. The best way to learn is to learn the hard way, because you'll never make that mistake again. Mistakes are only a problem when you repeat them. If you learn from them, it's just education. You'll nail it this time!

I have property in Zone 9b. One day, I hope to be growing tomatoes and cucumbers year round.

I live in 9b and I overwintered my peppers this year🤞I had cherry tomatoes until December. I might try to grow tomatoes and cucumbers all year with the proper protection I think it would work. @@TheMillennialGardener

I live in 9 a.m. California and I also was able to keep a couple of pepper plants and a couple of tomato plants, it didn't really freeze here

You're going to have a lot of vines to manage 😂 But if you can keep them alive, they'll take when the weather is right.

Secure a tomato cage around the grow bag and train the vines.

I'm glad I could help!

I forced her to read this comment out loud to me. She grit her teeth so hard I couldn’t understand a word 😁

I recommend starting your first wave of cucurbits as transplants. Direct sowing will put you about a month behind. Having 3-4 week transplants go into the ground will put you very far ahead.

Must’ve been a mild winter in Phoenix. We have been having a consistently cold winter. My future property is in 9B and I look forward to year round tomatoes one day.

Me too! My peppers and cherry tomatoes from last fall are still going! LOL

​@TheMillennialGardener I live in Fl. 9B. My tomatoes produced ALL winter long even with a couple dips below 32.

You're welcome! Good luck with your garden journey. That sounds exciting.

Transplants have gotten *way* too expensive these days. At the current cost of transplants, I could start literally 50 tomato plants for the cost of a 6-pack. It's crazy. If you have a source of inexpensive transplants, that's fine, but mass-sold transplants are out of the question in the current market. I also like to have a nice variety of tomatoes, and the only way to grow interesting varieties is to grow from seed. The transplants are always the same boring handful of varieties unless you know someone that is adventurous.

In your climate, I strongly recommend growing them under row covers/building a small hoop house. Your climate is too persistently cool for good melons. Melons really need a lot of heat to mature and develop sugars and good flavor. Building something like this will help you tremendously: kzfaq.info/sun/PL1gY7BoYBGIHTXtdhw3mMeOyMgLPt8pKR&si=omJ1fJAJLBLn4-qO I also recommend the Kajari melon. It's a mini-melon and will do better in short growing seasons. I think they'd excel out your way.

@@TheMillennialGardener Thank you so much for taking the time to help me with some great suggestions. I will absolutely be trying the hoop house build and just ordered a packet of Kajari melon seeds. Much appreciated 🤗

@@ChiChi75169you're welcome! I wish you the best of luck. I think you'll like the Kajari. Be sure to let them get very ripe. They actually drop from the vines when ripe.

You’re welcome! I’m glad it was helpful.

I appreciate it very much! Thanks for watching!

You're welcome! Thanks for watching!

Most Florida growers struggle because the sun is too strong. It's too strong here in NC in summer, so in Tampa, it's going to be even worse. Shade cloth is going to be the solution to a lot of your problems. I recommend you watch this video, because it has changed how I will forever garden *and* make an even bigger difference for you: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/mbVdiJSovq2-aIU.htmlsi=K4TcymjQD76kC8ai Keep in mind these are vining plants, which means they're going to grow in dappled light on forest grounds and up trees. These vines don't grow out in an open field in full sun. That may work in Ohio and New Jersey since the sun isn't all that strong, even in July, but in Florida? They'll get torched. You need to approximate their real habitat. Almost nothing that's a vine or only a few feet tall grows out in the open.

I wonder if you could grow them in the "winter". My mom lives in Clearwater but I think the rats would get anything she planted.

Cucurbits really are amazing. Here in NC, I plant 4 waves of cucumbers and squash a year. They grow and mature so quickly! Tomatoes, I'm lucky if I can get a second wave to take. Usually, my second wave fails to ripen and I just have green tomatoes.

You're welcome!

Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching!

Glad I could help!

Same!

I imagine you'd want to sow your cucurbits around the first or second week of May in your position (and tomatoes/peppers first week of April).

I like to go by frost dates rather than zones. I’m the same “zone” as Seattle. Our climates are nothing alike 😂 Zones should only be consulted for planting trees and perennials. They’re not relevant to annuals.

@@TheMillennialGardener😂sorry...mom plants veggies, and I plant trees. Therefore, I got used to the whole zone thing

You're welcome!

Building hoop houses to warm up during the day would probably make a big difference in your climate. Another ~5 degrees would make an enormous difference. I have some hoop house builds that can be built quickly that I'm sure would help: kzfaq.info/sun/PL1gY7BoYBGIHTXtdhw3mMeOyMgLPt8pKR&si=_xZldqUArGbntgZD

Seems early to up-pot cucurbits, even in Zone 9a. I'm in 8b, and I wouldn't think about planting them for another 3-4 weeks. I just know March has some hard freezes in store for us. It always does.

These were never replanted deep, always placed at original soil depth after watching a vid that shows keeping depth makes more robust trunk and not sure if this or mild winter or the stinky salmon head it was planted over but...alive aliiiiive hee haw.

Glad I could help! Nights in the 40’s kill young cucumbers. My cucumbers died in October a month before our first frost. They just can’t handle it. One or two here and there may not do them in, but once it becomes frequent, they die off.

You’re welcome!

Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching!

Our time crunch here is that it gets so hot in July that the plants stop fruiting and die, and the insect pressure gets so bad everything gets ruined. We have to get our harvests in in May or June. It's too hot here in the summer, unfortunately. Shade cloth is our only help.

That’s true & same here for most things@@TheMillennialGardener

Cucumbers and melons share the same pests and diseases. If you struggle with pests and disease, it is best to separate them. If you don’t, you’ll probably be ok. Once your melons fruit adequately, you can cover them with insect netting to protect them if you do not need more fruit since pollination won’t be necessary anymore.

They’re going to get large before you’re ready. Have room to store them. Those vines go crazy.

I always recommend ignoring the current weather. What happens today means nothing. Always add 6-8 weeks to your outlook. Will it be nice then? If so, start planting indoors today! Except with cucurbits...that's a 3-4 week horizon. They just grow so quickly!

Glad it was helpful!

Glad it was helpful!

That’s fine, because it doesn’t spend much time at those temps. If it dips below 50°F for a couple hours, it isn’t a big deal. The problem is when it dips into the 40’s after sundown and sits there all night. They can’t take it that long.

I use the system I built in this video, but I have 2 lights total. I added a second, because it works so well: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/npeipaudndW3eo0.htmlsi=FgYTm838NHfDftug

Awesome, thanks - only 60W, that is pretty good. Have you measured the LUX at the leaf level to see how that compares to sunlight (there is an app for that).

It's a hard lesson to learn. Throwing away all those plants is tough.

@@TheMillennialGardener Oh I know now. So Sad. I sent your video to family and friends. Thank you Brother. GOD bless yall

Glad you enjoyed it!

I don't mind doing that for a second crop, but getting the transplants out will shave 3-4 weeks off harvest time. A good strategy is to plant out your transplants and sow a row at the same time. The sown row will be about 3-4 weeks behind the transplants.