I'm 66 and always hilled until this year. Very spotty germination, @Ridgerunner nailed it, warmer and better drainage with hills. I think a raised row would be OK for the same reason.
@Ridgerunner, here's a pic of the tatume vine, direct seeded about 60 days ago, the cattle panel is 6'6" and it's taken over a 3' wide section. Many side shoots off the main vine and there's about 5 fruits showing. Already harvested 2 last week. There's a cuke growing about 6' away with powdery...
@Ridgerunner, Desi is a pretty small plant so far and is from India, so it should like our heat, but I guess most squash like the heat. AFIK, Baker Creek is the only source, but Tatume seems to be widely available.
We get a few squas bugs here, but SVB's and in late July pickle worms. Pickle...
Tatume is resistant to both SVB (solid seems) and squash bugs, I think because it grows so fast. And I haven't seen any sign of the vine borers yet.
Knock on wood, most bugs have been hard to find in this years garden. Just speculation, but I have numerous robins constantly in the garden...
Those leeks came from Dixondale, first time growing, going to try some from seed this fall for overwintering. The onions did fine last year, so leeks should work as well.
I have pulled out broccoli, kale, cabbage, chard and lettuce, all bolted. Getting onions (but they are about to flop), robbing new potatoes, but vines are beginning to yellow, so I'll be digging the whole crop soon. Pole beans, bush beans, eggplant and peppers are blooming. Tomatoes have set...
Pretty nice right now to be in the south, lm getting new potatoes already from my March 4th planting, Yum! I don't hill mine, just cover wit 18" of straw. I like new potatoes sliced, with whole spring onion chopped in 2" pieces, mushrooms if I have them and fresh garlic. Drizzle with EVOO, S&P...
I use cattle panels as well, 6 of them in 3 rows 2' apart. The panels are about 18" off the ground. I'm done with those flimsy cages and these should last me the rest of my life. Trellis for the tomatoes is on the right spaced closer together, the others are for cukes and winter squash.
I don't...
I use straw, leaves, grass clippings and coffee grounds. Getting 15 gallons of coffee per week from a local coffee drive thru. Hope it works as well as everyone says it does. I had a soil test done by Clemson and everything was in the high category after 2 years of sheet mulching, they didn't...
I have some bulbs from SESE, planted on Halloween without any sprouting, but spring blasted bulbs that I held back was 100%! Not sure if they rotted, eaten by critters or what, but they never sprouted. Fortunately, I have plenty of the Green Mountain potato onions from Kelly Winterton that are...
I started some potato onions and Italian red bottle onions from seed I got from Kelly Winterton on January 6 in my office under a fluorescent desk lamp. They came up in about a week and looked good, but a week later I came in and found a huge nest of ants in the corner of the planter, so outside...
Anybody growing these? Ordered these from Dixondale and should be here soon. They should be winter hardy here and from what I have read are a long season crop, but I really don't know what to expect?