Turns out pruning my tomatoes was the right thing to do, especially because my yard is situated in a not great way for the tomatoes to get all the sun they need to grow, grow, grow. I have been frustrated for years at the shade my house casts on my garden plot during the early morning hours. If I was going to live in this house forever, I would definitely change things, but in fact, we're moving in one week, so I'm about to start over in a new yard anyway. But for now, the tomatoes are as big as I have ever had, and hopefully the people who end up renting my house will let me come and harvest.
I need some advice from some fellow Tuesday Garden Party visitors about my squash. Every year, although my vines seem healthy, the actual squash just seem to wilt away before they have a chance to get large. This applies to winter squash as well as summer squash. Suggestions?
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I wish I had some great advice for you, but all I can say is that my early squash wither and then I have a great crop as the season progresses. Hope you get something out of them!
Your tomatoes look great!! Hopefully mine will get to growing soon. Thanks for sharing!
Squash fruits withering away before getting larger is mostly (if not always) due to lack of pollination. Do you have a lot of bees or other pollinating insects in your garden near these squash plants? If not, some hand pollinating may be in order for you! You can take a small brush-like thing (artist's brush, makeup brush, q-tip, or even your finger tip) to pick up some pollen from inside a male flower (flower grows on a long thin stem with no baby fruit below the flower) and gently brush it across the stigma (girl parts on the inside) of the female flower (flower has a baby fruit attached at the bottom).
The only trick is that the flowers only open early in the morning for a few hours, and they are only fertile on the first day, so you gotta be out there every morning to catch both male and female flowers open at the same time to do this.
I hope this works for you! Let me know if you have any questions.
Wow! Can't wait to see the new house. Good luck with everything
Yes, I agree with thyme2garden and pogonip that it's probably lack of pollination, especially since it happens each year and the plants are healthy. Thyme left some great instructions for you and I've read that people have had good luck hand-pollinating, so give it a go (I suppose in your next house if you have that problem- you probably aren't going to invest the time in a house you're leaving soon!)
Thanks for linking to the Tuesday Garden Party!
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