tomatoes, tomatillos, and zukes

**Rob Loach deloges@att.net>**

I thought I'd chime in on some of the current topics.

tomatoes...
Our tomatoes are beginning to ripen, but as always, I have to pick them 
when they show the first bit of pink so that the birds and squirrels don't 
get to them first. One problem with them is that many of them develop spots 
on them as they ripen. I seem to recall reading somewhere (but who knows 
where) that when you pick them in the fall for storage that it's a good 
thing to wash them in water with a bit of bleach in it. Would something 
like that work in this case?

tomatillos...
We started raising tomatillos a few years back and just love the salsa 
verde (green salsa) that we make from them. The only thing we've used it 
for so far is chicken enchiladas. M-m-m! We had some nice "volunteer" 
tomatillos that came up this year. They grew much better than the little 
seedlings that I started early and babied along!

zukes...
I wish we had the trouble we had up in Michigan of having zucchinis to give 
away. When we lived up there, with the relatively short growing season, we 
were just overwhelmed with zukes. We used to have to lock our car doors 
when we went to church so that we didn't have a carful from everyone else's 
bounty! 8-) Here in South Carolina, the only way I can get them to grow 
long enough to bear any fruit at all is to plant them in July and keep the 
stems of the plants dusted with pesticides. Otherwise, borers kill the 
plant before we get even one zuke. I read somewhere that if you can plant 
them late, you have fewer borer problems. I hate to use the pesticides, but 
I also miss having squash if I don't. Sigh!

By the way, it is very helpful when posting a question to tell where you 
are gardening since the seasons, pests, and all are so different, depending 
on the geographical location.

Happy gardening to all!

Rob

   =^..^=  =^..^=  =^..^=
Rob Loach in Greenville SC
deloges@att.net  <d*@att.net>
Visit http://www.geocities.com/ivman_bju/cartoons.html

***
The best way to forget all your troubles is to wear tight shoes.
***

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