new garden

[jds8535]

I have just planted my first vegetable garden. I bought 4-inch bell peppers, strawberries, tomatoes, melons, watermelon, zuchini, and cucumber. What I wanna know is for how long should I pinch off the flowers or fruit on these plants so that they may grow faster and give a better crop later? Also, how many fruits should I leave on the plants later on? The watermelon vines are about the size of a basketball now and have several blossoms and 1 tiny watermelon each. The melons and strawberries are only about 3 inches tall. The peppers, zuchinis, and cucumbers are about 1 foot tall and have flowers and/or some tiny fruit, and the tomatoes are about 2 feet tall but no fruit yet. Thanks, appreciate any advice!

[pepper4]

This is my first year at veggie gardening so I might be wrong and corrected but it is my understanding not to pinch off any of the flowers because these are what pollunates and produce the fruit.

[rainbowgardener]

IMO if you just bought the plants and they aren't in the ground yet, then you are right, you do want to pinch off all the existing fruit and flowers, let the plants have a chance to get established, work on developing roots etc. After that it's sort of a quantity vs size thing. If you want bigger fruits, then you reduce the number. If you don't care and just want lots, leave it alone.

[jds8535]

I planted them about 2 weeks ago, for how much longer should I pinch off?

[rainbowgardener]

If they seem happy and healthy where they are, not wilty, showing some signs of growth since they've been in the ground, then quit, pinching and let them go!

[jds8535]

Thanks, will do that!