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TheWaterbug
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Volunteers galore!!!

I tilled my little field awhile back, and then it rained a few times. I have little grasses and other weedy things coming up all over the place, and I've been debating with myself when to commit a few hours to hoe them all down.

It's a good thing I'm a procrastinator! I walked out this morning and saw this little guy:
[img]https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3552590/VolunteerPumpkin.jpg[/img]

It's a volunteer pumpkin! I looked around the field, and there's probably 10-15 pumpkin plants growing from last year's pumpkin patch. Had I hoed the field down a week ago I'd probably have killed them.

I also have quite a few sunflowers coming up, and there's a melon/squashy thing that might be a pumpkin but that also might be a watermelon or a cantaloupe, based on its location.

It's wayyyyy to early to grow pumpkins for the 3rd Annual (?) Pick and Paint Pumpkin Patch Party, but it's nice to see nature at work.

Tonio
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Volunteers are great, I think I have a Kabocha volunteer.

Isn't it odd, that sometimes volunteers appear healthier than transplants?

ThomasCA
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Tonio wrote:Isn't it odd, that sometimes volunteers appear healthier than transplants?
You're not kidding! I've been taking care of my tomato seedlings for some time, waiting until they get to the right size and root development to transplant. Yet, outside in my garden walkways, I have San Marzano tomato volunteers coming up, and they've surpassed the ones I intentionally planted. :oops:

Hell, I'm thinking of just pulling these up and using them over my intentionally planted seedlings.

[img]https://img137.imageshack.us/img137/5378/dsc04242y.jpg[/img]

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jal_ut
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I have many times planted tomato seed directly in the garden. It comes up and grows great. The only problem I have doing this is my limited growing season. The tomatoes don't get ripe. I need the little bit of time you gain by starting the plants six to eight weeks before planting out time. If you have a longer growing season, you may as well plant your tomato seed directly in the garden and save the hassle.

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TheWaterbug
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jal_ut wrote:If you have a longer growing season, you may as well plant your tomato seed directly in the garden and save the hassle.
My aunt just mailed me some cherry tomato seeds, and I was going to wait until I got back from my week-long trip to start them in starter pots, but I have enough seeds that I might just throw a few in the dirt before I leave. It's going to rain this weekend anyway, so we'll see what happens.

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rainbowgardener
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Yes, sometimes my best squash are the volunteers. Sometimes they volunteer in flower beds, when I plant with compost. The ones in the flower beds seem to be more protected from the squash vine borer.

It's funny though. After I noticed that, I tried deliberately planting one in the same flower bed. It got crowded out and just died. Somehow when it comes up on its own, it can make its own way better, push through to light and air...

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TheWaterbug
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rainbowgardener wrote:It's funny though. After I noticed that, I tried deliberately planting one in the same flower bed. It got crowded out and just died. Somehow when it comes up on its own, it can make its own way better, push through to light and air...
Maybe it's Darwinian Selection at work--only the strongest survive!!!!

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digitS'
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It looks like a pumpkin, Waterbug, but be advised:

Pumpkins and zucchini are common in gardens. These plants are both of the same species. They will cross-pollinate.

The offspring may be completely unlike either parent and not be what the gardener had been hoping for.

Steve

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gixxerific
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I have volunteers all over. Squash?? in several spots, several potatoes, lettuce, the chard never really died. I have huge lettuce up front in my flower garden. Other stuff here and there. It's crazy what all is growing on it's own.

I did put some tomatoe seed in the ground, 3 seeds per hole. When I started my starters. They never came up. I was going to have them race, I'm rather dissapointed they didn't germinate. :cry:

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rainbowgardener
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There is a reason why we typically start the tomatoes and peppers indoors. At the time you would need to be starting them, for all but the deep South folks, it is too cold out for them to germinate or grow well. They really benefit from the heat mat and pampering!

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gixxerific
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rainbowgardener wrote:There is a reason why we typically start the tomatoes and peppers indoors. At the time you would need to be starting them, for all but the deep South folks, it is too cold out for them to germinate or grow well. They really benefit from the heat mat and pampering!
When I started mine we were in a month long run of mostly 80's even some 90's, I was hoping for the best. Who know's they may still pop their heads up when they are ready. They better hurry or the inside guy's may take their place. :wink:

Also when I started them I put upside down pots over them to keep in the warmth as well as Agribon for the cooler nights. Still nothing. :cry:

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gixxerific
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Back to volunteers, the Million Marigold March is about to invade again. LOL I planted a few (10 +-) a few years ago. They self seeded and I had hundreds if not thousands in my front flower garden. Same thing on a samller scale around my mailbox. They are coming back, I can't wait to see how many I get from these. Other flowers are coming back as well. Borage has be going nuts for a month or so up front. Chard too. Don't think I will plant anything up there this year, it's gonna be full on it's own. 8)

Oh almost forgot to mention the Aisiatic Lilly's have multiplied again. Thye are going to be crazy. I will have to post pics when they are in bloom. These things can't be stopped. :shock:

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soil
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over 50% of my garden is volunteers, the only thing is I select and help spread the ones I want vs the ones I don't.

they all benefit from zero transplant shock, perfect germination timing( most of the time), and most of all a superior root system.

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rainbowgardener
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Re the germination timing, I've been wondering about that. I've got volunteer squash popping up in several places. We always say don't plant your squash until the soil is well warmed up, but it seemed like the volunteers came up considerably earlier than I would plant them and actually made it through a light frost. Maybe it's hardier than we give it credit for?

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TheWaterbug
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digitS' wrote:It looks like a pumpkin, Waterbug, but be advised:

Pumpkins and zucchini are common in gardens. These plants are both of the same species. They will cross-pollinate.

The offspring may be completely unlike either parent and not be what the gardener had been hoping for.
I'm 99.9% sure it's pumpkin. It's right in the middle of the field where, last year, I grew 30 pumpkin plants. There are no zukes anywhere near hear. I had some watermelon and cantaloupe, but AFAIK those can't cross with pumpkins.

And, despite the large lots around here, _none_ of my neighbors has a vegetable garden.[img]https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3552590/confused.gif[/img]

Then again I'd be thrilled to get a pumpkini, as it'd be a terrific opportunity to teach my kid about Punnett squares.

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soil
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I find often seedlings are a lot hardier to cold than mature plants. corn being a good example. can handle light frosts as a young seedling, but as a semi mature or mature plant forget about it.

specially if they are in a nice micro climate and are saved seed to adapt to your local conditions.

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digitS'
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TheWaterbug wrote:. . . I had some watermelon and cantaloupe, but AFAIK those can't cross with pumpkins. . .

Then again I'd be thrilled to get a pumpkini, as it'd be a terrific opportunity to teach my kid about Punnett squares.
AFAIK, you are 100% right about the melons, Waterbug :wink: .

Punnett squares?! Could I sit in on that class, too?

Steve :)

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PunkRotten
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I get tomato and pepper volunteers all over the place. Sometimes they sprout in my compost bin too along with other plants, but after I turn the compost they get killed. I had some Marigolds in my front yard last year and see a few volunteers now.

Yeah I noticed that most if not all volunteers seem to be healthy.

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TheWaterbug
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I've been drip-watering my empty sweet potato patch for the last 3 weeks in anticipation of my slips arriving in the mail (they haven't, yet :x), so when I returned from my extended business trip I had weeds all over the place.

It's a good thing I was weeding by hand, because just before I yanked it I took a closer look at this:

Image

I think it's a tomato, but I'm not 100% sure. It's only a few feet from where I grew Roma and Black Prince tomatoes last year, and I do remember leaving quite a few fruit to rot on the vine when I traveled.

Anyone want to lay odds on whether this is a real tomato or just a weed masquerading as a tomato?

patientx3
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That's a tomato plant waterbug.

I have three or four volunteer tomato plants coming up in various places around my garden. They're all really small and I doubt they'll give many (or any) tomatoes before it gets too cold. But they're fun to watch grow.

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Francis Barnswallow
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I've got new basil and dill plants growing, and their parent plants died 3 years ago!

And don't get me started on the peppermint plants that are, in my case, worse than weeds. And I planted their parent plants 5 years ago. :shock:

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gixxerific
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Definitely a tomato waterbug.

Keep 'em coming. I was about to pull my dying borage from the front flower garden when I noticed a bunch of lettuce sprouts, all volunteers. I will leave the borage for now just for shade.

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TheWaterbug
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patientx3 wrote:That's a tomato plant waterbug.
That's what I'd hoped. There are actually 5 possibilities:
  • Black Prince
  • Roma
  • Cherokee Purple
  • Mr. Stripey
  • Matt's Wild Cherry
The first four were grown near here last year. The 5th is a bag of saved seeds that my aunt gave me earlier this year, and that I failed miserably with. I tried to sow them directly into a planting site, but I was doing 20 things at once, and I think I ended up washing most of them off my hands elsewhere. A few of them _might_ have ended up here, but that's unlikely.

I'd be happy with any of the above except the Roma, which I wasn't terribly fond of. I'm growing CP and Stripey again this year, so I'd be thrilled if this guy ended up being the Wild Cherry that I thought I'd missed.

Then again, don't look a gift tomato in the variety, eh?

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gixxerific
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If I was a betting man I would put my money on Matts Wild Cherry. Only for the reason they drop a lot more fruit than the others. So a higher possibility it is a cherry.

Could be any one of them though.

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sheeshshe
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OMGosh, I have SOOOOOOOOOOO many volunteer tomato plants growing right now! I keep finding more! there must be a hundred tigerella growing where I had them last year. I didn't even like tigerella so I just let them rot LOL! I have some that are flowering and are as big as my seedlings, growing in a hay bale! I keep finding tomato plants all over my garden in various places that just came up. that will be a surprise to see what varieties they are. I find it excitign!

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rainbowgardener
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Everywhere I use my compost, I get tons of volunteer tomato plants coming up. I usually just pull them.



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