Vining Plants, maturation rate

[Richard W. Pendell]

I planted cucumbers, squash and pumpkins in second week of May. All have been flourishing with vines and flowers, but when should I expect to see any actual vegetables? I've read that bees need to pollinate the flowers in order to see any harvest.

[The Helpful Gardener]

Yep, and our friends the bees have been taking it on the chin (bad case of mites spreading a viral contagion), so pollinators need more help than ever. Things are a little slow because of the cooler spring weather, but you should be seeing fruit soon; if not you may want to take pollination into yopur own hands (literally!).

Scott