A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion New Members Grrrreetings from the GardenBear

I am 31 years old live in sunny southern California; southern Riverside County. I grew up in a family that did a lot of gardening and has farm roots. I love to grow all sorts of plants ranging from orchids to tomatoes and everything in between. I would say I am a novice, although I do seem to have inherited my family's "greenthumb" gene. :wink: I hope to become a master gardener someday but for now I am content to attempt to grow a small organic vegetable garden. I seem to have some success but look forward to learning more and continuing to expand my base of knowledge so that I can in turn help others along the way. Not only is gardening fun and rewarding but it is the responsibility of humankind to learn sustainable home gardening practices and end our dependancies on the corporate "factory" farming.
Sorry I didn't mean to start in on a rant...I am just passionate about the earth, it happens to be my home. Well I look forward to getting to know some of you and learning a few things here, I hope I can share some positive vibes with all of you. Happy gardening everyone.

Welcome, neighbor, from a little north of you. I don't even attempt food here (ground squirrels) but I do grow posies. And not always as organically as I should.You will learn a lot and can share much of what you know here.

welcome garden bear!

Thanks for the welcome. I also have ground squirrels but my cat and dogs keep them in check, my main problem is my chickens. They eat almost anything! I have to fence and cage everything. What a pain!! Darn chickens. Ohh Well they are fun. Anyways I only have had one problem so far this year. My squash have been falling off before maturing. I read a thread on the subject and have concluded that it may be due to heat and lack of constant water. I use old tires as raised planters and have now added a constant slow drip to my squash to see if that fixes my problems and also did a little hand pollination as well. hopefully that will help. I am growing Zucchini and Mexican Squash if any one has any info on these varieties that I should know about let me know I have successfully grown Zucchini in the past but not the Mexican Squash. Thanks again.