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To: Ellendra
I've successfully grown many different cukes, beans, peas and squash without them cross-pollinating IF you keep them far enough apart. Even with my beekeeping, I still didn't get any crosses this year. For instance, I'll plant my tomato rows in between different kinds of beans, and my corn between different squashes. Don't know if I'm doing it right or just lucky, but it is working so far. I miserably messed up with yellow squash and zucchini one year, and everything was mottled yellow and green. Still tasted good, but strange to look at. Some of them were just a bright lime green instead of being bi-colored.

As for a crop to take to market, that meets your criteria of bringing a good price with the least effort, I'd recommend okra, cucumbers and/or sweet corn. I've not yet reached the point of growing too many of any of those. Okra sells very well in my neck of the woods, and it is by far the easiest and least expensive to grow. Takes little work except to pick once or twice a day. Small, tender pods bring a good price too. I got $3/pound last year.

Sweet corn is easy, as the picking does not require stooping. It will grow in a wide variety of soil types, but will require nitrogen fertilizer. Not as picky about phosphorus and potash, but you will almost certainly have to add nitrogen. Remember that corn is actually a grass, so anything that will keep grass happy will generally grow corn. Water is important, but you can get by with less water if it comes at critical times in development.

If grown on a trellis, cukes are about as easy as it gets. No stooping, not a big bug problem child, but you will need water. Not enough water makes cukes bitter and you can't sell them or won't get a repeat customer if you do. I try to plant 3 or 4 pickling varieties, 3 or 4 slicing varieties, and at least 1 burpless. There are varieties of pickling and slicing that will overlap as far as use goes, and those are really great.

85 posted on 01/06/2012 2:53:23 PM PST by JustaDumbBlonde (Don't wish doom on your enemies. Plan it.)
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To: JustaDumbBlonde

Thanks for the links, this will help the Indiana winter pass a little quicker.


97 posted on 01/06/2012 4:17:27 PM PST by muddler (Chaos is coming..)
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To: JustaDumbBlonde
I've successfully grown many different cukes, beans, peas and squash without them cross-pollinating IF you keep them far enough apart.

That distance thing is a bit of a challenge, I've got 5 acres, and only a tiny strip of it is flat enough to plant, and that's alongside the neighbor's cornfield. I'll be terracing parts of the hillside a little every year, but right now I'm still hacking back the weeds. My land was abandoned for 15 years before I bought it, so it needs a lot of work. Corn might cross with the neighbor's field corn, and I'm not even sure okra will grow in Wisconsin, but cucumbers I can do! Thank you!
127 posted on 01/06/2012 7:54:30 PM PST by Ellendra ("It's astounding how often people mistake their own stupidity for a lack of fairness." --Thunt)
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