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I'm back to the well for more gourd advice. I'm growing birdhouse gourds for the 1st time this year. I've got three plants about a yard apart growing along a fence. The plants seem pretty healthy and are growing well. They've put on a lot of flowers over the last few weeks but have only...

@aftermidnight, couldn't help noticing some of my favorite shows in your dvd collection!

Thanks for the advice, I certainly appreciate it. You guys are all really knowledgeable and I find myself researching things based on the posts here. I've learned a lot this year. It's an educational experience!

@Ridgerunner, I like the idea of testing out a few beans for taste etc. and will do that as they mature. If I get a good enough harvest to return the seed and have some left, I'll have a better idea of which ones to grow for fresh, dry etc. in the years ahead. Thanks for the advice!

I have a question and an update on my network beans. @Bluejay77 or any of the more experienced: Since the main purpose of growing these beans is for seed, should I harvest at all or should I just let them grow out and then dry? I know that with my 'regular' beans, I usually harvest for a...

I've planted a few more seeds this past week to try to fill in where I lost plants. But, I'm not sure the new seeds will have the time to produce like I'd like. And, they aren't really in the best planned spots. Last year, I planted the climbing beans which we eat fresh every couple of weeks...

@Nyboy, fortunately it doesn't produce fruit. We used to have one that did and my dog would have purple feet for the month of May each year.

Mary, The shade is mainly from the house, garage and three really big trees...it's a long, narrow lot with a tall house. One of the trees, a mulberry, isn't particularly nice but it would be thousands to bring it down. I may look at the lower limbs though and see if I can maybe pick up a bit...

@baymule, we have a little bit of space but most of the yard is shade. I do have one tiny veg patch at home along a fence that gets just enough sun. Crazy enough this year, I have rabbits in my yard but none in the garden (confused city rabbits!). Your garden is about the same sq. footage...

@Nyboy, the lots sell for $150K+ so it's way outside the range of our meager group (some of them complained when I raised the plot fee from $25 to $30, lol). We're just getting to the space where all the empty lots have been developed...supply and demand I suppose. There are some c. gardens...

I live in Indianapolis, just north of downtown in one of our historic neighborhoods. In 2011, several neighbors and myself started a community garden on a couple of empty lots owned by an Orthodox Church in the neighborhood. The garden space has a cool history. The Church owns an apartment...

@ninnymary, definitely rabbits...I've been seeing them around the yard and seeing evidence of them fertilizing some other areas. Just seems they have a thing for beans and flowers this year. As for shooting them, on top of only having my son's nerf weaponry I think the Indianapolis police may...

@thistlebloom: These were some of my 'network beans' so I only had about 10 seeds to start with so unfortunately I can't replant this particular one - that's the most disappointing part as I was growing them to help keep the variety going. In any case, I'm going to try hardware cloth at the...

Unfortunately one of my network beans fell victim to some wily rabbits. The 'Joyce Fetterly's Red & White' were struggling (poor germination, small plants) but I thought I'd still be able to get them to adulthood...now they are just tiny plant stalks. Dang rabbits!

So far, I've learned three things this week. 1) Rabbits can somehow manage to squeeze through extremely narrow spaces. 2) Rabbits like both Zinnia AND young bean plants. 3) You shouldn't refer to rabbits as predators. I live in a city and have a very small garden bed along a privacy fence...

@flowerbug, I'm always amazed how much folks with space can plant! This is a really impressive list!

I planted my last two network beans the last week in May and have mixed results. The Cape Sugar 2 germinated close to 100% and are thriving. The Joyce Fetterly's Red & White are about 30% and the handful of plants are looking a bit weak. As for the balance of my network beans, they are all...

It's like a monsoon here in Indy as well. Strange weather this spring, one extreme to the next.

Welcome from another relatively new person to the site, so far I've found it very positive and useful!

Thanks for the information, the skinny vine unnerved me a little...