zone 8-9-10 favourites and techniques

[Pickled_Melon]

not much will grow well in these southern latitudes in terms of fruits and veggies. what do y'all grow and how do you get them to pollinate? what soil treatments do you use? pesticides/fungicides?

i groe:

siberian tomatos in 7 1/2" ceramics with 10-10-10 and average 8 4oz.fruit per setting (2 settings per plant). from seed to harvest every two-three months.

petite yellow watermellons in a rubbermaid tote bin with two cups 15-30-15. planted four packs of seeds and recieved 27 fruit, but none were larger than a softball by the time the vine died. this is the third season with these results. is there another variety that could have been sold as 'petite yellow'? the bed is still flowering and fruiting. i've used a soap-container looking fungicide/insecticide which seems to improve overall plant health but doesn't get rid of the rust. any suggestions for increasing melon size and getting rid of rust?

black variety tomatos: they attract these black beetles which eat everything on the vine and destroy what they can't eat immediately. i'm forced to pick the fruit before it's ripe in order to get anything, but the flavour isn't what it could be. any suggestions?

any tips for squash in a humid coastal climate?

[40lb farmer]

i also live in the south and also grow in bins and pots. i used to have a hive (my migrant farm workers!) but they were too lazy to pollinate my melons. i'll try the 'tickle' method. i've tried some russian types of tomatos also. most of which smell like rotten flesh with a little formaldehyde, to me. but the moskovich and rose are superb.

two years ago i grew squash, long of naples. i planted in the fall and it took about three months to flower and i had my harvest in june. three fruits around 40lbs. anybody have any recipies for dealing with squash?

[zebraman]

Hey Pickled Melon-10-10-10 fertizer organic or otherwise is NOT for Tomatoes.What you want is Compost and Bone meal and powdered sea weed.I do agree with Russian Rose.I got 3 dozen LARGE tomatoes per plant,Most over a Lb.I live in Venice,CA.Cream of Saskatchawan Watermelons do really great here as well.

[gulfcoastguy]

I am in zone 8B. For squash the moschata types like butternut varieties do best. The solid stems resist stem borers and they like the heat. If you have the room Thai Large Pumpkin is especially tough but has long vines. As far a tomatoes, start your seed early and get the plants in the ground early. Don't worry if the tomatoes die in midsummer, think about planting tomatoes in late summer for a fall harvest. Mulch everything heavily. For bugs use tanglefoot from Gardens Alive on yellow plastic cups to make sticky traps. Okra likes the heat and also attracts the stinkbugs from the tomatoes. That's all for now.