event germination or permanently
spoil the growth prospects of the earlier seedlings.

Cucumbers

_Sowing date:_ About May 5 to 15 at Elkton.

_Spacing:_ Most varieties usually run five about 3 feet from the
hill. Space the hills about 5 to 6 feet apart in all directions.

_Irrigation:_ Like melons. Regular and increasing amounts of
fertigation will increase the yield several hundred percent.

_Varieties:_ I've had very good results dry-gardening Amira II
(TSC), even without any fertigation at all. It is a Middle
Eastern[-]style variety that makes pickler-size thin-skinned cukes
that need no peeling and have terrific flavor. The burpless or
Japanese sorts don't seem to adapt well to drought. Most slicers
dry-garden excellently. Apple or Lemon are similar novelty heirlooms
that make very extensive vines with aggressive roots and should be
given a foot or two more elbow room. I'd avoid any variety touted as
being for pot or patio, compact, or short-vined, because of a likely
linkage between its vine structure and root system.

Eggplant

Grown without regular sprinkler irrigation, eggplant seems to get
larger and yield sooner and more abundantly. I suspect this delicate
and fairly drought-resistant tropical species does not like having
its soil temperature lowered by frequent watering.

_Sowing date:_ Set out transplants at the usual time, about two
weeks after the tomatoes, after all frost danger has passed and
after nights have stably warmed up above 50 degree F.

_Spacing:_ Double dig and deeply fertilize the soil under each
transplant. Separate plants by about 3 feet in rows about 4 feet
apart.

_Irrigation:_ Will grow and produce a few fruit without any
watering, but a bucket of fertigation every three to four weeks
during summer may result in the most luxurious, hugest, and
heaviest-bearing eggplants you've ever grown.

_Varieties:_ I've noticed no special varietal differences in ability
to tolerate dryish soil. I've had good yields from the regionally
adapted varieties Dusky Hybrid, Short Tom, and Early One.

Endive

A biennial member of the chicory family, endive quickly puts down a
deep taproot and is naturally able to grow through prolonged
drought. Because endive remains bitter until cold weather, it
doesn't matter if it grows slowly through summer, just so long as
rapid leaf production resumes in autumn.

_Sowing date:_ On irrigated raised beds endive is sown around August
1 and heads