Jan 26
Still the single-most "viral" thing I ever posted. It's still making the rounds of Tumblr to this day.
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Still the single-most "viral" thing I ever posted. It's still making the rounds of Tumblr to this day.
Some things I've been up to lately!
Various squash I've grown for the winter:
Lots are hardened zuchinni varieties but there's two butternuts and one pale green pumpkin that might be kabocha? I'll find out when I open it.
Squash
I had only the smallest possible squash harvest this year; the seeds I planted from the magnificent Gourdo made six big vines but, somehow, only three squash? I have not yet cooked one.
In years past, though, I had excellent success with winter squash. Particularly butternuts. However, one year they were a little . . odd.
Ma'am. Your neck. Why is it so long?
and this one - completely neckless.
Artwork credit to @velcropoodle. Aaaand - everybody saw that middle one and immediately thought of a cleft chin. Didn't you.
First seed swap seeds are in the mail. I love knowing that seeds I saved from the farm here in NE Ohio will be heading down to be grown in North Carolina
Creating a small community even with an 8 hour distance between
I've signed my third piece of artwork for the fall 2025 collection. "Spooky Season Gourds" This fall-themed artwork features a collection of gourds lit up by decorative lights and accompanied by fallen leaves in a gorgeous display of fall decor.
Today's harvest:
Thirteen butternuts. For some reason, the variety was called Something Betterbush. (Burpee? It's too dark to go check the label.) It wasn't a bush but I guess the vines were shorter than some at maybe five or six feet.
October is the perfect time to harvest winter squash (Cucurbita maxima and other species in this genus) and pumpkins (C. pepo) in the southern UK! Join me, Dr. Katia Hougaard, as I harvest and cure winter squash and pumpkins in my garden.
The fruits begin to develop in June and July, and then grow a hard shell during August and September, which means October is the perfect month to harvest them. In my experience, leaving winter squash on the vine improves their flavour but they must be harvested before the first frosts.
After squash fruits are removed from the dried out vines, I recommend washing them with a weak solution of dish soap (detergent) and white vinegar to remove fungal spores and dirt. The squash should be placed in a warm, dry, sunny location to "cure". If the pale coloured "field spot" is placed towards the sun during curing, it will usually darken to match the rest of the squash. One week of sun on each side of the squash is sufficient to cure them.
Please note that this timeline applies to winter squash grown in the southern UK and the timing may be different in other parts of the squash growing world. The squash discussed in this video are Rouge Vif de Etampes, Ayote, Blue Hubbard, Candy Roaster, Marina di Chioggia, and Gold Rush courgette/zucchini.
Music: Pumpkin Woods by Derek and Brandon Fiechter