The Heat Is On

We have frost in the forecast for the next three nights starting tomorrow.  Our preference has been to avoid cleaning up frost blackened leaves by clearing out the sensitive plants ahead of the frost.  Powdery mildew has hit the pumpkins and squash rather hard making them a mess to clean up either way.  We planted a single hill that contained two pumpkin plants and two squash plants.  Soil preparations ahead of planting included adding aged manure to the planting site.  As the desired plants grew we cleared out weeds and covered the bare ground with chopped leaves.  During the drought we hauled in enough water to keep the plants alive.  When rainfall finally resumed, these plants exploded with extensive new growth.  This first picture was taken this morning before Becky started clearing the ground of squash and pumpkin vines.  

This long view shows the entire pumpkin patch now cleared.  Some weeds were found on the center path and also on the crossing path that is only half stone.  Clearly our early weeding and addition of leaf mulch kept new weeds at bay.  The four planting beds at the far end of this garden are in great shape for next year's garden.  The remains of the sunflower plants will be left in place to both feed the birds and drop seeds for next year's plants.  We intend to be here early come spring to pot up newly emerging sunflower plants for placement in an area of our choosing.

The garlic bed in the left foreground is almost ready to plant.  Two additions of aged manure have been spread and turned under.  The dark spots are pieces of this screened manure that remained at the surface.  Next, sifted compost will be spread on the surface then turned under.  One last pass with the potato hook will be made just before planting time which is quickly approaching.

Freshly applied reground bark mulch is reestablishing a weed free path between two planting beds.  The first time we did this, plastic was rolled out before the bark mulch was added.  Quack grass roots quickly wove their way under and through this barrier making their removal impossible.  Now we will have total access to this pesky weed that is sure to return and perhaps this battle will finally be won.

This is the extent of our ripe harvest.  We have read that pumpkins showing some orange color will continue to ripen after they are harvested.  We shall see.  A spot on the front deck is where these were placed.  Placement next to the south facing house wall might moderate the coming cold frosty nights.  A blanket will be added as cover to try to avoid freezing the fruit.  If that works, many warmer days in the sun may fully ripen each of these.

 Here is the delivery system used to bring in bark mulch.  Needless to say the tractor driver was rather proud of being able to back the wagon past the gate posts.  The drop into a hole for one wheel did not simplify that move.  I wonder how Sidney's FFA teacher would have rated this park job?

Rescued Ground

This garden is located near the woods that mark the limit of the glacial deposits that partially fill the river valley . A bedrock ridge supports the existence of trees located on the other side of this depression.  We have four distinct meadows in this area that exist on four different levels.  This ground is the most fertile that we have.  Rather than the usual mix of stones and gravel, this ground consists of clay fines.  The clay presents its own problems while its chief benefit is moisture retention.  We have worked a great deal of compost into this ground resulting in soil that remains porous with enough moisture to support plant growth.

The brown mound in the background was built from weeds removed from this garden.  It is the source of much of the compost that was mixed into this ground.  Only half of this garden is free of weeds.  Once again we tried to do more than we can handle.  Still, time spent here is special.  The roads are far away from here with the only mechanical noise from occasional airplanes breaking the silence.  The sound of the nearby tapping of a Pileated woodpecker cannot be considered as intrusive noise.  It is a natural sound that only adds to the atmosphere of being close to nature.

Our garlic was harvested from part of the area in the foreground.  With the garlic gone, weeds were removed and chopped leaves now cover the bare ground.  We are helping the squash and pumpkins find clear areas in which to grow by carefully moving the vine ends.  Nearby weeds are being removed much slower than the growth rate of these vines and we want to keep the squash away from the weeds and wire fencing.

Presently, we are considering some of this ground as a place where Daylily divisions could be planted.  These huge neglected plants are in desperate need of division and having clear ground ready ahead of time might make that task actually happen.  Garlic will be planted behind the present location of the sunflowers.  These sunflowers are self planted weeds.  Not all weeds are undesirable and more sunflowers will grow someplace here next year.

Our choice for pumpkins is always a variety named Sugar Pie.  Its small size and marvelous sweet taste with smooth texture make great pies.  In a move toward more healthy eating, Becky makes a no crust custard desert.  Portion control forced by the custard cups is another healthy plus.  We have only two pumpkin plants and with any luck more will grow than we can eat with the extras given away.

Waltham Butternut is our squash of choice.  Its longer neck provides more usable product than shorter varieties.  Again only two vines were allowed to grow as the harvest always exceeds our needs.  These squash store on the basement floor for months.  When winter cold makes its presence felt, Becky's baking casserole both warms the house while filling it with comfort smells.

The Last Winter Squash

It has been another day of snow showers and cold.  It seemed like the perfect day to bring the very last Waltham Butternut  squash up from the basement.  It falls to Ed to carve up the squash.  It takes  a big  heavy knife and some muscle to cut the neck of the squash into uniform three-quarter inch slices.  We got our 4 cups of diced squash without getting down to the seed cavity.

This squash was in perfect condition.  Perhaps we could have waited, but just on the off chance winter has been hanging around until my winter squash were all used, today was the day.

Dinner made in my red pot is a cold weather pleasure.  The oven warms the kitchen and the aroma of dinner cooking makes it so everyone is already salivating when dinner comes from the oven.  I chose Tandoori Salmon with Kale.  It is a favorite from Elizabeth Yarnell's book.  I use a lot more squash and more kale than she does and we like it served with brown rice. 

Dinner looks great.  It's too bad the picture doesn't have that tantalizing aroma.  I'm not at all sorry to see the last of our winter squash.  I'm ready for the seasonal change, besides half of what's in the pot is waiting in the fridge for its encore performance. 

Last Squash

We tried something new last fall when we harvested the butternut squash.  Marian Morash recommended cutting the vine rather than the stem that holds fast to the squash.  Her reasoning was that the point where the stem joins the squash is commonly the weak point that allows decay to enter the squash.  We followed her directions and the last squash nearly made it to April.  This is the longest that the squash have remained in prime condition.

This is the condition of the squash when it was brought into the kitchen from the basement.  It has yet to be washed.  The dried vine branching out from the stem makes an interesting looking sculpture.  Our past habit was to simply cut the stem at harvest.  Marian's method greatly increases the distance between the cuts and the fruit.  We plan to harvest the pumpkins this way in the coming year.  They got the old stem cut and the last of them went directly to the compost pile weeks ago.

Butternut squash is our favorite for a number of reasons.  Its taste is fantastic but look at the amount of fruit absolutely free of seeds and the sticky strings that accompany them.  This is as close to a hassle free garden product as one can get.

Slicing away the washed skin is all that is needed to prepare the food for the pot.  The thickness of the slices and the size of the cubes match the specifications of the recipe.  Salmon, kale, garlic and yogurt blended very well with the squash.  We will not have that meal again until the new crop is harvested.  For these special meals we use our garden produce.  That is a slight exaggeration since the fresh kale came from the grocery store.  Someone else caught the fish but the squash is the heart of this meal and it was grown here.

Impressive Squash Vines

The current status of our two hills of squash and pumpkins is impressive.  A single hill of  Waltham Butternut squash containing three or four plants is growing through the fence and across the center path.  We claim no responsibility for the vigorous growth as it is entirely weather related.  Planted during the first week in June, dry weather necessitated carrying water to keep the seedlings alive.  Growth was stalled but the plants did cling to life.  Then the rains and hot daytime temperatures ruled.  Fruit is just now beginning to form and we enjoyed our first meals featuring stuffed squash blossoms.  Actually it was stuffed pumpkin blossoms.  Pumpkin blossoms are a deep appealing orange while the squash blossoms are a weak anemic yellow color.

The view from the opposite corner shows the state of the potatoes and next season's garlic bed.  What appears to be bare ground is actually heavily covered with emerging weeds.  This would have been where the corn grew but we did not bother to plant in light of the grossly unfavorable dry weather.  The missed potatoes have been dug and screened compost has been spread.  We will continue to stir the soil intending to kill the new weeds.

Our grand plan is easy to see now.  Planting beds are five feet wide and eighteen feet long.  Stone filled paths are three feet wide and end five feet short of the end fence.  The reground bark mulch filled central path is four feet wide.  Path stones are so few in number here that we were forced to use bark mulch.  This great difference in soil components between this garden and the garden near the house points to glacial deposition at slightly different times under different conditions.  Soil here contains more clay and far fewer stones than the main garden.  There sand and broken stone chips are dominant soil components.  An advantage of the clay soil is that it holds water longer between rainstorms.  Our house would have been built into the bank between the garden and the pines if money had been limitless.  Here electric power is far away and the driveway more than one half of a mile long.  Still, an earth bermed solar heated house here would have been a wonderful place to live.  When age related decline forces us to live elsewhere, we may retain ownership of this land near the ridge and use it as a camp.