My summer garden is winding down. I do believe it’s the best garden we’ve ever had. The lack of rain has almost completely dried up the big garden we share with Granny and Pap-but our smaller one here at home has benefited from our watering cans.
With the heat continuing to soar-it’s hard to think about getting ready for the fall garden-but before we know it-those cooler temps will start sliding in and I’ll be thinking of spicy radishes, stewed turnips, and greens. Our garden has been so successful this year-I’m going to continue my planting by the signs venture with my fall garden too.
Granny has already planted her mustard greens and turnips. I said Granny isn’t it a little early? She said well I planted them too late last year so this year I figured I’d plant them too early and come out even. Who knows-maybe her logic will work.
Since Hometown Seeds sponsored the Blind Pig garden this year-I was able to plant a few new things-that I’d never tried before. Hearing Pap talk about the type of squash his Mother grew when he was a child made me want to try a variety of squash that would have a longer shelf life.
I planted Hometown Seeds-Winter Squash Green Hubbard. It seemed to take them forever to get started-but now they’re growing like crazy. The vines have twined all over the garden-and the yard-till they look like some kind of alien invasion. Seriously the squash are as big as watermelons. So now I’m wondering what to do with them-how do I store them-how do I cook them? If you have any tips on green hubbard squash I’d love to hear them.
What was the strangest thing you grew this summer?
Tipper
I’ve never heard of it either.
So I’m curious, be sure to post about it.
We have those alien pods growing up out of the compost pile again.
For the first time Jack (my husband) and I planted Butternut Squash, Spaghetti Squash, and Acorn Squash 4 plants of each. They did really well. We harvested about 35 of each. I gave them away and cooked and froze and cooked and ate some. All are good. I will plant them again I am now more prepared for what one plane will yeild!!! It also gave me the idea of our local Civic Club starting a Farmer’s Market.
I’m really glad to hear your garden did so well. With all the heat ours didn’t do so well!
Thanks Tipper for the August planting sign calendar, Never planted this type of squash before, we have spaghetti squash tons of them, never raised them before so we are anxious to see how they do!!!!! I really really enjoy this blog Tipper, Keep up the GREAT work!!!!
I have never even heard of hubbard squash. Sounds interesting. This is my first year with a garden, so I’m just impressed that I got tomatoes to grow..haha
Tipper: I have seen them at the fair and they can grow mighty big.
I have never had a Hubbard squash. Let us know how you fix it.
The weirdest thing we grew this year? Our first garden I guess. I ahve canned so many tomoatoes, salsa, green beans. WE’ve eaten tons of cucubmers, patty pan squash, onions, radishes and fresh lettuce.
We did have some heirloom tomatoes too. The plants were a gift from a friend.
I have always received produce from family members so I have canned for years. But it makes it so much more special when you grow it yourself.
When I cook one of them-I’ll let you know what it tastes like : )
Blind Pig The Acorn
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All at http://www.blindpigandtheacorn.com
Have no idea what to do with pattypan squash. Neva had it before. The squash seeds you sent me were planted later than were supposed to be because of family, graduations in Florida and so forth. However, they are coming forth!! Going to try the blueberry pie. Thanks for all you do. Nana
your garden looks wonderful .. and its always great to have fresh veggies. the weather here has also been hot and humid.. i dont have a garden, as im allergic to most everything that grows lol but its fun to see what you all have done, and how the moons plantings and old time traditions relate. try to keep cool and enjoy the crickets and the lightening bugs 🙂
big ladybug hugs
lynn
My grandmother used her Hubbard squash in anything that resembled pumpkin or sweet potatoes recipes. You could not tell much difference between pumpkin pie or sqash pie except for some textural differences.
Jude
That’s a pretty squash Tipper, but I’ve never heard of the variety so I can’t help there.
I enjoyed your garden too. I cooked all the veggies you left with me. I ate as many tomatoes as I could as fast as I could. Now I’m cooking the remainder of the tomatoes to make spaghetti sauce.
Thanks for all the goodies!!
tipper; my dad had the secret to those big hubbards,and mom would pop a half of one of those big lugs in the oven, and if my finicky brothers and sisters dident jump right in i would eat it all.as to the fall garden i think i,ll have a look while neighbor philip is on vacation and see how it going. k.o.h
I grew patty pan squash this year… had never had it or grown it… it’s interesting… I asked a lady at the farmer’s market what to do with it, and she said treat it like regular squash. My family liked it! I liked it because it wasn’t as seedy as the yellow squash I usually grow. I need to get ready for fall too – the garden has gotten out of hand… I have some cucumbers that are the size of baseball bats, and my tomatoes are pretty much done for!
What an interesting looking squash. I wonder what it tastes like.
My garden did extremely well this year considering we’ve had little rain and excessive heat, and it’s way too big to even try and water. I planted earlier this year, by the signs last month, because I lost my fall garden last year by planting too late. It seems to be thriving, but then it’s smaller and I can water it.
It’s not strange, but for the first time this year I planted Romain Lettuce and it did well and we’ll do it again.
Considering the unprecedented, scorching temps we’ve had this summer, you can say I was crazy enough to plant parsley, mint and basil in clay pots. Funnily enough, they’ve grown beautifully and have a divine smell. I use all three of them a lot in cooking but now it’s such a great pleasure to pick them from my pots instead of buying them at the supermarket. They taste so much better!
Too hot to move just now — but you’re right — time to think about that fall garden!
Tipper,
I think my garden is the best it
ever was too. My main thing was
corn, beans, and potatoes and they
all produced beyond my expectation
and I used your calendar to plant.
Just about founderd on tomatoes
already. You should market your
Blackberry Jelly, never had any
that good before, thanks….Ken
that is one cool squash, I have never even seen one in a store or heard of one. can’t wait to hear what it taste like when you figure out what and how to do with it. mabye some reader will know. sorry but I don’t. I grew nothing this year, we have no room for a garden. hubby grew a few flowers and trees from seed, now we have them and no where to put them, so will give them away.
daddy always had greens growing for winter time. collards, turnips and mustard greens. all of which I love ( i do prefer someone else to wash them Ha ha)
The strangest thing about the Garden this summer is that it was there at all My mother-in-law fell seriously ill and died in early spring. We were gone during the time I usually plant. The seeds I had started indoors died, of course, while we were gone–almost a month–and down in Savannah if the seeds are out by Saint Pat’s you can say goodbye to them getting a good start before the hot weather sets in. I couldn’t afford to buy annuals after almost a month of sleeping at Motel 6–(they allow dogs! 😀 )
So, I was looking at the empty pots and wondering if I should waste money on Impatiens when I noticed tiny ones were in the pots. The one Osage plant that my sister give me last year, turned itself into 10. Something called Phoenix Feather re-seeded everywhere, and little coleus popped up here and there. I had some volunteer tomatoes (heirlooms) that came up a produced masses of disease free fruit. Basil of all kinds appeared everywhere…Some hyacinth beans came up and headed for the top of the camellia trees, and is in full bloom, and sunflowers showed up too. And zinnias are absolutely everywhere. This was like a gift from Mother Nature. Instead of the scanty garden I was expecting, it is the retreat that it has always been. Synergy I guess. Blessed Be!–Caro S.
Tipper, loved the squash. I had some years ago, and you can substitute them in just about any sweet potato recipe. I don’t have room to grow them now. 🙁
You can bring them down and put them in my garden then the groundhogs will eat them. They’ve eaten more out of the garden this year than I have!
Love Granny’s logic. Agree that if it doesn’t work one way then try it another. Hope she gets a bumper crop of greens. Never saw a squash like that so have no idea what to do with them.
We have never grown that variety but we grow cushaw which are big winter squash that last forever. Anyhow, we cut them in half and bake them. We sometimes make pies with them and sometimes just scoop out the guts and add some milk and butter and eat like mashed taters…holy moley is it good!