Harvest Time at the Garden

Come and Get 'Em!

Today's garden haul yielded 15 Zucchini, 14 Cukes and a few tomatoes and peppers.

I picked what was ripe, otherwise we'd have some huge, inedible crops.

If you need some of the above, call me and I'll bring them by, or you can come and get them.  

 

 

I continue to be amazed at the huge golden globes in the pumpkin patch.  They are starting to look more like pumpkins now, with a slightly orangey hue and some stripes from top to bottom.  There are quite a few of the others as well, and more growing all the time.

Veronica Halversen and I were in the garden this morning weeding and visiting.  I won't be there tonight as it's Shelly Pollock's business opening, but please feel free to go over, or send your husbands and kids.  It's fun to explore the many varieties growing there. 

The spaghetti squash (at least that's what I think they are) are getting big and are very prolific.  You have to browse carefully to find the cukes, but they are there. The tomato vines are enormous with lots of green tomatoes.  (Does anyone have red tomatoes yet?) When they ripen, we will be well rewarded.

The zucchini plants are the biggest I've ever seen.  they are over 4 feet tall with leaves the size of platters.  You have to search the inner parts to find all the zucchinis, but there are plenty around the perimeter as well.

If anyone has garden produce recipes, keep in mind that we will be having a harvest party this fall, so think about what you would like to bring to share, and we will be compiling lots of garden recipes into a neighborhood garden cook book, so start thinking about what you will contribute.

I pressure canned 7 pints of zucchini with onion, garlic and tomato this week.  They look yummy, but I don't want to try them out until winter. I hope to do some more this week.

Other then freezing shredded zucchini for zucchini bread, what do you all do with excess squash?

Alien Plants in the Neighborhood

Alien Plants in the Garden...

Golden Globes and Chubby Green Things...What planet do you think they came from????

Those who have been to the garden for some dinner pickin's, might have wondered about the giant golden globes in the pumpkin patch.  We assume they are some kind of pumpkin, but quite different from the other ones that are much smaller and still green.  A mystery - we'll have to wait and see what develops.

And another mystery has been solved.  In my last blog I mentioned some exotic summer squash.  Well, they are squash alright, but not the exotic zucchini I mistakenly led you to believe.  April Anderton suggested that they look more like spaghetti squash and I believe she is right.  How they got into the cucumber patch I don't know, must have been the aliens at work again.  They are light green right now, but if we let them ripen to a golden tone, they should be ready to pick. Yummm.  Their vines are taking over the cukes so you'll have to sort through.  There are several kinds of cukes.  I noticed that someone picked a couple of the Armenian cukes and left them lying in the sun, which baked them.  What a shame since there aren't that many of them.

There are zucchini and cukes ready each day, not tons of them, but enough.  The zucchini plants are so thick you have to (carefully) wade in and search around. I don't recommend letting small children in there, or you might never see them again. There are a couple of plants in the children's garden that are loaded with zucchini's as well. A few tomatoes have started ripening, so check for those.  Mini tomatoes are also ripening in the children's garden.


A big thank you to those who have helped weed the garden.  There is a never ending supply, even with the straw mulch.  (Actually, some of the weeds are from the straw.)  You are welcome to weed any time you like, and please bring your neighbors. Our organized times to weed are Thursday eve. at 7:30 (now that it's cooler at night) and Saturday morning at 8:00 before it gets hot. Please join us.

Well, this year I've sure learned a lot of what not to do with a garden of this size.  Some of the plots are way too small, and many crops are planted too close together. But it's been fun for me to learn and I hope you are having fun exploring the variety of goodies nature is providing us.  Even the ones we didn't expect.

Happy Eating!
Gini