stubbed toes and mud pies

[flowerbug]

first snow that actually stuck last night. shovelled this morning. felt good to be out there and moving and getting some fresh air. temperature was above freezing and the driveway is melting off and should dry out today. that is the nice time of the season when you can get it dry and ice-free without having to scrape it a second time or use salt or grit. normally i haven't even had to do either of those too most winters. if you get it cleaned off the really cold air can suck the moisture right off the leftover bits of ice and snow until they're gone and the sun can warm up the cement enough to melt it too even if the air is below freezing.

mainly i was worried how my back was going to feel and it seems ok. i'll know later if it got worse. still it did feel good for the rest of my body to be out there and doing something. i'm still being hopeful that i'll be able to get out and do some gardening this week.

 

[flowerbug]

yesterday and today, got the gardens inside the fence finished up well enough that if i can't get outside any more they'll be ok for the winter. yesterday was windy but warmer and i could not get ashes spread out, but at least i could get ready for today and dig a nice big trench to bury all the weeds in today.

today it was snowing just a very tiny bit - every few minutes a single snow flake would come down very gently and then melt a short moment after hitting the ground.

now there is only a bit of touch up weeding to do which can be done any time. perhaps tomorrow, perhaps next spring.

feels good to have this done. i was wondering if we'd get a chance to get them done before the ground was permanently frozen or too wet. it was rather muddy in spots but we're used to that at times. Mom did help so she gets kudoes for that.

 

[flowerbug]

i cooked up one of the large strange squash that showed up this summer and i'm very glad to report that it was not anything like an Acorn squash or Baby Blue Hubbard squash. it is more like our orange and green squash. since this is a new cross i have no idea how stable it might be or if it will repeat but i will have plenty of seeds.

i cooked up pretty much at least some of every squash we harvested today and mashed them all togeher in the end. most went in the freezer and some is for eating up tomorrow. i enjoy the whole process of blending the different squash together to get a great end result instead of only using one variety at a time, but of course i do sample each squash type to see what they are like before mixing them up.

aside from having to make sure there aren't any rotting squash in there i also sometimes do a bit of surgery to remove mold before cooking. almost all squash can rot from within or from without or both. primarily i go by looks at first. if there's too much mold i don't even bother with certain squash, they just go right in the bucket to be buried. the squash that aren't so heavily infected i can often just cut off the surface layer of mold and the rest of the squash is fine - it hasn't gotten too deep within. and then there are those squash where you think everything is ok and you take a whiff of them and you can smell that they're not right. out they go. i'm not going to ruin a whole batch by risking adding questionable squash.

 

[digitS']

Shelf cleaning with bleach was unsuccessful for those cellar room, never used before 2020 shelves.

Several squash developed mold just as happened last year. The difference was that I discovered this early having thought that turning the squash would be a good idea. They were hastily carried up and some were given to a friend, who said that she had some immediate use for them.

Those remaining were moved to the shorter shelves and the concrete floor at the doorway. I had hoped not to use the floor but there are too many to fit, otherwise. Those shorter shelves have been where there has been a little mold in years past. However, I guess that the concrete on 2 sides and near the door is a better location for ventilation 🤷‍♂️.

We continue to use them at a good rate (for us).

Steve

 

[flowerbug]

Shelf cleaning with bleach was unsuccessful for those cellar room, never used before 2020 shelves.

Several squash developed mold just as happened last year. The difference was that I discovered this early having thought that turning the squash would be a good idea. They were hastily carried up and some were given to a friend, who said that she had some immediate use for them.

i was a bit lax this last month so a few squash did end up rotting more than they should have before i discovered them. too late to rescue two of the three but the third one was ok enough to use.

Those remaining were moved to the shorter shelves and the concrete floor at the doorway. I had hoped not to use the floor but there are too many to fit, otherwise. Those shorter shelves have been where there has been a little mold in years past. However, I guess that the concrete on 2 sides and near the door is a better location for ventilation 🤷‍♂️.

we don't even have that for storage. right now what is left are sitting right up against the front door (which is the coolest place inside the house). not great ventilation there but it will have to do. now that the squash are pretty well cured i don't worry too much that they'll have a lot of fungus troubles.

i was told last night that my plans for doing the rest of the squash later this week isn't going to work so i won't be doing them until later on. that is ok. i can use a break.

We continue to use them at a good rate (for us).

i'm aiming for eleven packages of squash in the freezer that would get us through until next year. any other packages we can give away. i don't mind doing the work of cleaning them up and roasting them and packing them into bags when done because that ways i have the maximum of goodies left to feed to the worms here plus i get to keep the seeds.

btw would you like some of the seed from the new large squash? i don't know how stable yet, but it is worth a shot.

 

[digitS']

Thank you but I'd better not take on more squash rizk. You know, wth as much room as each plant takes ... Trying to add depth to the bench with Cinnamon Girl pumpkins in 2020 only kinda worked. Fruit to harvest but almost no storage time. It sounds like you would be disappointed in their flavor. What do you intend to do with your frozen squash?

It was as recent as 2 years ago that all of the kabocha either died or failed to produce. It surprises me that Burgess Buttercup had some for us that season. It is supposedly a 95 day variety but, obviously, can take some late spring hits of wild temperature swings. Years anand Years with that one! The La Madera offspring was planted in the pole beans and sweet corn patch and completely closed a 5' path. (I kept it off the bean poles.)

Squash are a Commitment. As are melons, they both came through just fine this year.

Steve
counting blessings

 

[flowerbug]

Thank you but I'd better not take on more squash rizk. You know, wth as much room as each plant takes ...

yes, i'm running into those limits here in trying to figure out where to plant them next year.

Trying to add depth to the bench with Cinnamon Girl pumpkins in 2020 only kinda worked. Fruit to harvest but almost no storage time. It sounds like you would be disappointed in their flavor. What do you intend to do with your frozen squash?

we normally just heat it up and eat it with some butter melted on it. once a month take a bag out of the freezer and enjoy.. come Jan-Feb we'll be really happy to have something that reminds us of warmer weather and sunshine. plus give some to one of my brothers too - he really likes squash. the guy at the greenhouse would also probably like some so i may give him a few bags too. it's a lot of work but well worth it.

It was as recent as 2 years ago that all of the kabocha either died or failed to produce. It surprises me that Burgess Buttercup had some for us that season. It is supposedly a 95 day variety but, obviously, can take some late spring hits of wild temperature swings. Years anand Years with that one! The La Madera offspring was planted in the pole beans and sweet corn patch and completely closed a 5' path. (I kept it off the bean poles.)

Squash are a Commitment. As are melons, they both came through just fine this year.

how did Petit Gris de Rennes turn out for you?

Steve
counting blessings

always!

 

[digitS']

Petit Gris de Rennes

Not so well ... Apparently, this isn't a very similar growing environment to the coast of Normandy .

What was new and exceptionally productive was that new honeydew, Honey Blonde. Unfortunately, I rather quickly lost appreciation for the flavor, or lack thereof. I've never been much of a honeydew fan but, oh well.

We were nearly overwhelmed with those, the galia, and cantaloupe .

Steve

 

[flowerbug]

Not so well ... Apparently, this isn't a very similar growing environment to the coast of Normandy .

What was new and exceptionally productive was that new honeydew, Honey Blonde. Unfortunately, I rather quickly lost appreciation for the flavor, or lack thereof. I've never been much of a honeydew fan but, oh well.

same here, i've not ever really liked those.

We were nearly overwhelmed with those, the galia, and cantaloupe .

Steve

i've never had Galia melons before. cantaloupes are always good if they're actually ripe. most the time here it is hard to find a good one at the stores. perhaps 1 in 4 are decent. most aren't that good.

 

[digitS']

We have just noticed galia melons in the stores this year. They showed up early and likely from southern California.

I first mentioned Passport galia on TEG in 2009 and said that it had been in my garden for 4 years so, 2005. There have been some bad years but no fails. Since I cannot see a difference between it and Ambassador, it's been one or the other. Cantaloupe are a favorite and galias are a little too much like honeydew but, much nicer when ripe.

Yes, considering the heated start of 2021, the Gris was a surprising disappointment. Maaaybe, the final fruits could have come home and ripened in the kitchen but we had so many others! I'm a vine-ripened melon grower. It brings Joy! There are others that I'd like to have like Canary and Crenshaw but I'm sorta stuck with galia and an early cantaloupe.

Steve