Pruning Squash Plants. 7.25.2021

 The squash plants have filled a very large area now.  They are making squashes, plenty enough for our use if they all ripen.  During hot days, the leaves tend to wilt, especially the lush leaves on Pink Banana Squash and Galeux d'Eysines.  Illinois squash is spreading as much, but not wilting as much.

So, I've been cutting of the growing tips.  That way those giant solar-collecting leaves will just supply energy for growing squashes and possibly more roots. One of the Pink Banana Squashes. It looks bigger every day.  

One of the Galeux d'Eysines pumpkins. This is about the most delicious pumpkin I've grown. They are a bit behind the Pink Banana Squashes.

Two of the Illinois Squashes. They are moschata squashes, same species as Butternut but last year produced better for me than Butternut usually does. They are growing like gangbusters in this heat.

Example of pruning growing tip. These are growing up the fence. I may need to make hammocks for any squashes that form up there.

Freezing Zucchinis from this Year's Zucchinami. 7.25.2021

The tsunami of zucchinis - "Zucchinami" - is giving lots of produce to play with. I made zucchini pickles, zucchini fritters, lots of air fried zucchini fries, and used zucchini "french fries" as a substitute for green beans in Rufus's dog food recipe. So far I've blanched and frozen 8 pounds of zucchini fries for future use. These are delicious - like green beans but more tender and a bit of umami flavor, giving us umami in our zucchinami. I slice, place in boiling water three minutes, then transfer them to ice water to stop the cooking. For some reason, the ice water chill makes them a more brilliant green. Then transfer to freezer bag and use paper straw to remove air before freezing. Im using the Costata Romano variety. I think they are a bit "meatier" and firmer, compared to more modern types. It looks like they are winding down bearing, so I'm greatful for all of the great produce they made. I'm letting two, on different plants, go all the way to ripening, for saving seeds for next year. For smaller zucchinis, I just slice. The largervones get cut into "fries".  There are also some Fordhook modern zucchinis, which are also quite good.  Maybe I will make some picked zucchini filets for sandwich slices, soon.

Planning to Save Seeds from Cucumbers. 7.25.2021.

I decided to label the cucumbers for saving seeds. I have harvested enough, so it's OK if the plants slow down or stop making cucumbers as a result of me allowing some to ripen. The label says "F2" which is technically not correct. They are second generation in my garden, but are an open pollinated variety. I'm also saving from another unknown variety that is bearing nicely, grown from last year's saved seeds.

These are growing in old 1/2 wine barrels. They have actual garden soil in the planters, mixed with compost. Potting soil would dry out too fast.

Making bread and Butter Pickles. 7.25.2021

The bush pickles are bearing nicely. I try to harvest them at 3 to 5 inches long, store in fridge until there are enough to make pickles. This was the USDA canned Bread and Butter vinegar pickle recipe. I used 1/2 recipe, which is all my kitchen equipment can handle at one time. It came out almost perfectly exact - 4 pints of hot packed pickles. I did not use the largest cucumbers in the photo. These pickles were grown from seeds that I saved from cucumbers I grew last year.

They need to sit 4-6 weeks for the flavors to meld. I ran about 1/2 teaspoon short of mustard seeds, so substituted sane anount of pickling spice, which contains mustard seeds and other spices.

Volunteer Nasturtiums. 7.21.2021

This year I didn't get around to planting nasturtium seeds. It didn't matter. There were lots of volunteer plants, sprouting from seeds that dropped off of last year's flowers. I just let them grow and do their own thing. The leaves also have a great, peppery flavor.