The plastic garden is now a sea of continuous vines. You do not see the black plastic underneath. I picked one of the smaller round watermelons. It was a red-fleshed variety and very good. There are plenty more where that came from.
I also picked one of the giant banana squashes. It was three feet long and weighed at least 50 pounds. I'm not kidding. We are familiar with the heft of 50 lb. bags of livestock feed, and this sucker was at least that weight. I'll take a picture of the next one I pick.
I cut the banana squash up into six sections and spent some time baking it in the oven. The goal was to check for ripeness and quality of the squash. The moment I cut into the raw squash, I could smell the nice, nutty aroma of the flesh. Baked, it is dense and bright orange. It is now pureed and in individual freezer containers for winter baking. This one squash is probably sufficient for our pumpkin consumption for the coming year -- but there are several more out in the plastic garden and large pumpkins coming on.
If there are local people who'd like to purchase a whole banana squash or sections of one, let me know. I think it's too big to market in stores and I'll need to get another freezer if I don't manage to sell some. Right now, I've got to use up the frozen blackberries for wine to make room for squash. Don't get me wrong -- I'm not complaining.
The chickens are enjoying all the melon rind, baked squash rind, and steamed blackberry waste in addition to their regular rations.
A little more rain last night may have made weeding a possibility again. My work is cut out for me today.
I also picked one of the giant banana squashes. It was three feet long and weighed at least 50 pounds. I'm not kidding. We are familiar with the heft of 50 lb. bags of livestock feed, and this sucker was at least that weight. I'll take a picture of the next one I pick.
I cut the banana squash up into six sections and spent some time baking it in the oven. The goal was to check for ripeness and quality of the squash. The moment I cut into the raw squash, I could smell the nice, nutty aroma of the flesh. Baked, it is dense and bright orange. It is now pureed and in individual freezer containers for winter baking. This one squash is probably sufficient for our pumpkin consumption for the coming year -- but there are several more out in the plastic garden and large pumpkins coming on.
If there are local people who'd like to purchase a whole banana squash or sections of one, let me know. I think it's too big to market in stores and I'll need to get another freezer if I don't manage to sell some. Right now, I've got to use up the frozen blackberries for wine to make room for squash. Don't get me wrong -- I'm not complaining.
The chickens are enjoying all the melon rind, baked squash rind, and steamed blackberry waste in addition to their regular rations.
A little more rain last night may have made weeding a possibility again. My work is cut out for me today.
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