Tag Archives: acorn squash

In between the gaps…a gallery

A glimpse into the menagerie of the community garden and general house yard through fall and winter 2013/2014.

Always like to show off what our browsers can do when they put their minds to it.  Push down that netting to get the delectable bean leaf tips! They've developed finesse so they don't get their teeth caught in the netting...

Always like to show off what our browsers can do when they put their minds to it. Push down that netting to get the delectable bean leaf tips! They’ve developed finesse so they don’t get their teeth caught in the netting…

Apologies to our beautiful praying Mantis, who is probably eyeing an insect or two under the netting.  What a beaut!

Apologies to our beautiful praying Mantis, who is probably eyeing an insect or two under the netting. What a beaut!

Tasty greens sprouting for fall crop.  Mature beets further right even overwintered well under the snow pack.

Tasty greens sprouting for fall crop. Mature beets further right even overwintered well under the snow pack.

The typical way we keep the squash, melon, and tomato harvest aired and dry during the mild, not-too-rainy days of fall....stored under my eaves.

The typical way we keep the squash, melon, and tomato harvest aired and dry during the mild, not-too-rainy days of fall….stored under my eaves.

A record-setting snow-then-freeze episode the very first weekend of December 2013, followed by a record-setting snowfall in early February 2014, made us very aware of how little we can predict anything anymore, or when our gardens are tested to the maximum adaptability, and how miraculously resilient plants can be.  The witnessing of when a healthy, mature plant “decides” it will not struggle to survive the next year, but yield to the new energies of the next generation of seedlings.

Where's the bench seat?!

Where’s the bench seat?!

How Deep? 020814

14″ AFTER the snow has packed down for 3 days…

The birds had to learn to eat snow on their feeder for a few days.  Thank goodness for seeds on the old flower stalks, although the snow buried a lot of those.

The birds had to learn to eat snow on their feeder for a few days. Thank goodness for seeds on the old flower stalks, although the snow buried a lot of those.

And spring brings the energy of renewal…

2014-Kiwi Arbor-a

Kwan Yin being sheltered by a bower of the Siberian kiwi vine.

 

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October fly by

If September was a “slide through” then October was a “fly by,” bringing another amazingly productive season to a close of sorts, in spite of all the freakish weather in early summer; neither was it particularly warm.  Spaghetti squash always brings up the rear with some added poundage, and the chanterai mini-canteloupes did exceptionally well at the end of the season.

The lettuce weathered our first frost well, which then reminded me that a hoop frame was needed pronto.  So, this is our new addition to the CG, to help prolong the lettuce and greens production for awhile. It seems that here, it isn’t always the cold that rots the lettuce, but excess moisture on the leaves.  We’ll see how it goes.  I think there are some slugs hanging out in there.

new PVC hoop frame cover for the greens

We’ve got the final bounty tally for the season, and won’t be keeping track again until spring, even if we pull in hordes of lettuce.

October harvest tally:

  • Charentai melon: 13.5 pounds
  • Cucumbers: 3
  • Acorn squash: 5
  • Spaghetti squash: 19.5

Total:  53 pounds
Season Grand Total: 526 pounds!
About 100 pounds less than last year as it turns out. Oh well. Best tomato harvest yet!

Gratitude and blessings to all Beings who brought for this bounty! Time for devas and elementals to get some rest!

September slide through…

Our beloved Bambie has become frustrated…or desperate… in not being able to eat more tomato vines, nor get into my yard; so she’s taken to eating zucchini leaves off the stalk!

Not what you'd think to be a deer's delight...coarse zucchini leaves...

Shifting weather all over….a lot of rain during the first half of the month, so all tomatoes were pulled in, as well as squash and melons.  No rot wanted! So, it’s looking a bit bare as the season comes to a close.  Lettuce, arugula, and leeks are doing great!

Once there was a jungle...

September harvest tally:

  • Basil: 18 (pounds)
  • Bush beans: 3.5
  • Charentai melon: 13.5
  • Acorn squash: 5
  • Corn: 18 (19 ears)
  • Cucumbers: 20.5
  • Delicata squash: 20.75
  • Margarita melon: 26.75
  • Scallions: 1
  • Summer squash: 10.5
  • Spaghetti squash: 19.5
  • Tomatoes: 131 !!!!

Total:  288 pounds….!!!
Moving the season total to 473 pounds!
We give thanks to all Beings who assisted in manifesting this bounty!
That tomato poundage is off 6 plants, and no wonder they were collapsing!

Keepin' the bounty dry...

The lurkers

Lurkers of all sorts hidden in the CG….

Delicata squash

Stealth zucchini

Spaghetti squash bowling balls

Delicata and cucumber in the jungle

Margarita melons

Charentai mini-canteloupes

The season of transition is upon us…..Autumnal equinox…shorter days…the midway point of light and dark…in this region that is essentially the midway latitude of the Northern Hemisphere…halfway between the equator and the North Pole.    The bounty continues….