Tag Archives: buttercup squash

Sliding through the June portal

Having rain on and around summer solstice is often a guarantee of a hot summer here, and this time summer is not waiting until July 6th to show up!  Heat wave came on immediately after the rains let up; the yard actually feels a bit jungle-ish, with everything so lush. Humid! I would say that the little basil are the only complainers.  They can’t figure out what is coming or going, as their elusive heat kept shifting around.  Transplant time for them coming up!

Magical mesclun mix!

Magical mesclun mix!

Giant radishes!

Seriously large radishes not to be mistaken for beets!

While being gone several days to Mt. Shasta over the Solstice, where it was really dry and dusty, the squash and tomatoes decided the warm moisture was their cue to grow by leaps/bounds.  Melons are still a bit slower, but firmly established now.  Lettuce, spinach, and most of the mesclun mix is bolting, so there is an element of normalcy. We have a lot of work to do this weekend and a bounty to give away!  I spy some hefty looking beet-roots on the end of a row, also, so some first pickings and sorting needed there, too.  Bush bean blossoms announce their next phase, while Bambie has expanded her buffet to include tomato plants early in the season. We won’t even discuss what the weeds think about it all!

And we all shine on!

The jungle is forming!

The jungle is forming!

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Dazed and confused

Hot, hot, hot…many plants are feeling stressed….what is with the high-heat wave this far into September?!  Record-setting 100° on Sept. 10.  Usually there is a day of moisture in there somewhere.  Oh wait, that was what was happening in July, on the driest day of the year.  But, seriously, we could do with a good cleansing rain…for just overnight or a day.  Smoky skies have been around for almost a week, with un-contained wildfires in the Mt. Washington wilderness due east of us.

CG running rampant!

Mildew arrived in late August to pester the squash; not abated by the heat.  A heavy load of acorn and delicata squash seems to be lurking under all the leaves.  Tomatoes are very happy with the warm nights of the last week, ripening beautifully; fortuitous it is!

New veggies for fall crop

Breathing space exists in one area of the CG again, for some cauliflower, chard, arugula, and lettuce.  A riot remains in the other half, with squash, cucumbers, and melons sprawling amongst the corn and tomatoes.

Clamoring for space

Bambie has earned her own private gate now….to look through.  The portal is now closed every night.  She isn’t bothering the veggies much, save one night of pruning beans when the netting wasn’t anchored, but she occasionally wants to sample inside the house yard.

Gate at the Portal

We also say goodbye to Jessie today, as she moves to her own new home, where she’ll have her own garden.  Congrats, Jessie!  And, thanks for being an enthusiastic part of this project.  Keep checking in on the bounty this fall!

August harvest tally:

  • Basil: 9 (pounds)
  • Bush beans: 23.5
  • Beet roots: 29
  • Corn: 11 (9 ears)
  • Cucumbers: 12.5
  • Endive: 2
  • Lettuce: 7.25
  • Scallions: 2
  • Summer squash: 9.5
  • Swiss chard: 4.5
  • Tomatoes: 5

Total: 116.25 pounds
We give thanks to all Beings who assisted in manifesting this bounty!

Near riots in the CG

Now that real summer has kicked in this week….YES!….
Lettuce is really starting to bolt; this is the longest we’ve had it last in good condition into summers. Impending harvest this next week, so the giant squash can can room to roam.  A first perfect zucchini is waiting for an owner, with more little ones behind.  (How fast will it become a bat?)  One spaghetti squash plant is decommissioned, as it was crawling over the lavender, nasturtiums, and into the street. Squash, cukes, and melons starting to crawl everywhere.

July 31 jungle in progress

Once again it looks like we will have bush beans maturing at the same time, even if strategically sowed 3 weeks apart.  At least they are a variety of greens, yellow, and purple.  The pole beans growing on the corn stalks looked like they were going to bind any emerging ears, so they got pulled.  We haven’t got this bean and corn cohabitation figured out yet; last year the beans grew too poorly in the shade of the corn, while this year they outgrew the corn.

Color riot in progress!

Passersby by want know how come we can grow tomatoes that are nearly 6 feet tall AND have tomatoes forming?  I smile, shrug my shoulders….”We don’t try; it just magically happens!”  (It’s the energy flowing in the CG vortex!)  That said, it will be interesting to see how well fruit ripens “in the jungle.”  Yet, we have our ways..

July bounty:

  • Beet roots: 11.25 pounds
  • Basil: 2.5
  • Lettuce blends: 13
  • Spinach: 7
  • Blueberries: 4.5

Month’s total: 39.25 pounds
Thanks to all Beings who assisted this bounty!

A lush “green tomato year” in the making

Awoke to some drizzle, and had a an opportunity to reset the energy button to a slower pace; to actually sit in the garden (as the skies cleared), rather than tend to it.  Listening to the breeze, the little birds, the newly-hatched grasshopper, the bees.  Watching the cabbage white loopers darting around, and the juba skippers snapping and courting in their little aerial spirals.  Smelling the lavender, sages, bee balm, corn, nasturtiums, squash; summer in general.  Feeling like a sleeping cat.

I noticed a feeling of early fall precisely on Aug. 1.  The days started feeling noticeably shorter at the same time; there is a tinge of color on sporadic trees.  All this seems a couple of weeks earlier than “normal”.  We’re most definitely on the downside of summer, with very few tomatoes set.  I’ve never had this many tomato plants grow over 5-feet tall before setting fruit!  But, we’re not alone in this predicament.  Our day and night temps are so variable, slow to warm and very quick to cool in late afternoon.  More heat needed!

Fortunately, the squash have kicked in, though more sporadic than last year, especially for their mammoth sizes.  The spaghetti squash is out of hand, while little acorn and delicata fruit are just getting started.  The cucumbers are developing nicely, as are the margarita and charantai melons.  Corn ears are nicely elongated, waiting to fill out the kernels.

Tasseling corn

'Early prolific

Lavender and nasturtiums cushion a spaghetti squah

It was time for the lettuce to be harvested completely, or be overrun by squash and melons, besides being a little bit bitter.  Kale and chard are still vigorous, and the bush beans are still producing well.  Harvested over 5 pounds this last week on the oldest row.  Basil has been sheared back for a second round of bushy growth.  Lots of pesto being made!

July bounty:

  • Beet tops and roots: 11.75 pounds
  • Basil: 6.25
  • Kale: 3.5
  • Lettuce blends: 16.5
  • Scallions: 0.75
  • Spinach: 2
  • Swiss chard: 4.75
  • Sugar Snap peas: 0.25
  • Summer squash: 8.75

Month’s total: 53 pounds

Thank you all participants and garden devas!

Lushness galore! August 8

Bye-bye basil…..hello lettuce

While goldfinches feast upon sunflowers and nuthatches nip away at the suet, we have picked our way through all the squash, tomatoes and peppers, laying most to rest and ripen in garages and windows.

Final samplings of squash, tomatoes, and peppers.  Clockwise from yellow summer squash resting on top of darker buttercup squash: "yellow" pepper, spaghetti squash, delicata squash, patty-pan squash, with ripening tomatoes nestled among squash.

Final samplings of squash, tomatoes, and peppers. Clockwise from yellow summer squash resting on top of darker buttercup squash: "yellow" pepper, spaghetti squash, delicata squash, patty-pan squash, with ripening tomatoes nestled among squash.

My lone cricket still eeks out his chirps most evenings, letting me know that all the frost warnings are not quite for real…..just yet.  The predicted heavy rainstorms never materialized in our area, only a couple of short-lived squalls one day.  But, it’s so much easier to do cleanup when it’s a lovely, dry autumn afternoon.

The kale, lettuce, chard, and leeks are very happy with the current phase of mild part sun, part cloudy days, alternating with rain, and the nasturtiums that refused to grow all summer have never looked so lush…….

Mid-October transitions in the garden.  Where's Juniper?

Mid-October transitions in the garden. Where's Juniper?

But, it’s not over yet!  It’s not THE final harvest……we’re just getting growing on the fall crops….check back in!

September Bounty

The September pickings are in, just as weather decides it will actually be fall-like!

  • Summer squash:        40 (pounds)
  • Cucumbers                  20.5
  • Swiss chard:                18
  • Kale:                              25
  • Beans:                             4.5
  • Peppers:                         0.50
  • Tomatoes:                    51.5
  • Eggplant:                        1
  • Scallions:                        2.75
  • Beets:                              1.5 (tops & roots)
  • Basil:                               6.5
  • Potatoes:                        2
  • Winter squash:             23

Grand Total:         197 (rounded off)
(Slid on past the August total!)

Total season bounty:  459 pounds

Thank you plants, pollinators, and devas!

Slip, sliding away

Alas, we’re officially on the downside and downslide of summer when the inevitable powdery mildew shows up on the squash and cucumbers.  The ‘Buttercup’ winter squash is the hardest hit, since it was shaded more as it wound its vines beneath the corn, so with the corn completely picked it was time to remove some stalks to let more light in for the squash and increase air circulation.

Powdery mildew on Butternut squash

Powdery mildew on Buttercup squash

Powdery mildew on yellow squash

Powdery mildew on yellow squash

Although commercial growers may apply chemicals to retard the formation of mildew, it really is a natural phenomenon that ties in with a change in season, via changes in temperature and humidity.

In town I’ve spotted a slight color tinge to some vine maples, and other plants are exhibiting their seasonal “green fatigue”.  Given the lower sun angle and record low temperatures of 41 during the last week, it may be time to use plastic over the tomatoes, at least at night.  After another interlude of partly overcast days, we’re due to warm up to the mid-upper 80’s for a stretch, but the heat won’t be the same.

Meanwhile,  a new group a ‘Rainbow’ Swiss chard is sprouting well, along with a row of lettuce.

Stay tuned for the end-of-month tally next week……