This years squash harvest has been particularly good and on Sunday Ev and me set about collecting them all up. I wasn't disappointed with the numbers!
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| A good number harvested! Should keep us going for a while! |
All of these squash were grown in two 4ft by 10ft beds (although they do spread everywhere) with sweetcorn growing between them. I put down plenty of manure before planting but I only watered them when I put the plants in, which I started from seed in the greenhouse and I never fed them all season.
I grew ones with smaller fruits this year as large ones have a habit of getting way too big, although some of these have gone the other way! One or two should make a good meal for our little family though.
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| These small ones have a really tough skin so they should keep well |
I've been talking to a number of bloggers lately about growing the staples we eat and the numbers we need to support us. I know I'm always going on about how wonderful squash are but I think we underestimate how important these veg were before the potato.
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| The bigger ones on another bench |
We've got a great supply now that should see us well into the hungry gap, although I need to find somewhere to store them all first.
How has everyone else done with squash this year?
Very impressive harvest. That should help you all through the winter :)
ReplyDeleteYeah, storage is my problem too...
Yeah they normally last really well through the winter. We love them.
Deletelovely looking collection of squash there, you could have made a face ith them :-)
ReplyDeleteI only had a couple of squash that were grown in a pot so I am really envious of your harvest.
I'm sure next year your haul will put me to shame!
DeleteImpressive!
ReplyDeleteCheers Gorges, It was a good year for them though.
DeleteMy Gran used to keep them in a shed with scrunched up news paper underneath them. And it was our job to wash them with a very mild solution of water with bleach in it. turning them and wiping them. The bleach I suppose helped stop them from rotting but I think the turning was to catch any that had a soft spot. if we found one, it came out of that shed sharpish. Dinner. It also had all of the onions tied up in there. the rest was in clamps in the ground. being short this was never my job to clean the clamp out and sift the sand! lol that was a boys job! lol
ReplyDeleteThat sounds amazing, what great memories to have. I think turning them like that is a great way of keep an eye on them, otherwise by the time you notice it's normally spread really far. Any pictures of that shed? I'm planing on build a shed to store my produce in.
DeleteHi Kev, the shed is long gone, my cousin runs the farm now. The veg was only for the family. My Gran didn't do it for a hobby like I do now. if she didn't grow it. They didn't eat. I have seen in the Ukraine, shelves made of boards with very fine mesh set in for the squash to sit in. All root veg goes in a clamp, (my aunt uses play sand, she said it is best, with carpet over the top). with very fine sand. Or at least that is what I observed.
DeleteSome great info there thanks. I want to build this shed for food storage but a lot of the knowledge has been lost wo its always good to hear how our ancestors did it. I'll make sure I'll use fine sand instead of building sand when I eventually build my clamps. Thanks Sol.
DeleteUnder the spare bed, dry and cool is the thing
ReplyDeleteSpare bed? I think you over estimate how big our house is! We normally keep them in the dinning room in a box but this year there is far to many, so they're have to go everywhere I think!
DeleteGood harvest especially if you have a variety that will keep a long time. I had some butternut keep until April last year so I used those seed.
ReplyDeleteI've not grown that variety before but with how tough the skin is I should say they'll last for ages. I might need a chopping block and an axe outside to get into them though!
DeleteNever ate a Squash, Kev. How do you cook them? Can you buy them in a supermarket? Think most people ate turnips and meal before the potato was introduced to Europe.
ReplyDeleteGo and buy some! They're a great veg. Over here you can normally buy butternut squash all year round. They grow great in our climate, they're from the same family as courgette really and store for ages. There are so many varieties out there and they come in all different shapes and sizes. My favourite veg to grow I think!
DeleteI'll be right over...I love sqaush...but a word of warning. My niece in law fed her baby so much squash that her skin changed colour. They thought the poor thing had jaundice until the Dr figure it out.
ReplyDeleteJane x
I like squash. Yellow squash with butter and garlic is a common dish here.
DeleteJane - I'll bare that in mind! I don;t think Melissa would put up with that much of one thing though! Great story though!
DeleteHarry - Most things with butter and garlic are pretty good - you can never have too much garlic!
Harry - Kids here love squash with butter and honey. Anything to get kids to eat their veg :)
DeleteNice looking production. Mine went well until the Squash bugs multiplied beyond counting. One of the sheep grew his own that turned out well until I started picking a few then he ate them plant and all.
ReplyDeleteWe don;t have those bugs over here luckily. The only thing we normally have with them is mildew at the end of the season other than that they grow trouble free, suppress the weeds and produce loads, a perfect veg to grow really!
DeleteKev - to always be safe that we have enough squash to see us through to spring, we make puree out of the squash and then can it, as well as saving some in our cold room/ basement. if your squash are kept in a cool, dry place, they should last for at least 3 months. but i never like to take chances so i can a bunch of puree. but that is an impressive haul. congrats!
ReplyDeleteyour friend,
kymber
this year I had some last until the summer. Our house is pretty cool most of the year so they like it here, although this year I have far too many to store really. I'm going to build a food storage shed for all our produce soon.
DeleteWow, that's a great haul! I love squash. All of them! I had a ton of summer squash this year in my garden. I need to plant some squash that will mature later next year - maybe some butternut and acorn. And spaghetti - I love spaghetti squash!
ReplyDeleteThe best flavour we've had was a type called festival- but for some reason I forgot to plant that one this year! They all taste good though. I planted some spaghetti squash a few years ago using seed that was 15 years old and they all came up!
DeleteWe have had a huge harvest of squash as well, most of which is going to the pigs to supplement their grain. Last year we kept harvested squash indoors, and they were good for us to eat right up until February. Definitely a good veg harvest to have!
ReplyDeleteyou must have grown a lot if you've got enough to feed the pigs with! They grow so well here I'm tempted to plant a section of the field with them - if it wasn't for weed control that's what I'd do!
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