Category Archives: Squash

Garden Musings

by

0

Snce this hot time of the summer is more like the doldrums – it’s hard to get energy up to go out into 100+ degree heat, even to water the plants that are surviving.  But the tatume squash I wrote about last time is thriving!  One squash gives me two meals.  And it is still sending tendrils outward and blooming.  Definitely going to be on my list for next year!

The okra I planted is doing pretty well – I just didn’t plant enough of it!  It is a long-podded okra, that doesn’t get woody when it is over 2-3 inches long.  I like it, especially when I cut a pod in the morning, slice it and fry it up with my fresh-from-the-next eggs!  Yum.

I have been flicking my tomato blossoms whenever I had a chance – but the plants are just taking a break.  Why flick the blossoms?  Tomatoes are wind-pollinated.  That means that vibrations release the pollen.  Bees and other insect pollinators are not needed.  A couple of years ago my daughter asked why, when her plants bloomed as much as mine, I had more tomatoes – it is because I flicked them.

I was watching the lantana, which is heating loving and blooms like crazy in the Texas mid-summer heat, and saw a butterfly moving from blossom to blossom.  Then it would start to fly away, but turn around for just another drink of the nectar.  Must have been pretty tasty, because that butterfly kept working the blooms on that plant for about 15 minutes.  A long time.  Note to self…more lantanas.

 

 

A Squash Resistant to Those Borers!

by

0

At the recommendation of a gardener at Homestead Heritage in Elm Mott, Texas (a great place to visit! or take classes!  http:// www.homesteadheritage.com) I tried Tatume Squash this year.

She told me that it was resistant to squash vine borers. Since I have been plagued by them, and the only remedy that seems to work is to inject starts with bt, I decided to give it a try. I’m a bit lazy in my own garden and have been seeking other ways of avoiding the dreaded vine borer.

But a warning is in order … this plant SPREADS! I’ve been redirecting runners from the neighboring tomato (which is doing its own spreading into the rosemary close by) and sending it towards the lawn. The seed catalog says iit can send runners up to 15 feet or more. So leave it lots of room.

You can still plannt Tatume by seed. It’s a native of Mexico, but available from Baker Creek (www.rareseeds.com).

I have two plants and have started harvesting. I cut off my first squash – all of about 3-5 lbs! I was leary of a woody fruit, because that’s what you get with zucchini that gets away from you.

image

I was surprised … it was just like a BIG small zucchini inside. I cut large slices about 1/2 inch thick, slathered with olive oil, garlic and pepper, and fried it in the cast iron skillet. When it was browned, I added a bit of water to help it cook. You could also grill it.

It was very tasty. Next, I’ll try cubing it and cooking in a stew with some Rotel tomato/pepper, garlic and onion, for serving over rice.

I’ll probably let the next squash get a bit bigger to see how it fares cooking and eating-wise.