Squash!

September 4 Addendum: These plants just keep filling in. They have covered the bare spot in the picture below and are creeping over the grass! I took this picture of my son yesterday as we were harvesting. He is three, and the plants are as tall as he is.


When I was buying baby plants at the nursery this year, I went a little nuts with the vegetables. Back at home, I had two squash plants that I had no room for in my vegetable garden, so I planted them in a bare spot that I had planned for native flowers. They took off! From left to right are a Yellow Crookneck Squash, Paypaya Squash, and Zucchini (I planted a seed leftover from last year). These three plants filled in the space and they look beautiful in my landscape. The huge leaves are lovely, and the big orange flowers and brightly colored fruits add a splash to the green. Next year I will plan them into the landscape better so I don't have a bare spot in front and so it doesn't dwarf my tree (sticking up in the background).

For the last four weeks I've harvested the fruits. I usually pick it every two or three days and have 8-12 squash between the three plants. I've frozen it, canned it, dried it, fried it, baked it, broiled it, added it raw to salads, and given it away. These plants just keep giving! I love it!

Let the Harvest Begin!

I spend a lot of time babying my garden. Maybe it just needs to be left alone sometimes. After spending five days away from home, we came back to find our corn is seven feet tall, our pumpkins are turning orange, and our beets are peeking out of the ground. It was so fun to spend a morning harvesting lots of different foods with my children. This is the first year they have been excited to eat squash, because they are the ones picking it off the stem. I feel so blessed to have a space where I can grow food to put directly on my table.