Pattison Golden Marbre Scallop Squash for Summer and Winter

If you've ever grown summer squash, you know how prolific these plants can be in ideal growing conditions. Turn around, and six or seven more crookneck squash are ready to pick. Wait too long, and a zucchini will grow the size of a bat. Even your neighbors may start to look weary when you offer yet another bag filled with squashes. (Although your local food banks would appreciate any extra produce, no doubt.)

Still, summer squash can sometimes seem like too much of a good thing at times.

That's one reason I'm in love with 'Pattison Golden Marbre Scallop' squash. This rare heirloom not only produced loads of squash for me this summer, but also left plenty of winter squash too.

I direct sowed squash seeds in mid-May, after our last frost date. Before long, the bush plant started to provide small yellow scallop squash that tasted sweet throughout the summer. You can see an example of the scallop squash in the middle of the below picture.

Surrounding the 'Pattison Golden Marbre Scallop' squash
(from top, moving clockwise)
'Rosa Bianca' eggplant and greenish 'Ronde de Nice' squash;
blackish 'Little Finger' eggplants; 'Banana' pepper;
striped 'Fairy Tale' eggplants; 'Lebanese White Bush Marrow' squash;
green peppers and 'Calliope' eggplant.

Around three weeks before our last frost date in early-October, I stopped picking the squash. Or, at least, I slowed down picking fruit. (Squash is botanically a fruit, not a vegetable, by the way.) 

The squash eventually grew larger and developed a hard skin that couldn't be dented with a fingernail. That's when I knew it was ready for winter storage. So, I harvested the squash and left a couple inches of stem on each one. Now, the squash are stored for winter, and we've already enjoyed them in two separate dinners.

Today we had our first snow storm of the year. But I'm still enjoying 'Pattison Golden Marbre Scallop' squash, thanks to the amazing productivity of this unique and delicious heirloom.

I found my seeds at Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. When I couldn't find information about how to grow both summer and winter squash from this plant, their seed experts were kind enough to answer my questions. Why not see for yourself whether this beautiful squash wins your heart too?

Pumpkins Continue to Delight

Photo by Paul + photos = moody on Flickr

"He beheld great fields of Indian corn,

and the yellow pumpkins lying beneath them,

turning up their fair round bellies to the sun."

Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

Pumpkins have reigned in our autumn cooking, long before they started to appear on our Thanksgiving tables in the form of delicious pies. An important staple in Native Americans' diets, pumpkins were roasted, boiled and stewed for different dishes in earlier times. In the Southwestern United States, pumpkin parts were found in the ancient ruins of cliff dwellers.

According to the USDA Cooperative State Research Service, pumpkins were part of these early native cultures' multiple cropping system of corn, beans and squash.  In Latin America, you can still find these food combinations enjoyed in native dishes today.

Now a symbol of Halloween, pumpkins played a particularly scary role in Washington Irving's 19th-century classic, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Many a child has shivered in the night thinking of that Headless Horseman and his flaming pumpkin. They never did find Ichabod Craine. Just his hat. And a shattered pumpkin.



It seems a shame that pumpkins should be considered scary after all these years.

Pumpkins certainly aren't scary to eat. Highly nutritious and delicious, pumpkins are packed with vitamin A in the form of cancer-fighting beta carotene, not to mention the B complex and C vitamins, as well as phosphorous, potassium, calcium and iron.

Plus, you can use the smaller pie-sized pumpkins in almost all the same recipes that call for winter squash. Instead of potatoes, try mashing cooked pumpkins with different toppings like feta cheese, nuts, yogurt, cinnamon, cumin or other spices for a healthy side dish.

Or, you can always make pumpkin pie ... a culinary favorite at this time of year.

As Irving described in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, "And then there were apple pies, and peach pies, and pumpkin pies; besides slices of ham and smoked beef..."

Here's a recipe for making homemade pie from a real pumpkin (not canned) from PickYourOwn.org.



To grow this warm-season plant, you'll have to wait until your last average frost date has passed next spring.  Direct seed pumpkins in full sun in rich, fertile soil with excellent drainage. The optimum soil pH level is between 6.0 to 6.5. Avoid planting pumpkins in the same spot where squashes and melons have grown over the last three years. Water close to the roots and avoid wetting the foliage, particularly in the evening.

More on growing pumpkins from North Carolina Cooperative Extension. Learn about crop rotation.

The Corn Harvest

"Plough deep, while Sluggards sleep

And you shall have corn to sell and to keep."

Benjamin Franklin (1706 - 1790)

As you can see above, my corn stalks are cut. The ears have been eaten and enjoyed. And all that remains are good culinary memories.

Despite Benjamin Franklin's wise advice, I didn't sell any of my corn, and I even gave some of it away to friends. But after growing my own corn, I now understand all the fuss about how much better fresh-picked corn tastes when tossed immediately in the cooking pot or on the grill.



'Blue Jade' corn (70 to 80 days) is supposed to grow three feet tall, according to Seed Savers Exchange. That makes this variety one of the only sweet corns you can grow in containers and ideal for small gardens. But my plants easily grew four to five feet tall, and each supplied about two ears of brilliant blue corn. They probably would have supplied even more ears, but we had a late start to summer this year.

For best results, direct seed corn in full sun about 10 days to two weeks after the last frost date. Corn is a warm-season crop that likes rich, fertile soil with good drainage. Incidentally, this corn variety stays blue when cooked.

Learn more:
Advice for growing corn from Purdue University.
See some of garden writer Kylee Baumle's favorite corn varieties.

What are your favorite corn varieties? Any corn recipes you want to share? We're all ears. (Pun intended.)

Must-Have Plants I'm Growing

 

"We have plowed, we have sowed,

We have reaped, we have mowed,

We have brought home every load,

Hip, hip, hip, harvest home."

Traditional English Harvest Verse

For the last few months, I've spoken with some of the nation's most well-known garden writers, bloggers and personalities about their must-have plants. So, you might just be wondering which plants I can't live without myself. That's why this blog post is dedicated to my 2010 harvest ... and some of my favorite plants.

As you can see above and below, my garden is a rather unruly mix of wildflowers, roses and perennials. The Shirley and California poppies self-seeded themselves from last year, and seem determined to take over my late-spring/early-summer garden.

As garden writer and designer Rebecca Sweet would say, there are a lot of "showgirls" in my garden. These are the plants that bloom outrageously and then disappear in winter. So, I'm working on adding more four-season interest to my new garden, including some lovely little boxwood shrubs which you can't see here because of all the showgirls. But I'll be glad to have their evergreen shapes in the winter months. You can hear more about showgirl plants from my Nest in Style podcast interview with Rebecca Sweet.

I'm a big fan of succession planting. So although my raised beds started out with lettuces and radishes of all types in early spring, they were replaced with squash and corn when the weather heated up.

Last year, I grew a bean teepee in this raised bed. This year, I'm growing 'Blue Jade' corn that was supposed to grow about three feet. They must like my growing conditions, because they are easily five feet tall now. I'm just starting to pull the blue-colored corn now. Incidentally, it's always good to plant corn in blocks (rather than rows) so they can self-pollinate themselves well.

Eggplants are a great way to grow attractive, delicious plants in small spaces. 'Rosa Bianca' eggplant is an Italian heirloom that will shine in any ornamental garden bed. But I like to grow them in containers too. The flowers are as pretty as the delicious fruit.

'Calliope' eggplant is a hybrid with striped fruit that are adorable. Harvest these eggplants when they reach about 2 to 3 inches in size. Great for northern climates, this eggplant ripens in about 65 days.

My 'Little Fingers' eggplant grew huge in a container, and never stopped producing tiny, black eggplants the size of chubby fingers. This early variety ripens in under 70 days. Incidentally, these containers with eggplants were filled with salad greens of all types in the spring.  Learn more about lettuces.

Grow lots of vegetables, and you can make strange faces with your food too. Starting at the top are 'Calliope' eggplants, 'Patterson Golden Scallop' squash, 'Lebanese White Bush Marrow' squash, 'Little Fingers' eggplants and 'Fairy Tale' eggplants. Incidentally, 'Fairy Tale' eggplants are also excellent in containers, and ripen quickly for northern gardens.

It wouldn't be summer without tomatoes of all types. That's why I grew varieties that ripened at different times. Pictured above (starting top left) are cute 'Yellow Perfect Sugar' (grown by a friend); 'Black Krim;' 'Green Zebra' (grown by a friend); 'Black Sea Man'; 'Isis candy' cherries; 'Tomacchio' and 'Principe Borghese' varieties for drying; as well as 'Stupice' which ripened easily a month before the others. Plus, some 'Osmin' purple basil. Tomato growing tips. Six tomatoes for cooking and preserving.

Beans are another favorite vegetable for us. And we especially love the ones that aren't green. Above are beautiful spotted 'Dragon's Tongue;' pinkish 'Red Swan Bush;' and yellow 'Pencil Pod Wax Bean.' Alongside the beans are flowering oregano stems that make the bees in my garden very happy. More about beans.

The weather is gradually growing colder, and there are only a few more weeks to enjoy these summer vegetables. But I'm already planting carrots, radishes and salad greens for the fall. There is nothing better than delicious food out in the garden, even in the colder months.

Meanwhile, what are some of your favorite must-have plants in the garden? Do you agree with these folks?

Must Haves (Flowergardengirl, Andrew Keyes, Pamela Price, Tee Riddle)

Must Haves (Rebecca Sweet, Jenny Peterson)

Must Haves (Kylee Baumle, Fern Richardson, Susan Cohan)
Must Haves (Joe Lamp'l, Patti Moreno, Theresa Loe of Growing a Greener World TV)
Must Haves (JeanAnn Van Krevelen, Lisa Gustavson, Michael Lieberman)
Fav Winter Plants (Kerry Michaels, Maine)
Fav Winter Plants (Dan Eskelson, No. Idaho)
Fav Winter Plants (Doug Green, Canada)
Fav Winter Plants (Helen Yoest, North Carolina)
Fav Winter Plants (Christina Salwitz, Western Washington)

Let Us Celebrate Lettuce!

"Lettuce is like conversation," said the American editor and author Charles Dudley Warner. "It must be fresh and crisp, so sparkling that you scarcely notice the bitter in it."

That pretty much sums up the abundance of lettuce and greens in our garden this year. The unseasonably cool temperatures and wet weather provided ideal growing conditions for these plants. Often the dinner salad fixings were so pretty I'd have to take a picture, which is how I got the one above.

This year, I grew everything from spotted and red romaines to arugula, mustard, tatsoi and kale. Colorful radishes ranged from the striking 'Long Scarlet' to 'Purple Plum' and pastel 'Easter Egg.'

I'll sow seeds for salad greens, wherever I can. Here's a bed where I tossed different seeds together for radicchio, lettuces, kales, mustard greens and more. It's a wild look, which also works well for containers.

Eventually, I let the greens form flowers as the temperatures rise. Then I'll pick the flowers for a vase. So, we can snip off edible, spicy flowers right at the table. And the flowers left in the garden help to self-seed new plants for next year.

Some greens are pretty enough for a prominent position in your ornamental beds. This 'Leonardo' radicchio is a favorite. The leaves add a beautiful, slightly bitter taste to salads. As you can see above, this plant grows nicely next to baby kales and other greens.

Don't have a lot of space? Lots of greens like these butterhead lettuces grow nicely in a small pot. As temperatures rise, move these cool-weather plants into partial shade and water well. Lettuces prefer rich, well-drained soil that has plenty of organic matter.

If I could only pick one green to grow, I'd pick 'Forellenschluss' romaine lettuce ... called "speckled trout" lettuce in English. I sow this Austrian heirloom directly into my raised beds, in neat rows.

This variety handles cool temperatures and heat well. In fact, it's the last salad green to bolt in my gardens. You'll love the way this delicious lettuce holds its shape well with salad dressings, and it's beauty will impress your friends. If you can't find this delightful variety at your local garden center, try Seed Savers Exchange.

Fall Greens: There's still time to plant lettuce for the autumn. Simply, count back from your average first frost date and allow enough time for the lettuce to grow before then. Most varieties take about 30 to 60 days to grow, and you can pick the leaves while they're still small. Some varieties perform well with a little frost, as long as the ground hasn't yet frozen.

With a little effort, you can enjoy all types of greens well into the fall.

Want more information?
Here's lettuce growing tips from Clemson University. Plus, tips for growing radishes. Happy growing.

Harvest Time in the Garden

"In the garden, Autumn is, indeed the crowning glory of the year,

bringing us the fruition of months of thought and care and toil."

Rose G. Kingsley, The Autumn Garden, 1905

It's harvest time, a time when many gardens are loaded with late-season vegetables and fruit ripening to perfection. So, it seemed the right time to give you a quick tour of our kitchen garden this year.

Vegetables and flowers are close neighbors in my suburban garden. Above, 'Rosa Bianca' eggplants grow next to sages and other flowers and herbs.

'Rosa Bianca' is an Italian heirloom variety, which is prized by chefs because it rarely becomes bitter. We've grilled the eggplant with olive oil and herbs, as well as featured it in casseroles with feta cheese and other vegetables. This variety can take 70-85 days from transplanting to ripening, so start seeds inside in the spring and plant seedlings after the first frost.

'Fairy Tale' eggplant is a lovely variety of eggplant that really produces well in containers. As the variety only takes about 50 days to ripen, this eggplant is ideally suited for shorter growing seasons. We've sauteed them with olive oil and other vegetables for delicious side dishes.

'Packman' broccoli just keeps on giving. It starts with a single stalk early in the season. Once you harvest that central stalk the plant produces side stalks throughout the summer.

We planted broccoli seedlings in late-April and are still eating from these plants in late-September. If you look closely, you can see all the many side stalks developing into tasty vegetables for us to eat.

With more than 10 varieties of hot and sweet peppers around here, we've been drying them, grilling them, stuffing them, you name it... Above are some paprika, cayenne, hot Thai and jalapeno peppers just waiting to be picked. (Be sure to wash your hands, however, when you do. Hot peppers can burn your eyes if you aren't careful.)

Lipstick' sweet pepper is one of several pepper varieties we're growing, including 'Sweet Banana' and 'Giant Marconi.' With all this abundance, we're freezing peppers now so there will be plenty around for colder months.

Speaking of colder weather, earlier in the season we planted cool-season vegetables such as peas, radishes and beets. In the foreground are 'Forellenschuss' lettuces, which have become a family favorite. The speckled leaves of this delicious romaine-type lettuce are not only lovely, they also maintain their shape well and don't become limp and boring with salad dressings.

Once those cool-season vegetables were pulled out in the summer, we planted a bean teepee in one bed and sweet peppers in the other. Above is a photo taken last week. As you can see, with the right growing conditions, you can have beans later in the season than you may think.

The bean teepee is planted with 'Ideal Market' and 'Purple Pod' pole beans, which are starting to ripen now. The goal is to keep picking these vegetables as they ripen, so the plant keeps producing as long as possible.

But even as these warm-season vegetables ripen, the growing season is by no means over. There are still those cool-season vegetables to grow in fall, such as Brussels sprouts, kales, 'Tom Thumb' peas and more.

In other words, we may not yet be eating from our garden all year long, but we're working on it. Yep, we are definitely working on it...