Did I say I had just one little squash baby? Upon further inspection, it seems the nursery is full!
I only spotted one baby squash yesterday. Today I did a more thorough examination of the squash bed and immediately spied this butternut. It's not even a baby, but more like a teenager, as it's already about 6" long. There's yet another baby butternut in the lower right of this photo.
And another baby butternut. Nearby I spotted two more, but they didn't show up in their photo.
Two more. I think this makes #8 of those found.
This one isn't a butternut, so it must be an acorn squash. The plants have all grown together in the squash patch, so every new baby is a surprise. Ooops, there's another butternut top right...#9.
This one is definitely a pattypan.
Another butternut, #10 of those found today.
The zucchini have yet to blossom, but I can see two females and many males. Let's hope they all open at once.
You must have been blind or tired to miss all those little gems :o) I was happy to get two little baby Butternuts..almost 6" :o) I cooked them like they were 12" and enjoyed that little bounty.
ReplyDeleteOh Granny, I knew it was only a wish - that I could produce more squash then you. Glad you found them : )
ReplyDeleteHi Gran, how many winter squash do you usually get from one plant? It's my first time growing them this year. I have 2 acorn squash plants in my garden, one with 3 first and another with 2. They seem to be doing nothing now.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I need to read up more on how to tell whether they are ready to be picked. Are you supposed to wait until the fall? For some reason, a couple of them look ready.
Don't you just love when your garden surprises you like that. It looks like you are going to get a good squash harvest this year.
ReplyDeleteOh Granny don't make me cry. My butternut just won't set this year. Last I had a ton of babies. This year only one has opened. I check the flowers every morning. All the females turn yellow and fall off before they open. I was getting excited the other day with one baby. It was just at the stage to start to open. Then of course it didn't and just turned yellow. Sigh. I want pie this fall. Really I do.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great surprise! I noticed some butternuts today when I was out harvesting. I don't eat them, but they make great items for barter. And paying back for donkey doo. Ooooo, I hope you get bunches!
ReplyDeleteI love garden surprises.
ReplyDeleteGinny, it's a jungle out there in the squash patch, the babies are all hiding under a multitude of big leaves! No way would I cook a baby butternut. I want them fully ripe and sweet.
ReplyDelete********
Johann, we shouldn't count my squash before they hatch. Some of them might not mature, but with so many male blossoms I feel fairly confident I'll get a few.
********
Thomas, I've never planted this bush variety before, but one hill (3 plants) of Waltham (vining) butternuts gave me a lot last year. I know I took 6 to AZ with me, and left 13 at home, and some were eaten before we left. I'd say probably 8 per plant? I did harvest over 79 pounds from that hill though, and they were delicious. Those 13 I had here at the house kept all winter, and when we came back mid-February I cooked and froze them. In fact, we had some last week, and I have just one more package in the freezer.
I go by the color to pick them. When they turn kind of tan, and the green stripes are no longer visible, or barely visible, I pick them. Look at this photo from last year and you can pretty much tell what they should look like (this was one week's picking, photo taken Sept. 20 you can read the entire article in my September 20, 2010 Harvest Monday post)
http://tinyurl.com/42me2ub
********
Mrs. Pickles, If I get even half the butternuts this year that I got last year, I'll be happy! If I don't Ill go back to planting the Waltham variety next year.
********
Oh, Daphne, I keep hoping you'll get pie. I know Mr. granny would be happy to send you the ones I bake for him ;-) I'm sure you remember when I nearly divorced him over the butternut squash pie.
********
Sue, how can you not eat them and love them to death? I'd have to say, if I could only grow one thing in my garden, it would be butternuts. In fact, I only planted one hill this spring, and one hill each of acorn and pattypan. Mr. Granny said the butternuts were his favorite of the entire garden, so I went out and tried to remove the acorn and pattypan seeds, and replaced them with more butternuts. I evidently missed a few seeds, as I do now have all three varieties growing.
********
Kris, see my comment to Sue, above. That's what is so surprising, as I thought I had removed the acorn and pattypan seeds. So whatever grows will be a surprise!
Wow! I hope mine surprise me like that. I actually saw 1 this morning and was excited. But, the SVB's have done a number in most of my squash plants so I won't hold out too much hope!
ReplyDeleteYay! Congratz on getting another wind from the garden. It's rewards like this that help inspire us to keep going :)
ReplyDeleteBen, it's not really another wind, it's the first wind! This should have happened a month ago.
ReplyDeleteShawn Ann, I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.
ReplyDeletehi Granny....how do u normally cook em squash? i can only think of squash soup..:)
ReplyDeleteHangKebon, I like to cut the butternut squash in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds, then place it cut side down in a baking dish. I put a bit of water in the bottom of the dish, cover tightly with lid or foil, and bake at 350F until tender when pierced with a fork. Remove from oven, pour off liquid, carefully turn the squash halve right side up. Fill the depressions where the seeds were removed with butter and brown sugar, then return to the oven until the butter and sugar are all melted and bubbly. Serve hot.
ReplyDeleteYou can also just peel and cube it, then steam it until tender. It can then be mashed and seasoned (we still like butter & brown sugar). It can be mashed and cooled and used in place of pumpkin in pies, puddings, cookies, breads, pancakes.
I steam and mash extra, then freeze it and use as above. It gets watery when frozen, so place it in a colander to drain excess liquid from it before proceeding. I often just reheat it in the microwave, then...a pat of butter and a sprinkling of brown sugar when serving, of course ;-)
Now I am wondering if I have time to grow any butternut squash before it gets too cold..... They look beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI remember the pie incident. But I'd eat your pies any day. And who in the world turns down butternut pie? Well OK my husband does too. I mean it has squash in it. It might smell wonderful but he wouldn't put a vegetable in his mouth. It might kill him. Luckily he eats tomato sauce. I hide peppers and onions in it, but I have to make sure it is well pureed.
ReplyDeleteI'm growing a bush acorn variety this year. I think I'll pick the greenest one and cut it open just to see. Maybe that will convince the plant to produce more.
ReplyDeleteHurrah! My squash plants are finally getting some good vine growth on and the pumpkins are flowering/fruiting. I have yet to find any butternuts though. After reading your post though I have reason to be hopeful there may be some hiding that I did not see.
ReplyDeleteYum, yum, yum. We harvested our first two spaghetti squashes this week. We'll probably harvest 12 or 15 winter squashes this year, our best haul ever! Thanks for the great recipe idea.
ReplyDeleteWell it looks like you are going to get some squash after all! I still think that you are going to have a long late gardening season this year. You may have to stay home and not go to Arizona!
ReplyDeleteNartaya, all I know is last year I began harvesting mine mid-September, although there were still some growing on the vines when they froze in October. This year my garden is about a month behind, so it will be touch and go to get all those butternuts ripe.
ReplyDelete********
Daphne, we sure have to put up with a couple of pains-in-the-butts when it comes to veggies! Mine won't eat his broccoli, either.
********
Thomas, don't pick that acorn until it gets a dark yellow spot on its bottom. Although I suppose you could actually eat it at any stage, it won't kill ya ;-)
********
Kitsap, let's just keep our fingers crossed for a warm autumn. You'd probably have a better chance of yours ripening, mine could freeze around mid-October.
********
Jody, you're welcome. We're in a bit of a rut, the way we like our butternut. Hey, that rhymes!
********
Oh, Robin, I wish! That same lady made a third offer on the property, but it was still 4 thousand less than our rock bottom price (and $6500 less than that first offer she made and then retracted), so we turned it down. I'm hoping she comes back and meets our price. If not, we'll be in AZ again for the winter :-(
Hooray for baby squash! We had a lot of squash start fruiting, but because of lack of pollination, it would die shortly afterward. Hopefully some will make it to maturity.
ReplyDeleteMeems, I noticed one of the butternut babies shriveling and dying today. I thought they had a better chance, there were so many male blossoms opened.
ReplyDelete