Pumpkins

Some of the pumpkins from this year's garden.   One has already become pumpkin butter.

Link to pumpkin butter recipe, plus other pumpkin cooking posts:
http://petunias-garden.blogspot.com/search?q=pumpkin+butter

Signs of Frost?

Congratulations to Matron ( http://veggies-only.blogspot.com/ ) and her 191 pound pumpkin!  They brought home 4th place in the London pumpkin contest on their first try.

Yesterday, I harvested this squash collection, including the Queensland Blue pumpkin from Matron's seeds, and a little broccoli.   Today I picked more pumpkins, scalloped squash, lettuce and a basket of tomatoes. 

It appears the garden was frosty last week while I was away.  It will happen again, so I left only a few green pumpkins that have a little protected by other plants.    

August Garden Photos

The first of the beans has reached the 11 foot top of the climber.  Soon, it will be thickly covered.

The pumpkins, Queensland Blue (from Matron) and sugar pumpkins, are starting to spread out.  The other squash plants are delicata winter squash and pattypan scallop summer squash.  The aren't supposed to spread as much as the pumpkins. 

A few sunny days ago.

June Garden Progress

The Rattlesnake Snap Pole Beans have sprouted from the 6/16 planting.   They are planted on one side of the bean structure.  Big expectations for little beans - I really hope to see it looking like this post link later this year.

These are the Scarlet Runner Beans plant on the other side of the structure on 5/26.  They are ready to start climbing any day now, and then the fun begins.    

As of today, I have planted out all other seedlings into the garden:

• Queensland blue pumpkin, from Matron  (and follow her updates on a GIANT pumpkin she is growing this year)
• Delicata squash
• Pattypan scallop summer squash
• Sugar pumpkins

The pumpkins and squash are in the main garden beds vs the pumpkin patch.   If the vines go everywhere, I'll be okay with that. 

I planted sunflowers but only one sprouted.  I may try more.  However, I decided beets and carrots will come from the farmers market or Carpinitos this year.

Sprouts!

While I was gone, DH was watching the tomato seedlings and the planted beans in the garden.  Just before I returned, he asked about the plants in the garage window.  They had sprouted!   I had given up on them before I left.

Matron - this includes your Queensland blue pumpkin and Jubilee tomatoes I planted at the end of April (some Jubilee already in the garden).  The other sprouts are delicate and patty pan squash planted in May.

I knew it was a little risky planting squash in these starter pellets but did it anyway. I was still surprised to pick up this pumpkin to find these roots.  I had to go find a larger pot.

Last Pumpkin

With the 2010 garden-lite season, I'm down to my last pumpkin. DH doesn't eat pumpkin, but my Mother and her neighbor have already been clear about pumpkin pie expectations for Christmas.

Cooking this one... and planning for the full garden / pumpkin patch experience for the 2011 garden.

Happy Pumpkin Day!

Along with the rest of the garden, the pumpkin patch was on its own this year. No weeding, no watering. Two pie pumpkins make it through.

We have been having some frosts, so tonight, these guys where harvested just in time to do their duty on the front steps...even if it is just us who will see them! Our sweet neighbors already "treated" us with goodies, before the pumpkins make it out. Enjoy your evening, everyone!

Pumpkins in January

I haven't made a pumpkin pie yet this winter. Must do something about that!

I did bake this guy and made Honey Pumpkin Butter. It's all gone now. Time to bake another. This is a small sugar pumpkin who lost his stem during harvest.

Post Frost

While I was traveling, DH harvested these pumpkins. There are still some on what's left of the frosted vines. DH didn't want these to get frost bitten while I was off getting poison ivy bitten! In the greenhouse, the twigs of basil-past will be traded out for some lettuce plantings.

The garden, as it was last night.

Pumpkins!

There are 4 or 5 of these large, quite orange pumpkins in the pumpkin patch. I think they are a jack-o-lantern type. The small sugar pumpkins are still green. Yes, powdery mildew has arrived.

Rouge Vif d'Etampes still working on their full color.

Looking forward to pumpkin pie!

August Garden Photos

A nice cool, gray day for a little garden clean up. I actually hoped these plans would bring on the rain, but no luck. I removed the peas after last week's heat ended any remaining harvest. Also removed many huge borage plants that were just too darn big &/or finished blooming. The other side of the blue trellis (photo left) has a cucumber plant that reached the top. The one on this side isn't there yet. Click on this link: Garden-Monthly Photos , to see other months.

Above, the pumpkin patch. A young visitor made this sign for me 4 years ago. I've hung it up by the entry to the pumpkin patch to keep the pumpkins inspired. There are some large pumpkins underway, but only one or two on each plant so far.

The greenhouse has only had basil, peppers and a tomato during the summer. The heat last week about did in the tomato and sent the basil into flowers. I don't know if it is this warm summer or the extra heat in the greenhouse, but the basil has been going strong all summer.

And I just discovered this lilac sweet pepper in the greenhouse! I had seen some small green peppers already, but hadn't seen this one yet.

What to Grow 2009 - Pumpkins

It's time to start planning for the 2009 garden. I'm starting with pumpkins and need your help.

Snackjack pumpkins have been a favorite of mine. They are a nice size for cooking and they provide rather hulless seeds for roasting. I didn't locate seeds last year, however. So instead, I grew Small Sugar pumpkins. They have been good for eating, but the seeds were not so good for roasting. Here is more of the 2006 Snackjack harvest.

This week, the R.H. Shumway's catalog and Territorial Seed catalog arrived. I've never ordered from Shumway's as I've tended to favor northwest seed suppliers and their recommendations for our somewhat cooler summers. There in the Shumway's I found the Snackjacks! Do you have any experience with Shumway's?

MORE QUESTIONS:
1. Is it true that if I grow more than one type of open pollinated pumpkins, I'll need to keep them isolated?
2. If I don't succeed in keeping them isolated, will it impact the quality of the produce or will it just mean the seeds (& future generations) won't necessary be true to the parent?
3. Snackjacks are a hybrid. Will they have any impact on the open pollinated variety?
ANSWERS from Molly: Nothing will affect this year's crop. If you wanted to save seeds for planting you'd have to keep your pumpkins far away from not just other pumpkins, but winter and summer squash.

MORE VARIETIES:
Territorial Seed offers a little white and orange stripped pumpkin that looks a lot like my mystery pumpkin in this post. It is a Lil' Pump-Ke-Mon pumpkin. Mine grew from a decoration I had bought the year before so I didn't know if I should eat it. This PKM one is cute and edible.

I will grow more Rouge vif d'Etampes (below), but as a open pollinated variety, my questions above apply. They are beautiful and good eating. For some reason, mine didn't store well, however. And from my neighbor, I have some Holland's Land O Giants pumpkin seeds to grow. These are mondo prize-winning pumpkins from a Washington grower. ... I think it is time to start that second pumpkin patch on the other side of the house!

From Tina: Blue Moon pumpkins have flavor, seeds and color. "The skin is a nice blue/gray, but the flesh is the most beautiful, rich color - makes fab cookies and pies. The seeds are plump and delicious.It's really a wonderful pumpkin!"

From Molly: Suggests Mars pumpkins for our cool NW. "...Although I needed to ripen them in the greenhouse after the weather got cold, they did turn orange and they are really nice and sweet. They seem to be keeping well, also."

I appreciate your input on the open pollination questions and more pumpkin varieties!

Apples & Pumpkins

DH did a nice job cleaning up the kitchen this afternoon. I took it as an open invitation to make a mess! He helped, too. First, an extra large apple crisp. Then cooked apples were run through the contraption, above, to make applesauce (we didn't peel them before cooking). Yes, we have an apple tree (remember?). I was surprised how good the applesauce tasted! Then the first of the pumpkins went in the oven.

Tomorrow, there will be honey-pumpkin butter, and pumpkin bread to make. Here is the link to the honey-pumpkin butter recipe from an earlier post.

Almost Pie Time

Making progress here. Compared to yesterday's post & week old photo, you can see they are now orange enough for Halloween! After they ripen up further, some will go out to the garage for cool storage. Some will be cooked to eat or to freeze.

I learned that muffins freeze fairly well (freeze, and then seal airtight in with a Foodsaver). Later, they are just right for a breakfast on the run. Hmmm...time to go pick apples for pumpkin apple muffins.

Extending the Season

The pumpkins have been in the house since the big frost. Washed, in a warm(er) and bright spot, they have been coming into their color. This photo is from last weekend. Will they make it to full glory for their big day?

Pumpkin Update

One of the more orange pumpkins so far. Can't wait for pie & muffins.

Overall, the pumpkin vines are holding up nicely. I hope they will help make it to a decent harvest. I will be spraying a baking soda mixture on the few spots of powdery mildew.

The leaves closest to the center of one plant have developed these yellow edges, above. Any ideas what is causing it? The pumpkins on this vine have also been the first to get some orange color.
A few of the leaves on other plants had large patches of tan one day and now are like this. DH swears he had to scrape frost off of his car window one day last week. I have to wonder if just certain leaves had enough moisture on them to catch a bit of frost, or perhaps a sunburn through the moisture. The pumpkin bed doesn't ease into the day with morning sun. It is shaded by trees until quite late in the morning. And there can be a cool flow of air along the tree line.

As it doesn't seem to be spreading, it could have been weather conditions, rather than a disease. There are a few spots of powdery mildew, but not on these leaves that turned brown.

The New Gateway

or How to Double Your Garden Space in One Hour or Less

Our vegetable/flower/herb garden is in one fenced (formerly Alpaca) pasture and the pumpkin patch uses about 1/3 of another small pasture. Each has gates, but not between them. I rather like the fence, the grass in the fence line and the sense of enclosure they create in the garden. However, this summer, I've been plotting out the opportunities for that second pasture. Saturday afternoon, we took the first step and opened up a passageway in the fence line between the two areas.
Above, the four pumpkin vines have really filled in now. And you can see the new passageway.
Always in favor of a shortcut, Emily found the opening and was soon investigating options for a new catnip bed (if the weather allows other things to grow next year, her 6-foot tall & wide giant catnip will need to move out). It worked out that one of the existing pathways between two of the garden beds leads to the new opening.

The slatted fence on each side? They are old fence sections from a former berry patch at our neighbor's. They are simply hung on the fence with S-hooks. Thanks, Homesteaders!

Pumpkin Progress

Well, there might be one pie in there! And just memories of the Sept. 2007 pumpkin patch (or dreams for next year).
The vines are filling out and there are a few other pumpkinettes under the leaves. I've let the grass invade a bit. See this link for August 2007 vines.

Sunflowers & Pumpkins

Spiky sunflower on a stormy day, though this photo didn't capture much of the dark sky rolling in. The green beans have reached the top of the climber (in the background). We had the first tasty harvest for dinner last night. I vow to keep them picked this year (although planting only half as many as last year many help).
And the pumpkins have grown since the Aug. 4th post. There are four plants here, though it looks like two.

It's August?

August 2nd in the garden, a cloudy day good for some time in the garden. That lavender spiky stuff in the back, right hand side is Emily's catnip! It has to be 6 feet tall. See this link to her gardening start. Guess the secret to catnip is protecting it from too much love in its first season.

The peas are the clump in front of the climber in the far back of the garden. I didn't try to keep them climbing up the climber, as I thought they were done, but I still have blossoms. They are Sugar Snap peas. They grow much taller than the peas I've grown in the past. They took longer to start producing, but have lasted longer also.

You cannot really see the beans growing up the back part of the climber. Several vines are close to the top and they've now starting blooming (but have lots of filling out to do still, see here).

The only encouragement in the pumpkin patch is that I can see growth from this photo on Saturday to today! But see this link for Aug. 2, 2007! Pumpkins are only second to Sunflowers in my book. Will they make it to orange?