Winter stores

Looking at my winter stores, I've had varying degrees of success this year.  Did I grow enough?  Probably not to keep us alive, but certainly enough to keep us in vegetables.

I tell you what, after all those jar woes and the endless-seeming supply of cucumbers, I'm not totally convinced I grew enough.  This seems crazy, given that at the time I could barely keep up with them, and almost every single one went into a pickle jar.  But I wish I had more.  I feel happy with the amount of green tomato pickles however.

Dried veg:  several jars of zucchini and cabbage leaves, a small amount of kohl rabi.  Several dozen Glass Gem corn ears (I tried it unsuccessfully as popcorn, but had better success processing into masa for tortillas).  Lots of garlic--not dried, though in the dry storage section of my pantry.

In the freezer I have pureed squash--as mentioned in my last post--and several bags of various berries, some picked locally/wild and some from the garden/allotment.

Food still in the ground: a few fennel bulbs--these have been surprisingly tender and mild.  A few big black radishes, slightly more parsnips and carrots (though I can't confirm how large they are, unlike the radishes).  Some beets, leeks and a couple cabbages and pak choi.

And it appears squash will be on the menu until further notice.  I made that pumpkin pie--it didn't last long: yum.  Pumpkin pie is very special to me: partly because of childhood memories, and also partly because it's such a lot of work to start from a whole pumpkin/squash.  Of course it's worth it and that big squash made a beautifully dense, dark orange pie.

Pumpkin pie, anyone?

While inspecting the progress of curing (allowing the stems and skins to dry out and harden, in preparation for storage), I noticed one of my biggest squashes had a soft wet spot at the blossom end;  luckily all the others seem to be curing just fine.  This one, since I spotted it quickly, was also fine: for cooking immediately.

The husband took it outside and split it into big chunks with the hatchet--it was certainly too big for any knives and cutting boards we own.  The inside was slightly slimy near the soft spot, but after cleaning out the seed cavity and washing thoroughly, it was ready for cooking--no bad smells or colors.  I wasn't able to weigh it whole, but I weighed each chunk separately:  16 pounds total!  Definitely a record for me.  If you look at the photo in the previous post, this was the red-orange squash at the top right.

I decided not to save seed from this one, as one trait I hope to select for is long storage ability.  There are several more squashes of a similar size which will hopefully be better candidates;  the chickens got their pick of the seeds and stringy bits.

I put more than half to boil in my big stock pot on the wood stove, then most of the rest to simmer in a slow cooker on my countertop.  There is one chunk remaining, waiting its turn later on today, after the others are pureed and in the freezer.  Though I did tell the family I might make a pumpkin pie...

Squashes and squashes

The son, after we'd picked all 20, October 2023

So many squashes, temporarily taking up half my dining room floor.  We were forecast frost over the weekend, so the son and I got them all home from the allotment.  And the two from the kitchen garden too.  All of these grew from the seeds of one squash, except for the long butternut squash.  I'll be saving seed again, but from which one?  Flavor and size I think will be my indicator.

We picked a couple of immature but still good sized ones too;  one has been eaten already, though it took us two days to get through it.  It tasted like a zucchini, not yet sweet like a squash.  I liked it though--we had it roasted with lamb, and then the next day in a moussaka. 

Speaking of butternuts, other people at the allotment have grown them, and I was even proudly shown some, but I can safely say mine is the biggest.  Though only you and I know, as I'm not one to show off

Working while it's still warm

While the lack of light and angle of the sun both feel autumnal, we are having a bit of unexpected warmth this week.  I even harvested a couple of late figs, which I'd thought were long past.  Both sweet and juicy;  one was so ripe it was almost jam.

My autumn sowing and planting are finished in the main;  only some cauliflower seedlings remain in pots for possible planting out later this month.  And then again, maybe not--I've overwintered them in the ground and in pots, and either way was successful.  

Both at home and at the allotment I still have some veg in the ground, to be harvested when needed.  The son picked the biggest squash (as far as we could judge--it was a tough call) at the allotment this weekend, and so it starts.  We tried to weigh it on our small kitchen scale but we got up to 6 lb and ran out of weights;  we guessed it is probably in the vicinity of 10 lb.  It's out on the patio for a few days to cure;  it will be the start of our October window display--and for eating later on in winter.  We would have picked a few more, but we'd walked there and couldn't carry them;  the son kept threatening to drop it, it was so heavy.

Normally October's weather isn't pleasant for gardening, and I usually begin my slow descent about now.  I'm glad of a little extra outdoors time before winter however, and though I don't plan on doing too much, I'll enjoy it while I can.

At the allotment, October 2023

At the allotment this weekend, the whole family helped plant out the garlic bed.  The son and I had sheet mulched gradually over the week, and he and the husband added a bit more mulch on top to make it nice and deep (well composted horse manure and straw from the on site stables).  We then planted about 120 big cloves and covered them over, criss-crossing some artichoke trimmings over the top in the hopes of detering any curious birds--not that they eat them, but they sometimes pull them out if they can see the tops poking up.

The chickens and ducks are back at home because of a rat infestation at the allotment;  since they've gone, there have been dead rats all over the place.  Good riddance.  We've observed that the rats won't eat poison if there is chicken food on offer.  So no chickens=no chicken food=no rats.  I had to harvest my Glass Gem corn because some of it had been nibbled;  I probably lost about a quarter or more of the cobs but the corn patch at home is untouched, thankfully.  Hope we can at least last till spring before any rats move in here (and the poultry can then go to the allotment again).

I thought I'd finally got the last of the cucumbers, but it looks like I still might get one more small batch.  Will I grow this pickling variety again?  Yes, but I need about twice as many jars!  I also finally got the last of the green tomatoes, but couldn't salvage them all from the blight.  I pickled the last few.

Still growing, not ready:  some leeks, kale, purple sprouting broccoli, cauliflowers, Brussels sprouts and cabbages.

Still growing, ready or nearly so:  beets, green and purple beans, spring onions, squashes (and cucumbers!).