Hi gardening friends. I’m sorry it’s been so long since I’ve posted, but I was away on a trip to Chicago to meet other bloggers and then I left my power cord there, so I had to wait to post until I got my new one in the mail.
SO!
Lots is happening in the garden right now. I know you are getting sick of reading about zucchini, but this post is going to be about them again, at least in part, so bear with me.
This is what happens when you leave the zucchini plants unattended for five or six days.
My mom had picked a lot of these before I got home but the morning after I returned, when I ventured outside to get reconnected with my green space, I found several more were ready to be picked. They’re still coming. The lesson? One or two zucchini plants is enough for a family of two. Not SIX. But they are so beautiful, and take up a prominent space in the vegetable garden, and I would miss them if I only grew one plant. Perhaps I’ll compromise next year and grow only three.
I also believe that some cross-pollination has been occurring:
The fruit on the left is a Black Beauty. The fruit on the right is a Grey. So what the heck is that thing in the middle? Looks like some genetic experiments have been taking place right under my nose. Thank you, bees! They are all so pretty. I may bring some to the food bank here in my town. I can’t make that much soup…
Thanks for asking about the zucchini pickles, Tim. They turned out really well. I got seven jars from the recipe, but could have pushed it to eight if I had prepared enough jars (the recipe called for six, and I added an extra one just in case). My husband, the official taste tester in our house, thinks they’ll be good on sandwiches.
Now I am on the cusp of heirloom tomato madness, but I’m ready. I have the Tomato Festival Cookbook in one hand, and the salt & pepper in the other. We ate the first ripe tomato yesterday; it was a Paul Robeson, and it was everything I had hoped for and more. I will save writing about the tomatoes for other posts.
(P.S. There was almost no representation of garden bloggers at the BlogHer conference this year, which leads me to wonder about putting together a panel on garden blogging for next year.)
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My yellow zucchini and green zucchini have turned in to striped yellow and green zucchini… so I think I also had some cross pollination! They’re all really unique because the stripe patterns are different on each one.
What a fantastic haul! With my extras, I’m going to grate them up and freeze them in 1-cup quantities, which is just right for muffins! Also, I need to find a recipe for some zucchini relish…
Hi
zucchini’s are so compulsive – perhaps it is because they are so satisfying to grow from seed, looking so plump & positive as they produce the first seed leaves. We always grow too many!
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