Some of you may remember last week when I was talking about summer squashes, especially about how people often have specific preferences for a certain kind. I mentioned how I used to grow pattypan squashes for my mother (and me), and how she liked the White Scalloped squash. In writing that post I wound up jonesing for some scalloped squash, and decided I would grow some next year.
white scalloped squash (click on any image to enlarge)
Well, turns out I didn’t have to wait that long to have some to eat. Our friend and fellow gardener Ruth read my post, and offered to share some of her supply of scalloped squash she had grown. How could I refuse an offer like that? I didn’t, and we had some for dinner Saturday night. It was yummy, just like I remembered it. We served it as a side dish for tuna casserole my wife made, and it was real comfort food to me. Thanks again Ruth for sharing! We both liked it so I will be adding it to the 2014 lineup.
Jacob’s Cattle bean
This week has found us shelling out many of our dry beans, including Jacob’s Cattle, Rattlesnake and Cherokee Trail of Tears. The Jacob’s Cattle is a bush bean that set on fairly early. I only planted about a 10 foot length of row, and I had no idea how many beans we would get. They’re still drying, but it looks like there will be more than I expected. I will tally them up when they are all dried. There are a few still on the plants, but I would say most have been shelled.
Trail of Tears beans
The Trail of Tears is just now ready to be shelled. This is my first year growing this one, so I don’t know what to expect from it either. The beans are beautiful, and it looks like we will get enough to make it worth our while growing it too. As a pole bean at least the pods are held up off the ground, but our high humidity outside makes drying difficult. I did a Saturday Spotlight of the Rattlesnake beans, and it looks like they are a great performer here too.
Gold Nugget and Delicata squashes
I’ve started harvesting some of the winter squashes. Gold Nugget is a fairly early variety, and the squashes were definitely ready. They averaged right at a pound each, and are just the right size to cut in half for two servings. A few of the Delicata squashes were ready also. These will likely be the first ones we eat, since they aren’t good keepers like Butternuts and some of the other winter squashes. Baked Delicata is on the menu for tonight, along with some pole beans, which are still giving us enough to eat on occasionally. It’s been a great year for squash and beans in general.
hot peppers for chili garlic sauce
The peppers have finally started to ripen. I got just enough hot ones to make a batch of my No Rooster Chili Garlic Sauce. This first batch had a couple of big ripe Anaheim peppers, plus a few Cayennetta and Serranos. I used some good tasting and fiery Spanish Roja rocambole garlic in it. It made for some great tasting fresh hot sauce. And it will surely taste better after it ages for a few days. Now I need something to serve it with. I see a baked potato in my future, and maybe some tacos or burritos!
No Rooster Chili Garlic Sauce
The blueberries are done for the season, and the blackberries are winding down. It has been a banner year for blueberries. We have enjoyed fresh ones for 9 weeks now, and my wife has harvested 51 pounds of them. The total haul of blackberries is down this year, but we have still harvested a respectable 4 gallons so far. I got rid of some older plants that I had dug up from my old place in 2007 and replanted here, and that cut the totals back a bit. We actually have quite a few blackberries left in the freezer from last year, so that is not a bad thing. I do enjoy having fresh berries for breakfast, and other times too!
blackberries for breakfast
Tomatoes are still coming in, and we are dealing with them. We have made two batches of Homemade Ketchup, two batches of Freezer Tomato Sauce, plus I have frozen whole tomatoes, made tomato puree, and Slow Roasted Tomatoes. I don’t think it is going to be a great year for tomatoes. I believe that the 9 inches of rain we got in June and 5 inches in July was a bit more than they would have preferred. But we are getting plenty to eat and process, certainly enough to keep us busy.
tomatoes ready for processing
You can find out what’s keeping other gardeners busy by visiting Daphne’s Dandelions, where Daphne hosts the Harvest Monday series. I’ll be back soon!
WOW! that’s a lot of squash! Such a pretty bean and tomato harvest, and so wonderful that fellow gardener was able to share her harvest of pattypans with you!
Your gold nuggets are so cute and I like that they are around 1 pound each, on my 2014 to plant list.
If you see my comments to Melissa, the Gold Nuggets are great for shorter season gardeners. And the smaller size is nice.
Wow…your squash looks amazing! I’m curious about the Golden Nuggets as I’ve never grown them before. I think I may have to move toward smaller/earlier developing varieties of winter squash since we can never really be guaranteed a long enough summer for much of anything else. How would you rate the Golden Nuggets and, are they good keepers in your experience?
In our garden, the Gold Nuggets are a reliable, early maturing squash. They were bred to be a sweet potato substitute for short season gardeners. They will keep for several months, maybe not as long as Butternuts, but better than Delicatas. And they are very flavorful too. There’s not as much meat as Butternuts, they’re comparable to Delicata in that regard.
Thanks, Dave! I think I’ll have to add them to my 2014 list!
I wonder if Gold Nugget is something I should try. They look nice! I grew some drying beans this year but am not sure when to harvest and how to dry them. We have very humid summers here too. How do you decide when they should be picked and do you dry them in the shell or after shelling or a bit of both?
Dave, i sure wish you lived closer. We are drowning in white patty pan squash right now and we would love to let you take some off our hands!! 🙂
Lovely harvest. I love any gold/winter squash and this one tops my list for ease of growing in confined space. 🙂 Yes, the rain definitely hampers the tomato harvest. Hard to set the floswers whent hey are wet all the time. 🙁
Great harvest! I have some white patty pan squash too. But it is not too productive, I think cause the plants are too close. I will try again better next year. But we like them!
Oh, both of your hot sauces look wonderful. I can’t wait for my hot peppers to start ripening to give the sauces a try. You are an inspiration!
Love those colorful beans, they are so pretty when they are freshly shelled.
I always love white squashes likes the white scalloped squash. They remind me of the ghosts from Pac-Man 🙂
Great looking harvest, especially the peppers. Love the Anaheim Peppers. They were one of the first I grew when I started gardening.
Beautiful beans. I love Trail of Tears. Well I love all black beans and that one is fairly prolific. Mine aren’t ready to shell yet though. They are just starting to change to that pretty purple color. I’ll get to pick some soon.
Good to know that you & Lynda enjoyed the white scallops. 🙂 There are plenty more where those came from. I am so impressed with this squash plant!! Even though it had borers initially, I covered the plant with a little compost & it took off from there rooting on its own & it just keeps on going looking very healthy. Will definitely grow this one again.