Happy Acres Blog

Saturday Spotlight: Pennsylvania Dutch Crookneck Squash

Posted on April 13, 2013 by Dave @ HappyAcres

When most people think of a pumpkin, they think of something that is orange, round, and could be carved into a jack-o’-lantern for Halloween. But my favorite ‘pumpkin’ isn’t really like that at all, even though it makes great pies, soups and muffins. It’s listed in most seed catalogs as Pennsylvania Dutch Crookneck Squash. But in the central Pennsylvania region in the U.S. where it’s popular, folks just call it a ‘neck pumpkin’. And that’s what I usually call it too.

Pennsylvania Dutch Crookneck Squash

To me, neck pumpkins resemble a butternut squash on steroids. The smooth tan skin and orange flesh certainly resemble the butternut, but neck pumpkins have an elongated meaty neck that can be either straight or curved, depending on growing conditions. These pumpkins can get up to 20 pounds in size, though mine tend to weigh in around 4 to 6 pounds. Which is still a lot of squash, anyway you look at it! Like its cousin the butternut, it’s also a great keeper.

young neck pumpkin blooming

The vines are quite long and vigorous, and need a fair amount of room to ramble about. Mine are quite happy climbing up the fencing around my garden. This Cucurbita moschata variety is resistant to squash vine borers too, which makes it great for areas where the dreaded SVB is a problem. In my garden it has not had any issues with bacterial wilt either. Since both wilt and SVB are problems here, this variety has proven to be a dependable performer for me for the four years I have been growing it.

neck pumpkin ready for baking

To prepare the squash for pie, it can be steamed, baked or boiled. I’ve tried all three methods, and I prefer cutting the squash into pieces, cleaning out the seeds, then baking in the oven. When it’s soft, remove from the oven and let cool before scooping the flesh away from the skin. The flesh can be pureed with a food processor, but I usually do it by hand using a potato masher. The puree can then be frozen for later use (canning is not recommended).

pureed pumpkin ready for use or freezing

The thawed puree can be used in any recipe that calls for pumpkin or mashed butternut squash, like pies, breads and muffins, soups, and even filling for ravioli. It makes a wonderful pie, with a sweet flavor and smooth texture. My wife makes a great pumpkin pie using an old family recipe. Her version has an almost custard like consistency, and is a real treat for me whenever she makes it.

pumpkin pie made from neck pumpkin

This heirloom squash makes for an easy to grow, versatile and tasty addition to the garden, and it will be growing here again this year for sure. I hope you’ve enjoyed this Saturday Spotlight, and I’ll be back soon with another variety. Until then, Happy Growing from Happy Acres!

UPDATE: Sand Pilarski has a great recipe for pumpkin pie on The Piker Press, along with the backstory of how his family grew the ‘eating pumpkins’ as they called them and turned them into pie: Legendary Pumpkin Pie.

To see my other Saturday Spotlights, visit the Variety Spotlights page.

Posted in Saturday Spotlight | Tagged neck pumpkin, pie, pumpkin, winter squash | 27 Comments

April Potpourri

Posted on April 8, 2013 by Dave @ HappyAcres

Last week saw a flurry of activity here, as the weather finally began to resemble spring. I felt like a bear coming out of hibernation after a long winter! Warmer temperatures and windy conditions helped dry out the wet soil too. It was certainly good to get out and do some work, and I was able to plant potatoes and onions here on Saturday. Since onions are fairly heavy feeders, I amended the soil with some organic fertilizer, including a bagged chicken manure based product called Chickity Doo Doo. Hopefully that will help grow some nice onions this year.

onions after planting

I also weeded and fertilized the garlic beds, applying blood meal to give them an extra shot of nitrogen. The garlic beds were less weedy than last spring, which no doubt is partly due to our colder winter, but is also a result of better weed control in general throughout the year. I lost a few plants over the winter, but for the most part the garlic is looking good and growing nicely. It’s typically ready to start digging here in sometime in July.

garlic after weeding and fertilizing

On Friday I was finally able to get the tiller out and break ground at the Impact Community Garden. We are scheduled to plant potatoes and onions there later today. And hopefully we can plant broccoli, cabbage, lettuce and kohlrabi sometime next week. I have plants almost ready in the greenhouse, but they still need to be hardened off. I need to get them planted here as well, once I get the beds ready for them. And I need to sow some radish and carrot seeds here as soon as possible. It’s a busy time of year for sure!

broccoli seedlings

Another current project is the rooting of sweet potatoes from the purple fleshed variety we are calling Carla’s Purple. I am rooting one of them in water, and one in a container of soil. The one I rooted in water is showing some nice sprouts already. Sweet potatoes can be sprouted in either water or soil, and I’ve done them both ways in the past. For sprouting in soil, I just lay the potato horizontally in a container filled with a good quality potting soil or seed starting mix, and cover with a couple of inches of the same soil. A shallow container like a bulb pan or dish garden planter works well for this. Bottom heat from a heating mat will speed the sprouting process.

Carla’s Purple sweet potato rooting in water

For sprouting in water, you insert toothpicks in the root end of the sweet potato and suspend it in a jar filled with water. Norma Chang has a great article (with photos) about how to tell which end of the sweet potato should be put in water. I can’t describe it any better myself, so I will refer you to her Growing Sweet Potato Slips from last year if you need help with that. I am really looking forward to growing this lovely purple variety that was given to me by our friend Carla.

In non-gardening news, I have decided to set up a Facebook page for Our Happy Acres. I envision this as a way to reach a slightly different audience, and also as a way to post updates and items of interest that don’t really warrant a full-blown blog post here. I know, I know, I said you would never see me on Facebook, but there I am, fork in hand in the profile photo, just like my Gravatar. My wife thinks Twitter will be next, but I don’t think so. We will see!

we won’t be seeing these in 2013

Last week also saw its share of drama, when Randy’s Tree Service came to cut down a few dead trees for us and wound up cutting down our lovely, large pie cherry tree. They also ran over one of our two year old pawpaw trees in the process. They have done work for us before, and did a good job then, but their performance this time was extremely unprofessional and inexcusable. They have told us they will ‘work something out’ in the way of adjusting their fee, but how do you make up for a mature and producing cherry tree? All we have now is some photos and a few cherries in the freezer. It is safe to say they will never be welcome back here again.

pie cherry tree loaded with cherries

And to close on a happier note, my wife found the first asparagus spears poking out of the ground yesterday. Soon we will be enjoying one of my favorite homegrown vegetables. This will be the 7th year for most of this patch, so it is coming into the prime bearing age. Last year we hauled in 30 pounds of it, and if it does that well again this year I will be a happy camper for sure. Go asparagus!

first asparagus of 2013

Rest assured I will be back here, there, and everywhere with more adventures as they develop. Until then, Happy Growing from Happy Acres!

Posted in Gardening | 9 Comments

My 5 Favorite Gardening Tools

Posted on April 4, 2013 by Dave @ HappyAcres

They say tools make the man (or woman). I’m not sure if I agree with that or not, but I will say that having the right tool sure makes the job go easier – whatever the job might be. And when it comes to gardening, I’ve tried a lot of different tools over the years. So today I thought I would share my 5 favorite gardening tools with you, listed in no particular order. Some of them have appeared here before. And rest assured I’m not getting paid to plug any of these tools either. I just know what I like!

1. Wilcox All-Pro trowels

collection of Wilcox trowels (click on any image to enlarge)

These are without a doubt the best and most sturdy trowels I have ever used. Made from stainless steel, they are unbreakable, unbending, and nearly indestructible. They have a bright red plastic handle, which makes them easy to find if you leave them out in the garden as I sometimes do. The business end of the trowel comes to a sharpened point, which makes them great for digging in heavy soils, removing rocks, and cutting through tough roots.

closeup of trowel blade

Many of the models have a built in depth gauge incised on the blade, in both inches and centimeters. That is useful to judge the depth of the planting hole, and also to measure the distance between planting holes. I use this feature a lot.

trowel in action planting garlic

These trowels can be a little hard to find, but they are available from several sources online (including Amazon). And they have the added bonus of being made in Iowa, smack dab in the U.S. midwest, if that matters. It does to me anyway. The 14 inch model 202S is the one I use the most.

2. Transplant Spade

I had never used one of these until a few years ago, when I saw someone using it to dig planting holes for vegetables. After trying it out, I decided I had to have one myself, and it has since become one of my favorite tools. My back likes it too, because it lets me do much of the work without bending over!

transplant spade

I got mine from Lee Valley Tools, but they are available from other suppliers too. I opted for a model with a stainless steel head and an ash handle. I like the feel of a nicely made wooden handle in my hands, but this one is weathering and I believe a fiberglass or steel handle might have been a better choice for a tool that puts a lot of stress on the handle like this one does. This tool sees a lot of action, and is great for digging holes of any size, or for making slits in the soil for transplants and bulbs. A border shovel is a similar tool that usually has a shorter blade, but serves about the same purpose.

closeup of spade

3. Widger

I’ve used this tool for years, without even knowing exactly what to call it! Tool suppliers call it a widger, or a nitpicker. Regardless of what you call it, this tool is indispensable for me when I’m transplanting seedlings. It is used to pop seedlings out of plug flats or small pots and containers. Mine are made of stainless steel, and have a narrow end and a wider end. I’ve seen people use plastic spoons and even plastic knives for this job, but the stainless steel is much sturdier and won’t break or bend on you no matter how you use it. It’s also easy to clean and sterilize.

Rumford Gardener widger

I have no idea where I got my original one, which is called the Rumford Gardener and I think was part of a miniature tool set. I found an almost identical one at Peaceful Valley Farm Supply (click here to see it), and I ordered one to have as backup in case I lost or misplaced my ancient Rumford model. This is one tool I can’t imagine not having, and an inexpensive one at that.

widger in use on pepper seedling

4. Soil Thermometer

Sometimes gardening seems more like art than science. Many seasoned gardeners like to plant by the calender, or even by the moon. Other rely on the Farmer’s Almanac. And that’s fine if that works for them. The saying around here is that you should plant your peas by St Patrick’s Day (March 17), and plant your corn when ‘oak leaves are as large as a squirrel’s ear”. But what if you don’t have an oak tree nearby to monitor, or your garden is buried under a foot of snow on St. Paddy’s day?

soil and instant read thermometers

This is one time when I like to put a little science on my side. In addition to the calendar, I use a soil thermometer to help me judge when it’s time to plant things. I actually have one that is made specifically for the task, but any reliable thermometer can be used. I often use my instant read Thermapen kitchen thermometer to measure soil temperatures for indoor seed starting. I have a list of recommended soil temperatures for most garden vegetables here. And you can usually find detailed germination information on seed packets.

5. Rogue Garden Hoe

Over the years, I’ve managed to collect quite a few hoes of all different types, from swan hoes to stirrup types and good old ‘paddle’ hoes. But the one I keep reaching for lately is my trusty Rogue model 55G. Rogue hoes are made from tempered steel that comes from recycled farm disc blades, and are sturdy and no-nonsense tools. I did a review on them last year, and I’ll include a link to it here.

Rogue 55g hoe

I also have a model 65G hoe, and both are well made and have a nice hefty feel to them. They arrived with razor sharp edges, and the hardened steel heads hold their edge well. Some garden centers are starting to stock these well-made tools, but not in my area, so I ordered mine direct from the manufacturer.

Rogue 55G hoe in action weeding the garlic bed

I hope you enjoyed taking a look at some of my favorite gardening tools. If you have a favorite tool you like to use or would recommend, please let me and the other readers know about it by leaving a comment. I’m always on the lookout for things that will make gardening easier, and I know others are too. I’ll be back soon with more news from Happy Acres.

This post was shared at ,From the Farm Hop, Old-Fashioned Friday and Front Porch Friday.

Posted in Gardening | Tagged hoes, thermometer, tools, trowels, widger | 10 Comments

Still Waiting For Spring

Posted on April 1, 2013 by Dave @ HappyAcres

It seems like all I’ve been talking about lately is the weather. But isn’t that often the case with us gardeners? Last year spring was running about 30 days ahead of schedule. This year it’s running about 30 days behind normal. I’m starting to feel like I’m a character in Waiting For Godot, standing by a tree and musing about life while waiting for Godot to show up. Except in my case, I’m waiting on spring to make an appearance, and killing time by singing Happy Birthday to my cat and getting on my wife’s nerves!

cold frame bed planted with lettuces

I have taken advantage of every possible warm-ish, sunny day to try and do a little gardening. Last week I was able to clean out two of my cold frame beds and plant some lettuce seedlings in one and Asian greens in the other. The Asian greens include Fun Jen, Yukina Savoy, Senposai, Mei Qing and Red Choi, and Mizuna. There’s also some arugula in that bed. The green pellets on the soil are Sluggo Plus, so hopefully we won’t be sharing too much with the slugs! I also was able to pot up most of my tomato seedlings into larger containers, plus a few of the peppers. And I started some more lettuce seeds in order to have seedlings to plant about a month from now.

cold frame bed with Asian greens

What I haven’t gotten done yet is planting potatoes or onions, or breaking ground at the Impact Community garden. I have worked up part of our big vegetable garden, but more work needs to be done. And I also need to ‘harvest’ some of our compost. But we have gotten 4.5 inches of rain in March, and over 12 inches so far this year, making the soil too wet to work and the compost pile pretty soggy and heavy. So I wait.

garlic bed in kitchen garden

It’s about time to weed and fertilize the garlic too, something I had already done by this time last year. The garlic is looking good, and so far the weeds aren’t too bad at all. Hopefully I can get to that chore this week. I will spread some blood meal on the garlic beds to give them a boost of nitrogen. And I will probably replace the straw mulch after weeding, to keep down weeds and conserve moisture. I have some green garlic planted in another bed, and it is looking good too. I should be able to start pulling some of it in about a month (or sooner).

row of green garlic

It looks like the bluebirds are still waiting on spring too. They have an almost finished nest in one of the nest boxes, but no eggs yet. I guess the weather will settle down eventually, though I suspect this will be one year where we have about a month of Spring weather before it turns hot and summer arrives with a vengeance.

almost finished bluebird nest

I’ll be back later with more gardening news as it happens. Maybe, just maybe, by then spring will have arrived!

Posted in Gardening | Tagged arugula, Asian greens, cold frame, garlic, lettuce, spring | 4 Comments

Saturday Spotlight: Forellenschluss/Spotted Trout Lettuce

Posted on March 30, 2013 by Dave @ HappyAcres

One of my favorite lettuces has somewhat of an identity crisis. In its native Austria this heirloom lettuce goes by the name ‘Forellenschluss’, which means ‘speckled like a trout’s back’. Fedco Seed traces it back to 1793, but says it was developed in Germany. Meanwhile, here in America it’s usually called ‘Spotted Trout’, though some seed catalogs list it as ‘Freckles’. However, it’s not in any way related to the Amish butterhead called ‘Speckles’. Are you confused yet? I know I am!

‘Spotted Trout’ lettuce

I generally just call this lettuce ‘Spotted Trout’, which is how it was listed at Hudson Valley Seed Library where I first bought my seed. Regardless of what you call it, this lettuce is a beautiful and tasty romaine that has apple green leaves mottled with reddish specks. Though classified as a romaine, this variety has soft buttery leaves that lack the crisp rib common to most romaine types. Which is not a bad thing at all in my book. But like most romaine lettuce varieties, it does have an upright growth habit, which makes it a good choice for intensive plantings.

Spotted Trout Art Pack from 2010

‘Spotted Trout’ performs well for me in both spring and fall, and it usually overwinters here when protected by a cold frame. To say that it is hardy would be an understatement. It has survived temperatures near 5°F here with only the light protection of my Agribon-covered cold frame. But hardiness is not the only thing going for it. It has a mild taste and tender texture. And it is also slow to bolt to flower, which is a good thing unless you are trying to save the seed, which I was able to do last year.

saved seeds from ‘Spotted Trout’ (with chaff)

The color in this variety is quite variable. Some plants are more speckled than others, with some having very few speckles at all. Frank Morton at Wild Garden Seeds has done some selections on this variety to try and stabilize the coloring, and has released his own version called ‘Flashy Trout Back’. I include mention of it here (and a photo) because it is not really a different variety, but a result of his hard work to save seed from the best colored plants each year. And his selection is definitely more colorful, though I don’t think it tastes any different from the original ‘Forellenschluss’.

‘ ‘Flashy Trout Back’ lettuce from 2012

Right now I’ve got ‘Spotted Trout’ plants growing in the greenhouse. They are ready to harvest as we need them, though they aren’t quite full sized yet. I started some more seeds this week for a late spring crop that should be ready before really hot weather gets here. The bunch in the below photo was used for Chalupas I made this week, which is a dish with pork and pinto beans served over lettuce and corn tortilla chips. It’s sort of like a taco in a bowl, only better I think.

‘Spotted Trout’ lettuce, ready for salads

I hope you’ve enjoyed this Saturday Spotlight, and I’ll be back soon with another variety. Until then, Happy Growing from Happy Acres!

To see my other Saturday Spotlights, visit the Variety Spotlights page.

Posted in Saturday Spotlight | Tagged Forellenschluss, lettuce, Spotted Trout | 11 Comments

Happy Acres Blog

Saturday Spotlight: Pennsylvania Dutch Crookneck Squash

April Potpourri