How are the Trombettas and Cucuzzi doing? My T's are permanently wilty looking. The Cucuzzi are growing like crazy, but aren't putting on many blooms.
How are the Trombettas and Cucuzzi doing?
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Both are definitely cyclical. The T that was wilting every day & looking yellowish (bottom leaves) has just finished a cycle of producing new squash - 9 of ‘em! I used 2 in stew & just peeled and cut up 7 more to make some dishes this weekend.
Have you noticed anything weird about the Trombetta juice? After cutting up a bunch, I had a ‘film’ of juice on my hands that scrubbing pretty hard didn’t really take off. It dried and cracked - could peel it off in thin sheets. I had to wash my hands a couple of times to get it all off. It was also hard to get off the cutting board, some ended up on the granite counter top & required some real elbow grease to get it off .... and it’s a total stinker to get off my peeler. I have to soak the peeler in a cup of hot water with a drop of detergent, then scrub every tiny blade multiple times to get off the T juice that is stuck on.
The cucuzza is a heart breaker. I got one nice one and have had no more. A couple weeks ago, it was all boy blooms. About two weeks ago, I got a boatload of females, but no boys were blooming, so no pollination. The last couple of days, I have both blooming (maybe 4-6 females, couple of boys) so maybe I’ll get another cucuzza before the season ends.
One more thing about the Trombettas. I have noticed multiple bumble bees in the big yellow blooms, way down in the bottom. My brother came by & was chatting at the garden - he looked in a bloom and started laughing, said his wife had noticed blooms with as many as 4 bumble bees down in them. She took the hose & filled a couple blooms with water & the bumble bees crawled out so they’re not dead & seem ok, if sluggish. We’re not sure what is going on .... drunk on Trombetta elixir? Just taking a nap? Something else? It was not happening when the Ts first started blooming, but has picked up in the last couple of weeks.