Weekly Garden Thread October 22-28, 2022 (The Wonderful World of Gourds Edition)

October 22, 2022 | Diana in WI/Greeneyes in Memoriam

[Ellendra]

Have you tried Zucchetta Rampicante? It’s a zucchini from the C. moschata branch of the squash family, and is also called Trombocino. It has stems solid enough that squash bugs have a hard time getting through. And if you leave the fruits to ripen all the way, they make an excellent winter squash.

[Qiviut]

Yes, I have grown them, 2 years in a row! Got some huge ones. I peeled some of the smaller ones & ate them. I had forgotten about them - need to resurrect the idea of growing them again.

Wow - had to go all the way back to 2014 to see when I'd grown them!

Boy, was I excited about the stainless steel zip ties! I haven't started converting the fencing yet - might start this afternoon & I'll let you know how they work.

At the moment, working on something to put on the small table where I have my laptop. Things keep falling off. I'm making a plywood top with 'guard rails'. Digging through the lumber piles in the pole barn so I can 'repurpose' some wood instead of paying an arm & a leg for something from Lowe's. I think I have my pieces .... just came in to do a final measuring .... headed out to do some sawing! :-)

[Ellendra]

Nice pic, but it looks more like Cucuzzi than Zucchetta Rampicante :)

[Augie]

Never heard of steel zip ties. Thanks for the tip!

On the farm, steel zip ties = baling wire.

Multi-use, inexpensive, impervious to UF damage. lol

[Augie]

UF? What’s UF? Substitute UV for UF in the previous post and it will make more sense.

[dfwgator]

UF? What’s UF?

My Alma Mater.

[Qiviut]

Doggone it - I threw away all my old seed packets & I know this one was in it. It was a "Trombeta" for sure, because I always thought of trombone. Very long with bulbous end. I looked up Cucuzzi .... longish, straight green & didn't look like what I was growing. Mine were very long, bulbous end & would actually curl around if they weren't hanging straight.

[Ellendra]

The bulbous end looks right. The ones without the bulb on the end look exactly like the cucuzzi I grew a few years back. Both work as zucchini :)

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

The pond... has to be about 12-15 feet deep for the perch?

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Sunday I trans planted some quick growing oriental pink Mizuma. (40 dys from transplant.) Previously Transplanted some Golden Chinese Cabbage a week ago (About 55 days to maturity.) Hopefully it and the regular cabbage will mature before Thankgiving. (About 30 days to go....) I will cover it up when it gets too cold.

I have one Brussel sprout plant that is still growing tall. (Groenigen) On the remaining 6 the leader died in 98 degree day about 10 days ago. Some leaves remain but most of them died and have snapped off. Still alive but stunted; since starting to produce sprouts so I will just let them go and see what happens.

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

That is a nice greenhouse!

[cherry]

I've got two trombones in my green house....huge....there's another left in the garden which we'll pick soon...

today sadly, I ate our last cucumber of the season....still have a few dozen tomatoes ripening on the dining room table...I've been cooking them down, putting thru the food mill, and freezing....if I get too much I'll just take everything out of the freezer and can them.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Introducing, His Royal Highness, King Charles. He goes by, 'Chuck,' as in Chuck Roast. He's a little cutie! Angus and Holstein mix. He's all black, except for the white tip of his tail. He'll be grazing on grass for as long as the weather holds, then it's hay and sweet oats, Milk Bones, carrots and apples, warm beer and daily massages. Welcome to the farm, Your Highness! 🙂

This got posted to LAST week's thread, when I meant to introduce you all to 'Chuck' on THIS week's thread. :)

[mad_as_he$$]

Lol... Nice looking boy! We have had several “Chucks”, “Roasts” and more than a few “Prime” and “Ribs”.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Our last was, ‘Weber.’ Prior to him were, ‘Supper’ and ‘Dinner.’

I think another good future steer name would be, ‘Optimus Prime.’ :)

We shared hamburger with family members last year, so I made up some stickers for the packaging that read, ‘All Gave Some, Some Gave All. Weber, 2022’

[mad_as_he$$]

‘Optimus Prime.’

I like it!

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Cherry; I have not had much luck with cucumbers. Too hot, too many squash predator bugs. I like Pickles more than cucumbers!

Some other gourds! (Pictures from summertime! I miss it already!)

Dipper Gourd

Speckled Swan Gourd

Basket Gourd (Grow one on a vine and it may get large enough to dry and use as a Basket!)

Lightfoot Gord

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Sometime in the future....Kobe!

Kobe/Wagyu

Snip....."The cost and the folklore surrounding Kobe cattle’s husbandry have given it epic status. The diet of grain and beer, as well as regular massage—which both tenderizes the beef and relaxes the bullock—is said to turn Wagyu cattle into a uniquely fatty animal. (The meat is, however, low in cholesterol.) All this is true, but the central difference between Kobe beef and lesser forms of beef relates to the cattle breeds themselves. They are genetically disposed to produce much more intramuscular marbling than any Western beef cattle."

[Diana in Wisconsin]

That’s the plan. Weber turned out to be delicious; probably the best one we’ve raised yet. I have the same hopes for Chuck. :)

[Diana in Wisconsin]