Giant Potatoes

Glad to see I'm not the only one who misses goodies in the garden only to be shocked into a different time zone when a "giant" is found.

Boothby's Blonde Cucumber

Image via Wikipedia

I've come to the realization that I have a love-hate relationship with cucumbers. Planting them and watching them grow from seed is extremely rewarding. But boy do I get sick of them quickly. It's the uncontrollable nature of the plants. They produce enough to feed a small army and if really allowed to take off, they'll produce in my garden for nearly a year or more.

This year, I intentionally planted them late. Intentionally because I was hoping for less production. Now, I just read what I wrote and must admit that's a really dumb idea - but it's the truth.

As usual, I planted more varieties than I have room for. One of them is Boothby's Blonde cucumber and I may just get my wish and end up with NO cucumbers in 2009 since the plants are weak and anemic looking.

What would make me think I could even think of growing them in October? It's the California sun which makes me deliriously silly about planting whatever I want throughout the year.

2010 Seed Planning

So, I can't believe it's nearly 2010 but with the new year is always the fun of planning the new garden. Now that we have the exchange forum, it will be nice to distribute seeds earlier in the year to people who have an interest, especially those with a shorter growing season.

Interested in obtaining some new seeds in 2010? If so, please feel free to list the items of interest and/or the items you're planning on purchasing as well. Please post a reply on the exchange forum if you're interested being part of the collective who will receive seeds from my purchases. Feel free to list what's on your planting/personal purchase list for 2010 here. It will be great for us to compare notes next year if we all end up planting similar items.

Butternut Squash

Image by found_drama via Flickr

Last year a neighbor grew some of the most delicious butternut squash. Now, originally, my thought was squash is squash...but oh how I was completely misguided. I've had butternut squash before but never fresh from the garden. Wow was that a pleasant surprise. We roasted it and it was sweet and nutty and almost like eating a sweet potato.

Anyone have any interesting recipes? We just roasted ours with a dab of butter and drizzled it with creamed honey. Mouthwatering delight!