Weekly Gardening Thread – 2011 (Vol. 29) July 29

7-29-2011 | Red_Devil 232

[Red_Devil 232]

Good morning gardeners. This past week here in East Central Mississippi has been great, weather wise. There have been numerous and very beneficial pop-up T-storms almost every day, which have helped keep the temperatures down and my garden watered.

I hope TS Don will give some relief to those of you in drought stricken Texas. Forecasts are for it to dissipate in about 36 to 48 hours after landfall.

If you are a gardener or you are just starting out and are in need of advice or just encouragement please feel free to join in and enjoy the friendly discussion. Our Freeper community is full of gardeners, each with varying interests and skill levels from Master Gardener to novice.

I hope all your gardens are flourishing.

[JustaDumbBlonde]

Hello Mr. Bender! My garden is a mixed bag ... I've let the winter squashes that were struggling fend for themselves. The okra is producing beautifully, as are the summer squashes. The tomatoes are done with round 1, and putting on little green fruit for later. My snap beans have done NOTHING ... I'm guessing it was too hot.

My geese ... my 33 beautiful, funny and spoiled canadian geese that I protect like they were children ... bless their hearts, discovered that they liked ladypeas. They ate 2400 row feet of beautiful (and this year, rare) lady cream peas. I'm sick about it and so are the people that ordered shelled peas from me. My 3 acres of scarlet peas and zipper cream peas have produced hundreds of bushels. I've been canning and selling for over 2 weeks now.

My speckled lima beans are loading up with pods like nothing I've ever grown before ... IF the geese don't harvest them before I do. :(

I know that all of your plants are beautiful. They always are! How is the berry thief?

[tubebender]

2,400 feet of one variety of peas and 3 acres of others??? You are Amazing and I mean that from the bottom of my soul!! You need to wade into the middle of your flock (gaggle?) and wring the neck of a young one and pluck it right there among them.

I picked the last of the Blueberries except a late variety today. She left enough for two batches of BB Muffins according to the Pastry Chef.

[afraidfortherepublic]

Lady Bender could have a 2nd career as a hand model.

[afraidfortherepublic]

You keep Canada Geese on PURPOSE?

[Augie]

Find an ear that’s looking nice and plump, with the silks starting to dry up. Peel the shuck halfway down the cob and take a peek. If the kernels are well-filled to the tip, or at least most of the way, it’s ready to pick. Don’t let the earworms freak you out if you find a few of them - just cut that end off and toss it on the compost heap or into the chicken yard.

[tubebender]

Should I pull the suckers off my corn plants or does it make any difference? I did in the past but forgot to do it for several years...

[JustaDumbBlonde]

[hanging my head] Yes, ma'am, I feed and keep them on purpose. It all started 13 or 14 years ago when a wild pair showed up and nested on the island in our backyard pond. Now some of the kids from prior years have chosen a mate from outside the group and come back to try to raise young. This year we had four nesting pairs.

The original pair is still here, but the gander is lame (limps very badly). I feed him out of his own bowl, but he still likes to mix it up with the young geese at feeding time.

It is a fault of mine ... I love critters.

[Augie]

I’ve never bothered to sucker sweet corn. Never even thought about it to be honest.

[afraidfortherepublic]

I love the Canada Geese too, but they are awfully messy and they can strip your field. Most people around here hate them and they go to all kinds of extremes to shoo them away. They don’t even make good hunting (IMHO) because they grow so fast that after about 8 weeks you can’t tell the difference between the young tender ones and the old tough ones.

If you detect a tinge of jealousy it is because I have never been able to attract them to my property at all. One year I even borrowed decoys from one of my husband’s hunting buddies and put them out in front of the house. The geese were NOT fooled. They just continued to fly over. LOL.

They used to congregate out in front of our manufacturing plant and mess up the sidewalk, but they never come any more. I promise that I did nothing to scare them away.

[JustaDumbBlonde]

Believe me, I have the one of the best fertilized yards in the area. The goose poop breaks down very quickly with the heat that we have, and I never have any type of good shoes on when I'm outside anyway. My husband gripes relentlessly because the geese spend much of the day somewhere in between the house and the garden shed where he parks his truck. He wouldn't take anything for the geese, but he enjoys complaining about them anyway.

If I don't feed the geese on time in the morning, they will come into the garage and wait. They don't cause any trouble ... just sit there quietly and wait. I do a daily cleanup after them on the concrete driveway, but after they are fed they go to the yard or pond.

The old pair used to leave every year soon after the goslings learned to fly. I assume they went north, but don't know for sure. Then every year like clock work, the pair (Fred & Katherine) would show up in late Jan. or early Feb. and begin the courting and nesting process. The young ones came back sometimes, but not always.

Then Fred hurt his leg and couldn't get around well. He and Katherine became resident that year and the youngins started staying too. That's when the population explosion began.

Vet says that Fred now has arthritis after the injury, so we will care for him as long as he needs. He knows to catch me near the shed when the other geese have gone elsewhere on the property and I'll give him a bowl of food to himself. They are actually very smart and easily trained.

Anyhoo ... they have never bothered the vegetables in the garden before. They'll step on new plantings and be a general pain in the garden, but they've never eaten my potential harvest before, so I paid absolutely no attention to them when I saw them in the pea patch. My mistake. Guess I'll have to plant the peas elsewhere from now on. There are lots of little spots around the farmland to choose from, it was just so convenient to have them 100 yds. from the house.

[afraidfortherepublic]

What a delightful story. Not only to you feed them, you even hire a vet to care for their medical needs. Here people chase them away and sometimes “hire” border colies to chase them off golf courses. I never dreamed that they would co-exist with crops, but you prove that it can be done. Here I see them in the hay and corn fields after they are cut — eating the gleanings, which I’m sure is OK with everyone. Here’s hoping for a long, comfortable life for Fred and Katherine.

Do they act as “guard geese” for your farm, warning you when strangers approach? They can be very aggressive, I hear. t least the domestic breeds are.

As far as where they go, some stay here all winter; and others go no further south than Chicago. They show up back here on the first sunny day.

I cooked my Flying Saucer Squash tonight for dinner, and it was delicious. I took lots of pictures and will post them as soon as I download them to the computer and upload them to Flickr. I have one more squash and probably wiill fix it the same way because I still have half of the stuffing left.

[afraidfortherepublic]

Everyone who responded about my puzzle on what to do with my Flying Saucer Squash. If I missed pinging anybody who should be pinged, I'm sorry.

I cooked the first squash tonight. In asking around, I learned that my squash was not so bizarre and outsized after all. In fact, people around here allow them to get even bigger. Nevertheless, I cooked the first one wheeen it was 4" tall and 6" in diameter.

I used everybody's input plus Joy of Cooking, but I mostly relied upon JustaDumbBlonde's instructions to develop a good recipe. I have to say that this turned out to be the most delicious squash I have ever eaten. I'm glad that I have half the stuffing left over because I am going to use it to cook the other squash.

A pictorial overview on what I did follows. These instructions could be used for any squash, I think. Even though my Flying Saucer was not really overgrown, I used winter squash instructions for the timing and method.

First, I cut the squash in half from stem to blossem end and scooped out the seeds.

Then I placed each half face down in a baking dish and added 1/2" water and microwaved them (COVERED) on the "hard vegetable" setting. I did this twice to make sure they were cooked.

While the squash was steaming in the microwave, I crushed seasoned bagel chips (left over from my lunch at a nearby bagel shop, browned Italian sausage in olive oil in a frying pan, chopped green onions from my garden, and red pepper, and added finely diced canned tomatoes (drained). I mixed all of the chopped ingredients with the browned sausage.

Bagel crumbs

Peppers and mushrooms

Onions

And then I mixed it all together until it looked like the above.

Next I scooped out the remainder of the squash flesh from the cooked halves beng sure to leave enough shell so that the whole thing would hang together. I added the squash "meat" to the rest of the mixture being sure to blend thoroghly. I used that mixture to stuff the squash shells, mounding the mixture high and patting it together so that it would stay in the shell.

After it was in the shell, I added a coating of mixed, shredded Italian cheeses on top and patted it in to keep everything together.

I drizzled olive oil on top and covered it lightly with foil before baking in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes. (Be sure to spray your baking pan with non-stick coating before baking.)

I transferred the squash to the plate and served with corn on the cob and a chilled broccoli/raisin/walnut salad. Mmmm-mmm-good.

[afraidfortherepublic]

RD, please see 211. I do these pings by memory, and I forgot to put you in. My deepest apologies.

[afraidfortherepublic]

I meant 212! It’s past my bed time!

[tubebender]

Dang!!! Didn’t you have a show on the food channel? and speaking of the Food channel does anyone watch it...

[afraidfortherepublic]

LOLOLOL! Mr. Bender, I’m a turrible cook and am known mostly for making reservations. BUT, I’m also an over achiever when challenged. And this squash challenged me! I have to say that it was the most delicious squash I’ve ever eaten. Even my husband asked if I could fix the zucchini the same way and the answer is YES!

I should add that the Italian sausage was already seasoned, as were the bread crumbs, which is why I added no seasoning to this. It was my butcher shop’s special blend, and it was just perfect.

I’m sure you could make it with Mexican. or Polish, sausage too; but I was looking forward to that Italian flavor.

And, no. I don’t watch the Food Channel.

[afraidfortherepublic]

I got rid of some of my Zucchini on Sunday by “gifting” it to that pesky Hungarian piano tuner with the police record! He loved it. Said he used to have a garden when he was younger but he doesn’t do it any more. He and his wife both love zucchini, so hopefully it went to a good home.

He told us a funny story. When he first came to this country he’d never seen zucchini before. So the first year he grew it, he saved the seeds and sent some back to Hungary. None of his relatives knew what is was, or what to do with it.

SO, I figure that we could send all of our excess Zucchini to Hungary!

[Red_Devil 232]

Oh no problem, I read every post on these threads even if it is not directly posted to me. I never feel left out. Great pictures of your saucer squash getting all dolled up! Looks very tasty.

[Red_Devil 232]

I enjoy your stories about your gaggle of geese. My winter squash are a wash. I guess too much heat? The vining ones never produced. My original late spring plating of tomatoes are done for. I just set in some paste tomatoes last Friday and am trying to protect them even from the morning heat (it is supposed to be up to 101 for the next day or two) - Drats!

This is just one big disappointing season for me!

Next year will be better!

[Red_Devil 232]

How many points did he put up? Watch out for that next thunderstorm! LOL