From harvest to plate.

I love squash but I've always been in a minority of one in this house.  I've tried cooking them loads of different ways but at best I've only ever been able to persuade 1 lad to feign interest in roasted butternut squash.  After growing so many at the plot this year I decided to give it one last try, well I guess it turned into 2 last attempts

I decided on a blind taste trial and set about gathering the ingredients for a soup I had in mind. 

I chopped a couple of large onions, peeled a butternut squash, crown prince pumpkin, winter dumpling and sweet potato.  I roasted a chunk of each squash to use in the blind taste trial I had in mind for the Chief Squash Hater, Mr Lottie and threw the rest into a large pan with the diced onion.  I covered the veg with a mixture of veg and chicken stock because it was all I had, next time I make it I think I'll use all chicken stock.  Added some grated nutmeg, a couple of garlic cloves, a couple of bay leaves, a small bundle of thyme and a good grind of pepper and left to bubble away until everything was soft oh and the rind from a wedge of parmesan I had saved.

That's what I love about soup, there are no hard and fast rules.  As long as you use onions and stock the rest is pretty much up to you.  When all the veg was soft, out came the bay leaves and parmesan rind then into the liquidizer until smooth.  It was a bit thick so I added a little more stock.  Easy peasy.

Before forcing asking Mr Lottie to taste the soup, it was onto the blind taste test.  I fogot to take pictures but the results were as followed: Butternut squash was his outright winner!!!  I suspect it's because they're not quite ripe and didn't get the chance to mature on the vine, so not as sweet as shop bought ones?  Who knows.  Next was the sweet winter dumpling which had yellow flesh and a dry texture, almost like a potato.  Last but by no means hated was the Crown Prince.  They were a definite hit.

And the soup?  The same.  He enjoyed it.  Not only that but 2 of the Lottie boys tried it and loved it too.  And the neighbour.  Who would have thought, so many converts in just one day.  I'm going to use this site as a guide to the varieties I choose next year.  There's a few good growing tips to be had too.

New beginnings

So here it is, my first tentative step into the unknown (to me) world of blogging.  This is my second year as an allotment tenant and I've come to realise how much there is still to learn and how much I've already learnt, so this blog is intended to be my own personal record, if I pick up any readers along the way, well, hi there :)

Autumn is very quickly closing in on us and work at the plot is beginning to wind down for the year.  This time last year I foolishly thought that the work was finished when everything had been harvested.  I soon realised how big a mistake that plan was when we had to dig rock hard baked clay soil caused by the unseasonally warm Spring.   So this year the motto has most definitely been Prior Preparation Prevents P**s Poor Performance.  However, I've also learnt that you can plan all you like but old Mother Nature is sure to throw you a curve ball or 5.

Since it's almost the end of the season and I've been taking pictures throughout the year it might be nice to take a retrospective look over the last year, patch by patch.  I've just finished the pumpkin bed so what better place to start??  My neighbour gave up their plot at the beginning of the year, I was lucky enough to get half of their plot but none of my plans included the extra land. 

Mid March and the work has just begun.

Last year I learnt that squash plants are excellent ground cover and more ground cover equals less weeding.  It just so happens that I love squash, especially winter squash.  It made perfect sense that part of the new plot should be given over to squash plants. Suspect Hercules butternut squash seeds were planted mid April, ready to plant out after the first frost.  Ah, all that was done based on 'normal' Spring weather, whatever that used to be.

Squash bed 2011

17/05/11 clearing the ground ready to plant

07/06/11 An experimental hundredweight pumpkin planted into a 'hot-bed'

07/06/11 Butternut squash needing shelter from an unseasonally cold May

17/06/11 Bottles=Jack of all trade pumpkins, others are sweet winter dumplings.

17/06/11 summer squash at the top, still weedy looking butternut squash below

17/06/11 The experimental pumpkin is fairing much better though.

24/07/11 Butternut squash still trailing behind

24/07/11 And the experimental pumpkin is still romping ahead 

25/09/11 Experimental pumpkin

26/09/11 These came from the same seed pack?

26/09/11 Squash patch

14/09/11 Ma Nature decides she's the boss.

14/09/11 Sweet winter dumplings

 

14/09/11 Mini butternut squash

14/09/11

14/09/11 Nicely dug over ready for the winter.

I felt a little sad yesterday while I was clearing the bed.  I really wanted to leave all the fruit to ripen on the vine a bit longer but when Mother Nature decides the season is over, she means it, whether we're ready or not.  So what squash lessons have I learnt this year?

Sweet winter dumplings take forever to germinate.  Next year I'll have to try to regulate the heat.  It might mean investing in a heated propogator but hey hoe, needs must.  They also make an excellent soup in a bowl.

Squash need a reasonable amount of heat to thrive.  Last year I planted the squash out under plastic bottles.  The squash planted into the ground later in the year grew much stronger than the earlier planted squash.

The best squash I grew was the experimental pumpkin. It could be coincidental, or maybe it was in a sunnier position, limited to one fruit?  Who knows?  I do know that I'll be trying this method again next year maybe with the addition of plastic bottle'cloches'.

It's all very well trying 2 different methods and knowing that the right squash (type a, row 1) has been grown in a hole prepared the same way as the left squash (type b, row 2) and the left squash (type a, row 1) was prepared the same way as the right squash (type b, row 2) but if you don't document what you did in said holes and you can see a definite difference between the plants....how do you know what method worked best!!

Next year I'm going to prepare the ground earlier and only going to grow winter squash.  So far I've not come across a summer squash I actually like.

Until next time

Lottie Lover.