Gardening

[Andybev01]

Even though I don't actually do the gardening it is more fun and satisfying to watch the produce grow throughout the summer, and harvest in autumn.

[Murfreesboro]

When I lived in VA I had an upstairs apartment in the home of my landlady. One year she grew sugar pumpkins in her backyard. She got a good crop. I had no idea back then how difficult it can sometimes be to grow pumpkins successfully. She made it look easy.

[Andybev01]

No squash bug damage.

[Murfreesboro]

Those are gorgeous. Congrats!

[MauEvig]

It looks like I got one sole survivor out of my pumpkin plants, and this one is a little pie variety pumpkin. So, it looks like I'll be making a pie at some point. I've never made pumpkin pie from scratch though, so this could be a fun little challenge.
As far as carving pumpkins go, I'll just buy one at the store this year. I might save the seeds though and give it another whirl next year. I'll make sure to plant the pumpkins early enough and do what I can to protect them from the squash pests.
At least I got plenty of beans! I need to go and pick those soon.

[Murfreesboro]

Congrats on your sugar pumpkin! Be sure to roast the seeds, too (but save a handful for next year).

[Andybev01]

I found seeds that I had saved from several years ago, while unpacking.

I will try them next season just to see if they sprout.

[MauEvig]

I may try some roasted seeds, but I'll definitely be saving some for next year too!
The fact that this lone pumpkin survived, makes me hope that perhaps it'll show some resistance and it's "legacy" will produce more pumpkins in the future. But I guess we'll see!
If I make a successful pie, I'll be sure to post pictures. I doubt I'll be ambitious enough to make a homemade crust and will probably just use a frozen one, but I've never made pie filling before so this will be new for me.
I'll have to look up some instructions on roasting seeds, since I've never actually done that before.

Good luck next year, Andy! Hope your seeds sprout and you get a successful harvest!

[Murfreesboro]

Roasting seeds is super easy. They tell you to let them dry overnight, though I am too impatient and generally roast them right away. Low and slow, like a couple of hours at 250 or 275, then test their crunch, stir them around, turn them over. Keep roasting by the hour and checking. There are a million ways to season them, but I've gotten so I like Goya's Total Seasoning (a season salt). I salt them when I first put them in and later, when I stir and turn them. OMG they are so good! A seasonal delight, like pulpy apple cider.

[Murfreesboro]

I've got a black thumb, sadly, but, as always this time of year, I'm dreaming of gardens. I want to buy seeds and starter trays and get things sprouted for the spring.

[Andybev01]

You could grow vegestable starts in trays, giving you the satisfaction of watching them sprout, then you could donate them to a local community garden.

That way you can still enjoy the growing season without the frustration.

[Murfreesboro]

I probably should, but I'm sure that if I get them started, I'll be planting them in my yard. I always think that this time it will be different.

[Andybev01]

Optimism springs eternal.

[Murfreesboro]

Yup.

Part of it may be the soil. I never had problems getting things to grow as a girl in Mississippi. Middle TN is all clay and limestone. I've been a cheapskate, have never gotten the soil tested and amended. My FIL, who grew up on a farm in Missouri, warned me that the soil wasn't very good here.

[Andybev01]

This is how tragic my history of gardening is, and why I should never be allowed near plants.

I lived in a house in downtown san jose with some friends of mine who were very good at gardening, and always produced healthy bumper crops vegetables.

One Spring while she was away on business.I took it upon myself to roto till the garden bed in the backyard.

For an amendment, I found a bag of fertilizer that was old but had grass sprouting out of it so I figured what the heck, it's probably still good.

There was enough in the bag to cover the entire plot so I did that, and tilled it in very deep and evenly.

A couple of months later nothing had sprouted and we couldn't figure out why.

Eventually the resident green-thumbs figured out the situation and proceeded enlighten me on how I had managed to create a real-life 'scorched earth' scenario, and instructed me on how much topsoil would be needed to replace what had been ruined.

Oops.