garden | gaggle of gourds

a gaggle of gourds... The newspaper headlines around these parts have been littered with articles on the hard hit pumpkin crops of this summer. The deluge of June and July's rains really stunted the progress of these fun crops. Ironically, I had planned for this summer to have my biggest concentration in all things pumpkin, squash, and gourds. Bad timing on my part, but I am thankful for the little bit of harvest I'm just starting to get.

We dipped to 30º last night and had our first hard frost of the season. Right now it looks like everyone survived, but I know the days are limited until Mother Nature wins. All across my garden, Lumina and Baby Pam pumpkins are still so young in formation. The winter squash crops of Sweet Meat, Baby Blue Hubbard, and Burgess Buttercup are trying their best to produce, but despite the miles long vines, I'll be lucky to harvest more than one or two each of these plants. I'm hoping they may get another week or so to grow, but I don't think they'll mature enough in time to be properly hardened off.

If you want to add whimsy and color to your garden, definitely plan to plant some gourds. These plantings have just proved to be so delightful and fun. They speckle the waning garden plots with color and personality.

The Baby Blue Hubbard winter squash is not only perky and adorable, but provides a delicious sweet addition to the dining table and is also a great storage squash. I think next year, I'll bulk up to growing the non-dwarf variety, but I am definitely going to grow this squash again.

Some are yellow and green. Some are striped in different hues of greens and yellows. Some are warted. Some are smooth. Some are round, some straight. Regardless, all are fun to grow.