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Post by woodeye on Aug 31, 2022 11:03:38 GMT -6
Oh wow! june, I can tell by the photo of your Tromboncino that they grow quite a bit before flowering. Those Chinese "S" gourds really lived up to their names, mercy those are whoppers!
Would it help if you called them "Chinese Snack Gourds"? That would get rid of the dreaded "S" word you wrote about.
The "S" word doesn't bother me, fortunately, but I won't use that word around you. My ex-sister-in-law is the same way, NEVER say that "S" word around her, it might be your very last words.
Thank You so much for the photos and Information!
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Post by june on Aug 31, 2022 11:48:26 GMT -6
Woodeye, changing the name helps a lot, but its hard to work in the garden while wearing a blindfold. I also have one of those new hoses that curls up and goes limp when the water is off...It nearly gives me a heart attack every time I see it and I know where it is and what it is--still startles me every time!
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Post by woodeye on Aug 31, 2022 12:02:38 GMT -6
Woodeye, changing the name helps a lot, but its hard to work in the garden while wearing a blindfold. I also have one of those new hoses that curls up and goes limp when the water is off...It nearly gives me a heart attack every time I see it and I know where it is and what it is--still startles me every time! june , well that's the best I could come up with on short notice. "while wearing a blindfold" that's hilarious!
My uncle has one of those hoses like that. You have to approach it with caution. But in your case, approaching it with caution wouldn't help.
Please don't have a heart attack, we don't want that to happen...
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Post by hmoosek on Aug 31, 2022 12:41:12 GMT -6
I didn’t grow any squash this year. I only like them fixed one way. Sliced thin and coated in seasoned flour, throw in a pan of hot grease and cook like a tader chip.
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Post by woodeye on Aug 31, 2022 12:50:55 GMT -6
moose, I like squash any way they are cooked, but I'm making a major change in varieties next year. Even though I finally did have quite a few squash to eat and give away, seems like the plants played out too fast, even though they were bug free. I'm sure the extreme heat caused a lot of that, but I'm going to make tatume my main squash for summer squash next year because in the past I never had the problems of it being a weakling plant like I've had with these sissy squash plants this summer...
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Sept 1, 2022 21:29:46 GMT -6
Woodeye,
I missed your Korean squash and Sooyow Nishiki cucumber medley a few days back. I just saw that post this evening. That looked really good!
Have you ever tried fried squash blossoms? Back when I used to grow squash for the Farmers' Market, I'd pick all the male blossoms the morning of, and sell them for .99¢ each. People would snap those up faster than I could put them on display. I'm not sure just what they were doing with them, but a few people said they stuffed them with sausage and goat cheese.
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Post by woodeye on Sept 1, 2022 22:17:24 GMT -6
heavyhitterokra, Yes, that Early Bulam/cucumber/smoked sausage was very good. I had it again last night with a scallop squash instead. There's something about adding one of those long skinny cucumbers to it that makes it better, at least to me it's better.
I went all summer and never tried any of those squash blossoms because I forgot to, but it's not too late, I still have a few plants left that are blossoming. I put most of the plants out of their misery already, they were not producing much at all and it wasn't worth using the water. Then it rained. But that's okay, I still get a squash now and then for another meal...
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Post by woodeye on Sept 12, 2022 8:54:54 GMT -6
A few days ago, my Tromboncino plant flowered for the first time, three beautiful huge flowers on it. I was delighted with that until I discovered that all three were female blooms. There was zero male blooms. Oh no! It is the only Moschata I have, so chances of pollination were slim to none. But to my surprise, at least one of them is growing. It grew 3-1/2" overnight. I decided to research my other squash on the trellis this morning, it's a Korean squash and I had in mind it was not a Moschata. Boy is my face red! It is a Moschata, and evidently the male bloom on it pollinated my Tromboncino.
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Post by macmex on Sept 12, 2022 10:31:06 GMT -6
Yep, any moschata will pollinate any other of the same species. Your Tromboncino will soon produce male flowers. If you decide you want to save seed you'll need to hand pollinate. If you get one soon there still might be time for it to mature.
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Post by woodeye on Sept 12, 2022 12:32:59 GMT -6
macmex, Thanks for the info. I'll keep watch and I hope there is another one soon to hand pollinate. I'm going to harvest the other 2 that blossomed the same day as the longest one, and use them as summer squash. Perhaps harvesting them will make the plant think about producing another one that can be hand pollinated...
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Post by chrysanthemum on Sept 12, 2022 18:54:52 GMT -6
That is a beautiful squash, woodeye . I’m so glad that it seems you got some pollination on at least one. Hurray for having a second Moschata in your own backyard! I thinking picking off the unpollinated fruits is a great idea to encourage the plant to put out more. Maybe they’ll be good eating, too, since they get somewhat long before the flowers open.
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Post by woodeye on Sept 12, 2022 21:11:26 GMT -6
Thanks, chrysanthemum. I gotta tell you, it was quite embarrassing to discover that the Early Bulam is a Moschata. No wonder it's such a good tasting squash with a different texture than Pepo. I'll find out how tasty the young Tromboncino squash is too, they are scheduled for supper tomorrow night. Well at least one of them is, 2 of them would probably be too much. It's the first time growing either variety, so I don't know how much better they would do in the ground, but they've actually made big plants, considering both are growing in the same 20 gallon grow bag, of which probably only 17 gallons of the bag is actually full of soil...
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Post by woodeye on Sept 13, 2022 10:28:45 GMT -6
And so it goes, it's time for today's tale of the tape. I'm sure most of you know already know that it's difficult for me to hold a tape measure with one clumsy hand, and hold a cell phone with the other clumsy hand, and take a picture, so the distance from the Tromboncino to the cell phone was not the same as it was yesterday, plus, the tape was not exactly in the same spot today as it was yesterday, so I allowed for the 1/2" difference in the complex algorithms that I used to determine the overnight growth.
Anyhow, the squash grew 3 inches during the night, or somewhere sort of close to that. The 1/2" difference in the tape measure readings can be noted by the tape's position on the bottom of the clothesline pole in yesterday's and today's picture...
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Post by woodeye on Sept 13, 2022 18:11:23 GMT -6
I just finished a meal using the 2 Tromboncino squash that were hanging on the trellis beside the one in the previous picture. One of them had not been pollinated at all, it was about as big around as a King Edward cigar, perhaps a bit bigger. The other one evidently had at least partial pollination, it was about as big around as a golf ball, and about one foot long. Sliced them up, with a little bit of olive oil, garlic, salt, and some smoked sausage slices. Cooked them in a Corningware dish covered in clear wrap, for 9 minutes in the microwave at full power. That was the most tender squash I have eaten in my life. First time I have ever eaten Tromboncino, but it will most definitely not be the last. Phenomenal! A keeper!
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Post by chrysanthemum on Sept 13, 2022 20:41:40 GMT -6
Wonderful news!
How do you know when to pick the one that got pollinated?
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