Harvesting Butternut Squash

Photo 1: Butternut Squash Flower

 Photo 2: Young butternut squash growing on the fence. 

Photo 3: Butternut squash almost ready for picking

Photo 4: Butternut Squash Harvested (unwashed)

I am a huge fan of butternut squash soup!  I planted 2 butternut squash plants earlier this year, and they have taken over the garden.  So far we have harvested 3 nice size butternut squash, and there are still more to come.  During the growing season, I snipped off any small, rotting butternut squash and threw them away to help redirect energy to the healthy butternut squashes.

The butternut squash are ready to be picked when there are no longer green streaks on the skin, and the stem has turned brown.  Cut the squash from the vine, leaving at least an inch of the stem attached.  Disinfect the butternut squash by dipping it in a weak bleach solution, and then dry the squash.  Store the squash in a cool, dark place.  When stored properly, butternut squash can last several months.  

Seeds from Flower Arrangements

Photo: Flower from Flower Arrangement Setting Seeds

It looks like a flower in my flower arrangement produced seeds.  I can't tell if they are good seeds, but I decided to chuck them in the garden anyways and see what happens.  Maybe one will sprout!

Korean Star Melon Surprise

Photo 1: Korean Star Melon

Photo 2: Korean Star Melon Seedlings. 

I threw scraps of Korean Star Melon into my worm compost bin weeks ago.  When I checked on my compost bin, I discovered the seeds had sprouted!  I transferred the seeds into my garden.  Let's see what happens.