Can You Save Seed From Our Squash

I've been asked quite a few times this fall whether you can save seed from our squash and pumpkins.

The answer is probably not.

The reason is...

Petersen's Market Menu for October 31, 2015

Squash Images, Photo Credit - Reed Petersen

 Well it finally had to happen...a hard frost. That is a hectic time on the farm. Everyone hustles to pick everything possible. The pile of squash to the right is a credit to the hustle of four high school students for about 4 hours one Friday morning a couple of weeks ago. We picked two pick-up fulls of squash, about 5000 pounds. Some smart student did the math and we figured this was about 500,000 calories. These beauties will be gradually washed and brought to market over the next 4-5 months.

Late October is the time to pick the best carrots and parsnips of the year. Can you guess why? Frost! You need a few hard frosts to bring out the sweetness of those carrots. The children call our carrots "candy carrots" because of this crunchy sweetness. Here is a link to an article on our web site about why carrots are sweeter with frost?

October is the traditional month for planting Garlic in Minnesota. Here is is a link to an article on our website for How to pick seed garlic and plant.

Don't forget the pumpkin pie, here is a link to 15 different recipes  we have developed for pumpkin pie. From classic to low carb, these are great creative ways to work a little pumpkin into your life


Fall greens are so amazing: wild arugula, baby spinach, lettuce, baby beet greens, baby kale, red russian kale, cilantro. All are at the perfect baby baby size. 

Andrea dried some mints and herbs and is making some Vegetable Freak... Freaky Tea. Sweetened with fresh stevia.

• Andrea's Tropical Tea - Orange Mint, Pinneaple Mint and Stevia
• Jenna's Sweet Chocolate Tea - Chocolate Mint & Stevia
• Lisa's Orange Blossom Tea - Orange Mint, Spearmint & Stevia
• Just Mint - A Blend of Spearmint & Stevia
• Perky Pinapple, Lemon Majito, Minty Sage, Rosemary Lavendar (lots more).

We will have the following items at the Farmers Market for Saturday, October 31, 2015 (New items are in Bold Print)


Cabbage
Broccoli

Tomatillos

Garlic
Carrots
Leeks
Walla Walla Sweet Onions


Fresh Cut Herbs: Mint, Chocolate Mint, Oregano, Cilantro
Arugula - Wild
Mizuna
Mesabi Arugula
Baby Spinach
Spring Mix
Baby Kale- Regular and Red Russian
Beet Greens
Dandelion Greens
Herb Plants - Rosemary,


Pickles: Spicy Dill, Sweet Sandwich, Okra, Dilly Bean, Corn Relish, Pepper Relish.
Salsa

Chipotle Smoked Peppers

Charcoal (home grown, home made)

If you took the time to read clear to the bottom of Market Menu I'm going to include a thoughtful article from our website archives. This week's "thought for the day" is entitled clover is just like ice cream. It is a story from when Jenna was two.

Sufferin Succotash

Sufferin Succotash is the catch phrase popularized by Sylvester the Cat in the Looney Tunes cartoon series. You didn't know you were going to get a little depression era pop culture in this post.

Succotash on the other hand is a dish made from a mixture of corn, beans and other vegetables.

I use the phrase to describe a new technique for soil building that I have been trying.

 Here is this years version....

We Sold 200 Pounds of Squash on Valentine's Day

Most people get a card for their sweet heart and a dozen roses for their beloved on Valentines day.

I did something unique for valentines day today. I sold 200 pounds of squash.

We have some friends from the farmers market that sell to restaurants in the Twin Cities. They noticed we had a lot of squash at market last weekend and wondered if we had some extra we could sell. Most people are out at this time of the season.

We were blessed with a bumper crop of very high quality squash and so we have about 500 pounds left in the middle of February. That has never happened before. We are always out by this time.

I'd have to say this is one of the most unusual Valentines Day things I have done.

Honey Nut Squash

It was the strangest thing. I had been harvesting squash from the middle of the field and I switched to the other side. There was a new variety that I hadn't found in a month of harvesting.

It was a miniature sized butter nut squash that was a beautiful gold and green. They were 1 to 1.5 pound size.

My daughter Andrea had planted the squash and I wasn't even sure what she had planted. I finally found it in one of my seed catalogs.

We had two for supper tonight and they are very smooth and flavorful.

They are good for eating but I think they would make excellent pie as well.

The Three Sisters

When Europeans came to America the local peoples were growing corn, squash and beans together. These became known as the "three sisters".

They had plenty of space and resources, so why did they do this?

Plants That Do Well Together in Pots

There are a number of combinations of garden plants that do well together in pots. Here are 10 combinations:

1. Sunflower, squash and peas. Similar to the three sisters that were planted by the native Americas when the Europeans first settled in America.
2. Two peppers do well in pots. They also do well planted together in the garden.
3. Combinations of herbs, such as Basil, Rosemary and Thyme.
4. Edible flowers such as pansies work well with shorter herbs.

How to Pick a Great Squash

There are many types of squash, so how do know if one is fully mature.

I resist using the term ripe here as it is more of a curing process than a ripening. Most of the darker squash like acorn or kubotcha develop an orange splash where the squash touches the ground. So what if the squash is suspended and doesn't touch the ground. Well the squash still matures but doesn't have the orange splash. It is typically a dark green or grey (if it is lighter green then it is probably not mature).

Even some of the lighter squash get this orange color. For example, Delicata, Carnival and Jester. The effect is more subtle with just the stripes exhibiting the color change. The orange color comes from the blanching of the ground contact point a little like the the changing of the color of the leaves on a tree. The orange color is always there on a ripe squash but you can't see it until the green is blanched by lack of contact with light.

Other squash like orange kubotcha or orange hubbard probably get the orange splash but since they are already orange it isn't prominent.

Spaghetti squash don't get the orange splash at all but mature to a beautiful golden yellow. There is one variety they turns a deep orange and has a more orange flesh.

Butternut also do not get the orange splash but look for the darker classic butternut brown color. This does vary from variety to variety a bit. There are some new varieties with a more compact vine and fruit that I like a lot. The Waltham Butternuts get so large that they can be a bit much for a small family. Butternuts make a great pie if you find you have more than needed for a meal.

Pumpkins and Squash

With the turning of the calendar page we are now in October and our thoughts turn to fall. Pumpkins and squash are one of the treats of fall. Our crop of both pumpkins and squash is one of the best we have had.

Pumpkins

Large 30-40 pound Jack-O-Lantern did very good this year. Excellent shape and mega sized handles. We had such a difficult spring that I started some of the longer season pumpkins in 4 inch pots in early May. They were fully mature by early September.

Medium 10-15 pound Jack-O-Lantern with excellent handles were also mature by early September.

Pie pumpkins - Two tried and true varieties. New England Pie and Winter Luxury Pie.

Cinderella Pumpkins - Beautiful bright orange. Flat oblate shape.

Fairytail Pie Pumpkins - Extremely dense. European pie pumpkins. Deep orange flesh. Green to brown color.

Squash

Acorn - large acorn, honey bear - small personal size

Spaggeti - large standard size, small personal size, both have outstanding flavor

Butternut - medium size and small personal size.

Carnival - large colorful sweet dumpling type

Jester - striped acorn

Delicata - striped, sweet potato squash

Small Orange Hubbard - Hubbard flavor in a small package

Orange and Blue Kabotcha

Buttercup - old standby sweet squash