- Author: Alison Collin
How could one possibly refrain from trying a vegetable variety that goes by the intriguing name of Smooth Criminal?
One of the most exciting developments in squash breeding has resulted in a space-saving, vertically growing hybrid, and for those of us who are tired of the endless battles controlling the summer squash bug population this variety may go a long way to help reduce the problem.
For starters, Smooth Criminal which is the result of the breeding program at Seneca Vegetable Research and the University of New Hampshire carries the gl-2 mutant gene which reduces spines on the plant, both on the leaf petioles and stems. This makes harvesting and checking for squash bugs less skin-abrading for the grower, and the young tender fruits have less damage to their surface.
Not only that, but this plant has an upright habit, with the pale yellow fruits produced sequentially along the stem. Although it will need to be staked it has been found by some growers to be less attractive to squash bugs because the fruits are carried well off the ground.
However, none of the information regarding this prolific squash makes any mention of its flavor so time will tell as to whether the positive aspects of growing it are worthwhile.
To offset this I have decided to grow an AAS award winner, Caserta-type hybrid squash, Bossa Nova, (see photo above) which has a compact bush type habit and is said to have an excellent flavor with very smooth flesh. The fruits which are generally zucchini shaped are pale green with darker green patterning, are uniform, and produced early and over a long season.
For a few years I have been growing Tiana F1 butternut squash which has become my all-time favorite for its smooth texture, strong colored flesh, straight-sided blocky shape, prolific crop, and excellent keeping abilities. I have just eaten, in mid-February, my last fruit which was harvested in late September. However, it has one major downside – the sheer size of the plants. One plant covers almost half my vegetable plot, rampaging over any other crops that are in its way, rooting wherever a node touches damp soil and continuing on across the lawn.
I really needed to find something smaller so this year I will be trying Butterscotch. This is another AAS award winner that produces smaller fruits on compact, semi-bush plants needing only 6sq.ft of space each and is said to have a very complex sweet flavor. It should produce fruits weighing between 1-2lbs and will keep in storage for about 3 months. An added feature is that it is also resistant to powdery mildew. It will be interesting to see if the compact form with fruits closely produced in the center will make it harder to see and reach any squash bugs.
Links:
- Author: Harold McDonald
A gardener struggling to use mountains of zucchini is almost a meme in the gardening community, so it's very humbling to have to tell people you can't grow it—kinda makes you look like a grade down from a Master Gardener! And even though I know my conditions are extreme out here at the edge of the Volcanic Tableland, my pests normally come on four legs, not six. So, having to surrender growing squash to the bugs that stole their name is pretty frustrating. But I know this is a situation that many better gardeners than I have surrendered to!
The normally-more-than-daily examinations of each giant, sticky, rippy leaf for the glistening little bronze eggs, all while the progenitors scurry for safety in the folds of the struggling squash plant is just more than most of us are up for.
I know people have lots of strategies to deal with these pernicious pests, but none that have ever seemed worth the work to me. All require diligence. Leaving home for even a few days can throw momentum back to the bugs. More than that and the situation could get completely out of control!
But gardeners are always dreamers, and long before the days warm up in the spring, we are scheming, trying to solve seemingly unsolvable problems—at least I am—and squash bugs is a tough one. I started searching online, but again, the solutions weren't easy, realistic, or convincing.
Somehow, while researching squash I stumbled on parthenocarpy, a term I had learned somewhere back in a plant class, but certainly not a term I would have known to search for. Seedless watermelons are parthenocarpic—production of the fruit does not require fertilization of the ovule. For more about parthenocarpy and cucurbit sex, see this University of Nebraska pdf.here.
The important thing is that since fertilization is not required, you can keep the plants under floating row covers for their entire lives, physically protecting them from squash bugs. If you're inexperienced with row covers, they can really help in a number of situations, probably more commonly to raise temperatures in the shoulder seasons. Here's an introductory article on row covers from a MG blog in Wisconsin.
Yeah, but where do I find seeds? If they're parthenocarpic, do they even have seeds? Yes, they do have seeds, and some of the top varieties are ‘Cavilli,' ‘Venus,‘ and ‘Gold Rush.' I chose ‘Partenon'*—who can resist a squash that seems to have been named after a Greek temple? I planted the seeds in the ground in late May without a clear plan of exactly how I would cover the plants. But they did indeed come up. I improvised something from bits and pieces I had laying around, and eventually built a more robust but very simple portable hoop house (rebar and PVC) for them.
The results have been beyond what I could have imagined. So far, no squash bugs and plenty of zucchini! I'll do this again next year in a different part of the garden. I may look for an additional parthenocarpic variety. This field test from Cornell ranks ‘Dunja' as even more efficient than ‘Partenon.'
But with success, I'm now the one searching my cookbooks, Paprika (an excellent recipe database program for your digital devices) and online for good ways to use the bounty. Today I made zucchini pickles and a fabulous zucchini butter that will go great on crackers or bread, perhaps with a bit of pesto or fresh basil on top and—with any luck—tomatoes later in the season!
*By the way, in the University of Nebraska presentation, they refer to ‘Parthenon' zucchini from Thompson and Morgan. It is actually ‘Partenon'—no h in there!
Resources
https://agronomy.unl.edu/documents/parthenocarpic_zucchini2008.pdf
http://www.hort.cornell.edu/expo/proceedings/2014/Vine%20crops/Seedless%20squash%20Reiners.pdf
- Author: Bobbie Stryffeler
Unlike other varieties in the Allium genus, garlic doesn't bulge from the ground when it is ready for harvest. Instead we give garlic time and watch for changes in the leaves.
Last fall, late in the season, I planted approximately 30 garlic cloves of 'Music' a hardy soft-neck variety. I waited about 8 months until the lower leaves began to die back, and then I stopped irrigating the crop. For approximately a week, the crop was left to dry. As the week progressed the long leaves browned, bending away from the twisting scape. This drying in the soil is part of the process of curing garlic.
Next, the harvest. I used a garden fork, inserting it a few inches away from the stalk, pushing it down and then bringing it up, underneath the garlic head. The fork allows much of the dried soil to fall away.
It is important to remember not to attempt to wash or scrub as the intact skins are necessary for long term storage. For the next step I laid out each garlic head (roots and stalks attached) in a single layer in a place where they could continue to dry that was cool and shady. After 3-4 weeks I trim off the roots and cut the stalks. The remaining dirt is then gently brushed off.
Are you thinking you want to give garlic a try? If so, it is a great time to prepare the bed and amend the soil. Garlic can be planted between September and November, depending on the zone and the weather. You can also plant garlic in the spring but the yields are higher with a fall planting, and you can use that space in the garden for growing other things.
Learn more at: http://sfp.ucdavis.edu/pubs/SFNews/archives/95071/
And Garden Betty has great close-up pictures and ideas: https://www.gardenbetty.com/a-guide-to-curing-and-storing-garlic/