Saving squash seeds
I harvested basketball sizes of Hopi squash this fall — and we had the squash for our Canadian Thanksgiving this past weekend. You are absolutely right — DELICIOUS. Quick question regarding saving seeds — is there a test I can do to see if they are dry enough to store. Can I then vacuum pack them?
I will also send some back to you to replenish your stores (there was no other squash type plant in my garden this year so the seeds should be a “pure” strain)
Farmgirlwanabe (M. Blaney)
Ontario
I’m sure thrilled that you got a good harvest of your Hopi Pale Grey squash. When the seeds are completely dry, a paper-like husk will shed off the seeds. I would still put them in an airtight glass jar for a couple of weeks just to make sure that there is no condensation inside, indicating that they need to dry more. They are FAT seeds and require more drying than do many other kinds of squash and pumpkin seeds.
Thank you for offering to send some of your seeds back to me. However, I really don’t need them as we harvested 90 big squash this year! Tons of seed. Instead, why don’t you offer them to some of your other gardening friends so they can help us keep this great squash alive and kickin’? It was ALMOST extinct! Thanks to folks like you, it’s climbing back to safety. — Jackie
Hopi Pale Grey squash
Thank you for your article on senior living for homesteaders. I envied your picture of what appeared to be Blue Hubbard and Butternut squash. I can hardly get past early summer with summer squash and infestations of squash bugs to have my winter squash mature. I have tried chemical pesticides such as Sevin, and the organic methods such as Dawn dish detergent in the exact amounts given to me, but have had no luck at all. I hand pluck and destroy and remove all eggs on leaves, but to no avail. What is your secret please?
Claudia Toenies
Silver City, New Mexico
The squash is one of our rare Hopi Pale Grey squash. We’re lucky that we don’t have squash bugs but have had them before in New Mexico. I’ve had good luck dusting with Rotenone or Pyrethrins, being sure to dust under the leaves as well. They seem to come in “waves” so if you continue to protect your vines the bugs lessen with time. You do need to dust/spray after every hard rain or watering when you water with a sprinkler. We also picked the adults and removed eggs by hand. If you rake up your spent squash vines and burn them it helps diminish your infestation next year as they overwinter in the dead vines. I hope you have better luck next summer. — Jackie
Apple-walnut cake
Your book “Growing and Canning your own food” page 228. Apple-Walnut Cake. My wife, Glenna, asks if perhaps there is a misprint in the amounts in the recipe. The line where it says “Pour into a greased and floured 13×9 inch baking pan” My wife says it is not pourable, it is so thick she had to spread it down with a spatula, making her think there might be a mistake.
Stephen Hawkins
Boone, Iowa
Nope, no mistake. “Dump” out in a pan sounds unpleasant so most recipes call for “pour” instead. This recipe makes a thick batter, thinned by the amount of liquid still in the canned apples. It is a heavy cake, not a light cake such as store cake mixes. — Jackie
we have a bumper crop of Hopi Pale Grey squash started from a volunteer in our compost pile. Do I wait till frost hits the plant to harvest the squash or can I do it before then? After harvesting do I have to wait any length of time before using the squash? Thanks for your help.
I have terrible problems with squash bugs here in Western CO. This year I found something that makes picking the eggs and newly hatched bugs off the leaves and vines real easy, duck tape! I also have problems with vine borers but I used your advice, Jackie, about wrapping the vines with panty hose, that worked well and my squash all survived this year! Thanks!
@Claudia Toenies:
Try Zucchetta Rampicante squash. It’s also called Trombochino. I’ve never had squash bugs, but a friend of mine has them in swarms, and says this squash is immune. It’s the only squash she’s ever tried that survived the whole summer!
It’s a multi-purpose squash, you can use it either as a zuchinni or as a winter squash. I’ve found them to be fairly good keepers, they actually get sweeter in storage. I had one that had been sitting on the counter for 5 months, and it was like eating sugar!
Jackie, just wanted to say we are using our Hopi Pale Gray squash…. they are wonderful, for pies, custards, or what ever….tonight I cubed one, drizzled it with Extra Virgin Olive Oil, dusted it with a bit of cinnamon, black pepper, salt and cayenne, and baked it on a cookie sheet….DELICIOUS!!! I canned a bunch of them, and have about half of the crop saved in my upstairs to use fresh through the winter. Thank you again and again…. prior to this year blue hubbard was my winter squash of choice….Well I kissed it goodbye this past spring so nothing could cross pollinate my Hopi P.G. thinking if I weren’t impressed I could buy a few blue Hubbards at the local farm market….Well the love affair with the hubbards has ended….the Hopi P.G. is superior in every way that counts with my family…..Rick
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