Our friends, Dara and Sherri, came today to help out. While Dara was busy packaging tomato seeds, I helped Sherri get the last names on the mailing list for our 2024 Seed Treasures catalog and get them emailed off to the printer. Hopefully, our new seed catalogs will be coming out in about a week and a half. We’re relieved and very happy that that big job is done. Then, Sherri got busy packaging various seeds and I sat down on the sofa and began seeding out some more Bozeman watermelons. Gee, who would have thought that watermelons would still be very good after Thanksgiving? But, boy, were they! I didn’t want to waste them as I took seeds out of each one, so I got busy and ate as much as I could. Sherri and Dara also thought those watermelons were pretty darned good too. I had juice running down my chin. Yummm!

Dara was here to help pack seeds today. Friends are such a huge blessing!
Okay, so I look like a pig; I love Bozeman watermelon!

Yesterday, I seeded out a whole bunch of Lakota squash. I’m really happy with this squash, which has a Native name but is not a Native squash. Modern breeders just named it Lakota. But, hey, the meat is thick, very smooth, and tasty. We ate some with supper and I made a pie out of the rest. While we thought it wasn’t quite as good as pies made with Hopi Pale Grey squash, it was pretty darned tasty!

Aren’t these Lakota squash gorgeous? And lots of meals in one — they have thick meat.

I’m already starting to plan our 2024 gardens and have ordered a few seeds of new varieties for us to grow and trial. One was the winter squash Hidatsa. We grew a test patch in the North Garden to see how we liked it. Unfortunately, we also had some Big Max pumpkins out there, which are also a C. maxima. So, the two could possibly have crossed. As we really love Hidatsa, a top-shaped pink, large squash, we want to grow it so we can harvest pure seed next year.

It warmed up a lot, from a low of -13 two nights ago to 35 degrees F today, so Will got busy and hauled two loads of round bales home and figures to spend the warmish week doing that, as much as possible. He can haul 7 bales at a time on his homemade hay transport, made from an old school bus frame with 4×4 cross members to hold the bales in place. It’s ugly but it works and didn’t cost us thousands. He traded our friend, Mike, for it several years ago. It’s sure earned its keep! — Jackie

3 COMMENTS

  1. Jackie, have you ever made pie out of banana squash? Mine were prolific this year. I could try but don’t want to waste time and it, if its not a good squash for it. Thanks

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