Seeds Have Gone Places!!

I am building raised beds for my garden, I would love to put squash in there too. Or growing season outside still hasn't started but soon.... Then I'll plan to put a hoop house over it to extend the season.

Howdy!
I'm hoping we get some good rain with the front that just blew through, but am afraid that our interesting topography will  protect us, again.
Either way, the squash continue to do well, and I just received the maple seeds. Thank you. It will be lovely to find a perfect place for them.

Are there any seeds left?  I would plant them in my 15x40 foot bed with my painted mountain corn.  I’m in the south with plenty of heat and humidity.  I’d love to find something the vine borer won’t eat!  

Rose Bou wrote:Thanks to a particularly wet, stormy, and cold night spring - my seeds have yet to deal with real heat. But they germinated very well.  I will add photos soon, as first true leaves have just started coming. Thank you so much for your kindness!! <3

Awesome!!!

I managed to drop a whole packet of chard seeds behind the washing machine the other day...still have not gone through the effort of moving the machine.

OH did someone say seeds!! There can never be too many seeds 😀 I have a huge apple tree & a few pear trees that needs a friend. There is plenty of places to plant most anything or a new kind of squash. I have numerous raised boxes, the front yard, back yard. Or just about any where on our big yard of close to 2 acres. I know I could find a place for them to grow.

I have been thinking of using the many trees I have to let the climbing veggies do their thing.
My thoughts were to create a small garden space at the base of the tree, put the plants there, fence it as best as I can and see what happens.
I will still have to fence around the plants because the deer and elk like anything green.
Planted a couple hundred starts about 6 weeks ago in our sun porch and 99.99% took off!
I have pumpkin and squash flowering now.  Not a bad thing, (plants are still in sunporch, tho), but we are still getting snow and frost.  Hope a couple more weeks and we can move things outside.

Thank you for the squash seeds!!! They got here to Kauai just fine!🌺🌻🥰😁

Esellie Laing wrote:I have a 50:50 compost/soil raised bed in
our backyard next to a tall hedge of mock
orange with goats on the other side. They'll
love the squash if it vines through! We live
on Kauai, the Garden Island.

Yay! The seeds arrived just fine!

I'm about to restart a bunch of squash seeds because mine fell prey to root maggots!  I hadn't even heard of them before.  I learn something new every year.  Last year was all about voles and how they eat everything!  This year the root maggots got half of all the seeds I so carefully started inside to protect them from the voles. The root maggots came from my worm bin- thought I was being good adding some worm poop.  So now I know next year to start in sterile soil...  Such a learning curve to gardening.  There is always going to be something I don't know.

Here's a picture of where my squash patch will be along with some painted mountain corn.

If you still have them:
We are planting up about 1 acre of food forest in Maryland, swale system, with chickens and a bunch of young fruit trees and support plants. The berms have fences around them to prevent the chickens from scratching up our plantings, and the whole thing is surrounded by field fencing. In one corner, I am growing J. Lofthouse’s Astronomy corn for my local seed library. I would love to plant a bunch of squash around the edges and along the fence. Most of last years squash was hit by squash vine borer, and I want to select resistant varieties.

Esellie Laing wrote:Thank you for the squash seeds!!! They got here to Kauai just fine!🌺🌻🥰😁

Good! I was thinking about those to Hawaii the other day, wondering if they made it. Very glad they did!!
In your climate, I bet they'll grow like crazy things, we want pics when they do!!

I don't want seeds, just wanted to say that I enjoyed the pictures of peoples' gardens!  Maybe next year, if the same seed offer is open....We have over 2 1/2 acres in south-central KY, on the edge of zones 6b/7a (varies according to the weather that year).  And I have plenty of space to plant things.  But I have a bad back.  Some days it's good, others, like today, I was doing well to make it downstairs to sit in the office.  I still hope to get some things planted this year, but I have three years worth of seeds on hand!  I'd like to try Seminole pumpkins here, and maybe eventually develop my own landrace, but it might be pie in the sky at this point.  Love seeing pictures of what you are all doing, though.

Kathleen Sanderson wrote:I don't want seeds, just wanted to say that I enjoyed the pictures of peoples' gardens!

Me too! I'm having fun seeing all of this!
I hope people post us pictures later in the year, so we can all see what grows :D

Hey miss lady. We're in SE Idaho. Where abouts are you? Good to see some fellow new Idaho homesteaders!!

I have half an acre of ground that was so abused when I got it three years ago, the only thing growing was bind weed and a tiny composite with a 1/8inch root system and a bur for a seed.  I have been mulching, watering and planting the last 2 growing seasons.  I innoculated with king stropharia mushroom spawn 2 growing seasons ago.  Now there is mycelium visible and a population of earth worms.  Deer eat things that they don't usually eat,like columbine and stag horn sumac.  Last year they ate the tomato vines often enough I got NO tomatoes.

Some squash have kind of prickly stems and leaves which might deter the deer
I need plants that crawl away from where I concentrate water (arid climate and only expensive municipal water available) and shade the soil.  If they fruit more than I can eat and give away, my goats will eat the squash.

We have one field ready for planting that consists of six rows 150' long. Each row is a 4' wide piece of landscape fabric with four inch holes every two feet. The rows are 11' apart with lumber tarps filling between each row. The lumber tarps control the weeds and help retain the moisture as we have sandy soil.
If there are still more seeds, we have another area like it that has 8 rows at 60' long. Thats about 690 spots to put a seed.

Jessica Mcdonald wrote:Hello!

I have not had great luck with winter squash in our cool, short summers, but I'd like to try out some mystery seeds, that sounds fun!

These are my raised beds, currently covered in snow( did I mention, the moose tend to treat them like salad bars sometimes) I can usually start planting by the 3rd week of May for most crops.

In haven't read all the posts, but you might try a buttercup variety. Ours did super well for storage. We roasted the last one we had in early April. It was apparently a South Dakota variety for short growing. Had we realized that sooner...we could have had planted again for more squash! Did I mention it makes a great pie!?!

I have been learning about permaculture for a while, and the permies site has been a real inspiration.
Finally getting a chance to put what I've learned into practice, and would really welcome advice from some seasoned practitioners.
Doing things seat-of-the-pants can be fun, but then it can get expensive.

We have a steep property with some unique features, and are trying to build a permaculture-based system to support our family.

Plans are to dig a spring fed pond at the top of the site, dig an earth sheltered greenhouse
into the south facing slope that will utilize an earth tube thermal battery, install a retention pond and earth berm water diverter
upslope from the garden, with a terraced garden at the bottom of the slope.  Soil is typically slightly acidic
in our area, so blueberries and blackberries should grow well on the earth berm.
We plan on piping water from the pond to the greenhouse and garden.

The garden has a fairly steep slope around it, which should work well for growing squash and melons.
We collected large mounds of topsoil for several years as we cleared ground for parking and a barn, so the garden area will have a couple of feet of topsoil.  There are a lot of
sticks and twigs throughout, so there will be some mini hugelkultur happening as well.  We'll probably do a large burn pile on the garden area at the end of the season to add charcoal
to the growing area, and juice it up with a big fresh truckload of cow droppings to charge up the charcoal before it's all spread out next spring.
Local farmers put down lime to reduce acidity, but I figure some potash and charcoal might help with that as well.
For pest control, an 8' deer fence that will be installed around the garden and we plan to run some guineas...

Right now I'm struggling with garden layout.  We would like some perennial plants like asparagus, strawberries, etc.  My thoughts are to
put perennials on the upper terraces and reserve the larger garden area for annual planting.  Any ideas on what plants would grow well in which area,
good companion plants, recommendations on anything else?

We're starting fresh so all options are open.  Mystery seeds would fit right into the general theme.

The old excavator isn't supposed to be sitting there right now but it threw a track as we were mountain climbing with it, and come to find out it has a busted track tensioner.  
Still waiting for parts...If they don't come in before long, I reckon we'll dig a pond where it sits and have one heck of a rope swing.

I would love some squash seeds!!!  I am a vegetarian and have actually only eaten a couple of kinds that you buy in the store. I would be planting my seeds in a raised box along a fence so the squash plants could be trained to climb the fence. Last year I grew SOME beautiful zucchini. I say SOME because I had what seemed like hundreds of blooms and hardly any squash. I even tried hand pollinating. I also tried growing butternut and another hard squash that I've forgotten the name of. We had an early freeze so they froze on me and were unable to be consumed. The weather forecast was for 10-15 degrees higher that it ended up. This year I have bought wider plastic to protect my future babies. I live in zone 6b so if anyone has any hints or tips I'd love to hear them.  

Roxie McAllister wrote:I also tried growing butternut and another hard squash that I've forgotten the name of. We had an early freeze so they froze on me and were unable to be consumed. The weather forecast was for 10-15 degrees higher that it ended up.

Squash can be eaten at any stage, you don't have to wait for them to ripen before you eat them. If you pick them young the seeds will not be viable (they will not grow) but they re very edible. I like some types young better than I like them ripe, as they are crispy and can have different things done to them.

I'm also vegetarian, and I'm a serious squash freak. I do some odd things with mine, and eat a lot of them.

Wow!!! You can eat squash when it isn't ripe...... Thank you for teaching me something today!!!  I'm also interested in any recipes or types of squash that you like.  The other type that I tried to grow was my grandma's favorite Blue Hubbard Squash.

I have received my seeds, and based upon the notice on the packet that they are strong climbers, I put some into the pile of branches that is an unfinished huglecultre mound, just to see how they do.

First off, thanks to Pearl, and the others who allowed me the chance to grow these.  I have no idea how I got a packet, but I got a packet and am growing five of them.  I hope to save seeds from them and regrow them every year.

They got germinated in a plastic cup with a bit of water in it.  They sat in it for about a week, sprouted tails (even some green leaf starting coming out by the time I got around to planting them).  I'd not recommend the method, but it works for me.  My dogs ate a few of my other squash that I had started in a rain gutter grow system so I replaced them with these seeds.  They are now caged in with some hardware cloth to prevent the dogs from eating the leaves.  They are growing really well in the fifteen gallon self watering buckets.  My plan is to grow them up onto the frame of my seasonal greenhouse, and then grow them onto the roof of the garage assuming they get that far along.   Not sure they'll be able to handle the heat, but we'll see.  Squash typically does really good here, except I have major problems with squash bugs devastating my plants come mid summer.  No amount of d.e. or flooding and hand picking seems to work.  

I'm also growing three in my front yard lawn (used to be bermuda grass, now covered in wood chips for about two years).  I put five gallon nursery buckets with the bottoms cut out in several locations in the chips (to prevent the wood chips from smothering the plants).  I then put a few inches of good potting mix in the bottom of the buckets, planted the squash, then put a plastic cup around the squash, then topped that off with a few inches of finer mulch.  I'm trying to retain as much moisture as possible.  I have drip line going to each bucket.  I tried growing watermelon and cucumbers in the same area last year, but it didn't do very well.  There's a mulberry in the very front of the yard, and I think it might be robbing the water?   Assuming they grow well, I might try to grow them up the small trees in the background, a windmill palm, and a desert willow.

Thanks again, I'll post pics of progress if there is any.

Josh

Roxie McAllister wrote:  I'm also interested in any recipes or types of squash that you like.  The other type that I tried to grow was my grandma's favorite Blue Hubbard Squash.

Blue Hubbard is one of my favorites too Your grandma was wise!

I started to look up if we had a thread here on permies about just squash recipes, I don't see one, saw all kinds of neat things though! This search result page Searching "squash" in the Cooking forum on permies has all  kinds of neat links.

I just started this one, give it some time to get answers: Winter squash recipes

This one looks like it's useful too: Winter Squashes: What are their flavor profiles and uses?

Roxie McAllister wrote:I would love some squash seeds!!!  I am a vegetarian and have actually only eaten a couple of kinds that you buy in the store. I would be planting my seeds in a raised box along a fence so the squash plants could be trained to climb the fence. Last year I grew SOME beautiful zucchini. I say SOME because I had what seemed like hundreds of blooms and hardly any squash. I even tried hand pollinating. I also tried growing butternut and another hard squash that I've forgotten the name of. We had an early freeze so they froze on me and were unable to be consumed. The weather forecast was for 10-15 degrees higher that it ended up. This year I have bought wider plastic to protect my future babies. I live in zone 6b so if anyone has any hints or tips I'd love to hear them.  

Funny you mention that...we planted 2 last year and I was expecting to cry at the number of zucchini we "were supposed to get" since usually 1 plant would give us more than we'd want. I guess the new soil here isn't squash friendly yet. I planted 4 this year and 1 odd Italian variety. I'm hoping for excessive zucchini. My zucchini bread has been selling well at our tiny farmer's market.

Another variety we tried last year (for eating, not growing) was those little "honey nut" squash. They are like a miniature butternut squash ( which I don't usually care for). They are supposed to be a little bush squash and they were freaking delicious! I did keep seed, but not planting them this year. I'm trying to see how my saved buttercup seed will preform this year.

I like to eat my butternut with lots and lots and lots of butter. I've also noticed that some butternut have better flavor than others. Some are fairly bland with hardly any flavor.

Butternut ravioli is also really good.

I'd like some! I'll grow them all over On Narrow Pond to see what part of the acre they like.

And the time has come...
All of the seeds have gone places. No more seeds.
I'll leave this thread open for comments, and hope you'll all show us pictures!!

Approximately 2000 seeds were given away!  WOOT!
That much potential food can only help the world right now
Thank you all for playing!
:D

Thank you for the seeds. I am late getting everything in but planning to get pictures. Thanks for all you do

I received the seeds a little over a week ago.

Snow picture is what it was outside!

Snow is gone and I have planted 1/2 the seeds by a couple trees.

Other half will go by a few other trees.

My free seeds are growing!
Might be awhile before I get any fruit though.
Going to see how they do growing up trees.
I dug out a bit under the trees and filled with some good soil.

Howdy!
It's been a bit, and I'm having an off day, so that's the best time I can think of to share pictures.
I took pictures of Squashzilla!
There are two summer squash plants (non climbing), the mystery winter squash seeds (I think I planted 3), some Birdhouse Gourds (I think there are another 3, maybe 5?), and the last of last year's package of a smallish Butternut squash (I think there are 5 plants. Hard to say.)
So far, one of the Early Yellow Straight-neck Summer squash has started to run into a problem of rodent damage and too much wet. I have cut it back a bit to get rid of the dying off parts, and hope it will try again. The other plant is fine, so far.

Of the climbing types? I effed up. I put them all in the same way too small for them planting bed. By the time I was realizing that they were *all* going to grow, it was too late to move any of them. Now, they're so jumbled up and twined around each other, I've decided to take my learning experience and try to make something of it.  Whatever they produce (at least they're all some form of winter squash, right?) will be harvested and used as best possible, and the seeds saved until next year. I hopefully won't be such a dolt as to repeat many of the mistakes I have made this year with this garden.
Hopefully.
I have learned that the local rodent population really likes bottle gourds, as they have managed to chew deeply into each of the ones I have been able to find.
As the local rodents are also burrowing into the sweet potatoes (one of the new things I seem to have done pretty right), I am looking for ways to reduce their numbers drastically.

I have spoiled the chickens too much and they aren't going after the rodents like I would prefer, instead trying to figure out how they can make a nest in the back (feed) shed where I won't kick them out. Silly birds.
But, I do have pictures! Enjoy Squashzilla.

(ed. for correctness in photo labeling)

Hey everyone - just thought I'd drop back and and share some pics of what those gorgeous landrace seeds are doing:

First squash from the mix, taken against a backdrop of lofthouse astronomy sweet corn!

My squash has taken over the world!!!  Also several have settled into the fence panels- they will need to be chopped out but plenty are growing freely!

Here's some pictures of the two kinds of squash.  The landrace variety keeps getting mistaken for watermelon.  I'm interested in what it is supposed to look like when it is mature.

Jenny Wright wrote:Here's some pictures of the two kinds of squash.  The landrace variety keeps getting mistaken for watermelon.  I'm interested in what it is supposed to look like when it is mature.

No one knows! That's the fun of landrace, lots of genetics, all kinds of things might happen, no one can predict it.

Well, my seeds that I planted by trees did not fair well.  They grew to about 1 foot and that was it.
I think that there was not enough good soil.  
Next year I will try again and dig out a large space and put in a LOT of good soil and see how they do.

Thanks Pearl for the seeds, I still have a half dozen of them left and will try to grow them next season.

Here's my squash that I got! They didn't quite ripen all the way but the leaves have died and we've had a few frosty mornings so Times Up!