Saturday, December 18, 2010

Warm, Then Cold Again

We had a couple of warm days in the low 70s, but its back to cold again.  And next week it will be back to warm for a few days, then back to cold again.   We should call this the "see saw" season, instead of winter.

I was wondering through the garden today.  I tripped over an old vine, and out popped a nice Acorn Squash that I missed.  I split it, saved the seeds, and cooked it with a little butter and brown sugar.  Talk about goooood.   Wonderful complex flavors, but simple to prepare, and healthy.  Got to love that.  Its funny, that my family, in-laws, and no one else I know ate the winter squashes.  They sure were missing some good food, but I'm not.  They'll always be a part of my garden from here on out.

While I was in seed saving mood, I went out and got some Cucumber seeds.  I had read to let them get yellow and soft before harvesting the seeds.  Needless to say, I wasn't looking forward to this operation, but in spite of the fact that they were pretty disgusting looking, yellow and soggy, the insides still smelled like fresh Cucumber.  To say I was relieved is an understatement.

The second set of heads are starting on the Broccoli, in spite of the fact, that I let a couple of large first round heads go to flower.   Hey, at least the bees love me.  They are all over those pretty yellow Broccoli flowers.  I did lose a couple of Cauliflower heads, which turned yellow and ugly after the freeze of last week, but I had already harvested, and gave away so much, that I can't say that I minded.   I still have some Cheddar Cauliflower coming along, too.

And still got a great crop of lettuce, along with enough Georgia Collards to feed a small army.  My Curled Leaf Collards are shaping up great as well, while my spinach looks like really sorry.  Beets and Carrots don't look so good either.  Go figure.