Wall of squash

A lot of talk about walls in the USA these days, but there's no wall like this one.  This wall not only looks like it would be easy to penetrate, it actually looks as if it has a reasonable chance of simply falling down.  The simple fact is that there are a lot of squash and pumpkins on display here, a decent cross section of some of the 300 varieties under cultivation.  That's a lot of kinds of squash; sort of pretty isn't it?  You can buy seeds to most of them via the Homestead Seeds component of this family business located near Arthur, Illinois.  Oh, and they have the best pumpkin ice cream ever. Also bought some squash for seeds, and for pies, and for dinner (delicate), and for fall decoration, and for a wren house (bottle gourd actually).  

Friday Fabulous Flower - Squashes & pumpkins

The Phactors went foraging for apples and squashes, and having said something about apples, here's a Friday fabulous flower offering about flowers at the stage of seed dispersal, fruits. And in this case some of the largest fruits, squashes.  All of these are in the genus Cucurbita, in one of four species. C. pepo, C. mixta, C. moshata, and C. maxima.  Don't ask TPP to sort all these varieties into the correct species for you, it isn't easy or logical in many respects because you can't really go by color or shape or size.  At any rate fruits of all four species are shown here, the rest is left to you.  A lot of genetic diversity is represented here, and yet only 4 species!  This pile of squashes can be seen at the Great Pumpkin Patch in Arthur, Illinois, though the end of October. No you can't have the big blue pumpkin at the bottom center; bad things will happen if you move it. You can also find seeds for most or all of these from Heritage Seeds at the same link.  They also have the best pumpkin ice cream, but you can't get it online. Our gardens are too small and too shady for squashes, so our supply of winter squash is purchased here. Bins and bins and bins of them, all labeled and sorted for their primary uses, some so big they are hard to lift.   

Are pumpkins squashes?

Somehow the near annual arrival of a reporter to interview TPP about leaf color was unintentionally avoided; they were sent to find my lair, but TPP was out and about collecting seeds. The also nearly annual question arrived by email: are pumpkins squashes?  Short version: yes. Here's a link to a nice discussion of pumpkin/squash diversity. As an added bonus, and in case you did not notice the recent post on the Botanist in the Kitchen blog, here's a very good discussion about giant pumpkin/squashes. Growing up, TPP's Father got a big kick out of growing big pumpkins, but he never had any as big as these although they remained impressive anyways. The pumpkin TPP is posing with is a mere 901 pounds, while this year's big pumpkin is 2.5 times bigger! And as long as TPP is on the subject, a couple of weeks are left to visit the Great Pumpkin Patch near Arthur, Illinois. Can't think of any place where you can see more varieties of pumpkins and squashes than there (300+!). And do try the pumpkin ice cream.   

Outa his gourd!

Mac Condill is out of his gourd, just plain nuts-crazy, in a good way, about pumpkins and squashes! A visit to this Lincolnland icon just outside the mighty metropolis of Arthur (mind the horses & buggies) would convince anyone about his condition. The Great Pumpkin Patch is a paradise of cucurbits, an ode to squashes, pumpkins, and gourds, a symphony of pepos. This fellow is an alumnus of my public institution of higher learning, and this probably figures into his deranged state of mind, but the Phactor assures you the only physical danger is having a squash dropped on your foot (the largest on display topped 900 lbs!). However once you behold the over 400 varieties of squashes and pumpkins being raised and sold as fruit or seed here it might result in your catching gourd fever. Pumpkins and squashes are all classified in just a few (3 or 4) species of Cucurbita and they are all trace their ancestry to Central America, but as they have moved around the world and interacted with people, their genetic diversity has become manifest in all these varieties. So which variety is the best for flavoring pumpkin ice cream? Believe me, Mac knows.