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Growing and Harvesting Butternut Squash
Butternut Squash It is considered a winter squash. Given the chance winter squash will take over a garden (this includes pumpkins). The vines are very long and will grow to all parts of the garden. I usually direct the long vines to the perimeter of the garden so they encircle my garden space. Growing butternut squash was not on the top of my list during my early gardening years but once I decided to try growing it, it has been a regular in my garden. Growing Butternut Squash Butternut squash is easy to grow. The growing season begins in the summer for harvesting in the fall. The seedlings are extremely…
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Homemade Italian Spaghetti Sauce
Where the flavor starts… Italian cooking is not a quick process. It is a social event. The kitchen is the gathering place, and as I cook, there are wooden spoons flying around tasting my sauce. When I make tomato sauce, it slowly cooks 2-4 hours depending on the amount of sauce I am making. The house is filled with such a pleasant aroma. The meal is greatly anticipated and enjoyed. As many Italian cooks declare “flavor in Italian dishes builds from the bottom up”. True authentic cooking like my dad did started with lard as the base with finely chopped onion and any other vegetables like celery, carrot, or garlic.…
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Slow Roasted Tomatoes
Growing up in a large, Italian family, big family meals were routine. For Italians, food is not just a meal. Family meals were frequent and often centered around food and extended family. My grandparents where straight from Italy and moved to the USA when they were young. My dad was one of 5 boys so there was always big stomachs to fill. Everything was home made and tomatoes seemed to be served in some form everyday. My Aunt Angie made homemade bread daily and as you can imagine it did not last very long. My dad made homemade tomato everything including pizza sauce, spaghetti sauce, roasted tomatoes, and all…
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All You Need To Know About Growing Cucumbers
I love growing cucumbers. The best memory I have is taking a big bite out of an extremely bitter cucumber. That was early in my gardening journey and I had planted a cucumber meant for pickling, not eating raw. Who would have thought there was a difference? I sure didn’t. So, when picking seeds to plant make sure you read the seed package carefully. Decide What To Grow Cucumbers have a refreshing taste mostly because they are high in water. They are divided into 2 categories: those used for pickling and those used for slicing. Pickling cucumbers tend to be bitter and are not good when eaten raw.…
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Canning Peppers: How To Preserve Peppers
My favorite gifts to give are canned goods. So, once my garden starts taking off I like to begin some of my canning. I get asked frequently for my canned pepper recipe each year – Enjoy! I have harvested my first round of peppers (mostly different types of jalapeños) and it is time to preserve them for later. The heat level of the peppers can be adjusted based on the type of pepper planted however, mine all go together in jars. My family can handle the heat. I do put a mixture of red and green peppers together as it makes a pretty combination especially for Christmas gifts. 2 quarts…
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Zucchini Bread
The Ever-Prolific Zucchini We learned a lesson from zucchini over the years. We always grew 3-4 plants each year and you probably can guess the rest of the story. We ate zucchini. We cooked with zucchini. We froze zucchini. We gave away zucchini. We now grow 2 plants and that seems to plenty to fit our needs and we do not feel as if we are being wasteful. We like baked goods with zucchini the most. Zucchini bread and other baked items are very easy to make. Grating the zucchini is a snap if you have a food processor with a grating feature. (It really saves the knuckles.) A…
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How Hot Are Your Peppers?
Peppers are a favorite in most gardens behind tomatoes and herbs. They are often grown in container gardens and they do well. Peppers are a warm season favorite however, they require higher temperatures, grow more slowly and are smaller in size compared to a tomato plant. They require full sun and they need to spaced 12-18 inches apart. Peppers are a thirsty plant and need plenty of water. The soil must drain well so the roots do not get saturated which can water logs the roots. A little history about the spiciness/heat of pepper began in the 1900’s. The Scoville scale of heat is a measurement of the spiciness/heat of…
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Spring Showers
As planting season has come and gone, we now get to sit back (which means spend hours watching and picking as the fruits and vegetables ripen) and see the garden grow. All the hard work that leads to a plentiful crop. But, the work does not stop. We all know the reality of making sure the okra doesn’t get too large, or the tomatoes do not sit on the vine too long. What about the herbs that seem to have taken over and spread like wild-fire? Well, we know the spring showers bring much appreciated moisture to our freshly tilled garden, but it can also bring unwelcome weather. Hail is…
Home Grown is Best
