Hello to everyone from DragSmith Farms. Finally, a rain filled weekend. Can't remember rain for more than 20 minutes all summer and now that the crops are essentially done growing, we get rain. The ironic part is that we hoped for a nice gentle rain all summer and the first day of fall we finally get such. What a deal. Regardless of the timing we needed the rain. Maybe we can have that first fire in the firepit, roast smores and listen to the coyotes. Since we live in the woods, and it has been so dry we certainly didn't want to be the one that started a forest fire.
The warm days last week helped ripen up the winter squash. We are going to start with delicata (pictured above) and acorn. If you don't feel like eating squash quite yet or wondering how to use it as a table decoration just leave it at room temperature out of the sunlight. Don't poke anything into the squash if using it as a table decoration for it will eventually spoil. If you plan on keeping any of the winter squash for a long length of time, cool, dry and ventilated is preferred. Storage temperatures of 45 degrees to 50 degrees is best. Be sure to wash the outside of the squash before cutting into the skin to avoid contamination from the skin onto the flesh. Since it is easier to peel a squash after it is baked. poke a few holes in a whole squash when baking to prevent it from exploding in the oven. Squash was first eaten for the seeds. We often don't think to use the seeds. Can roast them just like you do pumpkin seeds. I would not keep our organic squash seeds for future garden use. We grow all the varieties close together so cross pollination is probable.
As always, have a great week and remember you are welcome to come for a visit.
