February 4, 2016

Good morning, recently at market I had a customer that was quite surprised that I was still harvesting winter squash (butternuts). I also frequently get asked when to plant winter squash. The name is really quite confusing but I think through the course of time the varieties of squash that are called winter squash have had their name shortened. What they really should be called are winter storage squash. But like so many things, we take the shortcuts and thus they are called winter squash. This also applies to winter melons too. If you see the name “winter” in the discription of a veggie it implies winter storage. All winter storage veggies are sown in warm soil, 60+ degrees.

These “winter” veggies have quite tough skins that one needs to be careful when cutting them with a knife. Knives may have some difficulty penetrating the outer skin. It is this skin that allows these veggies to hold this title. Besides being tough, the skins have a waxy property too. The bigger the squash or melon, the longer the storage life. This has every thing to do with surface area and volume. In larger squash there is more volume than surface area and it is much slower to dehydrate through the winter.

I start my butternut harvest in July and finish October / November. These squash are heavy producers (another quality of winter squash) and they will keep into the spring (April / May). A number of them may start to show wrinkles on the outside, these are still quite edible, but because of their appearance they are not marketable.

An interesting note on pumpkins and acorn squash, even though they have the harder outer skin, their flesh is thin around the seed cavity (butternut flesh is solid with a small seed cavity). It is this thinner flesh that prevents pumpkins and acorn squash from having a long storage life (three to four months). As for the winter melons, I have harvested them in August and made a wonderful fruit salad with them for Thanksgiving. Unlike other melons, the longer the winter melon sets the sweeter it gets. This is also true with winter squash.

A characteristic of all “winter” cucurbits is that the majority of them are quite large (in excess of 10 pounds). This size is not marketable, too large. The winter melons are not quite as large but still have a tendency to weigh in at around 8 pounds, a very questionable size. Two to four pounds is ideal. My ponca butternuts are right in the “sweet”zone.

Recently someone asked me for a list of what veggies I harvest each week. It is my intent to start doing this. There is no guarantee that I will have an abundance of any one item. If you are wanting a particular veggie, you will need to ask about availability especially during the winter. Harvest quantities are very reflective of how warm and sunny iit has been of late.

Something that I have never done, even though I have frequently talked about local in season veggies, is to list the times of year that various veggies are available. What follow is such a list. You may want to save it for later reference. I will note the season and what is available at that time. Due to weather conditions not all veggies make every year.

I will start with lettuce, carrots, beets, green onions, chard and kale. These veggies can be grown year round. I have gone to leaf cutting of lettuce. This should help with its regular availability. As soon as I get an established bed of green onions, I will harvest the tops so they will regrow. It is much easier to regrow foliage as opposed to growing a whole new plant. Of this group carrots and beets will need to have regular succession plantings.

Fall and winter: Spinach, boc choi, and asian greens from October until spring warm up. Kohlrabi from mid November until the bed is harvested. Sun chokes broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, parsnips and cabbage January and February. These crops except for sun chokes (perennial crop) are not available this year due to warm sowing conditions last fall. Next fall I have some new techniques I will be trying to avoid this problem. Snow peas from the middle of February until spring warmup. Last year the harvest didn't start until March and lasted to the middle of May. Radishes are available mid fall and then again early Spring (September/ October) and

March +.

Spring, Summer , and Fall Early harvests of all of these crops are very dependent on how warm of a spring we had. Last year because I was unable to plant early, most of these crops didn't mature until June and early July. Green beans, summer squash, and cucumbers harvest starts April / May and runs to fall freeze. Bulb Onions and garlic the harvest starts June /July and available until sold out. Eggplants and tomatoes May / June until fall freeze. Chili's from July until fall freeze. Butternut squash from July until sold out (April the following spring). Okra from June/July to fall freeze. Sweet potatoes from August until December /January

These are the times of year that these veggies are available. This all depends on the weather. I always like to push seasons so that I can begin harvest sooner.

This week I expect to have chard, kale, spinach, lettuce, turnips, kohlrabi, carrots, beets, beet greens, sun chokes and butternuts. Sun chokes, kohlrabi, and butternuts are the only veggies available in abundance this week.

It is getting into that time of year where bags may have duplicates or diminished portions. I will only bill for that portion I do fill.