Tag Archives: pumpkin

Essays and Reflections, pumpkins, Travel

Transforming the Giants

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In Ludwigsburg Germany, the home of the European Giant Pumpkin Championship, one might think that the competition is simply “winner takes all,” but think again. These other giants undergo a transformation that will leave you speechless.

DSC_0789I had planned to arrive at Bluhendes Barock, this past Sunday, to watch international sculptors transform giant pumpkins into works of art, but I just couldn’t wait.  I decided to go to the festival a day early, so to visit the selected pumpkins before they were paired with an artist.

I wasn’t the only one with this strategy.  These now accessable giant pumpkins were set out in the gardens, offering a perfect photo opportunity for admiring fans.  The pumpkin growers had elected to donate these giant pumpkins for the artists to work with. A fair amout of diversity was represented in the pumpkins themselves, both in their genetics, and from where they came from.  The invited artists also came from many different locations: France, Germany, Switzerland and Russia were all represented.

On Sunday, I walked through the leaf filled paths of the Bluhendes Barock gardens, to see the sculptors at work. I quietly admired the athletic actions of these sculptors. They would have only one day to complete these monumental works, so every minute would count.  As much as I tried to stay quiet, several of the artists noticed that my admiration exceeded that of most visitors.  Perhaps it was the fact that I took over 100 photos, and I continued to watch for hours.   I was fortunate that several of the artists offered me some of their precious work time so to welcome me, and gave me an inside look at what it takes to be a pumpkin sculptor.  I passed them my business card, filled with images of pumpkins, and instant friendships were made. I told them that I was visiting them from Hawaii, and that it was well worth the trip.

Jeroen van de Vlag of Siebnen, Switzerland, spoke to me about the sand sculptures that decorated the palace grounds, as well as the pumpkin creature he was currently carving. He had created some of the elaborate sand sculptures in the formal palace gardens, back in July.  I had marveled at them the day before, and now, even more so, after learning that they had already been outdoors, on display, for three full months of autumn weather.  The day prior, I had admired the pumpkin sculpture, but I did not immediately recognize that it was made of sand.  What initally caught my eye, was the collection of Long Island Cheese, and Crown pumpkins that decorated the base, then I noticed that the pumpkin sculpture was not cast, but rather an ephemeral work of sand.

Jeroen and I spoke about his life as a travelling sculptor, of ice, fruit, and of sand, before he returned to work on his design. Earlier in the day, a little boy asked the name of his pumpkin creature, and Jeroen named the creature after the little boy. In the process, perhaps another pumpkin sculptor was born.

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The work of Jeroen van de Vlag, of Siebnen, Switzerland

I moved on to the next sculpture, as the artist, Larissa Bohrkircher, worked intensely on a very different pumpkin face.  As she worked, visitors noticibly cheered her on.  She worked on a pumpkin which clearly reflected this year’s festival theme of “the forest.”

I took a good look at the tools of the trade, as well as the different techniques the artists were using to make these reductive sculptures.  I saw various knives, exacto blades, pruning saws, and also sculpting tools normally used in ceramics.  Because of the scale, I also noticed a shovel, pitchfork, and the large bin, containing what was cleaned out of the pumpkins earlier that day. The names of the pumpkin growers were also on display, for they had generously donated their farm treasures for all to enjoy

I have to admit, I wanted to get in on the action, especially after a delightful exchange with Galina Faletra, a Russian born artist, who now resides, and carves in nearby Stuttgart. She was working on a large creature who made everyone smile.  She explained to me that she had a new baby, indicating towards the happy face in the nearby stroller. This busy mom did double duty, caring for her baby, as she sculpted a pumpkin creature. I had to smile, thinking that her child will have incredibly high expectations for their Halloween decorations in the years ahead, and I am sure Galina will lovingly exceed those wishes.

Then I saw another crowd gathering as a lanky, contemplative artist returned to her work.  She studied the movement of a dragon that curled around the giant pumpkin.  She stood back for a good, long look, before stepping in to further reduce the form.  As the light played with the shadows, she seemed to be judging how best to bring this dragon into the late afternoon light. Corina Lampropoulos was in her zone.

When viewing sculpture, all sides are considered, and Corina was working on bringing the tail of the dragon into focus.  Many viewers were happy to see the unexpected dragon pumpkin.  I heard the German word for dragon, drachen, said with delight.  I immediately liked this artist’s style,  as she created the unexpected with an athleticism mixed with grace.

A man stopped by to comment on Corina’s successful sculpture.  I gathered from the pumpkin cuttings that covered him from head to toe, that he must be the artist from France, Benoit Dutherage.  They posed for a few photos before both artists returned to thier pumpkins.  Several of the people I met that day had mentioned that I should meet Dutherage.  He had worked hard to get his sculpture near completion, before stepping away.  He was now returning, with “fresh eyes” to complete his work.  Benoit displayed a photo of a sleeping infant, that was now also seen carved before us.

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Benoit Dutherage, at the completion of his sculpture

The scale of Dutherage’s work was impressive.  It wasn’t until he returned to his sculpture that you fully appreciated the monumental work.  You could now see how huge the pumpkin was, when compared to a full grown man.  He stepped forward to speak to me about sculpture, contests, and the challenges of creating large scale work within one day.  We spoke of inspiration, style, and artistic expression before he excused himself so to change his clothes before the judging.  I tried to convice him otherwise, as I thought the sculptor’s clothing told a story.

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The day’s work was clearly seen on the clothes of Benoit Dutherage of France

As Dutherage stepped away, so did I, because it was judging time, and I felt that it was best to be impartial.  Each of these artists had shared a bit of themselves with me today, and I respected each of them, and their works.  I did not have a favorite, but was inspired by all.  As I returned to the pumpkin carving garden, the announcer climbed above the crowd to announce the winners.  The crowd hushed so to hear the results. Larissa Bohrkircher’s name was announced as the 2018 sculpture winner.  She smiled, blushed, and waved to the fans.

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I congratulated Larissa, as she offered a broad smile and a thank you.  The crowds gathered again, to photograph her and her work.  I was pleased to watch as the artists congratulated, and complemented each other’s work.  It was clear that they were supportive of each other. I offered my own words of praise to the artists before I left. We exchanged waves, and handshakes, and kisses on both cheeks.  As I walked away, I was given the opportunity to collect three giant pumpkin seeds for a friend. For me, as a grower, the action had even a greater significance.  This sharing of seeds was the perfect way to share the creativity, magic, and inspiration that transpired that day.

Essays and Reflections, pumpkins, Travel

Zucca Zucca Zucca

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Simply put, la zucca is pumpkin, in Italian. It is the word that I have used the most in the past weeks. I have chopped them, searched for them, harvested, them and dined on them in nearly every corner of Italy, but there is still more.  There are still fairs to attend, restaurants to dine in, and seeds to explore.  I have been a bit lost in a flurry of action, as festivals run back-to-back.  The connection to the people of Italy is so immediate.  I show a photo, I note that I am a producer of pumpkins, and it seems that hearts open up. they forgive my “bad Italian” because I speak the ultimate Italian:  farming.  The production of food is more important than language.

Every village seems to have them in the shops, every Airbnb in which I stay has one on the kitchen counter.  This wonderfully simple vegetable is loved here in Italy.

I have crossed from Slow Food Terra Madre in Turin, to Florence, to Mondovi, to Alba, to Lecce, Orsara di Puglia, Naples, then launched north to Germany. I tour festivals and fields, corner markets, and kitchen counter tops.  Seeds fill my pockets, squash fills my stomach, and I sleep well at night.  In the weeks ahead, I will be sharing my journey with you, one zucca at a time.

Piozzo, Itlay
Mondovi, Italy market
Yikes, my luggage filled with squash presents
Festival di la zucca , Piozzo, Italy
Chef Antonio, Orsara di Puglia
Piozzo, Italy
Chef Peppe Zullo, Orsara di Puglia

 

 

Agriculture, Farming, Hawaii, Marketing

Waimea Gold

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A brief note to update you all on a new variety I am breeding for Hawaii.  It is called “Waimea Gold,” and it is growing beautifully here.  I have crossed two strong landraces, then inter planted with other c. moschatas that were performing well. I allowed them to again cross, and now I am hand pollinating and selecting traits.  This last step is currently going on, and it will be part of the stabilization process.

The result is a market variety that is beginning to show up at some of our farmer’s markets, and the chefs have been serving them up too.  I have given seed to two local farmers that are growing them already. They have noted that it just “wants to grow” which is exactly what we need.  No fuss. But I will be doing a bit of fussing in the months ahead, as I continue to stabilize the traits.

For those of you interested in plant/squash breeding, here are the traits that I am selecting for:  Small size (3-4lb max), smooth, easy to peel, versatility in flavor profile (can be used in a wide variety of dishes,) pest and disease resistance (especially powdery mildew and pickleworm,) and best of all it is a contender to give the imported bland little kabochas a run for their money.  Tasty and local…not to mention kinda cute.  Here are the current photos! The green ties on the stem mark that the pumpkin blooms were hand pollinated for seed purity. So Waimea….let’s hope we have struck gold!

recipes

Lima Bean and Pumpkin Chili

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Maybe it needs a better name, but for now, it will have to do.  As I savor the last bite, I am filled and satisfied with this now much more nutritious dish.  Holiday visitors passed through the kitchen as I was making the chili, and it seemed to be an unlikely recipe to most.  My invented recipe intrigued an eight year old who dreams of being on a “kid chef” show on the Food Network.  He watched me like a hawk.  The recipe is made in a slow cooker, and can be adapted to all tastes.

This time of year, I often collect a nice amount of the heirloom Christmas lima bean.  I am frequently pressing these beans into the hands of school kids in hopes that they plant them here in Hawaii.  They should be grown in everyone’s home garden, school gardens, and on fences, banana trees, bamboo…you get the idea.  They are perfect for Hawaii’s long, come and go seasons.  It creates a pretty vine, and the bees love the delicate bloom.  I’ve sung it’s praises before, and I am at it again. Plus the bean is big and very flavorful.

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Above is an image that shows how they catch the morning light in the garden.  In the photo, they are covering an unsightly windbreak that I made two years ago out of bamboo threaded through shipping pallets that were placed on their side.  It has held up, and become a beautiful area that is also effective against the wind tunnel effect. I bought the first lot from  Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds three years ago, and since then, I have supplied half of the state of Hawaii with them, and also included them in many special meals.  It was the best $2.50 I have ever spent in the garden!

But back to the chili.  Lima beans make a lovely chili bean, especially these lovely burgundy speckled ones, and the spice of homegrown chili peppers mixed with sweet pumpkins is a wonderful, and thrifty match for my eat what you grow style.DSC_0400

So the concept is the take away here. Here is what I did:   I picked, shucked and rinsed the lima beans, harvested a few chili peppers and selected a nice aged pumpkin.  I soaked the beans for a couple hours, then decided just to cook them on low overnight in the slow cooker.  I could have added a wedge of onion to the water that covered the beans, but I forgot.  By morning, the home cooking filled my tiny abode.  I had 1/4 of the crock pot filled with dried beans and then filled the entire crock with water.

In the morning, I drained the beans, saving the cooking liquid on the side.  I did this by simply setting a colander inside a large bowl. I returned the beans to the 4 qt slow cooker, and added 1/2 a chopped onion, 2 packets of chili seasoning, 1.5 lbs of hamburger, one can of tomatoes, and a can of tomato paste, plus three cloves of garlic.  Then I chopped about 1.5 pounds of pumpkin, salt and pepper.  I also added about 3 cups of the bean cooking broth back into the cooker.  Normally, I would add my fresh chili peppers, but this one was made with little kids in mind.

When I make this again for myself, I am going to make a meatless version.  The lima beans and pumpkin make a satisfying chili, and the meat just isn’t necessary.  The beans were already cooked, so it was a matter of waiting for the pumpkin to cook.  This gave me plenty of time to shuck more beans for later cooking and planting, as well as give me some time to turn the home garden upside down section by section, in my December garden overhaul.

By 4 in the afternoon, I couldn’t wait any longer, and snuck a small sample bowl…and then another. I was waiting for the pumpkin to be tender. By this time, I was hungry, and this really hit the spot.  I could have easily added more of the bean broth to thin it out a bit.  I added some more salt at the end of the cooking.  I smeared it with some sour cream and piled it on top of basmati brown rice.  There were zero complaints about either the limas or the pumpkin.

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Proud to Represent Hawaii

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Hawaii often gets left out of many agricultural events.  People often ask me why.  It is simple: fruit flies.  They have made our exporting of produce difficult for the last 100 years.  With that being said, they have also made it the most challenging place to grow many otherwise common vegetables.  Marketing has showcased pineapple and sugar, two plantation crops that are uneffected by these pests. But we are not so proud to note that every year, new agricultural pests erode what small food production we have in the Hawaiian islands. When asked why I didn’t bring squash to the expo, other growers just shake their heads.  Those who have been around a while usually say, “oh fruit fly? Lucky you are growing anything at all.”  They are right.

It is for that exact reason that I began researching, and later breeding squash for Hawaii, and other areas with tropical fruit flies, and the newer introduction, Pickle Worm.  When California gets an invasion of fruit flies, they sound the alarms.  When Hawaii gets a new pest, it barely makes the news.  Another one, is not what any of us need.  But they continue to come in every year.  That is one of the many downsides of importing over 90% of your food.  It leaves the door open for pests from around the world to enter the islands.  Don’t believe me, try talking to someone from Australia.  We have many of the same issues.  I had more than one person ask for my squash at the National Heirloom Expo last year, I had to direct them to the images on my booth,  often the response was, “couldn’t you smuggle one in?”  I know they meant well, wanting me to represent my breeding and farming efforts with the real thing, but the very last thing I want to do is destroy California agriculture so that I can have something to show.  I explained the magnitude of what one selfish act could do.

But after having so many inquiries, I just thought my way through the situation.  Though I could not bring squash into California, or anywhere else in the US, I could get seed through. I wanted to collect more research data, as I entered year 4 of my farm’s independent research for squash in Hawaii.  It was brought to my attention, that maybe I should include it in the Baker Creek squash trials.  I will be telling that story at a later time, but for now, I just wanted to share the very good news that the Hawaiian Black Kabocha not only survived, but it produced in a very different environment, and surrounded by all new pests, and squash virus.  Why does this matter?  It matters in many more reasons other than having a squash in the line up at the expo.  It is another potential solution for islands and areas suffering from both fruit fly and drought.  It can be a solution for the food production efforts of other places.  The labors of one can help many.  After the expo I received an angered email that noted how self-centered my actions were.  Now, it was time for me to shake my head, knowing in my heart, he couldn’t be further from the truth. So Hawaii, this was for you.  Mahalo nui loa for the dozens of top ranked chefs who taught me the nuances of flavor, so that I could be a better informed squash breeder.  Because it is simple, if I am going to be breeding for pest resistance, I may as well breed for excellence in flavor and texture as well.  Hit that ball out of the park for all of us.

So here she is sitting pretty in the line up.  Only a Hawaii grower knows how much that means to get her there.

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Agriculture, Farming, gardening, Hawaii, permaculture, pumpkins

Pruning Squash Leaves for Plant Health

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I plant close, I’ll admit it, too close.  I am a chronic over planter, but I have my methods.  One is making sure that, as one farmer summed,  ” feed the heck out of your plants.” Yes, I do.  Exactly.  I set those plants up for success by giving them a lot of micro nutrients, worms lolling about, mulch to hold it all in, and you cannot forget my homemade fish emulsion.  Like all good things, success comes from a layering method giving a strong base to grow just about anything.  DSC_0409

So it is mid July, it is now finally hot and sunny in upcountry Hawaii, and my May plantings are beginning to sprawl.  What do I do?  Prune the inner leaves and let the air circulate.  Let the other plants like corn, tomatoes and flowers get to see the light, by removing the squash leaves that are very close to each other.  A healthy squash plant will have “choke” (Hawaii slang for a lot) leaves.  So cut off the ones dusted with mildew, give the bed a good soak with diluted fish emulsion, and let ’em sprawl.  In the weeks ahead, they will smother the entire area where I shot this video.

Bear with the video, it is hot and mid day as I deliver this squinty, yell at the camera squash tip.  But it is sent to you now, so that you can fully benefit from it.  The extra fish emulsion will give it a boost of energy at week 6, a heavy vining time in the squash’s life cycle.  So prune, put the leaves in hot compost so to rot it down.  Don’t leave the leaves in the garden or you will encourage the powdery mildew.  Bag the leaves in an old garbage bag, tie it shut, leave it in the sun to cook and kill the mildew before moving them to your compost.

I happen to breed varieties that are naturally resistant to Hawaii’s bouts of mildew, they are often unaffected, when a new trial plant is suffering in it’s first season.  Only the strong plants survive my plant editing.

Powdery mildew is common here in Hawaii, even in dry up country.  I mean very common.  If a plant is getting a lot of natural nutrients, good air circulation, sun and water, don’t fret, maybe try a different species or variety of squash.

Only a small percentage of the squash varieties that I trial even like their VIP care.  So many varieties simply don’t like growing here.  Hawaii has a little bit of everything pests and disease, with the highly unpredictable growing conditions for plants, none of which is welcomed by many squash varieties.  I tried to grow the super dependable Hubbard, and it didn’t like the farm conditions at all.  Now that the soil is really soil instead of half rotted compost, it may like it.  Sometimes it is the time of year that you plant, or even the day that you choose to plant on.  If at first you do not succeed, try again.  You will be a better farmer or gardener if you fall on your face a few times.  Trust me. I do it all of the time.

permaculture, Soil, Zero waste

For the Love of Hops

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The Beer Garden is the nickname of my small farm parcel.  On April 1, 2013 (April Fools Day) I began to soil build.  When you know that you are growing a hungry crop, you know that you need to build your nutrients in as part of the plan.  So from day 1, spent hops from the award winning Big Island Brewhaus were used to amend the soil.  I am doing no-till, so the hops are dug into the growing piles.  Much like a 1/4 acre compost heap, it takes some attention and care to see that the soil stays healthy and that your microbes and worms can thrive.  People laugh when I say that it is a huge effort to “turn” a 1/4 acre.  Remember that each time I turn the farm, my zero-waste principles are at play.  Sure, it is easier to rip up plastic ground cloth, roll it into a ball, and drop it into our landfills, then they over till, and spray. That is one strategy, where you may save time there, but in the big picture, you are not saving anything. I do the opposite of that.  Each foot will either have a plant growing there, or will be used as a re-rooting place where vines will be buried under the homemade soil and get another hit of nutrients.

Yes, the other method can be done in a day, but your soil is on borrowed time, while mine is surging forward.  My labor of hauling and lifting create a nice, rich soil that holds water.  In a drought…that is worth gold.  So think before we discard.  Make connections with these local businesses who would like to help their farmers.  Yes “their” farmers.  Farmers belong to the community in the best possible way.

Here is a video where I explain a bit more about amending with fermented fish and brewery waste

I always do the warning about hops and dogs…they are poisonous to dogs, so watch your pet.  Many dogs have zero interest, but be cautious.

The image says it all. The additions have changed the soil dramatically.
The image says it all. The additions have changed the soil dramatically.

So think about how you can make super soil.  This farm is small, but my soil is mighty.  Be a steward, and you will be rewarded with a bountiful harvest, reduced pests, and you will be a hero to the kindergartners…and who doesn’t want that?