Tag Archives: Winter Squash

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!

gardening, Hawaii, Uncategorized

The Climbers

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Squash are either looked upon as amazing, sprawling, productive plants with a mind of their own, or else space hogs that need to be to be reigned in.  Obviously I see nothing but beauty and inspiration in their vines, but one of the most FAQ that I get is how do you control them?  The answer is simple, the more you try to rearrange their vines, cut them back, or run over them with a lawn mower, the more you are destroying your chances of being a successful squash grower.

I advise Hawaii growers to prune both Winter squash and edible gourds back once or twice a year, after harvest.  What I hear, is a lot of people cutting off vines as they are getting ready to flower and set fruit, then they wonder why they didn’t get squash.  Pick your battles here, folks. You get one or the other:  tidy garden or squash.  Considering that the state of Hawaii was down to one commercial grower before I started, one would think that if you got a plant established enough where it was spreading all over, you would leave it alone and let it reach out.

In the past few years, I have made some progress with inter planting with all kinds of things.  Squash will crawl over everything, but it will also keep on crawling.  I let the vine continue on its way and trim off the leaves that may be shading the pepper plant, or eggplant that it is crawling upon.  Now there are a lot of different kinds of growers out there, and this will not set well with some, but for those with a small space, permaculture bent to them, this is for you. Before we go on, just note that squash produce their fruits on the ends of their outstretched vines.  If you cut off these critical vines, you have made a prune that is going to really set you back.  I know many lawnmower cowboys who fight me on this, but trust me cowboy, you’ve shot yourself in the foot.

Here are a couple of photos from my home gardening experiments.  Today, I added additional pieces of bamboo this way and that, so  to create a strong enough trellis for chayote/pipinola to smother.  I crossed the bamboo and tied with wire.  Two untreated shipping pallets can be seen in there as the base, and heavy pieces of bamboo get threaded into the sides of the pallet to create planes where the upwardly mobile vines can go.  At the base, also you will find Winter squash, and Christmas lima beans planted.  It doesn’t really matter who grows on what.  All three are vines, all three are valued plants in the garden.

This garden is now overly shaded from the banana trees, so my focus is now the narrow windows of sunlight.  These climbers are now at a point where they are up and out of much of the shade.  This “living wall” serves several purposes, most importantly, it lessens the wind tunnel effect of this corridor garden. I also like the fact that it becomes a vertical place of interest as well.  But equally important to me, is that it is a home for the Jackson chameleon family and their newborns.  I care about such things, and I realize that many do not, but for me, leaving a permanent place where they can be fairly undisturbed has brightened many a day.  Tonight, alpha male “Zig Zag” eagerly climbed the tallest of the new bamboo stakes before disappearing for the night.

Ever watchful, they seem to be aware of who is looking out for them by building gardens with trellises to climb.  These East African chameleons are a highlight to my day. They too are great climbers, but get themselves down to the ground to eat snails and slugs.  They are territorial by nature, so if they like a spot, they will remain there and have their family there.  I have been blessed with seeing them in all ages, from those only a few days old, to full grown.  I have treated them for injuries and dehydration when needed, and I have learned so much about them in the process.

On the flipside of this wall, I have created a mini garden that gets a lot more sun.  In December, I transplanted the leggy seedlings, as well as the aging, may not germinate seed, and got this! A lovely mix of all the things I love.  A little bit of everything planted quite closely together.  So close, that I have to be really proactive with the fish fertilizer, as in, fertilize tomorrow because these plants are beginning to fruit.

I should also mention that banana stumps create the border for what is a very shallow raised bed garden that is at the base of this climber trellis.  The nutrients of these bananas stumps will continue to seep out, and eventually, they will breakdown in place.  A new stump can be piled on top, and continue the cycle.  I’ve found these to be excellent cool places for worms to have their offspring.  All of these reclaimed things were free to use in the garden.

Hawaii’s seasons come and go in such a way, that you can keep some plants going for quite a long time.  Some peppers and eggplants last over 2 years with proper care.  They do not fruit year round, nor do they have the enormous yields like they do in many parts of the country, but they can be fixtures to count on and plan around.  Lima beans need a very long season, as do so many of the Winter squash that do well in Hawaii. So think ahead, and plan on those plants to be in the same spot for 6 months or more.  If you think ahead, and leave them alone as they grow, you may find that you like the look of sprawling vines after all, especially after eating the bounty of the season.

Agriculture, Farming, Hawaii, Uncategorized

Picture Perfect Pumpkins

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I frequently reference putting a small block of untreated lumber under your pumpkins and Winter Squash.  Many people note that they do not have the time to do so, but also note that wet weather and bugs caused their squash to rot in the field.  I recommend making the time to protect your pumpkins with a little extra care. The way I look at it, by increasing your yield through the reduction of waste, you are saving time.  I took these photos (below) to give people an idea of what squash that have remained in contact with the ground all season can look like, especially here in Hawaii.  Keep in mind that in Hawaii, many of the Winter squash and kabocha that do well here take more than 110 days.  Often more than 120 days until harvest.  Somewhere in there, as the fruit sets,  try to make time to “block” your fruits by lifting them off the ground with a scrap piece of wood. The scrap wood only needs to be 4″x 4″ or so.  Once you have the wood blocks, you can use them over and over for years. I keep them in small stacks near the edge of the patch. It does take some getting used to, but it helps to safeguard from rot that can occur due to surface moisture as well as insects that can damage the surface of your squash.

The above featured squash shows what damage can occur.  Luckily, the harvest occurred before it caused the pumpkin to degrade on the inside.  Since I caught this while it was simply a surface issue, I happily made it into my beloved squash curry for myself.  This could have easily gone deeper into the pumpkin and caused the entire fruit to be lost.

With the way I farm, there is no true “loss” because the damaged squash can become nutritious pet food, chicken food, and rich soil building materials.  But when you farm small, you need to think smart and safeguard what you grow.  Some squash simply drop from the vine, and others may only half develop due to incomplete pollination by bees at flowering.  These things happen, and it is just simply part of the natural cycle of things.  What you can do, is give a little extra tlc to the fruits, and you will be rewarded with picture perfect produce that inspire chefs to put them on display before heading into the kitchen. One chef that I will not name, has been seen giving a slight hug to the squash as they enter his kitchen domain. Huggable produce is good produce.

This extra step in protecting the skin of your  squash will probably add an overall awareness by creating an intimacy with your farm as well.  You can tell a lot from how your squash are flowering and fruiting. A watchful farmer can see signs of insects, powdery mildew, the need for some fish fertilizer, pruning, and more, by stepping carefully into the vines.  These preventative observations can really make the difference in having a successful season. So while you are inspecting your fruits, give them a boost.  You will be rewarded at harvest time.

recipes

Farm Fermentations: squash, beet and seaweed

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I began fermenting back in July as a means of finding even more uses for the vegetables that I grow.  In the past six months, I have continued to explore ways that fermentation can be good for me, my farm, other farmers, and the entire community.  It continues to be a journey of discovering new things with each new ferment.

This past week I decided to continue to work with other farmers and their abundance.  It turns out that my quarts of fermented produce have become a wonderful item to barter with. Squash is the core of all I do, so squash is also the core foundation of my fermentation.  I have experimented with two varieties of winter squash, one variety of summer squash from my fellow farmer Lark, and pipinola.  Pipinola is what I consider a cousin of squash.  We have a unique name for it here in Hawaii, but it is more commonly known as chayote.

I have previously sung the wonders of pipinola on my webpage, but I would like to add that it is a good source of vitamin C.  Raw chayote it crunchy, and crisp, which are two great things for fermentation.  It is also quite neutral in flavor and color, making it my fill in for cabbage.  It also releases water quite easily when salt is added.

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I began my pipinola growing with green skinned heavily wrinkled fruits.  I found a variation that I liked which was a smoother, softer skinned fruit.  I selected these traits and gradually replanted the fruits that displayed this smooth skin.  Like any variation there are upsides and downsides.  The smoother, softer skin, makes the skin easily used in the kitchen instead of the tougher skinned ones.  The downside, is that they are much more susceptible to damage through bruising and nicks.  Pipinola/chayote is grown by replanting the fruits, and the one large seed within will germinate with a dynamic vine.

One you have your fermentation base vegetables, it is great to explore how new combinations can change it all up.  So this week, I investigated how other farm goods can be brought into the mix.  I have always loved root vegetables which are not easy to grow where I am farming.  Beets have come into season again here in Hawaii, so it was time to revisit the Bonk family and get my hands on some beets. Marlene was happy to take a quart of pumpkin/carrot/pipinola kraut, while I was excited to fill my bag with beets.

With each new vegetable, I create a series of ferments that are linked by that one new flavor.  If we were talking fashion design, my ferments would be a collection, so I will refer to them as such.  In the beet collection, I decided to marry the sweet with the heat of ghost peppers in another, as featured above, I threw it all in.

Each of us will like different combinations of vegetables, and as is the case with fermentation, you may like some fermented vegetables, that you do not like unfermented.  Fermentation transforms, melds, marries flavors into a complex profile.  So with the new addition of beets, we can look at how they shape the ferment in terms of nutrition, flavor, and color.    There is also the need to consider what is the limit of how much beet we can handle?  When is it enough? Experiment so to know the limitations of your ferments.  I love seaweed, known here as limu, but there is a point where enough is enough.  To much limu can make the ferment very salty, and very intense in minerals. It can pack a punch and “kinda levels” those not used to it.  I feel like beet could go the same route, in being an overpowering vegetable, where you need to understand how to use it as an accent, in a combination of flavors, and as a main flavor. As is the story of fermentation, time will tell. Longer fermentation time may make it mellow…or not.

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Above, locally sourced Ogo seaweed is busy making my ferments both intense and complex.

Repurposing found objects is also a great way to begin in fermenting.  I chose to repurpose a 4 qt crock pot crock and found a lid that would work with it.  Most of my ferments are done in one quart jars, but I decided to try a larger quantity of the “kitchen sink” ferment.  Quart jars were used for smaller volume experiments.

I’ll be keeping you posted on how the new farm ferment collection turns out, but until then, think in terms of abundance in your garden, your cellar, your farmers market, and region.  Abundance is a luxury as long as you do not allow it to overwhelm you.  Too much of a good thing can be stressful, and putting up a bushel of vegetables on your own, is quite a task.  I can honestly tell you that it does get easier to work your way through a volume of produce.  I think starting with what would roughly fit in a grocery bag is a good place to start.  So give it a try…and good luck!

Agriculture, Farming, Hawaii, Uncategorized

Preparing for Rough Weather

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In the days leading up to Thanksgiving, I am getting more calm as the rest of the country gets revved up.  It is my extra busy time from October 1-Thanksgiving.  It is the time of year when squash/pumpkin production isn’t terribly high in Hawaii, but the demand suddenly is.  It is also the time when we all want to think in terms of comfort food, pumpkin patches and family gatherings.  But with a tough Summer behind us, I am grateful that my preventative steps helped in the patch.

October was an intense month where some days, all I could do was just continue to believe that my actions would prevail, and the harvest would come.  It did.  The Summer was a sluggish season where Winter rains came in June.  There was flooding when there should have been long hot days.  Many farmers felt like disappointments, when really, it was one of the toughest seasons all across the country.  Even in the darker moments, when the seasons flip, and hurricanes come one after the next, I always feel that there is something that you can do.  The weather is not your fault, but we need to continue to search for ways to minimize loss.

I got a call from more than one farm across the state that noted that their pumpkins were rotting on the ground.  My answer was simple:  get them up off the ground.  For many this seemed like a time consuming act, but for me, loosing your entire crop isn’t an option.  I recommend that as the pumpkins fruit, take a piece of untreated lumber and slip it under the fruit.  It will cause the sow bugs/rollie pollies to go under the wood rather than destroy the skin of your squash.  It will also keep the squash from sitting on wet ground, and reduce the likelihood of rot.  I have had many people say how time consuming it is, so here is my method and maybe it can work for you.  Keep stacks of scrap wood at intervals near the edge of your patch.  As they fruit, carry a few squares of wood under your arm, and slip them under the new fruits as you see them.  This time of year, squash in Hawaii is just starting to take off, but Winter rains are also heading our way.  It is a great practice that has allowed me to loose no fruits to ground rot.  It also keeps the skin display perfect, while you are making a mental note of which of your vines are producing.

The pumpkins may roll off the blocks as they grow.  I simply check on them once in a while and replace them or add a second block if the squash is a really large one.  After harvesting, the block gets collected, dried in the sun and used again for another squash.  Try it out and see how it works for you.  You never know what the weather is going to bring, and this way, you are ready.  You can still “block” the fruits even mid or late season.  You can even do it when the field is flooding.  Any action, no matter how late, is better than none.

Agriculture, companion planting, Farming, gardening, Hawaii, permaculture, pumpkins

Try (New Things)

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What if you thought that you couldn’t grow tomatoes or melons, or pumpkins, only to find out that you could have all along? A lot of Hawaii gardeners begin by thinking of mainland season, and mainland vegetables, Soon they watch their dreams fizzle as plant after plant fails. I read and respond to so many messages where all I can do is encourage experimentation, research, and expand your tastes. All kinds of plantings are possible, but sometimes, you have to be the one to figure out those possibilities. Now, so many of us have websites that can hopefully cut your research down by several seasons, if not years,  But due to micro climates, what works for me may not work for you, or maybe it will.   Often we must just try and see.  Many just want answers, they just want seeds, while others are problem solvers and researchers.

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Think it cannot be done? It can, trust me on that one.  We are now mining history for seed solutions that have been solutions for many generations. They have just been pushed out of popularity due to commercial interests. It is not too late.  The Internet connects growers and seed savers from around the globe.

hidden Marina Di Chioggia Possibilities are being rediscovered every season. So give it a try, and see if you can find your own solutions.  Inspiration is contagious.

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