I went to the 2010 New Mexico State Fair yesterday and won first place for my littlest giant pumpkin and first and second place for my marrows (zucchinis). It was fun seeing all the different veggies on display and which ones won. Next stop-Great Pumpkin Commonwealth (GPC) Weigh-Off in Colorado Springs, CO with my biggest pumpkin and marrow on October 2.
1st place-giant pumpkin 2010
1st and 2nd place-zucchini 2010
‘Kong’ has grown to 360 lbs. It is now my PB (personal best), still putting on weight and looking good. I wonder what it will end up at. I’m going to the Oct 2 Giant Pumpkin Commonwealth (GPC) weigh-off in Colorado Springs, CO. The New Mexico State Record is 404 and with this warm weather I have a chance to break it. A long shot but still a chance. So put a word out to the universe asking for Kong to break the state record! GROW KONG GROW!!!
I had my friend Lava, enter 3 zucchinis in the New Mexico State Fair in Albuquerque last Tuesday for me while I’ve been gone in NYC. One (the smallest) was a traditional zucchini, and 2 were giant varieties called marrows. A marrow is in the zucchini family-Curcurbita Pepo. It is grown more in Europe than in the states. It is eaten when small but the giant varieties have the capacity to get big-really big-much bigger than our ordinary variety of zucchini! I weighed my two smaller marrows that I entered into the fair on my bathroom scale and one was about 25 lbs and the other was around 35 lbs. I wonder if anyone in NM is growing a giant variety of marrow. I didn’t even weigh my traditional zucchini because it was so small compared to the giant varieties. I am going down to the fair today to see if I got any ribbons..
Getting ready to measure the biggest marrow
I still left the biggest marrow in the patch to see how big it will grow before the Colorado weigh-offs. It measured almost 30″ long and 14″ wide about a week ago. I think it weighs about 45 lbs right now. Here is a pic of me getting ready to weigh it.
measuring length-almost 30" (see I wasn't lying!)
I love the marrows-one of the most exciting plants I grew this year. I’ll have to harvest some seeds, although they were probably cross-pollinated by the bees with my winter squash. I’m still going to keep some seeds..
I also entered in ‘Harpie’, one of my two giant pumpkins. Lava said it officially weighed 99 lbs at the fair. I don’t think it will place but I’m gonna try!
biggest marrow that went to the fair-35 lbs!
See the difference between a marrow and a regular zucchini?!
measuring width-almost 14"
Here are all the information sheets I had out at the Santa Fe Master Gardener’s Giant Veggie Tour and the Winter Gardening Class held at my garden for anyone that wants them. I’m also listing the link to the whole article on attracting beneficial insects that I got from http://www.grinning planet.com. Following are the pdfs for the info sheets from the tour on Attracting Beneficial Insects, the Mid Summer/Fall Plant Help info sheet, the Squash Bug Preference Chart (yes squash bugs actually have squash preferences!) and Organic Plant Insect/Critter Control Recipes. Also are the sheets from the Winter Gardening Class held today. Two plans showing how to build coldframe/hotbeds, winter gardening information sheet and Fall/Winter Vegetable Planting Guide from Ed Hume Seeds website. Just download them and print them for your files.
PDFS FROM TOUR:
Mid Summer/Fall Help For Plants
Organic Plant Insect/Critter Control Recipes
PDFS FROM WINTER GARDENING CLASS:
Fall and Winter Vegetable Planting Guide
I’ve been out of town but wanted to get the tour post in. Here is a slide show of the of my giant veggie garden tour yesterday for the Santa Fe Master Gardeners. They saw giant sunflowers (Titans), giant pumpkins (Atlantic Giant), giant marrows, and giant tomatoes (that aren’t ripe yet so not much to see). They also saw many regular veggies and flowers. I talked about my growing techniques and answered questions. About 30 people showed up. I had a great time showing the fruits of my labor. I think they enjoyed it as well.
‘Kong’, my only giant pumpkin left, hit 278 lbs tonight. (I’m putting ‘Harpie’ in the NM State Fair tomorrow-it was much smaller at around 100 lbs). If ‘Kong’ can put on 6 lbs a day till the weigh-off, I can beat the current New Mexico State Record. It’s been putting on 8-12 lbs daily for awhile but I know it will slow down to a crawl this month. Hopefully I still have 2 or more weeks of good weight gain before the crawl. Grow nagua, grow…
Here is a mini slide show of ‘Kong’, my biggest giant pumpkin right now. There is an apple on it for perspective. Kong is 35 days old and 228 lbs as of tonight. It’s been putting on between 12-17 lbs a day. I said a day! 17 lbs is the best weight gain in a single day I have ever had with a giant pumpkin. I know others have greater gains but we have harsher conditions and shorter growing season here. Kong is starting to get longer and bumpier. I like its looks! I love going out after work and measuring them every evening. You can actually see a difference from day to day. It is mind blowing!
‘Harpie’, my other big pumpkin, is beautiful, being perfectly round and not gnarly like Kong. It is at 100 lbs and its weight gain varies from 4-10 lbs a day. I will post pictures of it later.
It has been around 47 degrees during this past week so I have to put a blanket on both of the pumpkins over their row cover so they don’t loose so much heat at night. The pros say to blanket them when the temperature gets below 60 degrees at night. That way they don’t have to wait to warm up in the morning to continue growing. The row cover is to provide shade during the day (think like a light weight covering) so their skins don’t get hard. It is easier for them to grow when their skin is soft.
This is my pumpkin mantra, “Grow Naguas, grow” (grow pumpkins, grow). I say it everynight when leaving the pumpkin patch!
Virginia Sweet Tomato
Check out this tomato! Yesterday, my friend Janet Hiron, a fellow S.F. Master Gardener, gave me an huge tomato that she grew called ‘Virginia Sweet’. She only has maybe 8 of them on her plant (so I got 1/8th of her harvest-bless her). What a beauty and I can’t wait to eat it! It is a bicolor and should be marbled with red orange and yellow streaks inside. She said the flavor is unbelievable. This one is over 2 lbs. Thanks Janet!
I’ve been getting ready for my first Giant Veggie Garden Tour for the Santa Fe Master Gardeners group next Sunday from 9am-12 noon. I have 3 giant marrows, one being around 30+ lbs, 2 giant pumpkins, many giant sunflowers, and a couple of giant tomatoes (still green). I’m cleaning up, trimming and generally sprucing up the garden. By the time they come next Sunday I should be ready. Seems like there is always something to do in a garden no matter the size. Fall is definitely in the air with the nights cooling off into the high 40-50s. Daytime temperatures are in the 80s. Perfect weather to be in the garden…
Wondering what to do with all those zucchini right about now? Here is a great recipe from my good friend Lava. It is unbelievably moist and very chocolatey! You can also make them into brownies instead of bread. Either way it’s a winner!
LAVA’S CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI BREAD
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
½ cups cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 3/4 cup sugar
½ cup butter (4 oz)
½ cup vegetable oil
2 eggs, large
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ cup buttermilk
2 cup unpeeled zucchini, grated
6 oz double choc chips
¾ cup chopped walnuts
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven 325 degrees, bake for 50 min in a buttered and floured 13” x 9” x 2” baking pan.
1. Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt into medium bowl
2. Beat sugar, butter and oil in large bowl until well blended.
3. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla extract.
4. Mix in dry ingredients, alternate w/ buttermilk in 3 additions each.
5. Fold in zucchini. Mix in choc chips + nuts. Pour into pan.
Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean about 50 min (maybe less in higher altitude). Cool completely in pan.
giant marrow on 08-25-10
Ooo wee! Check out this giant marrow (which is actually a giant zucchini)! I don’t know how one measures for weight but I have several really big ones. One will go to the State Fair and the other up to the Rocky Mountain Giant Vegetable Growers weigh off in Colorado if I can get it to last that long. It has been really fun growing it this year and watching the marrows grow. The Plant does fine in the heat and ultraviolet rays (we are 7000 ft high here in Santa Fe). No wilting at all. Grows like crazy. The only thing I will change next year is that it will go in the giant pumpkin patch where it will have more room to grow. It can duke it our with the giant pumpkins! Right now it is growing over everything and I already hacked it back twice! This one came from a seed from Brad Wuersten in the Netherlands who has the European World Record for it over there and was kind enough to give me a seed from one of his giant marrows.
My 895 Grande pumpkin whom I’ve now named ‘Kong’ (as in King) is 24 days old and has put on 15 lbs a day for the last 2 days! Kong is long and oval shaped and just hit 105 today. My 925 N. Harp whom I’ve named ‘Harpie’ is 58 lbs and is perfectly round and beautiful, but the plant doesn’t have that many leaves while the Grande plant has an enormous amount of leaves. I’m excited about the Grande pumpkin, Kong. 6 or 7 weeks to weigh-off. Grow nagua, grow..
‘The tomato Lady’-first day sold out of Tomatoes
Yesterday I returned to our Farmers Market here in Santa Fe, NM as the ‘Tomato Lady’ and sold out of my tomatoes by 10 am.
It’s been a long wait all summer for my tomatoes to ripen and they have started but are not full blown yet. So I had some tomatoes but not a ton. In another couple of weeks, I should be overwhelmed with tomatoes. I also had Costata Romanesco and Lungo Bianco zucchini, Bennings Green Tint and Yellow Custard scallop summer squash, Fairytale eggplants, Shishito peppers, Padron peppers, Parade, Armenian cucumbers and Rattlesnake pole beans. For tomatoes I had Early Wonder, Pantano Romanesco, Goliath, Sun Sugar and Black Cherry and a few Costuluto Genovese. Hope I have lots more next week!
From left- bread and butter, cornichons, and dill pickles
Following are the recipes I use for each of them:
BREAD AND BUTTER PICKLES II (I modified this from Allrecipes.com)
Makes 8 one quart jars or 16 pints-you can make smaller amounts if you want
25 cucumbers, scrubbed, cleaned, and sliced, blossom end cut off (the pickles will get discolored if left on)
6 onions, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic. sliced
1/2 cup salt
3 cups white vinegar
5 cups white sugar
2 tablespoons mustard seeds
1 1/2 tablespoons celery seed
1/2 teaspoon whole cloves
1 tablespoon tumeric
DIRECTIONS:
1. In a large bowl, mix together cucumbers, onions, garlic and salt. Allow to sit 3 hours.
2. In a large saucepan mix together the vinegar, sugar, mustard seed, celery seed, whole cloves, and turmeric. Bring to a boil.
3. Drain liquid from cucumber mixture. Rinse and drain cucumbers. Stir the cucumbers mixture into the boiling vinegar mixture. Remove from heat just before it returns to a boil.
4. Transfer to sterile containers. Seal and chill in the refrigerator for one month before eating or process in water bath for 10 minutes or 15 minutes for our high altitude. (Add an additional 15 minutes for our 7000′ high altitude) I put some in the refrigerator and process the others. For water bath process, store in a cool dry place and wait one month before eating. Refrigerate after opening.
Be sure to wait one month before eating, whether making refrigerator style or water bath process-the flavors permeate the cucumbers better. Once I couldn’t wait and opened a jar after 2 weeks but it was not as flavorful. It’s worth the wait.
REALLY QUICK DILL PICKLES (from ‘The Joy of Pickling’)
Makes 3 one quart jars or 6 pints-this is a no brine method
-For firmer pickles, add 2-3 grape leaves or 6-8 sour cherry leaves of each qt of pickles but it is not necessary.
You can double or triple this recipe to fit your harvest.
ONE QUART METHOD
DIRECTIONS:
To make a single qt of pickles, you’ll need 1 cup water, 7/8 cup vinegar=3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons vinegar, 8 peppercorns, 2 garlic cloves, pinch of dried pepper flakes, 1 dill head. Pour boiling liquid mixture over packed cleaned cucumbers in jars. Leave 1/2 inch headroom in jar. Seal and process. See below.
3 QUART OR 6 PINTS METHOD
DIRECTIONS:
4 lbs of cucumbers, scrubbed and cleaned, blossom end cut off (the pickles will get discolored if left on)
24 peppercorns
1 garlic head, peeled and sliced
dried pepper flakes to taste
fresh dill heads (or dill seeds if fresh dill not available)
2 3/4 cup white vinegar
3 cups water
1/4 cup pickling salt (or non iodized salt)
1. Half or quarter cucumbers lengthwise. Divide the peppercorns,garlic, and hot peppers (if you are using them) among 6 pint or 3 quart mason jars. Pack the cucumbers in tightly into the jars.
2. In a saucepan, bring the vinegar, water, and salt to a boil, stirring to dissolve the salt. Pour the hot liquid over the cucumbers, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Close the jars with the 2 piece caps. In a boiling water bath, process the jars for 10 minutes, quart jars 15 minutes (Add an additional 15 minutes more for our 7000 ft high altitude).
3. Store in a cool dry place and wait one month before eating. Refrigerate after opening.
FRESH PACKED REFRIGERATOR DILL PICKLES –LEMON DILLS (from ‘The Big Book of Preserving The Harvest’)
Makes 1 quart or 2 pints
10-14 pickling cucumbers, scrubbed and cleaned, blossom end cut off (the pickles will get discolored if left on)
3 sprigs dill
2 cloves
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
cold water
DIRECTIONS:
1. Pack sterilized jars with cucumbers, dill, and garlic leaving 1/2 inch headspace
2. pour the lemon juice over the cucumbers
3. Seal and refrigerate. These will keep 6 weeks or more in refrigerator. Wait one -2 weeks for flavors to blend.
SHORT BRINED DILL PICKLES (from ‘The Joy of Pickling’)
Makes about 8 quarts
-This recipe is very flexible as long as you keep the proportions of vinegar, water salt and sugar. You can vary the seasonings as you like.
-For firmer pickles, add 2-3 grape leaves or 6-8 sour cherry leaves of each qt of pickles but it is not necessary.
ONE QUART METHOD
DIRECTIONS:
You may prefer to make your pickles by the quart. For this, drop into each jar 2 sliced garlic cloves, 4 peppercorns, and pinch of hot pepper flakes. Pack the cucumbers into the jars with 2-3 heads of dill and pour over the cucumbers a hot solution of 1 cup each vinegar and water with 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar and 2 teaspoons salt. Leave 1/2 inch headroom at top of jar. In a boiling water bath, process the jars for 10 minutes, quart jars 15 minutes (Add an additional 15 minutes more for our 7000 ft high altitude) Store in a cool dry place and wait one month before eating. Refrigerate after opening.
8 QUART METHOD
12 lbs 3-5 inch cucumbers, scrubbed and cleaned, blossom end removed
1 1/2 cups pickling salt
2 gallons plus 2 quarts water
7 1/3 cups white vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
16 cloves garlic, sliced
32 peppercorns
16-24 heads of dill
dried hot pepper flakes (if desired)
DIRECTIONS:
1. Half or quarter cucumbers lengthwise or leave whole. In a very large bowl or soup pot or crock, dissolve 3/4 cup pickling salt in 2 gallons of water. Add the cucumbers and weight them with a heavy plate that just fit the container. Let stand in the brine at room temperature for 8-12 hours.
2. Drain the cucumbers. If you like less salty pickles, rinse well and drain them again.
3. In a non reactive pot, bring to a boil the remaining 3/4 cup pickling salt, the remaining 2 quarts water, the vinegar, and the sugar. While the mixture heats, divide the garlic and peppercorns amount the 8 quarts or 16 pint mason jars. Pack the cucumbers, dill, hot pepper (and grape or sour cherry leaves if you are using them).
4. Pour the hot liquid over the cucumbers, leaving 1/2 headspace. Close and in a boiling process pint jars for 10 minutes, quart jars for 15 minutes (Add an additional 15 minutes for out altitude at 7000 ft high) Store in a cool dry place and wait one month before eating. Refrigerate after opening.
CORNICHONS (from ‘The Foodlovers Guide to Paris’) tiny tart pickles
Makes 2 quarts or 4 pints- you can make smaller portion by cutting the recipe in half.
60 two inch small pickling cucumbers
1/4 cup kosher or pickling salt
1 quart water plus
3 cups white vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
12 small white pickling onions
4 large sprigs fresh tarragon
6 cloves garlic sliced
dried hot peppercorns
2 bay leaves
DIRECTIONS:
1. Trim off stem ends of cucumbers, rinse and drain.
2. In a large bowl combine the salt with one quart water. Stir until the salt is dissolved, add the cucumbers and let stand for 6 hours.
3. Drain the cucumbers, discarding the salted water. I like to rinse them.
4. In a medium saucepan over medium heat combine the vinegar, 1 1/2 cups water and the sugar and bring to a boil. Layer the jars with the drained cucumbers, onions, herbs and spices. Pour the boiling vinegar mixture into the jars leaving 1/2 headspace. In a boiling water bath, process the jars for 10 minutes, quart jars 15 minutes (Add an additional 15 minutes more for our 7000 ft high altitude) Store in a cool dry place and wait one month before eating. Refrigerate after opening. You can also just refrigerate them but still wait one month before eating.
Sunday afternoon, my good friend John came over and we made pickles. All different kinds. Last year I researched what kind of cucumber was good for different types of pickles.
'Boothsby Blonde' cucumbers- good for bread and butter pickles
We made bread and butter pickles with my Boothsby Blonde cucumber, a creamy white flavorful cuke that turns bright yellow. All stages are edible with no bitterness. After making my own bread and butter pickles last year, I will never buy store bought again. The flavor is incredible and is at least 100x better than the store bought and I’m not kidding.
'Parade' cucumber makes a good dill pickle
Then we made some dill pickles from my Parade cucumber which is a great cuke for dill as they are also excellent flavor, firm and evenly sized which is great for cutting them into dill spears. We used some fresh dill I grew from my garden.
Lastly we made my favorite- cornichons. I first fell in love with them in a little french cafe in San Diego where the french owners served them with sandwiches. We made the cornichons (which means tiny tart pickle) with Parsian cucumbers.
'Parsian' cucumbers-use for Cornichon pickles
In the picture I show one that grew too large and the rest are good size. I cut the ones that are 4 inches in half and leave the 2 inch cukes whole. I even cut the big one down into smaller spears about 4 inches in length. The Parsian cucumber has small seeds and is never bitter. We try to pick them very early when they are 2-3 inches long as they are meant to be a small pickle but sometimes you’ll find a large one hiding under the leaves. If it is much larger than the one shown, then I compost it or feed it to the chickens. Your main herb for flavor is tarragon instead of dill with cornichons.
giantveggiegardener 