getting them processed and in the fridge or freezer instead
of out in the garage where it now gets too cold to store them.

it can make for a long day when i try to get too many done
all at once and this time i was waking up early to get the
squash mashed and packaged but at least it did get done.

fun to try new things and to have some new cross-breeds
turn up. i always learn a lot plus i try different methods
to see if it goes faster or not.

for the first time this year i took pictures of squash and
innards. i'll eventually get some posted to the website.
not today... :)

songbird

the seeds are drying nicely. one of the things that
forced air heat is good for in the middle of winter. :)

songbird

On 12/25/2021 3:59 AM, songbird wrote:
> the seeds are drying nicely. one of the things that
> forced air heat is good for in the middle of winter. :)
>

Do you use squash seeds from previous years? We have had poor luck with
that as far as variation in the varieties.

We do have a favorite bean that we use previous seeds year after year.
They came from a "weed" in a pot with something else in it I received
through freecycle. Nice big tasty beans with no strings.

Bob F wrote:
> On 12/25/2021 3:59 AM, songbird wrote:
>> the seeds are drying nicely. one of the things that
>> forced air heat is good for in the middle of winter. :)
>>
>
> Do you use squash seeds from previous years? We have had poor luck with
> that as far as variation in the varieties.

yes, we have plenty of bees around so we get some strange
squash. i have now about six different kinds of squash and
i enjoy the variety. i won't be repeating the planting of
dumpling squash next year though as they are one i don't
much like. i'm not really a big acorn squash fan. the
rest i have a Kabochas and cross breeds that have happened
to them (likely from a local pumpkin grower someplace but
the results are good eating so we keep replanting a few
each year, but they don't store well). also some Baby Blue
Hubbards and now the new cross which may be related to the
BBH. i also like to plant Buttercups but these have not
kept going very well so i need to somehow get a more reliable
strain of those.

i don't treat for bugs of any kind here so if the vines
can't survive squash borers or squash bugs or powdery
mildew they won't survive.

everything else that does survive often holds on by
mere threads of stems sometimes the borers do such good
work on them. but i figure that is one way to get resist-
ant plants is to just keep growing and seeing what happens.

> We do have a favorite bean that we use previous seeds year after year.
> They came from a "weed" in a pot with something else in it I received
> through freecycle. Nice big tasty beans with no strings.

i grow hundreds of different varieties of beans here. :)
this past year i grew out a new cross breed that showed up
from the year before and it is edible but i'm not sure how
good. so we'll grow it again next season and i'll cook up
more of them. i'm also including the beans in my mix of
seeds to give away to other people which will have seeds of
five or six green and wax beans in there for people to grow.

the best bean i grow here for green beans is a variety
called Purple Dove. love the flower color the plant growth
habit and productivity. the dry beans are also good and
have a mild pinto flavor and a creamy texture and cook up
fast. the only downside i've found to this plant is that
the Japanese Beetles love it, but they will still produce
even after being munched on. the deer and groundhogs will
also eat the tops off and it will survive and give pods.
i'm trying to get this bean to cross with all my other
varieties that i grow and so far not much luck with that
so this is fun and a challenge. :)

songbird

On 12/26/2021 3:53 PM, songbird wrote:
> Bob F wrote:
>> On 12/25/2021 3:59 AM, songbird wrote:
>>> the seeds are drying nicely. one of the things that
>>> forced air heat is good for in the middle of winter. :)
>>>
>>
>> Do you use squash seeds from previous years? We have had poor luck with
>> that as far as variation in the varieties.
>
> yes, we have plenty of bees around so we get some strange
> squash. i have now about six different kinds of squash and
> i enjoy the variety. i won't be repeating the planting of
> dumpling squash next year though as they are one i don't
> much like. i'm not really a big acorn squash fan. the
> rest i have a Kabochas and cross breeds that have happened
> to them (likely from a local pumpkin grower someplace but
> the results are good eating so we keep replanting a few
> each year, but they don't store well). also some Baby Blue
> Hubbards and now the new cross which may be related to the
> BBH. i also like to plant Buttercups but these have not
> kept going very well so i need to somehow get a more reliable
> strain of those.
>
> i don't treat for bugs of any kind here so if the vines
> can't survive squash borers or squash bugs or powdery
> mildew they won't survive.
>
> everything else that does survive often holds on by
> mere threads of stems sometimes the borers do such good
> work on them. but i figure that is one way to get resist-
> ant plants is to just keep growing and seeing what happens.
>
>
>> We do have a favorite bean that we use previous seeds year after year.
>> They came from a "weed" in a pot with something else in it I received
>> through freecycle. Nice big tasty beans with no strings.
>
> i grow hundreds of different varieties of beans here. :)
> this past year i grew out a new cross breed that showed up
> from the year before and it is edible but i'm not sure how
> good. so we'll grow it again next season and i'll cook up
> more of them. i'm also including the beans in my mix of
> seeds to give away to other people which will have seeds of
> five or six green and wax beans in there for people to grow.
>
> the best bean i grow here for green beans is a variety
> called Purple Dove. love the flower color the plant growth
> habit and productivity. the dry beans are also good and
> have a mild pinto flavor and a creamy texture and cook up
> fast. the only downside i've found to this plant is that
> the Japanese Beetles love it, but they will still produce
> even after being munched on. the deer and groundhogs will
> also eat the tops off and it will survive and give pods.
> i'm trying to get this bean to cross with all my other
> varieties that i grow and so far not much luck with that
> so this is fun and a challenge. :)
>

You are way beyond me in your experiments.

Bob F wrote:
....
> You are way beyond me in your experiments.

haha, it keeps me out of trouble. i've not been at this
long enough. i've always loved growing plants and learned
a lot as a kid, but when i went away to college i mostly
left gardening behind. i did always have a few houseplants
and even managed to get a moss garden going at one apartment
but that was pretty much it. one place i rented showed me
the futility of trying to garden where others could come
along and mow down your raspberry plants (out of ignorance
or on-purpose i don't know).

i did enjoy aquarium keeping for years that was a kind of
gardening.

in this recent times i've only been gardening here about
14 years. before that i'd help out when i was visiting but
not here that often.

now it is my primary occupation when the weather
cooperates.

songbird