My Squash

[Ken B]

Neat! What varieties have you been working with?

[joseph]

Originally Posted by Ken B

Neat! What varieties have you been working with?

I don't keep those kinds of records. I plant anything that I can buy or swap and allow them to promiscuously cross pollinate. Clemson spineless was included because that's what the local grocery store sells, and landraces from Indiana and the Central Valley California, and named cultivars which I don't recall. The landraces likewise consisted of the descendents of any okra variety that the developers could get their hands on.

[Ken B]

Really interesting project, if there's any SESE okra varieties you don't have that you think might be useful, let me know and we can send some free seed your way, would love to help support this!

[joseph]

Ken B: Thanks. I think that the varieties that are around 49 to 55 DTM might be appropriate to add to the project. It's so cold here that 70 DTM tomatoes are just starting to mature after about 100 days when they get killed by frost. 55 DTM tomatoes take about 85 days. I expect that okra would be similar. I'll PM details.

[joseph]

Growing staples is my passion: Beans, corn, squash, peas, and potatoes. I grow lots of tomatoes to help the staples go down more smoothly.

It was raining at the beginning of this week so I repaired and refurbished a cast iron corn sheller from about the 1880s.



Then I shelled corn until I had about 20 gallons of seed:

Popcorn:


Flour Corn:

[joseph]

Originally Posted by Tracydr

I would love to have a blue, red and white sweet corn.

I haven't got that sweet corn worked out yet, but I've made great progress on a red, white, and blue popcorn.

[peppero]

Joseph you are a man of patience and it is nice of you to share the rewards of your efforts.

jon

[PA_Julia]

Beautiful corn!!!!

[loeb]

It's interesting to me to read your posts on breeding veggies. I am trying to do something similar in a very small scale of my garden.. Making kind of "grex" as you called it of melons and watermelons.. And some other crops, and I have started breeding peas too 2 years ago, so its very nice to read about someone else having a progress in this, very heart warming

[AlittleSalt]

Originally Posted by joseph

Growing staples is my passion: Beans, corn, squash, peas, and potatoes. I grow lots of tomatoes to help the staples go down more smoothly.

It was raining at the beginning of this week so I repaired and refurbished a cast iron corn sheller from about the 1880s.



Then I shelled corn until I had about 20 gallons of seed:

Popcorn:


Flour Corn:

Joseph, this is my first time to see this thread. So far, I've just looked at the pictures. That 1880s Sheller-wow! And the corn, it sparked an idea.

Our new garden is a raised bed. Our youngest child (He's 25 now) used my tractor to move loam soil to the garden. It's sitting on top of red clay. I fenced in 18' x 60', but after looking at it and observing many factors, we are going to increase the dimensions to around 24'-30' x 60'. I want to improve the soil structure organically. I had in mind to add oak leaves and mowed grass/weeds, and then grow legumes. Corn grown with legumes would add a whole lot of organic materials as well as adding lots of nitrogen.

Growing corn for us to eat is basically useless because we where live is surrounded by huge corn fields everywhere. Corn usually sells for 4-for-a-dollar, and from July through September 8-for-a-dollar.

The loam soil we added came from under oak trees. I personally, wouldn't call it "Sandy Loam" to me it's more of a "Silty Loam". Growing corn makes sense to me now because of how deep the roots grow, and corn husks, silks will add to the soil organics. And it also gives me a "Reason" to buy a the shredder/chipper that I've wanted for years.

The deep corn roots will help break up the clay underneath. Those roots will feed on the Johnson Grass roots that were buried underneath the newly added soil. The last recommended plant out date is May 1 for corn here. Looks like I'm about to plant some corn. I am very glad I found this thread today.

[b54red]

That corn sheller brings back some childhood memories. When I used to stay with my aunt and uncle on their farm as a kid I had to do chores and one of them was shelling corn for animal feed with a sheller like that. I used to hate going into the corn crib with those rat snakes to get the corn to shell. Of course nothing was as bad as toting the always overfilled slop buckets for the hogs each morning. I usually spilled some on my legs and feet on the way to the hog pen. Of course the outhouse was always an adventure best kept short.

Bill

[joseph]

Originally Posted by joseph

I am very pleased about that yellow/orange moschata pumpkin. It is unlike any moschata squash I have ever seen before. It gets the rare honor of posing with the farmer.

I suspected that fruit was an inter-species hybrid due to it's coloration. There were only about 7 seeds inside that looked normal. The rest were empty seed coats. The seeds didn't germinate.

I have finished harvesting the squash in two fields, and got the fields ready for winter. In another field, there are still squash that could be harvested if I felt like harvesting them.

Here's what some of the squash harvest looked like:

Medium Maxima:


Lofthouse Buttercups:


Lagenaria Squash:


I harvested lots and lots of dry beans: This photo shows about 1/13th of the harvest.


I had a great harvest of runner beans this year. The first great harvest in 7 years of trying.


Some of the okra reached 8 feet tall this year!

[PhilaGardener]

Originally Posted by joseph

Some of the okra reached 8 feet tall this year!

Whew! Otherwise you would be getting shorter!

Great stuff, as always, Joseph !

[greyghost]

Love the photos, Joseph!! Please keep them coming!

[Ricky Shaw]

Yes! I enjoy your posts also, thank you for taking the time.