Gardening: Sasquatch Squash

August 26th, 2020

Dear Readers,

[WARNING! Vegetables were unintentionally harmed in the making of this blog. Images may be disturbing to some…]

I wanted to wait to write to you with another gardening update until I had begun some sort of fruitful harvest. But with this year’s intense heat, some crazy cabbage consuming bugs, our poor spatial planning, and my inability to actually water my plants…a truly fruitful harvest will never come. 

Instead, I can write (and show…) to you what we learned from our initial endeavor in self-sustainability! 

1. Most obvious…Onions need a lot of water, and potentially less rocky soil.

2. The tomato plants need to have more support, and more space between one another. 

3. The cabbages need some sort of homemade insect repellent. William and I did research some options. My favorites included pureed whole bulbs (not just cloves…) of garlic mixed with water, and tomato leaves steeped in water. Both options would have resulted in a spray which could be applied to our cabbages.1 While these sprays may have salvaged our капусты, I never got around to actually making them. Part of it was a lack of willingness to dedicate the time and planning necessary to do so…another part of it was a form of brutalist curiosity. Just like with all our other veggies~ if those cabbages wanted to be cabbages, they had to fight for it. And I waited to see what would happen without any human intervention. The result? No cabbages. Weak капуста.

4. Blueberries need a net to keep birds and our free ranging chickens at bay.

5. Carrot seeds need to be better spaced from one another.

6. Green beans and cucumbers need much more water in such extreme heat.

7. Squash. It squashes and sucks the life out of all life forms surrounding it. The tomato plants that were doing well in that garden bed had the water and nutrients drained from them by our greedy, thirsty, vampire squash. Again, I definitely did not water our veggies near as often as I should have, especially with such a crazy hot summer. So, being desperate, the squash preyed on the weak to survive. And they have! Well..did. We have actually already harvested, and consumed, some of our sasquatching squash. The predator has become the prey. 

Annnddd…that’s about it! Thanks for reading!

Sincerely,

Shelby Aldrich

1 Comment

  1. I used all container gardening this year & had the same problem with my cauliflower and broccoli this year. Fun fact about celery is that not only will that rabbits munch in it, but they will sense when it is regrowing and cone back. Lettuce flowers are pretty. Blueberries do need to be watered, but more at the roots. Otherwise, the berries may rot before they ripen. Tomatoes hand raised by small children are awesome. Lastly, Lemon balm and strawberries are the champs this year.

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© 2020 Sustaining Tree