There! I said it! Ah, squash! And zucchini… and just about everything else that can be grown in Sagebrush Country.
Summer squash, of the yellow varieties, along with pan and zucchini, are versatile in a lot of dishes. There must be a thousand ways you can prepare it and eat it… if you like squash.
I guess the most gratifying thing about it is watching squash grow from sprouts to bearing fruit. Watching the sprouts grow from seedlings to bearing blooms is a lot like watching your children grow… only you don’t eat your kids.
Summer squash, particularly the yellow variety, is a popular vegetable in the South. Actually, it’s a fruit, because it bears its seeds inside the squash. But you get my drift.
You can freeze or can it just about any time of the year. At Sagebrush Gardens, planting starts around May 1 through the Full Moon, depending on when the cotton farmers start planting. The best soil temperature is at 70 degrees F., but I’ve been lucky to plant them a few weeks early and still see sprouts. As long as you don’t have a late “killing frost” you should get away with planting a little early.
Summer squash is easy to grow and prolific; you don’t need to put more than a few seeds in a mound and have plenty of squash for a family of four. I have several mounds planted with two or three cultivars in each mound. My mounds are about 3 to 4 feet in diameter and about 12 inches high so that they have room to spread and have good drainage. Summer squashes are perfect for just about any size garden, and I’ve had reports of small squash mounds being successful in backyards and even in some apartment setting.
With the number of squash mounds I have planted, when they start producing, I should have enough harvest to feed half of Hockley County. You’ll know when people are getting tired of getting squash from you when you drive into town and people start locking their doors and turning off their lights… acting like they’re not home.
For best flavor and most tender seeds, squash should be picked when they’re young, from 6 to 10 inches long. Pattypan, a saucer-shaped squash, should be no more than 4 inches in diameter.
Butternut squash, a winter squash, can be planted later in the summer around July or August, and take about 150 days to mature. They will eventually yield a lot of fruit in late Fall or early Winter months.
Summer squash can be served raw with other vegetables as part of a vegetable platter with dips, in salads, grilled, broiled, steamed, stir-fried, deep-fried, boiled, baked, or stuffed. Because of its mild flavor, it can be added to almost any main-dish recipe or pasta sauce for texture, flavor, and color. Grating squash or zucchini into bread mixes can make for some tasty artisan breads, too. So, don’t limit yourself to just “side dishes.”
Fresh herbs and spices will enhance the flavor of summer squash. Dill, pepper, basil, marjoram, rosemary, chives, and mint are particularly well-suited to squash, and it is delicious cooked with garlic, onions, and tomatoes.
Summer squash can be bruised easily and should be handled with care.
Look for firm, glossy skin; fairly heavy for size. Stored in a perforated plastic bag in the refrigerator, they should keep for a week. Freezing softens the flesh of the squash, but it will still be usable in casseroles and other dishes where crispness is not important. Blanch cut up summer squash 2 minutes before freezing, then cool them down in ice water before storing in the freezer. They should keep for up to 4 months without freezer burn. For breads, freeze the raw squash whole or grated.
Well… it’s been a while since I’ve last posted to any of my other blogs, but I hope you’ll stick around and find some interesting articles on gardening. Feel free to leave a comment about your gardening experiences.
