Why I Oughta...

Look what else is popping through?  Butternut Squash seedlings!  Officially named Waltham Butternut Winter Squash, these beauties ripen in late summer and if this year was any indication, Nat will be serving them to the Babe with regularity.    The broccoli, carrots, and one of the pumpkin varieties are also doing well.  Stay tuned for updates on those soon. The broccoli can be seen in the back of the photo with the squash seedlings up front (pardon the flash!).

Now that you've seen some of the seeds , I figured I should show what they're growing in:  my non-peat coconut coir temporary plastic greenhouse.  These things are pretty slick:  you place a pod in each compartment, pour water on top and they grow like Sea Monkeys .  They eventually stop being so cylindrical and fill up the whole compartment much like what would happen if you just poured soil into each one. There's 72 little compartments - each with a few seeds.  We'll know in a week or so if anything pops up or germinates. By the way...did you know we're not supposed to be using peat?  This dire warning came with the kit.  It takes 220 years to regrow the amount of peat we use for gardening purposes?  That's crazy talk.

Vegetable number two for my seed experiment are these Big Max Pumpkins.  As you can see, they're billed as "Competition Size" and the package boasts of pumpkins with 70" circumferences and 100 lbs of weight.  I'm doubtful, but I'm willing to give them a shot!