September 30, 2009
Our very busy summer kept me from "controlling" the garden in the manner to which I am accustomed . All that means is that I usually grow my vegetables on the ground. This year however, when I turned my back for just one New York Minute, some of my pumpkin vines headed for freedom. They got as far as our evergreens but could not make it past so they just went UP and UP and UP.
We hoped the season would stretch out enough to allow a few small pumpkins to actually grow in the higher altitudes but did not expect to see the bounty that greeted us yesterday. Several of the Blue Moon variety not only grew but THRIVED. Not sure how we'll harvest them. Fork lift ? Firetruck ? Might have to wait till Christmas when we can cut the whole tree down and just bring it inside with its unusual ornaments already attached.
The pictures make the fruits look quite green but they are really more of a gray blue. For you more traditional types , I also grew Sweet Pumpkin Pie Pumpkins which only grew to weigh about 2-3 pounds but made the most wonderful pie and pumpkin cake. All I had to do was cut the guys in half, bake at 350 for 30 minutes, let cool, then scrape out the seeds for more roasting. I then scooped out the tender innards, pureed it in my food processor and used it like canned pumpkin. The taste though was not to be compared with canned. Like Charlie Brown, we love pumpkins.
Nice haul! This is the year of the squash for us. A great crop and we have been thinking of adding pumpkin to the mix. I have a few hundred acres of evergreen trees to use as pumpkin trellises.
ReplyDeleteI have been searching for recipes for pumpkins other than the ubiquitous pie. I.E. using it more like squash - as a vegetable.