Recent Posts

Wednesday, May 26, 2004

my zucchinis are fruiting...

i read somewhere that the small zucchinis will rot if they weren't pollinated first... i hope that doesn't happen.

here's a random paragraph about zucchinis:

"Zucchinis usually grow at least 15 leaves before setting flowers. Often the first flowers are male, and will not produce fruit. You can tell whether a flower is male or female or not by the presence of a small swelling at the base of the flower. The swelling will turn into a full-on fruit. If there is no swelling, and only a prickly stem is present, this is a male flower. Pick them off for eating -- they're great in salads or lightly braised with red sweet peppers -- or leave them intact. Removal of male flowers will not affect fruit formation."
from some gardening website

"Zucchini and Summer Squash History All squash are from the Americas. Pumpkins, zucchini, acorn, you name it -- they're all New World Plants. So is corn, but that is a different story. The Texan wild marrow, (Cucurbita texana) and long marrow (Curcurbita pepo) are viewed as the ancestors of the garden marrow, or zucchini, although it is very possible that the real genetic diversity that lead to the popular garden vegetable has become extinct. Archaeological finds in Mexico point to cultivation of a few unknown small-seeded varieties around 5000 BC. Within 50 years of the European colonization of the Americas, summer squash varieties were distributed in Europe. Zucchini is an Italian word. In Britain, they are called Vegetable Marrow, probably eluding to the soft interior of bones that were such a popular and nutritious (yuk) meal in England."

i'm supposed to pick them while they're under 8 inches long... mm... i think the largest is around 4-5 inches right now... yum zucchini!


speaking of garden happenings... my tomato plants shot up another couple feet while i was gone over the weekend. When I looked out tuesday morning, my lemon boy tomato plant had toppled! :(
e and i bought lots of tall tall stakes at target... and now i think my pyramids of tomato plants are taller than me!

oh and all my cilantro started flowering to my dismay. i cut them off, but now i've read i should have just waited for the flowers to dry then i could have had fresh coriander seed. oh well.

oh and something is eating my basil *frown*

anyone know any good uses for apple mint? my apple mint is taking over a bucket


0 comments:

Post a Comment