Remember how prolific and abundant the spaghetti squash was in the garden this summer?
Well, we've had some frosts, so the time had come (the walrus said?) to harvest it. Low nighttime temperatures had killed the plants, so there was no sense leaving the veggies languishing in the garden with no further source of nourishment.
The trouble was two-fold. One, we have nowhere really effective to store that much squash. (A root cellar is still a distant dream.) And two, about three-quarters of the squash was still unripe, thanks to the late "second wind" so many plants got a few weeks ago.
But issues or not, I started picking.
As I picked, I separated the ripe from the unripe. The ripe went into a wheelbarrow. Headcount: 23 squash.
I piled the unripe squash on one of the garden beds.
Headcount: 73
This means we harvested a total of 96 squash. It's a nice problem to have, but this much squash is still a problem.
A couple of squash were so small that they weren't worth counting.
And one had split, so that one will go in the compost pile (and with my luck, the seeds will grow as volunteers next year.)
We packed the ripe squash into crates...
...and stacked them in the well house. This is as close to a "root cellar" as we have. We have a small heater inside that kicks on whenever the inside temp dips toward freezing, but otherwise the space stays quite cool.
We piled the unripe spaghetti squash into every remaining crate we could locate. When we ran out of those, the remainder went into burlap sacks.
Apparently heat (as in, room temperatures) will help unripe spaghetti squash to ripen, slowly. So we hauled the crates inside and stacked them next to the ripening tomatoes.
We're unlikely to be able to eat this much spaghetti squash before it goes bad, so as the unripe squash ripens, we'll be handing it out to friends and neighbors. And next year, I'll dial back how much I plant.
Another autumn chore, done.
I'm curious as to why a root cellar is a distant dream if it's a nessessity? If it will keep your produce fresh and keep the cost of living down, why wait to dig one? Seems like it would be a good spring project.
ReplyDeleteCha-ching! Right now we're on a tight budget after my job loss last February. We have other projects taking financial priority, so a root cellar is something we'll have to save up for.
Delete- Patrice
An basic root cellar can be built for about $500. Then you can add to it as finances allow. It's better to have a small one that's usable then nothing at all.
DeleteWhy don't you give extra squash to cattle? You could replace grain-treats with small amount of squash every now and then. Having pigs would of course be best option when wanting to get rid of exess food.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you know ways to use unripe spaghetti squash but I did find this article which may help others : https://flawlesscooking.com/what-can-i-do-with-unripe-spaghetti-squash/
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you know how to use unripe spaghetti squash but just in case, I found this article - https://flawlesscooking.com/what-can-i-do-with-unripe-spaghetti-squash/
ReplyDeleteHaving too much food. Such a PROBLEM my Grandmother would say.
ReplyDeleteWill be interested in hearing how well the ripening of the less mature spaghetti squash goes. Please report.
How about donating to a local food bank? Food banks gladly take and distribute homegrown fruits and vegetables to those in need.
ReplyDeleteMaybe in your area, but in many places they will not accept most types of produce, they tend to be very picky. I'm in southern Idaho, I have tried numerous years to donate produce to every food bank in the area, every single one has told me the same thing: we will only accept certain veggies, the types people actually will eat, most people will just throw out everything else. So locally they only want veggies people will eat, namely being cucumbers, tomatoes, fresh corn, peppers, carrots, potatoes and fruit. They will not accept any greens, broccoli, cauliflower, turnips, beets, zucchini, or any winter squash (with the exception of pumpkins for Halloween decorating). I have relatives in several Midwest states as well who grow huge gardens who try to donate, same thing, so most people refuse to donate their produce because of how picky they are. In my area a lot of people take their extra produce to church with them and leave it in the lobby, let people take what they want, usually most disappears that way.
DeleteOld-Fart here
ReplyDeleteA very impressive harvest for sure. Nice Job.
Being Old School, I’ve never quite done the Spaghetti Squash so much, good ole Acorn and Butternut are my favorites, maybe Blue Hubbert and Banana, Yes, I have grown the Spaghetti just never considered it a ‘Must Have’, and honestly with Acorn and Butternut producing like Rabbits, I never considered it a necessity, except for a change of pace.
As far as a Root-Cellar goes…. I been doing this Gardening for as long as I can remember, along with storing the bounty.
The way I figure it, I Dehydrate/Air-dry, Can, and Freeze 80% of what is produced for storage, that’s AFTER eating a LOT of it fresh and giving away seemingly as much as I grow.
With that said I just could never come to the expense of Building a Root Cellar, (Correctly). I do have a 5’X6’ closet set aside for storage of said produce (and other stuff), with all the shelving, crates and hangers. This room is kept very cool with the magic of a very small Cooling Unit, I keep it around 45 degrees, keeps foods good to go for months upon months. And yes, the room is double/triple insulated. BTW, setting this room up cost me a lot of scrounging (free stuff is great) and the cooling unit, around $200 total cost.
One last word on Storing food, be it in a Root-Cellar, Closet, Under the house or wherever and however it’s stored,
!!! Keep an active inventory !!!
Do NOT let food you have Grown, Raised, Traded for, or Purchased go bad because you “Forgot about it”.
Think about Junk Hamburger being $8 to $10 (OR MORE) a pound and forgetting about 20 pounds you have in the bottom of the freezer for 10 years and now it’s a solid block of Frost, or whatever, and it’s unusable. A total waste.
We have a well-house/shed that is insulated that we keep set to just above freezing in the winter months with a small heater. It also has door vents and a fan that we open/use when the days are warmer to ventilate the air and keep it a more consistent temp. I keep my potatoes stored in milk crates there from October-June with no issues at all, same with onions. With winter squash I usually just store them in big plastic tubs with the lids off, I move them from tub to tub every week to check for any that may be going bad, again they keep the entire winter that way. If we end up with apples, they get stored in milk crates in there as well, just away from the other stuff. So because this works so well, we have never needed to build a root cellar. I grow a ton of beets, turnips, and carrots as well, but I prefer to either can, freeze or dehydrate those as opposed to store them in a root cellar.
ReplyDeleteShoes and ships and sealing wax and cabbages and kings.
ReplyDeleteWhat in the heck does The Walrus and the Carpenter have to do with spaghetti squash?
DeleteYou're the one who brought it up! "he time had come (the walrus said?)" also everything should reference Lewis Carroll as much as possible.
DeleteNothing wrong with immature spaghetti squash. Cut off both ends, then cut into 2-inch squares. Bring water to boil, add salt and squash. Turn heat to medium, simmer until tender, but not mushy. About 10-15 minutes. Drain squash at least 5+ minutes. Use potato masher to coarsely mash and let drain another 3 minutes. Add butter and salt/pepper. Yum
ReplyDeleteI used to make sure this happened when I had big garden, they would keep in my basement till May
ReplyDeletemy favorite way is,
I have used many different cheeses
1/2 Four Cheese Garlic Spaghetti Squash
1 large spaghetti squash
5 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup water
1 chicken bouillon cube, crumbled (a good alternative to salt that gives a fuller body to the filling)
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup of Four-Cheese Italian White Cheese Blend (Mozzarella, White Cheddar, Provolone, Asiago)
Fresh thyme
Fresh ground pepper (buy whole peppercorns, the flavor is 300% better when you crack them straight from the pepper mill at the last minute)
Parsley or chives or green onions, finely chopped
Directions
Download your Baked four cheese garlic spaghetti squash recipe card with nutrition info!
1. Preheat your oven to 400°F(200°C). Grab your spaghetti squash firmly and chop off the tip and tail. Cut in half length-wise and scoop out the innards and seeds. Place both halves on a baking sheet, maintained by a small foil ring to ensure stability. Sprinkle fresh cracked pepper over each half.
2. In a large bowl, combine minced garlic, heavy cream with 1/2 cup water, crumbled bouillon cube, chives and fresh thyme. Mix well.
3. Sprinkle a first layer of grated cheese in the cavities of each squash halves. Divide the cream mixture on top of cheese in each halves, then top with additional cheese.
4. Roast in the oven for 40 to 50 minutes, or until the flesh of the spaghetti squash is very tender when poked with a fork. Remove from oven and serve immediately.
Note: You can cut baking time by half if you’re in a hurry. Put raw spaghetti squash halves face down in a shallow dish with a bit of water. Then microwave for 8 minutes (less or more, depending on the size of the squash). The flesh will be almost cooked through. Proceed with the remaining steps and bake for only 20-25 minutes in the oven.
Bet your cows would love to help you with the problem!
ReplyDelete