Delicata Squash Ready to Harvest

Also known as sweet potato squash, Bohemian squash, and peanut squash, delicata squash is considered to be a winter squash, with a more delicate, edible skin. It's typically grown in the summer and harvested in the fall. I guess fall is closer than it seems, because here in central NC the delicata squash is ready NOW.

If you've never tasted it, it's worth searching out at your local farmers market. It's a very versatile veggie in the kitchen ... delicious roasted, sautéd, or stuffed and baked. Just cut in half, scoop out the seeds (which can be roasted), and prepare your favorite winter squash recipe. It has a wonderfully rich, sweet, creamy, yellow flesh that's hard to beat.

Hurricane Isaias dumped 3-1/2" of rain at our house yesterday.

What happens when you neglect the garden for a few days in the middle of summer?

On Thursday, we returned from a 4-day camping trip in the mountains of western NC. Boy, oh boy, am I missing the cool mountain air and the refreshingly frigid swimming holes! Of course, the hot and humid garden was in need of picking... swollen cucumbers, too big okra, overdone green beans, cracked tomatoes. It doesn't take long for things to get out of hand, but with the help of Rouse the Spouse, we got everything up to date .... picked, watered, and weeded.

Unfortunately, we found another black snake (the second) ensnared in the bird netting installed to protect the blueberry crop. I'm sorry to have caused the death of Brother Snake. Yesterday, I discovered a spicebush swallowtail butterfly trapped in the netted space. I carefully caught it in our granddaughter's pink butterfly net and set it free. The berries are at the end of their season... the BEST blueberry season we've ever had, I might add. I guess it's time to take down that net.

The tomatoes are really coming in now. We are enjoying the annual deliciousness of juicy tomato sandwiches. Imagine thick tomato slices, sprinkled with lots of salt and pepper, slathered with mayonnaise, stuck between two slices of real white bread from our fantastic local baker at Phoenix Bakery. Sometimes we eat standing over the sink to better manage the drips!

Of course, BLT's are also on the menu... and pasta loaded with basil pesto... and refrigerator pickles... and more green beans than we care to eat... plus shishito peppers... and the incredible roasted okra! We're in the thick of scrumptious summer.

Featured in Chatham Magazine Article!

Ours was one of three local gardens featured in the August / September "food and drink" issue of Chatham Magazine. This well-done local magazine is a great resource for keeping up with what is going on with neighbors and the larger community of Chatham County. It's full of pictures and stories about people we really know!

The magazine can be read online and physical copies can be found at local businesses. Be sure to check out the article in question, titled, Can You Dig It?  Our section begins on page 86. Interesting read with nice photos. Warning: cute granddaughter alert!

Summertime Blues

The blueberry bushes are still yielding quite a bit of fruit ... as much as we care to pick!

I made another blueberry pound cake yesterday ... the third one this season. This one was made in honor of a couple of special July birthdays. My mother-in-law celebrated her 89th birthday last week, and Rouse the Spouse will be 66 tomorrow.

I don't think I've shared this recipe before. Definitely a "do-again-er"! I've been making this cake during blueberry season for years. The recipe comes from a Southern Living publication called The Southern Heritage Cakes Cookbook, copyright 1983. The book is definitely dated, but full of wonderful recipes. Here's an interesting review of the book, from Short Street Cakes in Asheville (post dated 2010) .... featured cookbook review

Blueberry Pound Cake

1 cup, plus 2 tablespoons butter or margarine, divided
2-1/4 cups sugar, divided
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups all purpose flour, divided
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups fresh blueberries

Grease 10" tube pan (or bundt pan) with 2 tablespoons butter. Sprinkle pan with 1/4 cup sugar; set aside. Cream remaining 1 cup butter. Gradually add remaining 2 cups sugar, beating well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla; mix well.

Combine 2-3/4 cups flour, baking powder, and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture, beating until well blended. Dredge blueberries with remaining 1/4 cup flour. Fold blueberries into batter. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until cake tests done. Cool in  pan 10 minutes. Remove cake from pan, and let it cool completely before slicing.

For real decadence: Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

What happened to my tomato plant??

When the top of your tomato plant looks like this:

It's time to start looking for THIS:

Tomato Hornworm
A very large caterpillar with a horn on its tail

Here's another photo to give a size reference:

A hornworm's favorite thing to eat is tomato plant, although they will eat potato, eggplant, pepper ... any member of the Solanaceae (nightshade) family.

Hornworms chew leaves and can quickly and efficiently defoliate a plant. Typically, the feast begins with the leaves at the top. As the very hungry caterpillar matures, it may also chew holes in the fruit.

Physical removal is usually the only necessary management, but first you've got to find the beast. It's not as easy as you might think. These creatures are masters of camouflage. Blending in with the leaves and stems, they often go unnoticed until the damage is done. As you search, you may come across another sign of hornworm presence... relatively large, dark green droppings that have accumulated on leaves.

Now ... if you find a hornworm that looks like this:
Good news! Leave it! Parasitic wasps have laid eggs on it, effectively taking over its body. The wasps are "good guys" in the garden. For more about THAT, check out my post from June 2019:
https://sueisinthegarden.blogspot.com/2019/06/tomato-hornworms-and-little-help-from.html

Another 1" of rain overnight!