What to do with the Pumpkin Bounty

Pumpkin Soup 

One 4-5 pound Pumpkin *

1 medium / large onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

3-4 cups chicken or vegetable broth / water

salt, pepper, your choice of savory seasonings

your choice of cream, coconut milk

fresh cilantro

Cut pumpkin in half. Remove seeds (see recipe below).

Roast the pumpkin. Remove flesh from skin, ready for the soup pot.

Sauté onion and garlic. Add your favorite spices (today I used curry powder, salt, pepper). Add cooked pumpkin and broth / water.  Cook until well done. Combine with immersion blender. Garnish with fresh chopped cilantro and coconut milk / cream.

* Butternut squash may be substituted for pumpkin.

 

 Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

3/4 - 1 cup raw Pumpkin seeds

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

(Feel free to use your own combo of savory spices)

Wash pumpkin seeds in a strainer to remove pulp and fibers, thoroughly dry with paper towels.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine oil and spices. Add seeds, stirring to evenly coat. Lightly oil a sheet pan. Spread seasoned seeds on the pan. Bake until seeds are toasty and crunchy, ~15 minutes. Stir every 5 minutes for even roasting. Check for doneness by tasting a seed for crunchiness. Transfer to a tray or bowl to cool.

Still in the Garden! Despite the Pests

Wow! Where has the time gone? My last post was December 20, 2022. Let us begin again ...

Rouse the Spouse got more interested in the garden as he settled into retirement. He had ideas and I was ready to get rid of the heavy lifting of gardening. We've settled into our own roles. I make my requests for favorite crops during planting season, then take charge of the picking / processing. Hubby acts as the Plant Manger and does everything else!

We have had some challenges in the garden the past couple of years:

• Rascal-ly Rabbits - Our 3rd year without a crop of green beans, and it's not from lack of planting! 
• Squash Bugs - They're relentless! We have given up on summer squash.
• The voles and/or moles decimated our potato crops in '24 and '25. We didn't even try this year.
• The birds finally found the blueberries a few years ago. We installed bird netting, which successfully took care of the avian looting. The down side ... we accidentally killed a couple of snakes that got ensnared in the net. Then, in 2025, the bushes were in need of pruning. The agriculture extension agent told Rouse, "Cut them back." He did... to the ground... no fruit last year, and a minimal amount this year. Looking forward to next year!

After years of raising successful pepper plants, last year was pretty much a bust. Not sure why. This year, we had a good crop of banana and anaheim peppers. I stuffed the banana peppers with our favorite ground meat and cheese mixture then popped them into the freezer for future meals. I roasted, chopped, and froze the anaheim peppers in 1/4 cup blops for a supply of home-grown green chiles for Mexi-inspired dishes. The poblano peppers were a disappointment this year. Smaller and much hotter than expected.

The pink-eyed purple-hulled peas did well. We enjoyed several "messes" of those delicious beans. Rouse had to do all the shelling, as my deteriorating thumb joints can't take it any longer.

Our most successful crop this summer was not planted by us at all. Evidently, our compost was full of goodness. Specifically, seeds of the Cucurbita family (squashes and pumpkins) germinated and

ran all over the garden space. We ended up with a dozen delicata squash, 11 good-sized butternut squash, one pie pumpkin, five small unidentified pumpkins with pointy tops, and a bunch of gourds.

Also, a watermelon and a canteloupe!

We are looking forward to our winter garden. Very few pests to deal with during cold season. Collards, kale and other favored greens, salad turnips, radishes, carrots etc will be in the ground this month. Maybe some garlic later in the fall. Come winter, we'll install light-weight fabric row covers for solar boost and added protection. Year round gardening is a plus in central NC!

Bomb Cyclone!

Just in time for Christmas, Mother Nature delivered winter with a vengeance. An historic winter storm and arctic blast descended upon a vast majority of the continental United States last Friday, December 23rd, effecting holiday travel and leaving many folks without power. Indeed, our power was out for 18 hours due to downed trees and power lines! With big winds and plummeting temperatures expected, I was worried about my little garden. Could my winter-hardy plants survive temperatures in the single digits? made worse by the crazy winds?

Before the power and my internet went out, I found this very informative article about winter kill temperatures of cold hardy vegetables by Pam Dawling, who writes a blog called Sustainable Market Farming from her place in central Virginia. After reading her data I decided to harvest all the nicely developed rosettes of pak choi, pick the biggest leaves of the beautiful collards (morris heading and georgia southern varieties), thin the kale, then securely cover all the main beds with lightweight fabric row cover. The herbs and the garlic remained uncovered. With fingers crossed, I hoped for the best.

When we woke up on December 24th, the thermometer read 9 degrees (F). Compare that to one of our not-so-unusual December days, like today, for example ... 32 degrees when we woke up and a very nice 62 degrees this afternoon! Anyway, here's what happened in the garden on that frigidly cold night:

• The hakurei turnips and hen-pecked mustard greens were most damaged, showing dead and dying foliage. Even the globe of the turnip roots had frozen.
• The nevada lettuce plants got knocked back pretty hard. I wonder ... might some recover?
• The large outer leaves of the cabbage plants were definitely cold hurt, but the heads should continue to develop.
• The kale bed had limited damage. Most of the leaves are still quite healthy looking.
• The collards show very mild damage to a few leaves, but overall, they look great.
• The dark green Bloomsdale spinach is perfect, and so sweet!
• The garlic is keeping on.
• The cilantro (first time in my winter garden) is gorgeous!
• Other herbs fared quite well, including the rosemary, lavendar, thyme, sage, and oregano. The sorrel got a bit nipped but should recover. 

Photo Gallery of the aftermath:

top to bottom: mustard greens, caribe cilantro, hakurei turnips

cabbage with damaged outer leaves

recently cut collards with mild discoloration on a few leaves

lovely spinach and damaged lettuce

kale with white discoloration from cold-hurt

garlic - hanging in there!

Garlic

Our friends from Seattle brought us garlic bulbs. They are settled into the garden now, where they will grow all winter and into the spring. Then ... fresh garlic!

Lorz Italian softneck

Duganski hardneck

Inchelium Red softneck

Hurrican Ian

Forecasters say we could get as much as 5" rain in NC ... fingers crossed!

Localized drought at our house. The rain clouds just seem to avoid us.

Late summer garden produce

 

Figs, sautéd in butter, on top of french toast

okra, beans, cherry tomatoes, peppers

okra, 2nd crop green beans, cherry tomatoes

Serendipity ... the yuck bucket squashes

roasted shishito peppers and delicata squash

Autumnal Equinox

It's the first day of fall! The day we experience equal amounts of daylight and darkness. This year, in 2022, the official moment occurs at 9:04 pm ET.

The energy of summer has come to an end. For gardeners, it's time to harvest the last of the summer crops, pick the apples and pears, plant the winter garden. On a deeper level, it's time to take stock and "harvest" the efforts and intentions set earlier in the year.

Here's a nice read about the spiritual significance of the autumn season.