Getting lucky so far, Boz.
Funny story about zucchini. I did some plants from seed and some from starter plants I bought at the nursery. I saw a plant that said Italian zucchini on the paddle. I took it and planted it expecting some mild variation of what we know as zucchini. Well this plant started growing and flowering and growing and flowering. But the elongated fruits were dying from blossom end rot when they got to five or six inches long. So I went to my local nursery where the guy who runs it knows lots of stuff. He suggested I get some liquid calcium to spray on the leaves. We went through the bottle in two sprayings. But the plant started producing full sized fruit from some of those hundreds of flowers. Hundreds of flowers because by now the plant had vined out in all directions to encompass about 1000 square feet! No lie! Absolutely humungous. Then the fruit started to mature. Long snake like white Italian squash / zucchini. About four or five feet long and about 3" in diameter. I have a picture of my ex holding one I gave her. Wish I had a clue how to load it.
Turns out the fruit is called cucuzza. Popular with off the boat Italians and no one else. A woman who lives two houses away saw the damned plant and knew what it was right away. She was all excited like I was farming gold. Turns out her father (Italian) had grown them when she was growing up. Her mother made a stew and she was elated when I told her she could have as many as she wants. They are very big. She took three and has since taken several more to distribute to her siblings and make more stew. Her sisters were just as excited to receive them as she was. She made a stew and brought me some. Best stew I ever had. No exaggeration. Then she brought me another version of the stew which fell far short of the first stew she made. Then she texted me that she had made more and left it on my porch. Enough Margaret!!!
Anyway I'm breaking down the garden now because frost is predicted for this coming week. I pulled nine good sized buckets of tomatoes yesterday. Several different kinds. Had an unbelievable tomato year - basically hot and dry. Plus I watered less and when I did I saturated the plant at its base being careful not to wet the leaves - that method held off the inevitable fusarium wilt.
And I told her I'd hold off on pulling the monstrous cucuzza (pronounced ga goots) 'till she got back from Buffalo where she has gone for the weekend.
That's only part of the cucuzza story. But I didn't set out to write a short story!
Great year for some veggies and fruits, some not so great and some disappointments.
I saw in your thread with brendanjack that you have a mini farm going. It's a fun and challenging pastime. And I make a lot of people happy when I give the stuff away.
Want some tomatoes? Nine friggin buckets full are sitting in my living room right now away from the frost. A few of those buckets will find happy homes. But I'm still trying to figure out what to do with the rest!
Incredible...that is awesome, love that cucuzza story..
Had to look it up.
Nuts lol...
Still have lettuces ,peas, green onions. arugula Zucchini carrots chard garlic leeks and a few other things going...about to harvest my weed plants.. great thing here is you a can grow greens almost all year...every once in a while we get a freeze but row covers enables a year round grow on limited things..
Once we get 10 hours of light pretty much every slows to almost no growth...gotta try Miners lettuce if you ever want to do a cold frame...grows like a champ year round
You're definitely the tomato champ sounds like...I'd freeze those bad boys for sauces.
Well done man.
