Winter Squashes and Pumpkins come in a carnival of shapes and colors.

Large winter squash and pumpkins with their long sprawling vines are not usually considered general landscaping material. They are notorious for running rampantly over neighboring plants and they tend to get ratty looking by the end of the season.  However, these large plants, with their dramatic leaves,  huge yellow flowers, and colorful fruits can in fact be a wonderful addition to your landscape and are among the most exciting ways to draw children into the garden. To include winter squash in your landscape you have options. You can either control the vines in an orderly and attractive way, or grow the new compact bush varieties and include them in your flower border or in containers.
You’ll soon see that when grown well winter squash and pumpkins are handsome plants and add whimsy to a routinely serious landscape.  See the photos below for some creative ways to add them to your garden.

Winter Squash vines are large and they sprawl. Train them up a twig trellis to control them. Use black zip ties to attach the twigs to a frame.

Large pumpkins and squash need hefty support like this arbor at the Denver Botanic Garden

To gussy up your pumpkin planting, add a row of sunflowers on the north side of the bed. This colorful planting is also at the Denver Botanic Garden.

Bush winter squash are compact and fit in many areas of the garden. This is a 'Bush Delicata.'

To grow your winter squash or pumpkins, in winter peruse the offerings from the many mail-order seed companies and choose the size plant you want, the type you like to cook, and the right variety for your climate. (Even though they are called winter squash, they are actually planted in the spring after the soil has warmed up and they tolerate no frost. They are called “winter” squash because they can be stored over the winter, as compared to summer squash which are consumed in the summer.  ) The important thing is to keep your plants healthy. Struggling squash plants are not a thing of beauty; the leaves can turn yellow from too little nitrogen and the leaves get mildew from lack of lots of sun and good air circulation.

To get them off to a great start, choose a garden area in full sun, dig up the soil well and mound the bed if the drainage is poor, and because they are heavy feeders add lots of rich compost and manure to the bed. Plant the seeds according to the directions on the seed package. Water them in well and protect the seed bed with bird netting or spun bond fabric. Provide drip irrigation or water well between rain storms as squash plants need to be kept fairly moist. Mulch the young seedlings with a few inches of compost to suppress weeds and keep the soil moist. The bush varieties need only a supplemental feeding after 6 weeks, the vining squash however need not only the supplemental feeding, they also need an occasional coaxing to get them to climb up a trellis–maybe you need to direct a vine to its support or tie it to the trellis to control them. If you are growing large squash or pumpkins over 5 or 6 pounds on an arbor, you may need to support them with a macrame or other such creative sling. If the leaves start to get mildewed in late summer, spray them with a fungicide spray of either baking soda, compost tea, neem oil, or the bacterial fungicide Serenade. Harvest your squash or pumpkin a few weeks after they have fully colored up, or before the first frost. Store them in a cool dark place and enjoy them over the winter.

Squash blossoms are dramatic in the garden and sweet and tasty in a recipe.

I want you to know I had pure motives when I chose this perfect spot; as strawberries grow best in full sun, in fast draining soil, and the cascading berries would be safe from slugs and various rots.

Twenty years ago before I created edible landscapes I grew them discreetly in a backyard vegetable garden. Early one spring I had chosen a sunny patch about 10’ by 10,’ enough for our family of four, and added lots of aged manure and compost, plus soil sulfur to create a slightly acidic soil. (Gardeners with very acidic soils add limestone instead.) I added stepping stones to make weeding and harvesting easier. As I live in an arid climate I also installed a drip irrigation system. Two strawberry varieties were perfect for our area: ‘Sequoia,’ a June bearing variety and ‘Quinalt,’ an everbearing one. I placed bare-root plants a foot apart and spread out their roots. To prevent rot I placed the crown at soil level and covered the roots lightly with soil, tamped them down, and watered them well. When the soil warmed up I added two inches of clean straw to prevent weeds. To boost productivity, I pinched off all the June flowers and the constant crop of summer runners and kept the slugs at bay by hand picking. That fall the ‘Quinalt’ plants gave a small harvest, the next spring both varieties were spectacular. With only a spring fertilizing, mulching, and runner trimming the next summer crop was great too. At the end of the season I allowed runners to develop, and used them when I planted a brand new patch. I harvested from the old bed until the new one was producing and then turned under the old one. For eight years I had great harvests of berries for the kids to pick, pies, and extra for freezing and jam.

There are fewer diseases and pest problems when strawberries are grown in containers

As the years went by I needed fewer strawberries and had less time. Fortunately, I then discovered Alpine strawberries. These perennials produce all summer, have no runners, produce fruits on top of the plant out of reach of slugs, take light shade, and reseed themselves. With little maintenance we could harvest great berries for cereal, or even a smoothie, from June through October. Ten years later I still have small patches of Alpine strawberries but lately I had a longing for a bigger harvest and that’s when I discovered the new day neutral strawberries–and thus became such a garden temptress. I found the plants produce mostly berries, not runners, so are easier to control in containers and garden beds and for six months at that, so only a few dozen plants were needed. I had room in the front of my planter boxes and last spring, with only some added compost, planted the day neutral ‘Tristar’ berries. They didn’t need the flowers and runners removed and they started producing in late May–then ooh la la. Those perfect lipstick-red perfumed berries were tempting all but the most steely individuals. The neighborhood children help themselves on the way to school, I offered them to visitors who couldn’t get over how much better they taste than the ones from the store. I still have plenty for myself. Lots of berries to savor, and lots more to share, what fun!

Strawberries in Your Edible Landscape

Even in the most formal garden, you can fit strawberries into your edible landscape.

Accent your fruit color with red flowers and accoutrement

Strawberry Types and Recommended Varieties:

There are four types of strawberries: June bearing, everbearing, day neutral, and Alpine strawberries.

June bearing: June bearers are day length and temperature sensitive and produce only one big June crop. Perfect for eating fresh, and for preserving, are generally planted in large patches and the beds are replanted every few years.

‘Allstar’: large sweet berries, plants are June bearing and have good disease resistance; best in Northeast, Midwest, and eastern Canada.

‘Honeoye’: great flavor. Plants are June bearing, for Northeast and Midwest.

‘Sequoia’: produces in June and July, bred for the West but adaptable throughout zones 5 – 8, disease resistant.

Everbearing: plants are similar to the June bearing but less sensitive to day length. They produce a big crop of berries in June and small crop in fall.

‘Ozark Beauty’: classic old-timer with wedge-shaped large berries. Good for Midwest and Northeast.

‘Quinault’: flavorful berries, plants are very disease resistant and best for the Northwest.

Day neutral: these plants form flower buds regardless of day length and produce from spring through fall; the berries are small, but of high quality. Plants are less prone to diseases but produce poorly in hot climates.

‘Tribute’: medium-size berries. The plants are vigorous and very disease resistant.

‘Tristar’: fairly small berries, great flavor, vigorous; resists red stele and verticillium wilt.

Alpine: selected from wild European strawberries, they are started from seeds or plants. The berries are small and intense. The plants set no runners and prefer cool conditions and some shade.

‘Alexandria’ – The most common red Alpine strawberry, small mounding plants.

‘Rugen Improved’ – small mounding plants, fruits larger than most Alpines.

Alpine strawberries do not produce runners and tolerate light shade, making them perfect for a woodland path.

Strawberry Recipe:

Strawberry French Toast

This makes a very special brunch (it’s lovely with champagne) and takes full advantage of your gardens’ first spring flush of berries.

Filling:

• 1/4 lb. natural cream cheese
• 4 tablespoons strawberry yogurt
• 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
• 1 – 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 cup sliced ripe strawberries

Prepare filling: With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, yogurt, and powdered sugar until smooth and light.  Slowly add the milk until the mixture is of spreading consistency.  Gently fold in sliced strawberries.  Cover bowl; set aside.

Toast:

• 4 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 8 slices hearty Italian bread, slightly stale
• 1 to 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 to 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• Garnish: whole strawberries

In a large bowl whisk eggs, milk, sugar, and nutmeg until blended.  Soak the bread slices in the mixture for a few minutes.  In a nonstick frying pan, or griddle, over medium heat melt 1 tablespoon of butter.  Add 1 tablespoon oil and stir to blend.  Drain off excess milk mixture from the bread slices as you remove them from the bowl and arrange them in one layer in the frying pan, or on griddle, and cook each until golden brown.  Turning them occasionally for even browning.  If you need to cook the toast in separate batches add more oil and butter for each batch and repeat the process, keeping the finished pieces warm in the oven.

Spread equal amounts of cream cheese onto 4 French toast slices and cover each piece with another slice.  Place each serving on its own plate, cut in half, dust each with powdered sugar, and garnish plates with whole strawberries.

Serves 4.

Many types of salad greens grow right off the kitchen patio.

Growing Salad Greens

Spring is a great time for growing salad greens, the weather is cool and damp, just what they love. Plant edible flowers along with the greens so you can enjoy them in the garden as well as in your salad. Greens fit into your landscape, be they baby greens or grown to mature heads.

The easiest way to start to grow your salad greens is to grow baby greens, which will be ready to harvest in about 6 weeks.

- Order seeds for baby salad greens under the name mesclun mix or make your own mix by purchasing individual packages of

seeds of 3 or 4 types of lettuces and a few types of greens such as: spinach, chard, mustard, rocket, or finely curled endive.

- A garden bed about 10′ by 4’ provides a generous amount of baby salad greens for 3 or 4 people.

- Harvest your baby greens by taking kitchen shears and cutting across the bed about an inch above the crowns of the plants.  Cut only the amount you want at each harvest.

- If the weather is cool, in the 40 to 70 degree range, if you lightly fertilize with a balanced fertilizer like fish emulsion and keep the bed moist the greens will regrow and you can harvest baby greens again in a few weeks.

Mesclun

Mesclun is a French Provencal term for a salad that combines many flavors and textures of greens and herbs. The object is to create a concert for your mouth by including sweet greens, slightly bitter leaves, and peppery greens like arugula or mustard. Greens like crispy romaine and velvety bibb lettuces give textural excitement contrast.

Recipe for a classic French mesclun salad.

The Salad:

Pick enough salad greens to serve 6. Six large handfuls is usually a good measure. Use a seasonal selection from your garden of many varieties of lettuces; add young leaves of greens such as spinach, mizuna, arugula, mache, radicchio, sorrel, and frisees; and a few leaves of herbs such as Italian parsley, chervil, or mint. While its not very traditional, when in the garden you could pick a few blossoms of edible flowers such as nasturtiums, calendulas, and Johnny-jump-ups for a garnish too.

Vinaigrette:

2 to 2 1/2 tablespoons balsamic or wine vinegar

1 clove of garlic, minced

salt and pepper to taste

5 to 6 tablespoons virgin olive oil

Optional: 6 or 8 edible flowers for garnish

Wash greens and dry in a salad spinner. Refrigerate until serving time. In a small container, mix the vinegar, garlic, salt, and pepper and blend in oil to taste. Just before serving, toss the dressing gently with the salad, garnish and serve. Serves 6

Mr. X in his prime

Our noble rooster Mr. X passed away on November 14th. We almost lost him the week before Christmas last year so the past ten months were a gift. Arthritis was his major problem. His last year or so was a quiet one compared to his previous 14 years of traveling around the country visiting nursing homes, garlic festivals, friend’s homes, and fourth grade classes. His last public appearance was at a local garden club where he nobly sat in the crook of my arm for a half hour as I lobbied for the 2008 California Proposition 2 to free millions of chickens from their inhumane cages. I wanted the audience to experience chickens as sentient beings that we should not abuse. In that short time the members got to know and love him as we did. He even nodded when I told them that he didn’t like cold French fries, only hot ones, and that he’d never met a dog he couldn’t dominate.

As I walked through the audience with him he patiently let them touch his glorious feathers and to feel how warm he was. And of course, he didn’t poop on me, much to their surprise. But then he never did poop when you held him unless you didn’t pay attention to his squirming-I-want-to-get-down warning.

Mr. X in his final days with Cathy

The house feels empty now. I still listen for his faint crow I would hear from the garage every morning. I miss him waddling up the walk after me. His walk through the house to go to his dog carrier in the garage every night, and his constant excitement and clucking when I offered him a handful of cantaloupe seeds or some lettuce leaves from the garden. And of course, the neighborhood children miss his cock-a-doodle-do when they would come to visit and feed him. This gorgeous chicken has left an indelible mark on his part of the world and will be remembered in all our minds for decades to come.

Additionally, in the Mother Earth News article I promised to make an Excel spreadsheet available that can be used to track garden productivity on your own! You can access the sheet by clicking on the link below:

Trial-Garden-Spreadsheet

Another feature in the same issue of Mother Earth News includes my photographs of Heirloom Fruits & Vegetables featuring the Seedsaver’s Exchange.

Cover of the new book

After 5 and a half years of research, which included travels to 49 states, visits to countless restaurant, home,  and botanical gardens,   photography, and writing — the photos have been submitted, the manuscript is finished and now we’re just cleaning up the last details.  The official publication date is November 1, 2010. I know it’s really going to happen because the book is already available for pre-order on Amazon!  Edible Landscaping is a total revision of my 1982 book, perhaps prematurely titled, The Complete Book of Edible Landscaping.  It includes 300 color photos and updated organic growing information.

My lecture schedule for next Spring is starting to take shape and it starts where it should…at EcoFarm, the annual organic farming conference where I spoke 25 years ago on the same subject of Edible Landscaping.  I’m excited to still be a part of this edible revolution.  Keep checking the website as I will be updating my speaking calendar in a few weeks.

Crocodile with Hubbard squash and gourd eyes

Winter squashes are nutritional powerhouses that are not only luscious and sweet; in the kitchen they are extremely versatile. Over the years I have studied this vegetable and cooked dozens of different types. Today, I would say, my favorites are the sweet butternut, I find it the easiest to peel and the cubes are great for roasting; Kabocha (Japanese chestnut squashes) that have such dense flesh and meatiness that are perfect for baking and pureeing; and, I love the acorn types for their rich mellow flavor that pairs so well with all type of nuts and brown sugar.

Today, winter squashes are enjoyed in most parts of the world. In Mexico, where they are native, winter squashes are made into a puree and baked inside empanadas, and the seeds are roasted and salted or added to candies, even ground into their famous mole sauces. Italians add winter squash cubes to risotto and soups, and they mashed and seasoned the pulp with herbs and spices to fill raviolis. In gay Paris they use the heirloom pumpkin Rouge Vif d’Etampes to bake a rich leek and cheese soup and create a rich gratin by layering the squash and baking it with cream and hazelnuts.

In this country, for centuries the Native Americans have roasted whole squash in the coals or added the cubes to stews along with venison or turkey and flavored them with chilies. The colonists grew and cooked winter squash as well. They mashed the flesh and sweetened the pulp with sugar or molasses and made them into pies and puddings, which were served as a side dish to the meal with other vegetables and starches. Not until the twentieth century were pies and puddings accepted as dessert items. Who knew?

Enjoy winter squash for the next four or five months, then next spring, after all threat of frost is over, choose your favorite varieties and plant them in great soil and in full sun. I’ll post photos of how to include these exciting plants in your landscape and give you some growing hints.

Neighborhood kids harvesting pumkins from my garden

Harvest of pumpkins at Tra Vigna Restaurant in Napa

White pumpkin jester "jack-o-lantern" with chilis

Winter Squash Recipes

Baked Winter Squash with Maple Nut/Seed Butter

A wonderful compliment to squash is a nut or seed butter. The rich flavors seem meant for each other. You can make your own nut or seed butter, or many types are available in natural foods and specialty stores.

Basic baking directions are given below; the time will vary and the number of people served will depend on the size and variety of squash.

• 2 acorn or other small squash (about 1 1/4 pound each), or 1 medium squash (about 2 1/2 pounds)
• 3 tablespoons each dairy butter, nut or seed butter, and maple syrup

Place squash on a baking pan and bake at 350 F. for 3/4 to 1 1/2 hours, until soft. You may want to turn the squash a couple of times for more even cooking. Cut in half and remove seeds, (save to wash and toast for snacks if you like), and strings; if using 1 squash, cut again to make 4 servings. Put back on baking pan cut sides up. In a small saucepan, melt dairy butter, add nut or seed butter and syrup, and stir to mix. Spoon mixture into squash cavities and coat surfaces. Return to oven for about 10 minutes to heat through before serving. Serves 4

Classic Home-Grown Pumpkin Pie

Some pumpkins do not make good pies. Select a pumpkin bred for pies, not a Jack-o-lantern type. If you can’t find a good pie pumpkin use a Butternut squash, they make great “pumpkin” pies.

• 1 3/4 cups pumpkin puree (see below), or squash
• 3/4 cup white or brown sugar
• 1 cup milk or cream
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon allspice or cloves
• 3 eggs
• 1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

To make your own pumpkin puree: Cut pumpkin or squash in half, remove seeds and strings, and place cut-side down on a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees F. until very soft, 1 hour, or longer, and let cool. Remove skin and any coarse fibers, and puree flesh in a blender, food processor, or food mill. One small to medium pumpkin makes about 1 quart of puree.

Place all the ingredients except pie shell in a blender and blend. (You may have to do this in 2 batches, depending on capacity of blender. If so, mix the batches before pouring into the pie shell.) Pour into 9-inch pie shell. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees and bake 45 minutes longer or until set and a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let cool at least 1/2 hour before serving. Makes 1-inch 9 pie.