Being vegetarian, mostly, and a gardener, I am always delighted when I can grow my own food successfully. I particularly like free food from free seeds, especially if I have eaten the rest of the item that provided the seeds. Long time readers may recall the triffid tomato that grew up the house and knocked on the bedroom window, which was from a free seed.
This year it was a butternut squash. I don’t do anything clever to cook a butternut squash, four minutes in the microwave will do, cooked with a sprinkling of tap water, served in a bowl and eaten with a fork. It was about June before I noticed the seeds, cracked the tough outer layer and put them in a container of water in the sun room. A couple germinated and were planted in little pots in seed compost and then out in the garden under the wisteria.
And then they went nuts.
They grew at speed out of the flower bed and onto the lawn. To the top left of the photo you can see the step that leads to the side passage and the back door.
They went exploring up there with such vigour I was half expecting them to knock at the door and come in for a cup of tea.
They had huge flowers.
These were so spectacular I photographed them in case they would do as paintings for fairy backgrounds.
In theory every flower produces a squash from the centre. Some did but the tiny squashes, more like squishes, little pale yellow fingers, just disappeared. I began to suspect that I was sharing the squashes, and sprinkled some humane slug pellets around. More little squishes appeared and disappeared. Do we have mice? Do mice like little squishes? Had the magpies mistaken a squish for a finger? Had next door’s cat gone soft and squishy?
The plant grew and grew, I almost had to open the gate so it could go in the front garden.
Along came the Min and I neglected my squash. Then the squash was squashed by the first frost. It went all sad and flat.
I decided the time was ripe for the harvest. I searched among the frost scorched leaves for a squash. Just one was left. One whole entire butternut squash grown by me for free. Here it is, are you ready?
I am a gardener and a miniaturist. Sometimes it’s one, sometimes the other and, occasionally, both.
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