BotanoLogos Appalachian Herbs Program

I had my first herb class with Patricia Kyritsi Howell and Lorna (sorry Lorna I can't remember your hyphenated last name) at the Foxfire Center in Mountain City, Georgia last weekend. We meet for 5 weekends from Now until October. I thought I was going there to learn about herbs and I did but I learned a couple of other things while I was at it. First of all did you know there is a rain forest in Mountain City, Georgia? Well I know Patricia said to bring rain gear for hiking but I thought because of an occasional rain shower…ah, no. It rains all the time, hence rain forest. Where have I been, under a rock? I swear no one mentioned that in my studies at Charlevoix public schools, in Michigan.

I was worried about getting chewed up with chiggers (my favorite pest of the south), but alas no chigger bites thanks to Patricia sharing what she had learned from an old-timer who told her to put a pinch of sulphur powder (get it at the drug store) in the bottom of her shoes and a little smeared around the end of the pant legs. I did what the doctor said and viola, no chiggers.
The goal of this class is to learn how to identify plants in the wild and learn their medicinal properties then harvest and make into medicine. Each weekend consists of two long days of hiking, classroom instruction and medicine making.

The first class was great – not only did I meet my classmates who are interesting folks from different backgrounds but we hiked and keyed-out various plants on the mountain trails. I learned black flex garbage bags are indispensable in a rain forest to sit on, protect back-pack and books and to wear. What a great invention.

I have home-work, go out in the field and practice identifying plants and learning (re-learning) botanical terms…lots of them. I look forward to the next class and I’m hoping to use this learning experience to teach others how to forage for food and medicine.

Caging the Raging Tomato Plant

Growing tomatoes in a small space or raised beds takes some creative thought. To tame tomato plants and make them behave in an orderly fashion is not an easy job but this year I’m determined to be the boss and not let these killer plants run all over me or the garden. First, let me introduce you to my tomato sandwich. This caging system uses two 4’ x 5’ sections of heavy duty hog panel from Tractor Supply Company. I’ve staked them with metal fence posts on each end to hold them in place two feet apart. On the ends I’ve zigzagged garden string and/or wire to form extra support, close up the ends and keep the raging tomato plants trapped inside. Five tomato plants were planted in the 2’ x 4’ space. As they grow I will just train them up and tie them to the hog panel if needed. The large squares make it easy to harvest tomatoes from either side and later for easy storage in the garden shed. Next I decided to reuse some of the TSC products from the winter garden. The same plastic sun fence stakes I used for a mini greenhouse is now transformed into a tomato cage to hold 3 tomato plants. Notice one end is still supporting sugar snap peas which were planted on the trellis made from these same fence products in March. The peas will soon be gone but the pea trellis turns into the end of the tomato cage. I love it when you can use one product for several functions. I recently purchased these square cages from my local Tractor Supply Company. They are a bit flimsy but no more or less then the round cages everyone has for sale. I like the square shape. It fits better in rectangle raised bed boxes. I don’t think it is tall enough and it would be nice if they had another square cage to attach to the top of these to extend their height for the big raging tomato plants. I am interested in seeing how all of these cages work…I’ll keep you posted.
Lastly I have leftover re-bar stakes (from TSC) that I am tying tomatoes to. I placed empty recycled wine bottles to keep birds away and cover the blunt end of the stake. I doubt that these stakes are tall enough but they are much stronger than the wooden stakes I used last year and it is nice to add a little blue color to the garden.

Herbal Solutions to De-bug your Home and Garden

People often ask me what they can do with all the herbs they are growing; when I tell them to use them as a way to control insects they usually admit that wasn’t the answer they expected! Herbs have properties that make them a joy to cook with, heal various maladies, tickle our senses, make a fine ‘cupa’ tea and yes an organic means to combat pesky pests in the garden and around the home. Read more in May State-by-State Garden Magazine. (TN Gardener)

Basil – Keeps flies away. Grow pots of plants around the patio, dry and powder leaves to use as a dust to discourage flies and try it on tomato plants to discourage horn worms. Make a strong tea and spray plants in kitchen garden to help keep Colorado bean beetles away. Bay – Drop a leaf in containers before storing dried veggies and fruit or flour, cornmeal to keep bugs out. Scatter bay leaves on cupboard and pantry shelves.
Dry and powder leaves to use like an insecticide in the kitchen garden. Chases ladybugs away when leaves are placed at their point of entry into the house.

Borage – Brew a strong tea with the leaves, strain and spray leaf eating bugs.

Catnip – Grow near entryways to discourage ants. Dry and powder catnip leaves then dust around door frames and windows for ants and sprinkle on veggies for flea beetles. Brew catnip leaves into a strong mosquito-cide, strain (unbleached coffee filters work great) and spray the tea on the yard and garden.

Cayenne peppers – Carefully grind peppers to a fine powder and sprinkle around windows and doors where you see ant trails and on garden plants early in the morning to keep rabbits away. Drop whole dried pepper in containers of beans and grains to keep weevils and other bugs out.

Garlic – Discourage deer from eating your garden for dinner; sprinkle dried, powdered garlic on plants and around perimeter of garden. Soak cloves in water overnight to make a tea to spray plants and garden to help with deer control and add other herbs to make home-made mixtures to stop bugs in their tracks.

Lemon balm – Rub a handful of lemon balm on your picnic table (and you) to send biting bugs packing. Dry and powder leaves to dust veggie plants to confuse would be pests.

Lavender – Moths, ticks and flies don’t like this herb. A spring in the bird bath may keep mosquito larvae out. Dried flowers in the closet or drawers keeps chases bugs away.

Lemon grass – Contains citronella…crush the corms (bulb like base of plant) and rub on skin or make a tea from the stems to spray mosquitoes.

Mint – Scatter dried peppermint leaves in kitchen cupboards to make mice run back outside. Use the dried powdered leaves to dust veggies for flea beetles.

Pennyroyal - Make a strong tea to spray on yourself and your pets to keep fleas, ticks and other biting critters away. Roll leaves in a bandana and tie around your pet for a chemical free flea and tick collar.

Rosemary – A strong tea spritzed on your pets between bathes will help control fleas. Throw some spring on the grill to flavor food and smoke out mosquitoes.

Wormwood – Spray a strong tea from the leaves to kill cabbage worms and flea beetles (top and bottom of plant leaves). Pour 2 cups boiling water over 2 cups leaves. Cover and let steep for an hour or two, strain and add 4-8 cups of tap water before spraying plants.

Next time some pest is ‘bugging’ you try herbs from the garden for a natural solution.

Here is a simple recipe for herbal concoctions to kill, stunt and discourage leaf sucking, chewing, egg laying, no-good pests!

Herb infusions for pest control:

This is basically a strong tea…pour 2 cups boiling water over ½ cup of minced (garlic or hot peppers) or herb leaves; i.e. basil, chives, wormwood, etc. Let stand overnight, strain through cheesecloth or an unbleached paper coffee filter before transferring to sprayer.

Use gloves and caution when working with hot peppers. I use a food processor to grind up hot peppers to keep from getting any on my hands. Dried peppers and herbs can be ground for use (1/3 less if dried) and a good idea to have on hand when needed early in the season.

A tablespoon or two of Tobasco sauce can be added to water as a spray or in combination with herbs if mincing your own hot peppers makes you cringe or you are in a hurry.

Add a teaspoon of dish-soap (Ivory liquid works well) and/or olive oil to homemade bug control mixes for an added kick and to help it stick to leaves.

Lettuce Eat Greens on a Hot Summer Day

I managed to grow greens all winter with the use of cold frames and mini greenhouses...it was wonderful to have fresh salads and sauteed kale and chard all fall, winter and spring. But the thought of not being able to raise these veggies in the summer seemed unreasonable to me and extremely unfair. So, I got to thinking of ways to get shade in the full sun of the kitchen garden during the hot, humid summer days of Middle Tennessee...hoping I can indeed grow some green leaves to mix with the fresh tomatoes and peppers that I will begin harvesting soon.

Looking around for something to recycle, I came across an old screen door from the back porch that had seen better days and was in the pile of "I know I can do something cool with that so don't throw it out just yet". I hauled it out to the kitchen garden, held it over on of the 4' x 8' beds. Perfect size to provide shade and now all I needed was some way of elevating it over the bed.

I remembered a PVC pipe frame we made last fall for a mini greenhouse. Pushed it into the soil; one on each end of the bed and one in the middle...perfect support for the screen door to lay upon. Threaded some wire through the screen door to attach it firmly to the framework.

Viola, a double decker raised bed. Yeah, it's a little redneck but what's that matter to a Cracked Pot Gardener? It's functional and it just might work. My plan is to have cucumbers grow over the top, adding a little extra shade to the heat sensitive greens below.

In just a short time arugula, spicy greens, cut and come again lettuce from Renee's seeds www.reneesgarden.com and some type of wonderful Swiss lettuce (Thanks Heintz) that I can't pronounce are ready to eat. The carrots are coming a bit slower but who cares? they are growing. the cucumbers are starting to climb the PVC pipe frame and will start their trek across the top.

In a week I will sow more seed int he redneck screen house and see what happens. I'll keep you posted.

Just Us Chickens!

Meet the latest addition to the garden, Cornbread (on the left), Taco on the right... a fine pair of BB Red Old English Batams (as near as I can tell). I know, I know I should have named them Charles and Diana but somehow Cornbread and Taco was all that came to mind when I saw them...besides the grandkids think I did a fine job. At 2 and 3 1/2 they know good names when they hear them!

Cornbread is a late riser so he doesn't crow until about 7am. I should say he starts crowing late morning then periodically throughout the day whenever he gets his feathers ruffled and starts feeling large and in charge.

Taco has a timid personality; clucks sweetly and produces eggs half her size every other day. I don't know how she does that but I salute her each time I gather her eggs...wow is all I can say.
This pair came in a chicken tractor so I move it and them around the yard.

A chicken tractor you say? Yes. A simple lightweight house or cage that I can lift a tad and push to a new location whenever the chickens have "scratched" or eaten their fill of weeds, grass and bugs. This chicken tractor business is great for establishing a new garden site or cleaning up the garden at the end of the growing season where the chickens do all the work of clearing out the weeds, work up the top layer of soil plus fertilize all in one step.

While we were in England three years ago we met the resident gardener, Henryk, where we stayed. He and his wife, Krystyna were from Poland. I found myself explaining all about chicken tractors. Mind you in my explanation there was a lot of hand motion and broken English and I was quite sure the young man thought I was just another crazy American gardener.

We stayed in touch with Henryk and and his wife Krystyna, even after they moved back to Poland and bought their own place. Last summer we had the opportunity to travel to Poland to visit them.

After we settled in, Henryk took me outside to explain (with a lot of hand motion and broken English) how he built a chicken tractor to clean up his back yard where the previous owners had thrown trash. After he removed the bulk of the rubbish, the chickens scratched out the weeds, small pieces of debris and broken glass in the back yard making the total clean-up complete. Plus they had fresh eggs to eat. Needless to say he was happy with the results and couldn't wait to tell me...I guess my charade type 'garden speak' is better than I thought!

Reasons to go to the Bloom n' Garden Show 2010 - Herbs in the Kitchen Garden

First good reason to go to the Bloom n' Garden Show at the Ag Expo just off I-65 this weekend, April 10 and 11th is to hear me speak...'Herbs in the Kitchen Garden' - 11:30 on Sunday

What can you expect to find at the 2010 Bloom n' Garden? Plants of course and many different types. Sedums already planted in these Hypertufa lightweight pots by Bobby Stacy at Stone Gardens. How cute would be one or three sitting on your porch? Full sun, low water and ready to go, doesn't get much easier than that!

Herbs and lots of them this year...folks are always asking where they can find these - well, here you go two days of herbal shopping bliss. Rustic Greenhouse has a plenty of herbs and other perennials. D and H Interiors as well a several other vendors have herbs including lemon verbena, Bay trees, lemon grass, various sages and other harder to find herbs...check it out.

Kris from Bagbey House of Franklin, TN has garden decor for house and porch, I can see why he is smiling...a mix of new and old to delight any gardener.

WCMGA President Anne Knauff and Jackie Wiggishaw (sorry if I misspelled your name Jackie) are ready to assist anyone who has any questions about the silent auction. So many wonderful items and plants to bid on this year. This money goes to help with local nonprofit projects of the Williamson County Master Gardeners like scholarships and grants.

More herbs for the discerning gardener at D and H Interiors. They also have antiques and new pots that look old. These sisters search high and low for old gardening stuff for people like you and me who like to mix it up in our home and garden spaces.

Who wouldn't love to entertain with a living centerpiece in their dining table? There are so many great gardening ideas this year...bring your camera and take pictures...I did :)

The Bloom n' Garden show would happen without Norm and Betty Bright, this year's volunteer event chairs. Say hello to Mike Smith who is the Master Gardener Advisor and the person who helps to keep Betty and Norm sane! Not in the picture but definitely a BIG part of the show component is Susan Bryd. Susan coordinates all the volunteers each year for the show and what a job that is. It takes lots of willing Master Gardener Volunteers to run this show and Susan knows them all and keep everyone on track. Thanks ya'll for all you do so gardeners like me can come and learn, get ideas and shop for plants and gardening products....you are the best!

Here is an 'Amazing Plant Stand' that will make a tiered planter out of most anything you have in the garden shed, garage or attic...if you can put a hole in it, it can become a unique and attractive planter. Old buckets, watering cans, tins, pots of all sizes....check it out for yourself.

Who would suspect this colorful bird (the one on the left) to be a Master Gardener? Come and meet Scarlet, the 2010 mascot. Watch as she plays peek-a-boo with you and I think she even talks. Terry Ely is the owner/trainer and has lots of tricks up her sleeve.

Gotta love a girl who has a dream and acts upon it. Meet Lauren Graves who designed a perpetual garden record book. Such a great idea to keep you and your garden organized. If that is not enough, Lauren uses her gardening grandmother's quotes throughout her Planner and on note cards that are sweet, endearing and inspirational. Did I mention this is good for years? Such a deal...come buy one for you and some extras for your garden nut friends! In case you miss the show - you can always some on her website http://www.cabintiger.com/

Of course no self-respecting garden show would be without gardens! Mike Hayes has put together an awesome garden that makes me want to grab my banjo and a rocker on the front porch and pick a while...maybe I should call and see what my banjo gals "The Belles" are up to....or not. No matter, come and check it out for yourself. Shop plants to your heart's content and go home and get them in the ground or pots. I love spring - see ya'll there!

Got Moles?

Moles are at the top of the list when it comes to “what critters bug gardeners most”. These homely little guys with very bad eyesight (they can distinguish night from day) create cities of tunnels under the yard.

These little “dirt tossers” or as I like to call them, underground aerators (gives them a more positive spin, don’t you think?) are actually after the earthworms, grubs and other insects under your yard - not plant roots as many folks think.

According to Wikipedia, which we all know is never wrong, moles paralyze their prey and store them in underground larders to be eaten in the form of live worm and grub sushi later…interesting, right?

Moles are insectivores not rodents. The boys are called boars and the girls sows (that would have never occurred to me either) and you will be happy to know they only produce 3 to 6 pups per year and may only have a 50% chance of survival. But no one really cares about proper names all gardeners want to know is how to get rid of the pesky varmints.

Interesting Mole Facts according to Ohio State Extension:
- Moles can dig surface tunnels at approximately 18 feet/hour.
- Moles travel through existing tunnels at about 80 feet/minute.
- Moles contain twice as much blood and twice as much hemoglobin as other mammals of similar size. This allows moles to breathe more easily in underground environments with low oxygen.
- A 5 ounce mole will consume 45-50 lbs of worms and insects each year.

Natural Measures of Control which probably never really get rid of moles but might discourage them or aggravate them for a short time. In fact sometimes moles may only stay for a short period of time and move on to better hunting grounds lulling you into a sense of a short lived victory (they usually return) but, these are just a few suggestions which might be worth a try.
1. Don’t over-irrigate the lawn as this may cause moles to tunnel closer to the surface.
Plant barriers such as daffodils, marigolds, alliums, garlic, mole plant and Castor beans. Castor beans are poisonous if ingested by people.

2. Mix up a batch of Castor Oil concentrate of 6 oz Castor Oil and 2 oz T Murphy’s Oil Soap or dish soap to 1 gallon of water. Add 1 T per gallon of water and spray on the lawn. Reapply after rain.

3. Find a comfortable chair and a garden fork and position yourself next to a new tunnel and wait for movement then jab or stab unsuspecting mole. My neighbor does this…who has this kind of time or patience????

Sure-Fire Methods of Control are usually worth the effort and aftermath if you really want to rid your yard and garden of these pesky pests. Remember prime hunting season for moles is early spring and fall.
1. Traps, not for the squeamish gardener but they definitely work. Instructions are included on the box when you buy them.

2. Cats. I know this because my neighbor’s cats leave dead moles on my doorstep. I’m thinking they do this as penitence for the fish they devour from my pond…I can only hope they catch the moles in my yard!

3. A Jack Rustle Terrier. Annie, our resident JR digs moles on a regular basis…sometimes I have to re-plant what she digs up with the mole but a small sacrifice. I have had offers to rent this mole killing machine but I don’t want the moles to get wind of it. Annie went on vacation once for 3 weeks while we were out of the country and the moles had quite a party. I came home to new tunnels and three drowned moles in the pool. Poor eyesight and short limbs (even if they look like paddles) are not a good combination for water hazards. I snapped this picture of Annie yesterday with my IPhone just before she ran under the porch to bury her newly dug treasure.

4. Liquid Fence Mole Repellent Worms seem to really work. Plus they are economical. Cut the rubber-like worms in half before inserting them in fresh tunnels (sorta like fishing without the bobber). The complete instructions are on the package.

5. Dynamite – oh wait, that’s illegal and oh yeah dangerous and messy. No need to get desperate, you can always call a mole catcher (yellow pages) to get rid of your mole population for you.

Moles obviously taste terrible because the cats give them away and Annie does a victory run around the yard then buries the critters only to dig them up later and roll in them (lovely scent).

However, moles were once trapped, skinned and sold to be used as powder puffs (according to my friend Diane and she knows a lot about pioneer living). Nice to know those rascally moles are good for something!

Garden Gnomes Sited in Europe

With all the news lately on Garden Gnomes popping up all over this country, it got me thinking so I took a look at some of my pictures I took last August and sure enough there they were…gnomes.

I wasn’t surprised to find garden gnomes in Germany because my grandmother was German and she had them at her house when I was growing up. That was probably my first experience with these funny looking creatures with the beards and pointy hats. They use to lie around in the garden with big smiles on their faces. Looking back I realize I should have suspected something was amiss, those smirky grins were similar to the ones I remember on my younger brother whenever he was up to no good.
Some of these gnomes in Rothenburg ob der tauber, Germany were a little shy at first. I spotted them hiding behind some plants so I waited around the corner and snuck up on them to snap this photo. They weren’t crazy about posing but when they realized I had bested them they obliged me with a couple of smiles. Later on an adjacent alley I found some little gnomes on this mailbox, I’m not sure what they were up to but they were a tiny variety that I hadn’t seen before. I suspect there were others but the butterflies were hiding them.
It’s so cold in Werfenwng Austria the gnomes hide out inside old Mountain Chalets. Obviously this old gnome descended from a Pine Forest Clan. He wasn’t real excited about getting his picture taken. In fact he was a bit of a curmudgeon but hey wouldn’t you be if someone made you pose on a doily? No self respecting gnome would appreciate that I’m sure.
Now the Swiss Gnomes were having a convention in Appenzell. They had come from near and far and spoke Swiss German, Italian, French and Romansh. What a commotion they were making! They for the most part were pretty happy even though I couldn’t make out a word they were saying but I suspect it was something about beer and cheese…two good reasons to hang out in Appenzell.
Another group of these Swiss Gnomes were jamming – a combination of classical, marching band, jazz and Alpen horn. They were all groovin and movin and didn’t even notice me taking a picture. Although one smart gnome was holdin out his hat… even Swiss Gnomes need beer money I guess.
While in Switzerland we stayed at my Cousin Heinz’s home in Küsnacht. One evening he and Heidi cooked us a lovely dinner which we enjoyed on the patio in the clean mountain air. Imagine my surprise when I caught these two clay gnomes sleeping out in the open beside the garden. Heinz had spotted them earlier while planting some seeds. Clearly use to people because they just laid there and snored all through dinner.

These are just a few of the garden gnomes that we saw on our trip, I haven't even looked at the pictures I took in Poland, who gnomes what might be lurking in them?

Green under the snow

January seems an unlikely time of year to grow anything, much less veggies. But alas the kitchen garden is still growing. It has been a cold winter for Middle Tennessee and my plan of year round gardening has been a challenge to say the least.

In December we had temperature lows of 8 degrees. I buttoned down the hatches as best I could with an extra layer of plastic over the hoop house and various cold frames.

I lost a few things, some lettuces mostly and a few brussel sprouts. Everything else is either thriving (Swiss chard, kale and various spicy greens) or just hanging on waiting for warmer weather to jump start once again I hope (broccoli and cauliflower).

I’ve learned a lot along the way and have done little to aid just to see how the extreme weather conditions will affect my crops. I will make changes accordingly next year but this year has been one big experiment.

We recently had another winter storm with about 4-5 inches of snow with night time temperatures ranging from the teens to the twenties. I finally got out this morning to check on everything.

The kitchen garden was happy with its blanket of snow and as I lifted the cold frames, the salad greens, kale and Swiss chard were snug and un-frozen – lucky for me as I had not been able to give them extra cover since I had been under the weather myself.

The hoop house was sagging from the snow but it was okay after I removed the snow and tightened the plastic back down. It is suppose to be back in the forties tomorrow with below freezing temperatures for many nights to come. February should be a busy month in the kitchen garden and I’m looking forward to planting potatoes, peas and more greens….bon appetite!

Frozen Bliss

I awoke this morning to silence. I found my way into my warm clothes, boots, hat, coat and mittens quickly. With camera around my neck and garden dog at my side we headed outside to investigate.

It seems while I had spent two days hiding away with a mean stomach bug, my little world outside had been transformed into winter. A blanket of snow covered the garden and I smiled knowing that my garden friends were tucked in while the temperature hovered around 20 degrees.

Apparently it snowed a few inches followed by a light rain or mix because the snow was so crusty that Annie and I could glide along (yes, it was slippery too) without leaving a trace of where we had been. We traversed around the garden snapping photos of interesting sites.

The branches, berries, plumes and seed heads were lightly covered in ice which shimmered and twinkled as the sun came into the garden. A friend of mine (Sue) has always said that a coat of paint can hide a multitude of sins on any wall and I feel it is the same with a blanket of snow on the garden.

The best part of our snow was the silence; again I was struck by the quietness of the world. No cars hurrying by, no dogs barking (I guess everyone put them in since it was cold), no far away interstate noise…only an occasional cracking of the icy crust beneath my feet, a bird alerting her partner there was indeed a few seeds left in the feeder and the click of my camera lens.

When we decided to head back in we (okay, I) grabbed some wood for the stove and went in as quietly as possible. After feeding the stove it morning quota the dog and I made tea and toast (since it was a special occasion garden dog got a couple of cheez-its).

As I glanced out at the bird feeder I saw the tulips on the table that Jodie had brought me a couple of days earlier. While I was out of commission the tulips had gone from bud to beautiful yellow blooms. I looked out at the snow and back at the tulips…winter with the promise of spring, what a grand way to start the day!

Jarrahdale Pumpkin makes a Great Squash Pie

My brother and his family have a farm market in Charlevoix, Michigan. They grow strawberries, raspberries and blackberries that you can pick yourself as well as vegetables, herbs and cut flowers that they sell at their farm market.

This past fall my son was visiting the family ‘up north’ and brought back some pumpkins for decorating. This particular pumpkin was a lovely blue-green with a good looking stem that was a real attraction on the front porch nestled in with the pumpkins from my compost heap (long story).

Before our unusual cold snap in December I put it in the garage for safe keeping while I thought about cooking it. In January I saw this lonely pumpkin sitting in the garage and decided to cook it up. So, I proceeded to just toss the thing whole into the oven rather than taking a chance of cutting off my arm trying to hack through it. I’m guessing it was about 8 lbs or so. I had to take out one rack so it would fit and at the last minute I decided to poke some holes in the top just in case it blew. Have you ever had a baked potato blow up in your oven? Me too and it isn’t pretty and this cucurbit was so big…it could take out the entire oven door!

It took about an hour and a half at 350 degrees before it was tender when tested with a knife. I hauled it out and let it cool. I should have put a tray under it as it bubbled some onto the oven floor (next time). It was so easy to cut in half – like butter. Next I scooped out the seeds and put them into a colander for later. The flesh was deep orange and sweet. This can’t be a pumpkin; it has too much color and flavor I thought to myself. I made a couple of pumpkin pies and divided the rest into quart size bags and sent it on to the freezer. The pies were a hit, everyone raved about them. Later I called my sister-n-law Sue and asked what kind of pumpkin she sent to me.

She confirmed my suspicions, although it is called a Jarrahdale Pumpkin, it is really a winter squash, Cucurbita maxima; an Australian heirloom variety grown for its unique blue-green skin and its deep orange colored flesh, perfect for pies.

I am planting this old fashioned squash who tries to pass for a pumpkin this year in my garden.

Seeds are available at Johnny Select seeds http://www.johnnyseeds.com/p-6153-jarrahdale.aspx

Cici’s easy pie crust
In a pie plate combine:
1 cup unbleached flour
½ cup whole wheat flour
2 Tablespoons Flax seed (whole or ground slightly)
A pinch of sea salt
½ cup oil
Mix with a fork until well blended then add:
¼ cup milk
Mix well then with hands pat out crust to fit pan

To cook a Jarrahdale Pumpkin: Place whole squash in oven, poke some hole in the shoulders. Place cookie sheet under to avoid oven cleanup. Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour or so – until it is tender. Cool then cut in half, scoop out seeds then scoop out orange flesh. Freeze any leftovers.

Home-grown squash pie
In food processor add:
2 eggs
½ -3/4 cup sugar
Blend then add:
1 ½ - 2 cup jarrahdale pumpkin, cooked
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 ½ cup milk

Blend together and pour into un-baked pie crust
Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, turn down oven to 350 and bake
Additional 45min to 1 hour until knife comes out clean. Enjoy!