Rhodie Ranch 2022 Garden

[digitS']

I am told that persimmons grow very well in Portland so that suggests good fortune in your new location . I've sampled some of those Portland Persimmons

That's one fruit that we pay attention to in the produce aisle - available!

Of course, I wouldn't know a Hachiya from a Fuyu from a Tsunami ...

 

[Phaedra]

I did too! At several places in Northern CA. I also had my fav fruit, a Hachiya persimmon in San Jose. They won't grow up here in So WA, so I had to select another variety. Its shaped like a Hachiya, not like a Fuyu.

Hachiya persimmon

 

[Dahlia]

I did too! At several places in Northern CA. I also had my fav fruit, a Hachiya persimmon in San Jose. They won't grow up here in So WA, so I had to select another variety. Its shaped like a Hachiya, not like a Fuyu.

Rhodie Ranch,
I lived in San Jose many years ago and it looks like both of us are now here in WA! I like WA too, but the weather is not as nice as CA.

 

[baymule]

I should plant a fig tree. My grandmother made strawberry fig preserves, using strawberry jello. It was delicious! I’ve made it too, but it’s hard to find figs.

 

[Rhodie Ranch]

Dahlia: I just spoke to my 92 yr old Mother a bit ago and its 108 there. Very very unusual. Most of the Bay Area has a Mediterranean climate.

The Hachiya is my most favorite fruit ever. When its translucent and delish is the time to consume slowly and lovingly.

 

[Marie2020]

i thought at first that they were sheep or goat decoys...

 

[Rhodie Ranch]

I was speaking with a neighbor about my butternuts and acorn squash. I was under the impression that I don't pick them until the plants die back, which they are doing slowly now that the days are shorter and the nights cooler.

He said, NO! You pick them when you want to. OH MY GOSH. Have I ruined them? Some are huge and gorgeous!

 

[meadow]

You pick them when you want to.

Seriously!? I'm running out there right now to pick some of the earliest delicata and cook 'em up. I'll let you know how it goes. to evaluate their stems and see if they may be close to maturity.*

I'm trialing 4 varieties of butternut and 4 varieties of delicata. Butternuts have a longer time to reach maturity and it takes special short-season varieties to mature in our climate. In your locale they may do better, but I doubt if there is a whole lot of difference based on what Carol Deppe (Corvalis, I think) and Adaptive Seeds (Sweet Home, OR) say for their areas South of you.

None of these need any curing time (unlike most winter squash that need at least a month), so in that regard they can be picked and eaten right away.

*Hmm. All of my butternut varieties mature in 90-100 days which is the same as dry beans. My dry beans are just barely finishing up, so I'd estimate that it is a bit too early to pick butternuts (in my area). Maybe delicatas. I don't know anything about acorn squash (I've just let them go as long as possible or until their stems are dry, whichever is first)

 

[meadow]

Just remembered that we've had an unusually dark season with very few full days of sunshine. So we're later than normal on everything.

 

[meadow]

Well... that same day that I posted here, I accidentally broke a delicata (Honey Boat) off of the vine. Cooked it up, along with a deliberately picked Gill's Golden Pippin (a tiny acorn squash). Both were nicely colored and looked as though they could be ready, neither had any stem drying (although Gil's had a bit of color on the stem). Neither had any drying on the curly tendril closest to the fruit, which I guess is a sign of pumpkins being ready to harvest?

Anyway.. they both needed more time. They were edible but tasted of sadness.