I ate a butternut squash tonight that I grew and harvested in September 2018

[jpak]

It was perfect!

[in2herbs]

1. How did you keep it fresh for so long? Did you cut and freeze? nt

[jpak]

3. I just kept it on my kitchen counter out of the sun

I ate 3 more this Fall - they were perfect too - a year later.

A long term food/gardening experiment for my retirement years.

Squash is very nutritious and easy to grow (if the freakin' deer don't eat them!).

And they keep if not blemished or frost nipped.

Who knew?

[in2herbs]

4. Maybe it's the AZ heat and summertime humidity but I've never been able to store food

here like I could in WA state. Onions, potatoes, tomatoes, squash, all that stuff rots in a matter of weeks no matter where I store it.

I'm jealous.

[jpak]

5. I can store my homegrown potatoes in the basement in burlap bags until April

But they always undergo etiolation (spouting).



I need to boil and freeze them in March.

[csziggy]

10. One year when I grew a lot of potatoes, I canned them

They lasted a couple of years before we used them all up - none went bad. Overall, it is cheaper to store food that is canned than pay to keep them cold. Plus, the texture of the canned potatoes was much better than frozen ones.

[in2herbs]

11. A home with a basement is almost non-existent at least in this part of AZ -- too much caliche so

the best one gets is an air conditioned pantry. My H planted a garden last season and we got a couple of zuchini but other than that all we got was a teeny tiny purple potato. Too late to start things this year so we'll try next season.

[Croney]

2. I'm not surprised. Squash keeps a long time. I have on my counter

a tray of cherry tomatoes that were planted in May and harvested green in November. I kept them in a cold porch, covered, and we've used them as they ripened. The ones left now are withering up a bit but I'm still eating them.

[marzipanni]

7. Here in northern California I have a plant with lots of green tomatoes from small to medium size

and am thinking I'll have to try making fried green tomatoes, but they seem pretty hard.
Are your picked tomatoes turning red, or becoming slightly less firm, or both?

[Croney]

8. We actually have one regular-sized tomato left,

that was picked green before the first frost. It's small and red and just firm enough; tomorrow it will be used I think. The cherry tomatoes turned red gradually and I can't say they're firm, but I can't say they're not; they're wrinkled from the drying-out process. They taste ok to me, but I'm their momma so I'm blind to their faults.

I make green tomato relish sometimes. I've never been good at fried green tomatoes. You could try it, or let them sit covered in a cold place and see if they turn red.

[OAITW r.2.0]

6. I am sort of local to you, jpak ....and I think you have the right idea.

I'm transitioning back to Dexter (45.0239° N, 69.2898° W), sort of, but most certainly will be spending more time going forward. Lots of things need attention - reconnection with my kids as well as property development.

I don't like plain BS squash much, unless it includes maple syrup and pecans.

Anyways, a couple of thoughts on the deer and frost...

Deer - make some semi-circular domes, from heavy guage aluminum wire (or steel) very course (1" x 1&quot screen and cover the fruit and leaves around it. Anchor with tent spikes. In May, I think I will plant squash and pumpkin on a hill that is currently overgrown. Let the vine go downhill a bit. I also have 4 raised beds (4' x 16') that I will be recultivating and planting. 1st time in 8 years, but that's a whole nuther story.

I have a single, but productive yellow apple tree in my back yard and the fruit was totally consumed by the deer that showed up every day before sunset. Cleaned me out. And was happy to provide.

Frost. Get a bunch of tarps (smallest size) and put over the domes with the tent spikes already used with the domes. Easy to put up and take down.

[Doreen]

9. Oh yummm!