grace grits and gardening

ramblings from an arkansas farm girl

How to Harvest Trombetta Squash Seeds

By Leave a Comment

Trombetta Squash Seeds Galore!

It’s time to harvest Trombetta squash seeds!

If you’ve been following my summer adventures of growing Trombetta squash, you may remember I allowed one plant to grow until it reached the size of a hefty toddler before picking it. I did this solely for seed harvesting.

I’ve never harvested squash seeds before. But this particular variety of Trombetta squash seed is hard to come by. So I knew there was magic inside this big guy.

trombetta squash

Trombetta variety is typically harvested when the vegetable is smaller and seeds are still undeveloped.

For comparison, this next picture shows the normal size at harvest. See the difference?

trombetta squash

Bottom line, you can’t have a Trombetta squash seed harvest without a humongous plant.

Now I have seeds galore!

Any guesses as to how many seeds came from one large squash?Continue Reading

Summer of the Trombetta Squash

By 6 Comments

Summer of the Trombetta Squash

Thanks to my neighbor, Valeria, who shared her trombetta squash seeds last spring, I’ve had a blast growing this interesting and flavorful squash in our Victory Garden. Yes, we put in a new, small garden when coronavirus hit and Fayetteville first went into self-quarantine. I’m so glad we did. This unusual squash variety has provided so much more than food on our table.

Along with milkweed, it is one of the most entertaining thing growing in our garden. And we can probably all agree that during the summer of coronavirus, anything that provides entertainment has become a commodity.

Especially if you can eat it.Continue Reading

My Orchid Rebloom Tips

By 4 Comments

Orchid Rebloom Tips

Several people have asked me for orchid rebloom tips, so here I go. (If you missed my big orchid reveal video, see it HERE.)

The phenomenon of reblooming orchids is relatively new for me. For years, my relationship with an orchid went like this: I would buy an orchid, enjoy it while it bloomed—we treated an orchid almost like a seasonal decoration—and once the flowers dropped off, I assumed that was that. I mean, we don’t buy them for the foliage. Right? I would usually move it to some out of the way place, like the porch, and forget about it until it shriveled. At that point, I didn’t feel quite so guilty about tossing it.

About four years ago, my relationship with orchids became more permanent because of light and ice.

Continue Reading

Food. Farm. Garden. Life.

THANKS FOR READING!