grace grits and gardening

ramblings from an arkansas farm girl

Milkweed During World War II

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Milkweed during WWII

Did you know milkweed was used during World War II? I learned this bit of American history by reading When Angels Rest, by Donald Harington, one of my favorite Arkansas authors. When Angels Rest is classified as literary fiction. When I read about the characters in the story collecting milkweed pods for the war effort, I suspected this must have been based on the truth even though I’d never heard about it. As a huge fan of milkweed—we grow several varieties for the monarchs— I dove down the rabbit hole, reading all about this piece of American history I’d never learned.Continue Reading

How to Harvest Trombetta Squash Seeds

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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

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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

Food. Farm. Garden. Life.

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