Pollinating Squash

A couple weeks ago I notided that some of the small pumpkins and zucchini were shriveling up on the vine and falling off. I thought it was from all the rain we were having, then I was reading and realized it was due to poor pollination. So I decided to take matters into my own hands and started pollinating the squash myself. Here’s what I learned.

This is what happens when you have poor pollination.

Squash plants has 2 different kinds of blossoms: male and female. The male blossoms produce the pollen and the female blossoms produce the fruit. Usually several male blossoms are produced for every female blossom. How do you tell the difference between a male and a female blossom? There are 2 ways to do it.

First the male blossom is usually on a long straight stem as you can see here.

They also have a single stamen on the inside with pollen on it, as you can see here.

The female blossoms are close the main vine attached to what appear to be small fruits (this is a butternut squash as you can tell by the shape).

The female blossom as a multi-stemmed stigma on the inside as you can see here.

So how to you pollinate your own squash? First you check to make sure the male blossom is mature and producing pollen. A little pollen will come off on your finger when you touch the stamen.

Pick a mature male blossom and peel back the flower petals.

Now all you have to do is rub the male stamen on the all parts of the female stigma and you’re finished. This is what your squash will look like if they’re properly pollinated. This zucchini blossom fell off the next day and the zucchini will be eaten today for lunch.

Make sure you check your plants every day for mature female blossoms. They wilt quickly!

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Wise Words

Go back to simple food, simple clothes, simple pleasures.
Pray hard, work hard, sleep hard and play hard.
Do it all courageously and cheerfully. – Herbert Hoover

Does it get any more simple than this?

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Fried Squash Blossoms

I’ve heard you could eat squash blossoms, however I’ve never eaten them. They are very common in Mexican cuisine.

I’m an adventurous cook and eater, so with an abundance of squash blossoms on my hands, I decided to give them a try. I picked 4 male squash blossoms (the females produce the fruit, the males just produce pollen).

I finally decide that for the first try, stuffing them with cheese and deep frying them couldn’t fail me. So I whipped up a simple batter of flour and water mixed until slightly runny (I also added a pinch of salt & some freshly ground black pepper). I stuffed the blossoms with some white cheddar cheese and dredged them in the batter. Then I dropped them in some hot oil and fried them for a few minutes on each side.

I must say, Mr. Chiots and I liked them. I will be trying them in different recipes in the near future! I think I will stuff them with green chiles, onions, and Monterrey jack cheese next – MMM squash blossoms poppers.

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Baby Blues

Yesterday evening we spotted a nest in a pine tree. Looks like little robins will be around soon! The color of robin eggs is amazing, a beautiful shade of Tiffany blue. We’ll be keeping our eye on this nest and taking photos of the little birds as they grow up.

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Gardening Books: Culinary Gardens

I have been trying to decide on a final design for my culinary garden, so I have been reading a lot of books on the subject looking for some inspiration.

I just finished reading Culinary Gardens: From Design to Palate. I wasn’t super impressed with this book. It has a lot of garden styles with plans for each one, but the plans are hard to decipher. She has plants labeled by color, but it’s hard to tell which green on the plan is for basil and which is for chives. Besides a few recommendations for specific types of vegetables to grow, I didn’t get much out of this book. I’m glad I borrowed it from the library and didn’t buy it!

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