N&C Midwest: Oct 2022

JAM23 10/1/2022, 1:57 pm

Hi all! I know it is officially October, but I didn't know where else to post Smile

Anyway, I harvested my butternut squash. The top sides look amazing, the underside....not so much. Is this normal for squash that have been sitting in damp grass or is it a fungus/disease of some sort? Are they safe to eat? Also, are they safe to cure and store or should a plan on using them up right away?

Thanks for all your help!

OhioGardener 10/1/2022, 4:19 pm

Happy October 1st! I moved your post into this one, Jam.

OhioGardener 10/1/2022, 4:28 pm

JAM23 wrote: Is this normal for squash that have been sitting in damp grass or is it a fungus/disease of some sort? Are they safe to eat? Also, are they safe to cure and store or should a plan on using them up right away?

Normal? Yes. Safe to eat? Yes. Safe to cure and store? Yes.

Winter squash don't like to lay on damp soil or grass while they are maturing. They prefer to be up on a wire rack so that they get air circulation all around them. I grow all of mine on wood chips (in the BTE garden), and the chips stay dry on top so there is very little moisture against the squash.

Note: If the squash are stored such that they are against each other, or on top of one another, they will also begin to rot where they are in contact.

**Scorpio Rising** 10/1/2022, 5:58 pm

Where did summer go? I can’t believe it’s already October?!

My garden is waning. I currently have an eggplant parm of sorts in the oven! I think it will be a short eggplant season….due to me doing the start late!

What’s going on?

**Scorpio Rising** 10/1/2022, 6:03 pm

Can we merge the threads, OG? My PM Isn’t working

OhioGardener 10/1/2022, 6:11 pm

Scorpio Rising wrote:Can we merge the threads, OG?

Done

**Scorpio Rising** 10/1/2022, 8:54 pm

Honestly I think it’s normal for the squash to look like that, OG. Time will tell as you store them!

JAM23 10/2/2022, 8:13 am

Happy October is right! Thanks for much! I was worried that maybe my squash had black rot or something else yucky!

Eggplant parmesan sounds good SR! I agree that it's hard to believe that summer is gone. I do however find pleasure in putting the beds to rest at this time of year and preparing them for the next garden. Now, just waiting for the leaves to start falling so I can start gathering and shredding as many as I can to keep mulching and composting! I ran out of last year's leaves about a month ago.

OhioGardener 10/2/2022, 8:18 am

Scorpio Rising wrote:Honestly I think it’s normal for the squash to look like that, OG. Time will tell as you store them!

Agree....

OhioGardener wrote:
Normal? Yes. Safe to eat? Yes. Safe to cure and store? Yes.

**sanderson** 10/2/2022, 12:48 pm

OG, I have a question about green stems. Mine are always tan and dry when I harvest. They just hang on the trellis until I'm ready to harvest. Will they preserve just as well with green stems? Thanks

OhioGardener 10/2/2022, 3:39 pm

sanderson wrote:OG, I have a question about green stems. Mine are always tan and dry when I harvest. They just hang on the trellis until I'm ready to harvest. Will they preserve just as well with green stems? Thanks

The simple answer is that they will preserve, but for not as long as fully ripened squash. If winter squash such as Butternut, Red Kuri, Hubbard, Cushaw, etc,, are fully ripened when harvested, and then cured for a month, they will store for up to a year. But, if they have not fully matured, and the stems have not started turning brown, they will only store for a couple months - it is best to frequently check them, and if the rind softens so that a fingernail easily imprints in it, it needs to be eaten.

I checked my winter squash bed this afternoon, and they will soon be ready for harvest. The plants are dying back, and the stems of the fruit are beginning to change from green to brown.

**sanderson** 10/2/2022, 5:32 pm

Thank you.

**Scorpio Rising** 10/3/2022, 9:14 am

JAM23, the eggplant parm is fantastic even with many shortcuts!

It frosted here last night! It’s all over, basically.

I did get shipping notice that my garlic is on the way! That’s a plus, need to get out there and amend a spot for it. I got German Hardy as always, and am trying Spanish Roja for the first time!

OhioGardener 10/3/2022, 10:20 am

Scorpio Rising wrote:It frosted here last night! It’s all over, basically.

That doesn't sound good for those of us about 80 miles south of you. I better start getting ready.

OhioGardener 10/3/2022, 6:19 pm

Pruned the winter squash today. Trimmed back all of the plants to the last mature squash, removing all of the immature squash and the new blooms. This will force the plants to use their energy to ripen the remaining fruit instead of trying to form new ones.

Checked the Butternut squash to see if the are ready to pick, but they still have to tell tail green strip which means they are not yet ready for harvest. Will leave them on the vine until the green stripe changes to tan, or we get a frost, whichever comes first.

JAM23 10/3/2022, 8:20 pm

I may have harvested my squash a little early, but we had a frost warning by me and I didn't want to risk it. I realize that they may not store as long, but hopefully it will all be well. I did prune them back a few weeks ago to help channel all the energy into ripening the existing fruit and there wasn't any signs of having a green stripe. For my first time growing squash, I am pretty happy!

I planted Music garlic over the weekend. This will be my first time growing garlic and I am so excited! If it works out well, German Hardy might be next variety to try and I looking forward to hearing about how you like Spanish Roja SR!

OhioGardener 10/5/2022, 9:34 am

The weather forecast indicates that we are going to have a hard freeze both Friday and Saturday nights. So, today and tomorrow I'll finish clearing the beds and winterizing them. Still have peppers, tomatoes, chard, and kale to take out. And, have to harvest all of the winter squash.

OhioGardener 10/5/2022, 7:36 pm

Cut off all of the pepper plants - Bell, Banana, Jalapeno - today, and shredded the plants into the compost bin after picking all of the peppers as the plants were being cut off.

OhioGardener 10/6/2022, 4:46 pm

The weather service says we are going to get a freeze tomorrow night, so I finished cleaning off the last raised bed and getting it ready for winter. Had one section of the bed that was Kale and Swiss Chard. All of the plants were cut off at soil level, 2" of compost added to the bed, and then it was covered with straw for the winter. The freezer is bulging with greens.

A bed of Kale with Swiss Chard behind it

The Kale and Swiss Chard was removed and the bed ready for winter

OhioGardener 10/8/2022, 7:58 am

Woke up to 26ºF this morning, so any annuals are done for this year. Fortunately, all of my beds have been cleaned off and prepared for the long winter.

**Scorpio Rising** 10/8/2022, 11:37 am

I got my garlic this week, so I’m gonna break the heads apart and plant tomorrow after amending my 48” fire round. Cold here too, but sunny and crisp. Supposed to be a little warmer tomorrow. Fall came early this year!

JAM23 10/8/2022, 11:44 am

It sure did SR! Woke up to everything covered in frost here too! It is supposed to warm up to the mid 60's sometime this week, so I will finish amending the rest of my beds then.

All I will have left to do after that is clean up my gardening tools/supplies in the garage/shed and get my compost ready for the winter.

**Scorpio Rising** 10/8/2022, 11:48 am

JAM23 wrote:I planted Music garlic over the weekend. This will be my first time growing garlic and I am so excited! If it works out well, German Hardy might be next variety to try and I looking forward to hearing about how you like Spanish Roja SR!

I too am excited to see how I like the Spanish Roja. My favorite to date was Georgian Fire, but when I tried to order it for a second year, the company substituted Music as the supplier had an unexpected crop failure…I liked it! I might still try to find Georgian Fire again though—spicy! That is what attracted me to the description of the
Roja.

JAM23 10/8/2022, 12:29 pm

Scorpio Rising wrote:
JAM23 wrote:I planted Music garlic over the weekend. This will be my first time growing garlic and I am so excited! If it works out well, German Hardy might be next variety to try and I looking forward to hearing about how you like Spanish Roja SR!
I too am excited to see how I like the Spanish Roja. My favorite to date was Georgian Fire, but when I tried to order it for a second year, the company substituted Music as the supplier had an unexpected crop failure…I liked it! I might still try to find Georgian Fire again though—spicy! That is what attracted me to the description of the
Roja.

I purchased my garlic from MIgardener this time around. They have a few different varieties but no Spanish Roja. Can I ask which companies you have ordered garlic from? Just looking to for reputable companies to purchase from in the future.
Thanks!

OhioGardener 10/10/2022, 7:03 pm

Cleaned the winter squash vines off of the BTE garden and chopped them up as they were going into the compost bin. Two nights of below freezing weather took care of the vines, and it was time for them to go. After all of the vines were cleared off, I added 2" to 3" of new wood chips to help refresh the BTE garden for next summer.

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