One of the nicest things about the fall is that it is both the harvest season and also the planting season for bulbs, perennials and other containerized plants. There is still time to plant almost anything that does not require digging up. The moist soil should remain unfrozen for at least another month or so, which will allow some root growth, and the cool temperatures do not cause much moisture stress.
Recently, I planted garlic in the raised bed that grew potatoes and beans this past summer. My harvest of red potatoes and some yellow fingerlings was excellent, as was the bean crop that ended only about a week ago. It is a good idea to rotate your vegetable crops as much as possible, especially in raised beds. Potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant and peppers are all in the same family and should not follow each other if at all possible. Likewise, cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower and turnips are in the same family, as are beets and Swiss chard. Onions, garlic, leeks and shallots are all in the Allium family.
I saw on the news the other night that a world record pumpkin (squash) was grown this year. I believe in was in Massachusetts. It weighed more than a ton! I cannot imagine any vegetable, or in this case a fruit, because a pumpkin is technically a fruit, weighing more than a ton! The news story said it was gaining about 40 pounds of weight every day! Picture a tiny pumpkin seed planted in June, giving rise to a fruit that weighs tens of thousands time more than that tiny seed. Think of how many pumpkin pies can be made from that oversize squash! Of course, most of that weight is water, but all the organic matter is derived from the carbon dioxide in our atmosphere.
If you want to grow an oversized pumpkin, the Variety “Atlantic Giant” is a good choice. Right now, local fields are dotted with orange pumpkins that will be sold at roadside stands. It you buy one, make sure the “handle” is firm and hard. In addition, the flesh should be too tough to puncture with your fingernail. Pumpkins will continue to turn orange even after they are harvested, as long as there is some orange color already present. Of course, there are also white pumpkins available now in all sorts of odd shapes and sizes. The “guts” may be used for making pie, but, more often, butternut squash is used for making pies because it is sweeter and less stringy than pumpkin flesh.
I had a pretty good yield of my favorite winter squash, which is buttercup. I think they are even sweeter that butternut, and they make wonderful soup! Both types will store longer than Acorn. Acorn squash should be eaten within a few weeks of harvest, but buttercup and butternut usually keep well into December. Uncarved pumpkins sometimes keep until the following spring, if stored at around 40 degrees. All winter squash will store better if they are first “cured” by exposing them to warm temperatures for a couple of weeks. I have mine in a crate near the woodstove until they get moved to my cool back room.
The chilly nights are enticing us into making soups and pies that perfume the kitchen as they cook! Fall is a glorious season here in this beautiful region we are so lucky to live in. Too bad winter has to follow it.
Bob Beyfuss lives and gardens in Schoharie County. Garden Tips appears Friday in the Freeman Life section. Send him an e-mail to rlb14@cornell.edu.
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