Troy-l’s and Tribulations :P

Well, Troy the 1rst had to go on short term disability before he even got started working for me  - he had a cracked crank case, which became apparent the first time I tried to start him.  He was returned on Friday and I got a new tiller in exchange, and raced back to try and get in some tilling before the end of the day.  I filled Troy the 2nd with gas, primed him up and pulled the cord. The engine purred to life immediately…. and so did the thunderstorm!  Troy the 2nd was shelved until Saturday.

Saturday dawned, not too nice of a day.  Never one to be daunted by the threat of a little rain, I got to know Troy the 2nd over a couple of hours of use, and working together with him I finally, finally had a bed prepared enough to plant some things in, so I turned him off and set about the planting.  I was very focussed on my task, so much so that I didn’t notice the skies had turned an ugly dark green colour and the winds had really picked up. A huge crack of lightening starlted me out of my thoughts and as I pondered whether or not to seek shelter it began to hail, fairly big hailstones about half the size of a golf ball! I ran for the house, abandoning Troy in my panic to escape a potential tornado.  After a good soaking of everything in sight, the clouds melted away and the sun was back, just in time for evening to arrive.  Troy was tired from his first day (ok I was!), and I was tired of obstacles so I called it quits for the day.

The next morning things ran more smoothly! We made some real progress, and ended the day with five planting beds now completely set up and planted….hurray!  Nine more to go…..

Plant Lady

Amazing Progress!

With the help of a roto-tiller, we have made amazing progress in reclaiming the alien landscape that was the new veggie garden on Friday!  

Mostly roto-tilled

Two thirds of the field have been roto-tilled, but the remaining L shaped area can’t be done yet as it is too wet. 

Area Farmer Ploughed a Second Time

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Late Monday afternoon the farmer came back with another type of plough on his tractor, and tackled some of the worst areas that the roto-tiller wasn’t able to conquer, so that really helped too.  We really worked hard on this and are back on schedule for planting; next weekend there will be more raised beds and more roto-tilling. I really enjoyed being out in the sunshine for two days straight, but my sore muscles will welcome a day off tomorrow!

Plant Lady

Pink Jumbo Banana Squash

The pre-1883 Mexican/American heirloom cultivar Pink Jumbo Banana Squash is a member of the the Family Cucurbitaceae, genus Cucurbita, Species maxima. It is also known as Jumbo Pink Banana Squash and Banana Pink Jumbo Squash.  Squashes have a long, banana shape with  ribs, and a salmon-orange skin colour. It can vary in size from 3 kg to  16 kg.  and matures in 105 to 110 days.  

The Pink Jumbo Banana Squash has a  vining growth habit and will reach 30 cm – 90cm in height.   It needs full sun.  The squash should be planted after the last frost 1.2 – 1.8 m apart, with 6 to 8 seeds in each inverted hill.  This squash enjoys a slightly acidic to neutral ph in well drained soil that contains lots of organic matter.  The squash should be harvested when the colour is solid, the rind is firm and the vine is beginning to die.

All squash plants are monoecious, meaning they have both male and female parts on the same plant. The seed is open pollinated.  To collect the seeds first allow the fruit to ripen and then remove the seeds, clean and dry them and store in a dry container.

Insect pests include leaf bugs, beetles and stem borers and larger pests can include rodents, deer and birds.

The Plant Lady