A moral, if one were needed, on the importance of plant labels. (And putting them on the right plant)
I sowed my curcurbit seeds in April and tended them carefully as any good veg gardener does. I kept them in the warm, I watered them sparingly and I talked to them kindly. I always sow more seeds than I think I'll need, just so I have replacement plants if any wither before their time. And this year I had a bumper selection of curcurbit seeds, from stripy courgettes to yellow ones, from butternut squash to acorn squash – the suburban veg plot had never seen the like of it before! Having so many different varieties also meant I'd needed to write up some new labels for the pots.
As the weeks passed, I potted up the growing plants and moved them first to the greenhouse, then to the cold frame as I prepared them for life outdoors. I had to write up more plant labels at this stage as I'd sown them 2 or 3 to a pot. Upon selecting the plants I wanted to keep, I potted up a stripy courgette for my mum (a now annual tradition) and also gave her a spare butternut squash plant to replace one that had died in her garden. My own plants were planted out into the raised beds and daily protected from the onslaught of slugs that May brought with it.
Come the middle of July, my mum mentioned that her courgette plant had started to produce fruits but her butternut squash was yet to get started. I checked on my plants and found that although there were a few male flowers opening, neither of mine had started any fruiting yet. But I couldn't shake the thought that the courgette plant looked a bit different, maybe a bit on the, I don't know, pumpkiny side...?
The next week I got a call from a very puzzled mum. Being a newbie veg grower she often rings for advice on seedlings or plant spacings, but this question was not one I was expecting. Her butternut squash plant had finally started to fruit – but it seemed to be producing a courgette!
I just couldn't come up with an explanation for that – that is until the next time I was surveying the veg plot and discovered this little fella hiding under a leaf on my 'courgette' plant.
I sowed my curcurbit seeds in April and tended them carefully as any good veg gardener does. I kept them in the warm, I watered them sparingly and I talked to them kindly. I always sow more seeds than I think I'll need, just so I have replacement plants if any wither before their time. And this year I had a bumper selection of curcurbit seeds, from stripy courgettes to yellow ones, from butternut squash to acorn squash – the suburban veg plot had never seen the like of it before! Having so many different varieties also meant I'd needed to write up some new labels for the pots.
As the weeks passed, I potted up the growing plants and moved them first to the greenhouse, then to the cold frame as I prepared them for life outdoors. I had to write up more plant labels at this stage as I'd sown them 2 or 3 to a pot. Upon selecting the plants I wanted to keep, I potted up a stripy courgette for my mum (a now annual tradition) and also gave her a spare butternut squash plant to replace one that had died in her garden. My own plants were planted out into the raised beds and daily protected from the onslaught of slugs that May brought with it.
Come the middle of July, my mum mentioned that her courgette plant had started to produce fruits but her butternut squash was yet to get started. I checked on my plants and found that although there were a few male flowers opening, neither of mine had started any fruiting yet. But I couldn't shake the thought that the courgette plant looked a bit different, maybe a bit on the, I don't know, pumpkiny side...?
The next week I got a call from a very puzzled mum. Being a newbie veg grower she often rings for advice on seedlings or plant spacings, but this question was not one I was expecting. Her butternut squash plant had finally started to fruit – but it seemed to be producing a courgette!
I just couldn't come up with an explanation for that – that is until the next time I was surveying the veg plot and discovered this little fella hiding under a leaf on my 'courgette' plant.
It's a good thing my mum likes courgettes.... And maybe I'll give her one of these once they've ripened.
Oh, gosh, mixing up the labels is easily done!! You won't be alone in doing this! Looks like you've both benefitted from some very fine veg though, so no complaints!
ReplyDeleteI've always thought myself so organised - maybe in future I should pot on only 1 type of veg per day!
DeleteMy plot neighbour once gave something he thought was an apricot grow from a stone to other plotters and they turned out to be pussy willows.
ReplyDeleteApricot and pussy willow - would they look similar in any way?? or is that a blooper even bigger than mine?
DeleteNot really!
DeleteI have a hard time keeping up with curcurbits in the garden. Your squash in the last photo looks divine. I've a large healthy 'patty green tint' squash that has yet to produce fruit, thinking it will be a write off.
ReplyDeleteIt's actually my first ever butternut squash grown to maturity, so I'm very proud. Now all I need to do is keep the slugs away until it's ready to harvest.
DeleteBeen there, done that, got the t-shirt :) Still it looks as if you and your mum have both ended up with some curcubity goodness to enjoy although perhaps not quite what either of you anticipated.
ReplyDeleteYes, oddly enough I've missed my courgette glut. We haven't had courgette fritters at all this summer!
DeleteHaha! very easily done! I'm always mixing my plants up especially my courgettes and squash! I have a label with 'winter squash' written on it right next to my yellow courgette plant! I've grown some big Mars pumpkins this year but they start off round and green, I found it really amusing when Adam came home announcing he'd picked a little round courgette! oops!
ReplyDeleteHa, ha, I feel your pain. I accidentally harvested a baby butternut last year when I was removing some leaves from the plant. Just snipped right though the stalk. And it was the only one I'd got...
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