the year of the Cucurbits

i am ultra excited about the new addition to my gardens this year - a good old fashioned melon/squash/gourd/pumpkin patch.  In case you were wondering...Cucurbitaceae is a plant family, also known as gourd family, which includes crops like cucumbers, squashes (including pumpkins), luffas, and melons (including watermelons). 

We will begin digging this weekend - luckily my hubby sweet-talked our farmer neighbors and we have use of a small bobcat and rototiller - wooo hooo!  Definitely will be a huge back-saver as this garden will be large so the plants have plenty of room to spread out.

We will be trying all sorts of varieties including...

TONS of interesting winter squash & specialty pumpkins

photo-Johnny's Seeds

Rouge Vif D'Etampes

photo-Johnny's Seeds

Marina Di Chioggia

photo-Johnny's Seeds

Moonshine

photo-Johnny's Seeds

Jarrahdale

photo-Johnny's Seeds

Musque de Provence

photo-Johnny's Seeds

Long Island Cheese

photo-Johnny's Seeds

Speckled Hound

photo-Johnny's Seeds

Blue Hubbard

photo-Country Living

Lumina

photo-Johnny's Seeds

Waltham Butternut

photo-Johnny's Seeds

Vermicelli Squash

photo-Johnny's Seeds

Buttercup Squash

plus a big crop of summer squash as well

photo-Johnny's Seeds

Cashflow

photo-Park Seed

Horn of Plenty

on a roll

I have been obsessed with upcycling papertowel and toiletpaper rolls for a couple years now...
it all started with a little post on one of my fave blogs mayamade - check it out here

ever since I have made all sorts of artsy goodies with them but this spring I decided to explore another idea I've seen floating around - as seedling pots!

so simple to do:
you can get 2 pots from a TP roll and approx 4 pots from a paper towel roll...if you start quite a bit of seedlings you will need alot of rolls but enlist your friends & family to save them for you!  It feels good to recycle and everyone gets a kick out of handing us our rolls when we see them.

1.  Cut your rolls with a hefty pair of scissors.  This does not need to be perfect but if you want every roll to be exactly the same size then you could always measure & mark before cutting.

2.  Once they are cut down to size, make 4 evenly spaced slits on one end.  The slits need to be approx the same length around 1-1.5" but again no need to be perfect.

3.  Fold each slitted piece down and ensure it will be a good solid bottom.

4.  Once happy with the fold, make a box bottom and then take a small piece of masking tape to secure.  I have seen these done without tape with just a overlapping box bottom but it was too fussy for me.

5.  Make a BUNCH - perfect for unwinding at night in front of the tv.

6.  Once all your seedling pots are gathered, place in a seedling tray and pot them up w/ your fave seedling mix.   Water from below by pouring room-temp water into your seedling tray.  The pots wick up the water perfectly.  Germinate & grow your seeds according to their needs.

7.  Watch grow, tend to them & enjoy!