The Mystery of the Zero-Irrigation Squash

...h near our raised beds, and we let them grow, because we wanted to eat the baby squash as we would zucchini–it’s good that way. We also didn’t think the vines would last very long without water. Well, they did. We couldn’t keep up with the baby squash (they’re so good at hiding) and ended up with a harvest of big, bland squash. Again. (The squash is a hybrid, by the way. They look like Tromboncino, but are bigger than the Tromboncinos we had last...

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My Big Fat Greek Squash

...umpkin, but tasted a lot better than most pumpkin I’ve had. We roasted one squash to make squash tortellini among other dishes. The best recipe, however, was for a savory winter squash pie (galette) out of Mark Bittman’s book How to Cook Everything Vegetarian (thanks to Bruce of the Green Roof Growers for suggesting this book). Bittman’s spicy winter squash galette recipe is here on MSNBC along with a video of him making it. I’ll note that the onl...

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What Does Tromboncino Squash Taste Like?

...ew squashes in the Cucurbita moschata family that is harvested as a summer squash Tromboncino as winter squash. I think of tromboncino as the new zucchini. It has a sweeter flavor than zucchini and the long neck is always free of seeds. As a winter squash it’s passable, but somewhat bland. If you’ve got the room to let this thing sprawl (ours is over 25 feet long) you’ll find it more productive than zucchini. I planted seeds in April, transplanted...

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Mutant Squash

...ut there are many different varieties of squash, everything from butternut squash to spaghetti squash to various inedible gourds, so you can get some very freaky mutant cross-breeds. Results of these hybrids can be unpredictable. with accidental squash hybrids tending to get tough. But some hybrids are a crap shoot that pays off. The SurviveLA compound has wild cherry tomatoes that have self-seeded for years with excellent results–producing some o...

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Urban Homestead Trademarks Cancelled!

After six years of legal wrangling, “urban homestead” and “urban homesteading” belong to us all. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has cancelled the trademarks thanks to the hard work of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the law firm of Winston & Strawn. Here’s the press release from the Electronic Frontier Foundation: Urban Homesteaders Win Cancellation of Bogus Trademarks Global Community Had Faced Baseless Legal Claims and Content Remo...

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