Harvesting a GourZuchumpkin! What's next?

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Well, I haven't bragged about our crazy overgrown, not-producing-much garden this year.

How about a cross pollinated Gourzucumpkin! Yep....trust me it was real.

This is the last submarine Zucchini I picked from the garden in early October. It was very large and heavy and dark green with a bit of dusky orange mottling. I thought it might be turning rotten, but I brought it in and put it on my island  in a basket.

Under the pile of golden pumpkins, Delicata Squash, Butternut Squash I realized this week it had turned completely orange and wasn't squishy anywhere it was actually HARD? 

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 I had pumpkins planted in our first big raised bed, five feet away I had 2 Zucchini plants planted in the next raised bed. To the west 8-10 feet I had two gourd plants by the corn. We did get one small lumpy green/orange gourd. 

Now, you tell me, does this looks like a Zucchini when it was dark green and now does it look like a Pumpkin?

That's my longest knife, so it's pretty good size. The skin was so hard I called Hubby to help as my poor wrists couldn't even dent it.

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Here's three of my pie pumpkins to compare. I like the small ones because they have nice thick meat and keep well.

Well after almost breaking our wrists hubby came up with this way to cut the (Creature)  Zucchumpkin, see the quick video above! 

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We really had to whack it. I was beginning to wonder if I should waste gas baking this thing? 

Here you can see the hard outer shell----on the edge...no wonder we could hardly get through it. 

Curious, and since I was baking some other pumpkins, we cut it up for baking.

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The seeds looked like pumpkin seeds only very 

thick...nice thick meat on the sides, not watery like Zucchini at all, and very firm.

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Well, I baked it and it was sweet and delicious, the seeds were baked also as they were easier to pull out that way. If I had saved some they probably wouldn't produce as they would be a hybrid.

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Can't wait to make a Gouzuchumpkin PIE...LOL.

What else is going on...we killed ourselves this week cleaning up the yard with the last of the nice weather and snow forecasted for today and tomorrow. Yep, finally our gorgeous golden Autumn is dying. Today the yard is filled with snow covered leaves. 

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This was taken Thursday...the last of the red colors in the Forest Preserve.

We finished clearing all the outdoor Halloween in time and it is successfully stored. 

Hubby is having two eye surgeries starting this week, 

so I will be the driver as he is blind as a bat without his glasses. His prescription will likely change, so we figure a minimum of three weeks or more 

of not much going on.

Unfortunately that may curtail our Christmas lights and decorations outside, sigh...I won't be able to handle it all myself. Aging just means everything takes longer.

Harvesting...

Inside is a small disaster dragging all the plants in,...

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We brought in one raised planter with all the Herbs...I have room for a new Basil, as ours were just DONE!  Here are Chives (2), Parsley, Oregano, Thyme, some Rosemary and I'll add a Basil. We should be good for cooking all winter I hope. I have a HUGE Rosemary plant also, I brought in.

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Right now the Rosemary is on the table along with everything else. I had 5 huge sunflower heads that had seeds, so I sorted and bagged, labeled and dated them. Also bagged the seeds from the Sunflower small heads (not that many seeds) since the Gold Finches demolished. I still have my Zinnias and other flower seeds to harvest, but they are in a huge bouquet drying on the island. We had loads of flowers still blooming when we had to clean up the yard.  

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'Tis the Harvest Season

Fall, Leaves, Fall

Emily Brontë

Fall, leaves, fall; die, flowers, away;

Lengthen night and shorten day;

Every leaf speaks bliss to me

Fluttering from the autumn tree.

I shall smile when wreaths of snow

Blossom where the rose should grow;

I shall sing when night’s decay

Ushers in a drearier day.

But, I'm collecting seeds and planning for new crops. 

A gardener can't help but believe in the future, 

or why would we plant a seed? 

Happy Harvest from our Home 

~~~~~~~To YOURS!~~~~~~~

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questions, and suggestions.

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All the opinions and photographs in this blog are my own or I am in possesion of the originals, 

I have not been paid or reimbursed in anyway for my opinions, posts or products used. 

Please do not use my photos without linking back to this blog without my permission. 

Thank you for your cooperation, Sandi Magle

Sharing at these fine parties...lol, maybe?

Sandi