Henny Penny Farmette

A squash plant will grow well in small gardens on supports such as a teepee of three poles tied together  or on a fence

With the California drought looking like there’s no end in sight, I began pulling what I could from the garden. A lot of the space was taken up this year with squash and pumpkins. Vines are everywhere.

It’s my own fault for not keeping a better control over the direction of the vines. I could have grown them up and over a support, but I didn’t. Once ignored,the vines took over the whole garden, more than 25 to 30 feet in almost every direction.

My small harvest is in–anyone for squash or pumpkin pie?

I grew mainly heirloom varieties of squash and the French sugar pumpkins. One pumpkin plant reseeded from last year. Those vines climbed up into the five heirloom tomato plants, two apricot trees, and headed out toward the Lady Banks Rose and the Climbing Sally Holmes roses that border the garden. Inching even further, the squash vines moved out of the garden into the back yard.

No doubt about it, I’m going to have to pull on work gloves and a straw hat and get out there to dig out those dried vines and pull them out. Next year, trellises and supports for everything. Water is a commodity in crisis right now, at least in  this state and everyone has to do their part. We’re just going to harvest the squash and pumpkins early and pray for early rains.