how to get pumpkins to last for months!
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The kids just bought their first two baby pumpkins at the store this week. I know, right... we're not even in October yet! So even though the kids picked out pumpkins already, I'm sure we'll be going to an actual pumpkin patch or two over the next few weeks. Pumpkin patch season is relatively short in Central Oregon, because if you go too late, all you'll find is a field full of crispy vines and mushy pumpkins from all the freezing nights we get before Halloween. We try to eat most of the pumpkins and other winter squashes we buy (if we don't carve them), but the only way we can make them last long enough to do so is by curing those pumpkins before we store them. Curing is the secret to get your pumpkins to store well all winter long, whether you grew them at home or picked them from a farm. It's a very simple and straightforward process that's mostly hands-off—but assures you can enjoy butternut soups, kabocha curries, and roasted blue hubbards well into winter. Seasonal tipsMy new favorite RV accessoryWe're on our last official summer road trip of the season, visiting the Northern California coast for a long weekend. Even though it's the end of summer, some campgrounds in the West still have fire restrictions so we never know if we'll be able to light a wood fire once we get there. Propane fire pits are the answer, but our 24ft RV doesn't have a lot of storage once we get all our other gear in there. So we recently splurged on an Ignik fire can and we're so impressed with this little thing! It's a super portable propane fire pit the size and shape of an ammo can. You can hook it up to your RV's propane connection or use a separate propane tank. We've found that it puts out just enough heat for our family of four to sit around. No, you won't stay warm when nighttime temps drop to 40°F but it definitely takes the chill off a brisk morning or evening and gives off a nice ambience. But what I really love about the fire can is that you can use it like a traditional grill too. There's a grill insert that lets you cook a steak or a few sausages at a time, but you can also place your own grill grate over it or even just cook directly over the flame in a pan (using it like a regular gas stove). Our next purchase will be this 5-gallon gas growler accessory, which we want so we can move the fire can wherever we want (and not be tethered to the RV). We've only used the fire can a couple times so far, but I can see this being a fixture on all our fall camping trips and winter tailgating too. It's just so easy to bring along! It's the little things. 😄 P.S. Learn how to cure your pumpkins and other winter squashes so they'll keep all winter long. P.P.S. What do you do with your plants at the end of the season? Did you know you can leave them where they are so they can help rebuild your soil over winter? Fall is actually the best time to work on your soil, since it gives you several months to let things decompose in place and stimulate all the good microbes by the time you're ready to plant again. Get a jump start on proper soil-building this fall and learn my "lazy techniques" to create healthy, active, nutrient-rich soil by spring—with much less work than doing it all in spring! Join Lazy Gardening Academy today.​ |
Garden Betty
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