A squash in the vegetable patch...

This weekend we’re cooking our home grown squash, or pumpkin. It was given to me as a seedling by my friend Rachel on my birthday in late May, and has grown well these past five months in our vegetable patch, producing one small fruit and this large beauty. 

It grew rapidly in late August and we all stood around thinking how it looked impressive in size but wondering when it would ripen to that famous pumpkin orange colour. Doh!-spot the city folk. Turns out it is a Crown Prince (Cucurbita maxima) squash, which is this blue-green colour and one of the best tasting varieties, so the experts say. We shall see-the proof of the pumpkin is in the eating…

With the wonderful sunshine we had in the north-west all summer long and well into autumn, it needed a fair amount of watering. It’s not always easy when you are away to ensure this happens- I know of people who have fallen out big-style with neighbours who forgot to water their beloved pot plants or vegetable patch.

I’m thinking of investing in an automatic water timer or similar garden gadgetry for the veg patch next summer. It’s amazing how high-tech gardening can be, if you want it to, with such watering systems. 

Allotments used to be the preserve of the older man and woman but seem to have become more in demand in recent years as we all turn to growing our own fruit and veg, and baking artisan loaves of bread and cupcakes in the kitchen too. It’s the Great British Bake-Off effect coupled with the recession and a natural urge to return to our organic roots, shopping locally and being community-focused. Cheaper and healthier lifestyles away from the chemically treated supermarkets' produce are the only way to go.

Other items to go on my Christmas list from the Easy Watering website include a water butt (no need to wrap it up for me!) and a wild bird feeder and watering station. Maybe I can get Santa to dig over my garden and the reindeer manure might encourage my crops next year… This year’s success stories from the vegetable patch include autumn raspberries, broad beans, beetroots and lettuces but the crown prince squash takes the top prize.

Today I'm linking from here in the"Atlantic North-West" with the Pacific North-West at Rurality blog hop.