Growing ButterNut Squash

I have heard so many great stories about butternut squash that I had to try it myself this year. We used a variety that is perfect for small gardens. Any squash species is a sore subject with the wife. She feels squash are just little greedy bastards that take over as much space as possible. However I had to convince her that Butternut squash we are planting are specifically designed to grow on its own soap box. I have never tasted butternut but there are so many delicious recipes that accompany this vegetable that I have to see for myself. I hope all goes well. I have put a few plants in the raised beds and a few in containers. If the containers go well as planned growing the butternut in them will be the rule. We'll see....

Growing Edamame

The new foliage from my edamame plants have made a full recovery from the hail storm a few weeks back. I was really concerned with the way they looked and if it wasn't for the knowledgeable people who follow this blog and giving me great advice I would have turned these guys into compost. But instead I held tight and gave the plants a chance to regroup and regroup they did.

The edamame plants are cold sensitive and we gambled putting them in the ground early. I honestly think the raised beds have proven themselves in every situation. Because without the raised beds, I would not be able to keep my soil warm in the coldest weather. Prior to planting the seeds we lasagna layered our compost in the beds and finished it off with some good soil on top. It was to no surprise that underneath the soil the microbes went to work composting and keeping the interior warm while the outside temp dipped below 30 degrees on some days. But yet the edamame survived and are en route to produce a bountiful harvest that will go great with my beer.