Why would a vegetable that has such a hard skin be called a squash?

These are only a few of the squashes ripening in my garden. I have no idea what they are called, but I know they all taste good.

About four years ago, a friend gave me an assortment of squashes just like these because he had so many in his garden and gladly shared them. I happily made meals with them and enjoyed them so much, I decided to save some of the seeds to plant in my own garden the next year.

I got a few of them planted and was happy to see them sprout at last, but in the time it took for them to sprout, many squash plants sprang up in my freshly rototilled garden patch. How did that happen? I had spread the contents of my compost barrel over the ground before rototilling, and in the compost were many seeds from the squash I had cleaned and eaten that previous winter.

For the third year in a row now, I have had volunteer squash plants growing in my garden. I didn’t have the heart to pull them out, except to thin them a bit.

Now there are so many squashes of all the types my friend gave me, that the plants are “squashing” each other.

… Guess what I’ll be eating all winter …

Nothing squishy, nothing squashy,

Simply bring them in to  washy,

Cut in half and scoop the seeds,

Feed the compost what it needs.

 

Place them on a baking sheet,

Spread with butter smooth and neat,

Salt and pepper if you like,

Gives the taste a little spike.

 

Easy peasy supper treat,

Hot and filling, can’t be beat,

If you want a next year’s crop,

Fill your compost to the top.

 

When the springtime songbirds sound,

Toss that compost on the ground,

Mix it in and water well,

And the squash will grow like heck.