My garden has offered some puzzles this year. I have a cucumber plant that looks healthy but didn’t seem to be producing any cucumbers. I am aware that cucumbers can hide among the foliage, so I looked carefully. As I was walking away disappointed, I looked upward and saw a bright yellow flower in the forsythia bush. And there was a cucumber, more that six feet high. It had wound its’ tendrils around branches of the bush, going ever higher. I couldn’t reach it. When it was fully grown, my husband picked it.
My zucchini plants are producing lots of blossoms, but the beginnings of little squash wither away. It appears to be blossom end rot. A couple of things could be the culprit. The soil is missing nutrients like calcium. Or the plant has not been getting regular enough watering, perhaps not deep enough watering. My soil is heavy clay that I have tried to breakdown with compost. My neighbor is having the same problem with her zucchini plants. So, what to do?
I have seen squash blossoms at the farmer’s market. The blossoms cost seven dollars for a bunch. I have done a little research and taken advice from my neighbor. I chop the blossoms and add them to scrambled eggs, to a rice casserole and even to corn bread. I add 6 to 8 blossoms to a recipe.There are recipes on the internet for stuffed squash blossoms, but I haven’t tried that.
Squash blossoms have vitamins A & C and minerals. They increase the nutritional value of a dish.
Linking this post with Sweet Tea and Friends and Senior Salon Pit Stop .
