Summer Squash and Strawberries

 My Zucchini plants have hit their stride and I have to stay sharp and pick them small so I don't get flooded with squash.  My favorite way to eat these is to grill or fry them with onions and serve them on buttered pasta with garlic salt.  But last week I did make Blueberry Zucchini Muffins because I had wonderful, fresh picked Blueberries.  

Clarimore and Dunja Summer Squash

I always plant two seeds together when I plant Zucchini.  One plant grows left and the other grows right making an attractive mound of leaves instead of ending as scraggly, one sided plants.  Sometimes I over indulge with too many Zucchini plants, but usually I just plant one mound, and maybe keep a backup in a gallon pot in case of squash bugs.

This year I mixed my varieties so one mound is producing two different squash.  It makes for a nice, colorful harvest.  My favorite varieties (mostly for their disease resistance) are Clarimore and Dunja.

Note the old kitchen knife stock in the seam of the raised bed size.  It is always there available for cutting off a Zucchini without tearing the stem.

My Seascape Strawberries planted as bareroot plants this spring have finally begun to grow and produce a good crop.  The rest of my plants are Honeoye Junebearing which I have planted several times.  But I keep seeing good reviews of the Seascape Day Neutral berries which continue to produce berries all season.  I made freezer jam from the June harvest, but it is nice to have berries all summer.  And not just one or two like other varieties, but a good handful.  This is the second handful I have picked and the first one was more impressive.  I just didn't have a camera with me.   These could have gone another day or two to sweeten up more, but we had a rainy day forecast and rainy day Strawberries are blah.  I love Strawberries on my salads, and it is nice to have a bowl sitting on the counter for snacking throughout the day.

We are currently enjoying a much needed all day rain.  The temperature is 59F (15C) and the house is opened up.  My plans for my non-gardening day are to bake a cheesecake with Blueberry topping and to put up a batch of Dill pickles.