Sunday, September 13, 2009

Do Tell Me What They Are

My friends called me crazy for leaving what they call a "very good job". They can't imagine how an urban yuppie can take a drastic turn in his lifestyle and chose to be a farmer. But they know that once I make a decision, it is always final. I have been trained in my work to take a critical appraisal of every decision I take. It is not like I plunge myself on things out of fancy. So when my friends realized I wasn't kidding about turning myself into a farmer, they have been all out with their support.

The support may not often be the kind of support I want but hey! you can't be choosy with the support you want to get when it comes to friends. You would not believe how many packets of seeds I receive each week from the mail sent me by seed companies courtesy of well intentioned friends. I have misgivings about commercial seeds as I believe they are intended to be grown with inorganic inputs. We want to turn the farm into a showcase of sustainable farming technologies so going inorganic is out of the question.

We can't just throw the seeds away so what we did was grow them organically. Much to my surprise, the seeds responded favorably. But this post is not really about commercial seeds and organic farming technology, that could be the subject of much later post.

This post is about one plant that turned out to be a surprise. Look at the photos! People who visit the farm could not believe it's real. They think its plastic and had to dig their nails into it to make sure its real. Even the globe hopping me (it was part of my old work) have not seen them in the countries I have been into, at least not in the shops of Sainsbury or Tesco which I frequent when in London. I know they are of the squash family but what they are really I do not know. Our mistake, we did not tag them when we had them planted.

Are they edible? Are they simply ornamental? They do look good for Ikebana. Does any of our readers know?






12 comments:

Nessa said...

It's cool being farmer... you get to see the fruits of your labor :)

The last 2 pictures look sure look like plastic pumpkins. The orange is vibrant! Such an odd shape!

WillOaks Studio said...

Hi! I'm pretty sure these are all considered decorative squash and I don't know the name for the top two. But the orange ones are called "Turk's Cap" or something similar, so with that perhaps you can look up more info on them! They really are very pretty squashes!

Del Alfonso said...

Nessa:

Indeed, Nessa! I am enjoying every moment of it. I got no doubts I made the right decision to become a farmer.Thanks for taking time to read the post and leaving your thoughts. Much appreciated

Karen:

Finally I got the information I needed to search for more info. They are really pretty squash. We might consider producing them for Ikebana hobbyist. Thank you so much spending some minutes to respond to my querry.

Cinnamon said...

I am curious where is your farm located?

JT Locke -- The Frugal Housewife said...

The top two look like baby gourds. The bottom one looks like decorative squash.

Jackie said...

I think your choice is completely understandable and wonderful.

My husband's family were farmers and he can't wait to retire and get a huge garden growing.

Now I am a city girl and no very little about technical names and such.

But the top 2 look like Acorn squash to me. usually Acorn squash are not quite so elongated but they have the same coloring and look very similar.

If they are indeed Acorn squash then they are edible and actually quite delicious!!

You cut them open, load them up with butter, a little sweetener and a dash or two of cinnamon and bake.

But, please check first. I do wish my husband was here. he would know in a heart beat!!

WTG on making this change. Hey we only get one go round while we're here!! I say enjoy!!:-)

Domestic Goddess..Diva sometimes said...

I don't know but they look beautiful!

Aria said...

Best advice I ever got was to do what I knew would make me happy, even if other people couldn't see it and said not to do it. God bless you for following your true self and good luck to you!

Aria said...

Best advice I ever got was to do what I knew would make me happy, even if other people couldn't see it and said not to do it. God bless you for following your true self and good luck to you!

Ann said...

either squash or some look like gourds. squash as Jackie said is edible and mighty delicious gourds are ornamental.

MegaMan The Madman said...

I don't work in the growth end of produce, I'm a retailer of produce, I think some of these are considered to be ornamental gourds.

The top ones look almost like spaghetti Squash..Acorn squash are rounder in shape and tend to be green..

Good luck and..I'll check back to see if you figured out what they are..

Bola said...

being a farmer is good and i have always love been my own boss.Last one is pumpkin don't know the others though they look family,a kind of melon!