(with thanks to Melissa for the appropiate title). Few things are truly certain - and while everybody knows the first two - zucchini - aka corgettes aka baby marrows are punting hard to get into that realm. Back in the dark ages when we moved out Finnegan's Wake, I plunged into home gardening with huge eagerness. And a packet of Zucchini seeds. I lots of space, and a packet of seeds. So I planted all of them in good well manured soil. About 30 plants, IIRC. I got my first lesson in self sufficiency when they started to bear... and bear. And bear. And BEAR... Now there is good Yorkshire and Scots blood in the bloodline - to say nothing of depression era parents. "Waste not, want not!"
Much ingenuity and even picallilli followed. To the ingenuity I owe the fact that we all still eat zucchini. A bit of overproduction is the life-blood of the self-supporter. You want something for the inevitable less-than-formal (and sometimes formal) trade that develops with other gardeners and foragers. Besides the fact the fact that it's better and more varied food than you can buy, there is this moment of delight in knowing the tax-man isn't keen on 45% of a zucchini. He just wants money (which is pity. I rather fancied posting a few zucchini to the 'revenue service'). But there is no point in having tons of glut of something your neighbours and friends have a glut of too. So I've never planted more than 6 Zucchini at once since.
I have seven now.
Winter may rescue us.
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ReplyDelete"And in further news today, in a scene reminiscent of HG Wells' Day of the Triffids, refugees continue to pour onto the mainland as the Royal Australian Navy evacuates the last few survivors from Flinders Island. It is understood that once the final all clear has been given, the air force will attempt to curtail the infection by sterilizing the infected island.
ReplyDelete"Said one eye witness, before collapsing in a sobbing distraught heap. 'It's not so much that zucchini are taking over the island and driving out all other life forms, it's that he expects us to keep eating them. And we just couldn't take it any more. What could we do? What could anyone do? We're only mortal!'
"So far authorities have refused to speculate on who this mysterious individual could be, but there are unsubstantiated reports of navy personnel conducting the evacuation being approached by a large bearded gentleman with his arms full of vegetables."
[For the humour impaired I do realise who wrote Day of the Triffids. It's just I felt I had to uphold the high professional standards of Australian journalism in my faux report. For veracity, you understand. <grin>]
Blogger really could use an edit function, couldn't it? <grin>
ReplyDeleteNo more corrections!
"Blogger really could use an edit function, couldn't it? "
ReplyDelete:-) Do you think so?
Your precient comments on the day of the zucchini remind my of John Wyndham's* The Time Machine.
ReplyDelete*In keeping with the famous South African Journalistic accuracy
We had the same problem with cucumbers and yellow squash, but were able to swap with neighbours. Have you tried flowers yet?
ReplyDeleteyes, we've had the flowers fried as fritters, stuffed and served raw, stuffed and baked, stuffed and fried, and shredded raw into salads. :-) I had a real overkill and lots to experiment on. Swaps work well... except when everyone has the same crop at the same time.
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