Milkwood’s Pumpkin Blog

There is something to be said for plants that are easy to grow, easy to propagate and tasty. Pumpkins check all the boxes! They are often the accidental seedling out of the worm farm. They don’t mind fairly ‘raw’ manure in a big circle around them and will grow prolifically if you give them half a chance. I like my odds… and my deliberate focus as a mum is tasty produce!

Milkwood is one of my favourite blogs to read, here is a link to their pumpkin blog post for your enjoyment….

www.milkwood.net/2016/05/16/pumpkin-seeds-save-them-eat-them-plant-them

Milkwood Pumpkin

In our back yard at the moment, pumpkins are one of the few veggies left actively growing in the raised beds… because the chooks have been ‘playing’ … if you know what I mean ๐Ÿ˜‰ (This is while we’re doing some reorganising and will to an end soon with prime vegetable growing time now in Western Australia.) I’m so happy to have pumpkins there and rocketing along… I’m a fan… preferably my husband’s pumpkin flan… but even just steamed and with a bit of white sauce… can’t go wrong ๐Ÿ™‚

Nutritionally, the seeds are real powerhouses, high in zinc and magnesium they are a panacea for ‘western’ diseases. More on that another day… meanwhile… nom nom nom!

Buddha’s Hand Citron

The joy of giving away some produce fresh from the garden last night was just awesome. Cate came around for a quick visit and left with sweet potato (who doesn’t?!), about eight lemonade lemons and one of the few Buddha’s Hand citrons. These are like most citrus fruits but don’t have any flesh, instead, they are all pith and zest.

Buddhas Hand Citron

Buddha’s Hands are native to both China (calledย Fo Shou) and parts of India, both styles of traditional medicine highly regard it for its medicinal properties.

They are amazing, seriously amazing, candied with sugar syrup… giving a freshly fragant sweet high in pectin and with some residual Vitamin C. Or perhaps stewed with sugar into marmalade or a sweet syrup. You can have them raw, finely sliced into a salad or with a smoothie for a hit of good quality Vitamin C with cofactors. You can even knock up a non-alcoholic cocktail (to treat your persistent cough! lol… if you need that excuse…)
As an anti-inflammatory, decongestant it helps relieve pain and reduce cholesterol… and the perfume is just perfect ๐Ÿ˜‰
It is very tolerant of hot and dry conditions, although yields will decrease with the harsher conditions. Some seasons have given some scale, easily controlled organically. Kept pruned, it will happily stay under two metres and produce several fruit in the first season. Get one!