• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Tiny Farm Blog

A day-to-day journal – growing local food with two acres and some tools...!

  • Home
  • Topics
  • Year in pictures
  • How-to
  • Links
  • About
  • Email me
  • Privacy Policy

The joy of decay…

Tue, Dec 11, 2007 8 Comments

Winter squash decays

During the growing season, decay is the last thing you want to see, let alone watch. This time of year, what with culling veggies from cool storage, I’m a little more thoughtful about…decomposition. This miniature butternut caught my eye as it slowly returns to its essence in the Milkhouse. I’ve watched it instead of tossing it out. I like it! It’s soft, but seems to be drying faster than it’s rotting… Those little amber crystals, the product of ooze, are interesting: hard, transparent, sort of brittle, almost tasteless… I wonder what they are? I’m sure chemistry and biology would give me great, detailed explanations of the entire process of winter squash decay. But is that…good? Is that what I want? I used to think that understanding how EVERYTHING worked was kinda the goal, you’d learn and learn and learn stuff and become…better. But tiny farming doesn’t seem to lead that way. You watch and you do learn lots of things when they’re useful, but simply tearing everything apart into little chunks of measurement and description, just for the sake of it, isn’t as appealing as it once seemed to be. I think I want to know LESS. Demand simplicity! Let the squash rot in peace… (Of course, things don’t really work that way, do they…)

Winter squash decays: another view

Facebooktwittergoogle_pluspinterestmail

Related reading...

  • Root cellar lite

    Finally got around to starting to sort out the spot for the root…

  • First harvest of winter squash
    Some winter squash

    Brought in the first of the winter squash, an early variety of butternut…

  • Winter squash season

    At our farmers' market, winter squash is the final course on the year's…

Topics: Farm lab (research!), Veggies Tags: Autumn, butternut, decomposition, winter squash

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Robin says

    Fri, Dec 14, 2007 at 5:45 pm

    I think I see the Virgin Mary. You could sell this on e-Bay and have more than enough money for next year’s seeds!

    It is cool, isn’t it!

    Reply
  2. Anne says

    Fri, Dec 14, 2007 at 8:54 pm

    Ooooh that’s cool. My chickens eat the squash I cull.

    Reply
  3. WiIling Hands Organic Farm says

    Sun, Dec 16, 2007 at 8:39 pm

    picture #1 is beautiful, a piece of hand glazed pottery! you would be hard pressed to create it

    Reply
  4. Melanie J. says

    Sun, Dec 16, 2007 at 9:32 pm

    I had to glance the comments just to see if anyone else saw a face…so Robin made me chuckle. But seriously, on the first shot, I see a grumpy old man! ‘Course, been sick the last 3 days, so it could be a hallucination…

    Reply
  5. fourteenmilecreek says

    Wed, Dec 26, 2007 at 10:45 pm

    Sitting by the woodstove watching it snow outside, just put another log on the fire; passin’ time reading about a squash as it decays, this is the life!
    After two days of Christmas Inlaws, the pressure tank on the well going haywire, the float on the toilet getting stuck, the aircompressor blowing breakers in the house, the dishwasher float sticking and the resulting after dinner floods, I need a little decomposing squash.

    Reply
  6. Mike (tfb) says

    Thu, Dec 27, 2007 at 11:17 pm

    fourteenmilecreek: I’m always happy to share! :)

    Reply
  7. annamb says

    Sun, Dec 21, 2008 at 12:39 am

    Is it possible that the answer to prolonging life is in squash – any answers, as I’d love some!  Is it as simple as thick, waxy, skin?

    Reply
  8. Curious Photo Student says

    Wed, Jan 06, 2010 at 4:59 pm

    I’m making a composition book for my photo class and would like permission to use your pictures. Is there also a way I can get a name so I can credit you pictures?

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Notify me via email of replies to my comment (or subscribe to comments on this postwithout commenting).

Primary Sidebar

Browse by topic…

Latest comments

  • In the greenhouse: bok choi vs flea beetle – Home Organix { […] Beautiful bok choi […] }
  • The indispensably cheap sprinkler – Home Organix { […] Watering cans […] }
  • The indispensably cheap sprinkler – Home Organix { […] sprawling garden center of a giant hardware store, where... }
  • Older »

Previous seasons

  • 2017: J F M A M J J A S O N D
  • 2016: J F M A M J J A S O N D
  • 2015: J F M A M J J A S O N D
  • 2014: J F M A M J J A S O N D
  • 2013: J F M A M J J A S O N D
  • 2012: J F M A M J J A S O N D
  • 2011: J F M A M J J A S O N D
  • 2010: J F M A M J J A S O N D
  • 2009: J F M A M J J A S O N D
  • 2008: J F M A M J J A S O N D
  • 2007: J F M A M J J A S O N D
  • 2006: J F M A M J J A S O N D


Locations of visitors to this page

website uptime


Privacy Policy

© 2018 · tinyfarmblog.com