This is by far the tallest corn I have ever grown! It must stand over 10 feet tall now. I have it growing in a raised bed and I think it is enjoying the layer of bunny fertilizer that lines the bottom of the bed. I plan on harvesting our first few ears this weekend for dinner when everyone will be here. Yum! There is nothing like homegrown corn!

I have read two different opinions on when corn should be harvested. I have always heard to have your pot of water ready to go as you pick and shuck your corn. Recently though I read (somewhere, I always forget where I read these things!) that the sugars in the corn are actually in the corn the most in the morning and so that is when the ears should be picked for the optimum sweetness. Any opinions out there on when is the best time for harvesting corn?

Somehow a certain zucchini got away from me while out harvesting its siblings the other day. The sneaky vegetable was hiding quite well from me until it turned into what you see below.

(The canning jar is to put the zucchini’s size into perspective.)

Is it not just amazing how overnight they can get so HUGE! I’m glad I found this one while it was still edible. I was able to get enough grated zucchini off of it to make four loaves of zucchini bread.  I tried making Lemon Zucchini Bread and I recommend it if you want to try something a little different. The lemon zest tasted really good in it. My family gobbled that small loaf up in no time .

It is already beginning- I am having to get creative to keep up with the zucchini bush that has grown into a monster! What are some of your favorite ways of using up the never ending zucchini? I need all the suggestions I can get right now as I already have three more that needed to be harvested before they look like the giant in today’s photo.

I think it is pretty safe to say the case of the Mystery Squash is closed. I think the picture for today is some rather strong evidence that points to our Mystery Squash being a pumpkin. So my hunch was right all along!

I remain baffled by how a pumpkin seed snuck into the compost pile last year. I am pretty careful about what kind of kitchen scraps go into our pile for fear that we would have everything from peppers and tomatoes to melons and pumpkins coming up all over the garden.

A couple of months ago I made the decision to move our compost pile to a new location of our yard. What once was a gaping pit left over from 2 years of composting is now a thriving and incredibly lush garden bed full of a multitude of self-sown flowers, herbs and now even a pumpkin. What amazes me is the fact that a pumpkin seed somehow found its way into the compost pile last fall and hide in waiting through all our snow and rain until the conditions were just right and then it decided to emerge and grow. A plant’s ability to survive and grow never ceases to leave me in awe.

I think this post will conclude my weekly updates on this no longer a mystery garden guest. I will however, continue to periodically post some picture of its progress as I cannot wait to see what this pumpkin grows into. This has been a lot of fun for me and my kids and I thank everyone who has followed these postings over the past couple of weeks. We have truly enjoyed hearing about all of your own mystery squashes that decide to grow in some unlikely of places.

If ever anyone needs some proof that compost is great for the garden they need to look no further than my old pile! I think it pretty much speaks for itself when one sees just how lush and green everything growing there is.