harvest: tromboncino (heritage squash)

We're not quite finished harvesting the heritage squash we grow for ourselves and the livestock, but we can hazard a guess at the size of the crop now.

On about 100 ft. of stock panel fence, and another 50 feet of horse fence around the home garden, we are harvesting two pickup loads of fruits, or in the neighborhood of two tons, or maybe two-and-a-half. That's less than it might be -- a single tromboncino can grow 50 or more very large fruits -- but we're closing the third dry year in a row, and the soil knows it, the plants know it.

Still, 4,000 - 5,000 lb. of squash will go a fair way toward feeding the chickens and pigs, with plenty left for the humans.

The best squashes are stored under the house; when those spaces are full, damaged and green fruits are piled in the middle of the big barn floor and tarped. They'll keep there just fine for the next month or two, and contribute substantially to our next crop of bacon.