All posts by Jordan Charbonneau

Garden Advice

Summer Squash: Ways to Use & Preserve It

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Summer squash plants are incredibly productive. New and seasoned gardeners alike often grow much more than their families can use.

When you feel like you’re drowning in fresh produce, it’s easy to let some go or toss it in the compost bin, but there are other options. Here are a few ways we recommend to use up a large harvest of summer squash. 

Donate your excess. 

Home gardeners may get tired of summer squash, but fresh produce can be a luxury for others. If you have extra summer squash (or any other vegetable), we recommend donating some to your local food bank. Here are some resources you can use to find a food bank near you:

Ferment it.

Fermenting is an easy, safe way to preserve food. There’s no need to stand over a hot canner all day! Fermented foods are also full of helpful bacteria that are great for gut health. Check out this recipe for Lacto-Fermented Summer Squash from Cultures for Health.

Dry it.

If you’ve got a dehydrator, you can quickly dry large amounts of summer squash. It’s excellent sliced into thin strips and salted for a crunchy, potato chip-like snack. It and also be shredded or chopped and dried for use this winter in soups, stews, and baked goods. 

Prepare your squash as desired and lay it out on a dehydrator tray in a single layer. Then lightly salt your squash. Note: thicker pieces of squash will take much longer to dry.

Dry your squash at 130-140°F until your squash is completely dry and brittle. Store in an airtight container until you’re ready to use. 

Alternatively, squash can be sliced into rings, hung, and dried over an open fire or woodstove. 

To use in cooked dishes, add it to your recipe with a bit of liquid for the last few minutes of cooking. To use shredded squash in baked goods, cover it with warm water for about 5 minutes before adding to your mix.

Freeze it.

Like dehydrated squash, frozen squash is perfect for winter use in soups, stews, and baked goods. The first step is to shred or cube your fresh squash.

Blanching

To ensure it doesn’t get mushy, you need to blanch your squash before freezing. Place your squash in boiling water for exactly 1 minute. Then remove your squash with a slotted spoon and place it in ice water for one minute to immediately stop the cooking. Drain your squash on a clean towel.

Flash Freeze

To keep your squash from freezing into one solid clump, you can use a technique called flash freezing; this works best with the squash cubes or chunks. Spread your drained squash onto a cookie sheet with parchment paper and freeze for at least one hour before transferring to a container.

Alternatively, you can measure squash out for your favorite recipes ahead of time; this works best with shredded squash for baked goods and sauces.

Frozen squash will last up to 10 months.

Can it.

Canning summer squash can be tricky because it is a low-acid food. Ball canning no longer has recipes for canning it on their website or in their book. However, some people still do by pressure canning or adding acidic ingredients.

Pressure Canned Squash

If you’ve got a pressure canner, you can put up plain summer squash as you would many other vegetables. You can find a recipe here.

Pickled Summer Squash

Pickling summer squash is relatively easy and a lot like pickling cucumbers. Just make sure you follow the recipe.

Pineapple Squash

One of my favorite ways to preserve summer squash and zucchini is to make “pineapple squash.” Basically, you can your squash in pineapple juice, and the mild-flavored squash takes on the pineapple flavor. I love it for pizza and sweet and sour stir-fries. 

You can find a recipe here.

Recipes

There are so many ways to use fresh summer squash, and thanks to the internet, we now get to see so many creative recipes. Here are a few we thought you all might enjoy.

Garden Advice

July: Garden Checklist

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We’ve made it to the dog days of summer! There are many essential tasks to keep your garden growing this time of year. Here’s a checklist of some of the key maintenance your garden needs during July.

Weed, mulch, and water perennials. 

It’s easy to forget about perennials when many annuals are at their height of production but don’t do it! Those perennials like rhubarb, blueberries, strawberries, and chives that you worked so hard to establish, need a bit of attention as we move into the hottest, driest part of the year. July is a good time to weed them well, water them, and mulch them in. 

Sow Last Chance Summer Crops

If you’re hoping for more summer crops, there’s still a bit of time to get a few in the garden in the Southeast. You can still sow cucumbers, summer squash, zucchini, corn, and beans. Check out our previous post for more information on summer crops you can plant this July for a late summer or fall harvest.

Harvest and Store Potatoes, Garlic, and Root Vegetables

Potatoes should be harvested and cured when the plants die back. Harvest your garlic on a dry day when the bottom two sets of leaves have turned brown and cure them before storage. The last of your spring root vegetables like beets and carrots should be harvested and used or stored indoors. They can get woody in tough in the heat of summer.

Begin Sowing Fall Crops

Especially if you live in a northern or mountainous area, July is time to sow or transplant fall crops like Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, beets, and more. You can set seed trays in your refrigerator for a couple of days to help plants that you’re starting indoors germinate in the heat. Direct sown seeds can be watered well and then covered with boards, cardboard, or burlap until they’ve just started to come up.

Ira’s book “Vegetable Gardening in the Southeast” is a great resource for learning about fall planting. You can also check out a guest post by Pam Dawling called, Last Chance Sowings.

If you’ve started them, it’s also time to plant out tomatoes for fall canning, storage, or in our case, the tomato taste tests. 

Pick Up Food Preservation Supplies

If you know that you’re going to have (or are having) large harvests, it’s good to begin thinking about food preservation. If you’re canning, you may want to ensure you’ve got items like lids, vinegar, and spices. You can also start collecting recipes to help you avoid being overwhelmed by your harvest.

Here are a few of our favorite posts on using and preserving produce:

Sow Heat Tolerant Greens

July and August can be a difficult time of year for fresh salads, but some greens are up to the challenge. Sow small batches of Swiss chard, collards, and Malabar spinach to use as baby greens. 

You can also sow small amounts of heat-resistant lettuce each week. To ensure success with your lettuce, refrigerate the seeds two days before planting and plant them in partial shade. You can use shade cloth, row cover, or plant them on the northern side of a taller crop like tomatoes, to provide some protection from the sun. You can also lightly water or mist your plants in the afternoon to keep them cool. Note, that’s not a substitute for regular watering.

Research and Order Fall Cover Crops

As a gardener, it’s important always to look ahead. Sowing cover crops this fall will protect your soil from erosion through the winter, encourage beneficial insects, and add organic matter. All of this adds up to a healthier and more productive garden next season.

You can find more resources on fall cover crops here. We generally recommend red clover, oats, Austrian winter peas, and rye as winter cover crops.

Think About Water Wise Gardening

Even if your area isn’t experiencing any droughts, it’s still good to consider how you’re watering. Drip irrigation is the most efficient way to water. It’s also best to water in the early morning or the evening when less water will be lost to evaporation. 

Another way to keep the soil moist is by mulching around plants and sowing summer cover crops in any empty beds. 

Select and Order Garlic, Shallot, and Perennial Onions

While you won’t plant these items until fall, you’ll have the best selection if you order early. It will also give you plenty of time to plan a spot in your garden for them and do any research you need to if you’re new to these.

Hill Peanuts

To get the best harvest, you want to hill your peanuts before they peg or drop runners. They should be about 12 inches when you do this. After hilling, mulch them in.

Garden Advice

A Brief History of Peppers

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Peppers are an excellent crop for gardens of the Southeast. They’re beautiful and incredibly productive. Peppers are available in various shapes, colors, and flavors, so every gardener can find a variety to fit their tastes.

We carry three species of peppers at Southern Exposure: Capsicum annuum, Capsicum chinense, and Capsicum baccatum. Most peppers easily found in the U.S., and almost all sweet peppers, fall under the species Capsicum annuum.

Worldwide, there are 26 known wild pepper species and five domesticated species. The domesticated species include the three we carry as well as Capsicum frutescens and Capsicum pubescens. 

Wild Peppers

Peppers originated in parts of South, Central, and southern North America. Scientists believe that C. annuum evolved in Mexico. C. frutescens probably evolved in the Amazon basin. Capsicum chinense is a misnomer; this species also originated in the Americas and is thought to have evolved from Capsicum frutescens. Capsicum pubescens is native to Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador. Capsicum baccatum is also believed to have originated in Peru and Bolivia, the Andean region of South America.

The first wild peppers probably produced small, red, pea-sized fruits, which attracted frugivorous birds. Unlike humans, birds don’t have the receptors in their mouths for capsaicin, the chemical that gives peppers their heat. Bird digestive systems also leave pepper seeds intact, making them ideal distributors for wild peppers. 

Domestication

Pre-ceramic remains of C. annuum have been found in east-central Mexico in the Valley of Tehuacán. These remains date to 9000–7000 B.P. (before present) and are “the oldest macrobotanical evidence for pre-ceramic chili pepper in the New World.” Archeologists found them in association with other domesticated crops such as maize and squash, leading them to believe these may have been cultivated.

C. frutescens probably evolved and was domesticated in the Amazon Basin. Today it’s cultivated and grows wild in many regions across South and Central America. It’s also grown in India and Ethiopia and has become an essential part of Ethiopian cuisine. 

The exact origin of C. chinense is still unknown. It’s believed to have evolved from Capsicum frutescens and was cultivated in the Amazon Basin in what’s now Southern Brazil and Bolivia. Later it was brought to the Caribbean and Cuba, where it was given the name Habanero. 

Domestication of C. pubescens dates back to pre-Incan times. It was grown by ancient Peruvians of the Paracas, Nazca, Moche, and Chimu cultures. Records of this species can be seen in the textiles, ceramics, and domestic remains of these societies.

Using DNA analysis in combination with archeological evidence, scientists have determined that C. baccatum was most likely domesticated in the lowlands of Bolivia and inter-Andean valleys of Peru at least 4000 B.P. These peppers were most likely domesticated by pre-Incan peoples, including the Arawak and Guarani. 

Sweet Pickle (Christmas Tree) Pepper

Pepper Varieties

As with many crops, commercialized farming shifted away from heirloom and open-pollinated peppers starting at the beginning of the 20th century. Farmers began growing more and more hybrids that produced uniform, sturdy crops that were ideal for shipping. Thankfully, many heirloom and open-pollinated peppers are available for backyard gardeners and small farmers, including those listed below and more.

***If the name is listed in green, it’s a variety we carry. Others are listed for educational purposes, but you may be able to locate seeds from another source.***

Capsicum annum

This species is the most commonly found in the United States and is the most extensively cultivated. It includes a wide variety of pepper shapes and flavors. Almost all sweet pepper varieties are cultivars of C. annuum. They generally have thicker walls than C. chinense or C. baccatum making them ideal for sauces.

Capsicum chinense

These peppers are generally thin-walled and commonly known as “habanero-type” peppers. Their heat is relatively dispersed throughout all parts of the pepper, and they have a fruity flavor. Most of the world’s hottest peppers, including the “Carolina Reaper,” come from this species though not all varieties are that intense.

Capsicum baccatum

C. baccatum peppers are typically the best for drying. They have a spicy, fruity flavor and are generally disease-resistant. They’re an important ingredient in Bolivian and Peruvian cuisine and are sometimes exported as ornamental plants.

Capsicum frutescens

Often used as ornamental peppers, C. frutescens typically bear colorful, lance-shaped upright fruits. They are small and very pungent. They’re often cultivated and used in India and Ethiopia. 

  • Tabasco Pepper
  • Xiaomila Pepper
  • Malagueta Pepper
  • Piri Piri (African Devil Pepper)
  • Siling Labuyo

Capsicum pubescens

This species is probably the most unique. It typically produces meaty, juicy, apple-shaped fruit with black seeds. The plants also have notably hairy leaves and withstand cooler temperatures than other pepper species. They don’t dry well and are typically eaten fresh or made into a paste.

  • Rocoto Longo
  • Canário
  • Mexican Manzanos
  • Peruvian Rocotos
  • Bolivian Locotos
  • Perón