We grew these pumpkins for the first time this year. They are an heirloom variety discovered in a swamp in Georgia by farmers we know. If you’ve had a Seminole Pumpkin before, this cushaw squash is very similar. What’s so fun about this variety is the diversity of shapes and sizes they come in – come check them out on display this weekend. They are beautiful and unique enough to display for October, and then enjoy in a meal later! They have a hollow middle with flesh and seeds to scoop out, like a jack-o-lantern, but delicious deep orange flesh like a butternut squash or pie pumpkin. Think: roasted, soups, pies.
White Galangal (Thai Ginger):
White galangal (Thai ginger) is a fragrant root in the ginger family. The flavor is citrusy, piney, and relatively mild for this family of plants. The prized quality of galangal is its aromatic depth that’s essential in Southeast Asian cooking. It is an important ingredient in Thai soups, curries, and stir-fries. We’ve also tried it as a tea. We’re bringing it bunched with its greens which can also be used for tea. Delicious! We’ve actually been growing this crop for 10 years…. never commercially, and have never sold it. Funny story – we bought 5 lbs of galangal rhizomes to trial as a crop over 10 years ago. We planted the rhizomes into a crate of soil to sprout them. Then, we got too busy since our farm was in its younger years. The crate of galangal grew prolifically, but we couldn’t find the time to do anything with it, so we tossed it out of the greenhouse, where it grew in a little clump for a few years outside the greenhouse. After a few years the clump had grown so tall (think 8 foot tall foliage), that we needed to move it. We dug it out with a tractor (the roots of this plant are the plant equivalent of steel cable), and tossed the clump off to the side of a field. It continued to grow there for the better half of a decade. In the spring of this year, we were ready to tackle the galangal, after all this time, which had continued to grow and multiply. We dug out the now sprawling clumps with a tractor again, divided the roots now hundreds of pounds of rhizomes into 600 pieces to plant, and we planted a row of them into the field. Now, in the fall, we’re ready to begin harvesting young galangal, for the first time… 10 years later! Supply will be limited this year. Come give it a try while we have it.
