The last of that harvest became a couple jars of refrigerator pickles, which are amazing! I'm about to break into the final jar which has me a little sad — to think they'll soon be gone. If your curious this is the recipe I followed.
I hadn't really thought about the bits left behind after I cut back the vines, other than to notice the store bought plant had continued to grow.
Even the dark of the garage.
Then Megan, of Far Out Flora, mentioned on Instagram that I should save the tubers for next year. What!? Tubers? I had no idea...
And then very day I'd decided to dig and see if there even were any tubers Niki Jabbour mentioned on Facebook that she'd be overwintering them — and she's since written a detailed post on the subject here.
My tubers certainly aren't as big as hers, and I'm not even sure I potted them up "correctly."
But I figure it's worth a try. Either way I'll definitely be growing these again next year, and you should too!
Weather Diary, Nov 2: Hi 55, Low 44/ Precip .08"
All material © 2009-2017 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.
I love the name mouse melon, that the blogger in the recipe link calls them! I'm not a big fan of dill (dill and cilantro, both yucky). But I do have another pickle recipe I like, so I might try them next year. I hope they overwinter for you.
ReplyDeleteOh Alison, dill and cilantro are two of my favorite herbs! I can’t imagine not liking them. I do hope you give the mouse melons a try!
DeleteI tried growing them from seed one year, and was disappointed with the results. I'd love to try them again. Maybe I will, and I'll start the seeds earlier. Those pickles look tasty!
ReplyDeleteThey’re amazing. I so wish I had more.
DeleteNothing better than homemade pickles. These are new to me. I should check out my farmers market and see if anyone made these pickles and next spring maybe look for plants.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, do look for the plants. I think I ate a handful daily, all summer long.
DeleteCute little Gherkins & how fun that they make tubers to save for next year!
ReplyDeleteHopefully with success!
DeleteIntriguing. Do they taste like regular dill pickles? What is the texture?
ReplyDeleteMuch more crunchy, and very zippy since I used a lot of garlic.
DeleteI've never had them but I love pickles. Will look for them next year.
ReplyDeleteYum! Good luck.
DeleteThey're cute! They look like mini-watermelons. I bet they'd even work in a IAVOM arrangement ;)
ReplyDeleteGreat minds, I did use them in an IAVOM arrangement.
DeleteI see a lot of folks are going to try the mouse melons next year (me too). I read the recipe, which is easy enough, but there was no mention of sterilizing the jars first. A friend I once helped with pickling was adamant about sterilizing, which isn't much fun... what did you do?
ReplyDeleteI did not sterilize the jars, I guess because I thought that was only important when you are actually canning, making "real" pickles as opposed to refrigerator pickles.
DeleteThis is very interesting, I have no idea they had tubers! When winterizing my planters this year I decided to try saving two geraniums I grow for their foliage and a tuber of sweet potato vine. The geranium I am keeping as bare roots in a paper bag along with the tuber. I plan on wetting them once a month... experimenting!
ReplyDeleteGood luck, experimenting is always a good thing. Sometimes you learn new tricks!
DeleteCute little plant, and crunchy pickles loaded with garlic sounds yum!
ReplyDeleteYum indeed.
DeleteI see Mouse melon pickles in my future !
ReplyDeleteEnjoy!
DeleteLooks like a fun food.
ReplyDelete