At first I didn’t believe the squash were real. It wasn’t until mid-June that I planted my “garden” (consisting of three plants: green bell pepper, cherry tomato, and yellow squash) in the sun showered corner at the front of our house after two days of reclaiming the flowerbeds from years of overgrown grass. And I admit, I was not hopeful. Still I faithfuly churned the clay-ridden earth and mix in nutrient rich soil, watered the plants religiously, and waited.  

By mid-August the pepper plant had been the most productive of the three, yielding a small, slightly bitter pepper. The squash plant continued its trend of producing beautiful orange and yellow flowers and nothing else and the tomato plant was growing bushier by the day without any sign of tomatoes budding.

Well, I thought, it was worth a try.

I continued to water the plants and occasionally inspected the tomato plant for any signs of fruit. I’ve never seen a tomato plant not deliver. And I was not to be disappointed. Just last Thursday a gleaming red ball caught my eye as I walked by the garden. By Friday I had picked enough tomatoes to warrant a salad; more ripened and another bowl was filled after Labor Day weekend. Heading into September with one pepper grown and an ever full bowl of cherry tomatoes I felt content.

You can imagine my surprise then when I saw the thin, elongated yellow shoots extending from the leaves of the squash plant. As I edged closer I saw not one but two small, crooked neck squash growing from the stalks. That was Monday. Today there are three!  I must confess a slight feeling of guilt, since I had written off the squash plant as a failed effort weeks ago. Perhaps I will weed today to make amends.

     So, does anyone have a good recipe involving yellow squash?