Organic Gardening: Growing Vegetable Spaghetti

Organic gardening tips will provide you with many new ideas for planting your spring fruit and vegetable seedlings. But, did you realize that growing your own spaghetti is fun and easy, provides a low-carb meal and is great for those who are dieting? As crazy as this sounds, there is a vegetable that we have grown every year that provides a healthy and very tasty bowl of spaghetti, without all of those carbohydrates.

It's the vegetable spaghetti.

This curious vegetable grows just like a pumpkin vine, in a sunny place with soil which is a little acidic. It will sprawl out along the ground and can also be grown along a trellis. The vegetable itself can grow to around 4 to 5 lbs, and will need to be supported with netting or old pantyhose to prevent the vine from splitting. There is also a smaller squash variety which is harvested in Autumn, although I find the spring summer variety to be much more resilient.

Growing vegetable spaghetti:

Plant them at the end of winter after the last frost. They may be planted sooner if protection from extremes is available, such as a heavy plastic hood for overnight. As usual I recommend a bed mostly of manure, horse manure is best. Your plants will grow vigorously and you will need to plant the seeds 2 per mound at 3 to 4 feet apart to allow them plenty of room. If you are in a more confined area when gardening, growing these on a trellis along the fence would be best. They can then be planted 2 feet apart and 1 seed per hole. Secure them to the trellis using some fabric so the vines are not constricted as they grow thicker and heavier.

Any vines like pumpkins, squash, watermelons and cucumbers can easily die from being over watered. As tempting as it may be when you see leaves beginning to wilt, do not water them until they are very heavily wilted, even in the heat of summer. Watering them in the evening is best too since the vegetables when wet, will attract sunburn spots and it is here they will become soft and begin to rot. Ideally, they only need about an inch of water each week to thrive.

When the spaghetti is ready to harvest, in only 90 days, it should be at least 3 lbs in weight and a creamy yellow color. When you tap on it, much like a watermelon, it will make a sound like it is hollow. If it doesn't seem to be ready, go back and check your seed variety since some varieties of them will need to turn orange before they are ripe.

Vegetable spaghetti can also be stored for some time by placing them in a cool dry airy place. They must have air circulating around them to prevent them from rotting.

Cooking vegetable spaghetti:

These are very simple to cook, and so versatile too. Just slice them in half horizontally and place into a steamer for the best result. They can also be heavily pricked, then boiled. Make sure to poke enough holes so it will not explode!

Once it has become soft, remove it and scrape out the long spaghetti like flesh. It really does look like pasta. Add a dollop of butter and cover with your favorite spaghetti sauce, or stir fry some with green peppers, diced onions and julienne carrots.

My personal favorite is vegetable spaghetti 'noodles' added to a can of clear or creamy chicken soup. Add a dash of course ground black pepper and some steamed chicken breast chunks for a complete dinner everyone loves.

As with the rest of your garden, you should always use manure and other natural products for fertilizer. An organic method is always preferable to grow your vegetables since some chemicals applied to the plants during the early to mid growth stages will either kill any bees present, or deter them from visiting. Without bees your plants will not produce anything edible. Companion planting is a great idea to control pests, so plant some small annuals throughout your vegetable garden to attract plenty of bees and deter those other insects and grubs which can destroy your garden altogether. Marigolds are always a great choice if you're unsure which plants to choose.

You may order vegetable spaghetti seeds for under $2.00 by visiting:

http://www.humeseeds.com/sqshvs.htm