Green Hubbard squash
After seeing the segment on the 17 kilo Jap pumpkin, Shirley Peters, from Bellbird in New South Wales, sent in a photo of her husband holding a 14 kilo Green Hubbard squash. If anyone has a Green Hubbard squash bigger than the one Shirley’s husband grew, we’d love to hear from you.
Green Hubbard is a variety of winter squash, which is picked when mature and keeps well in storage. It has dark, bronze-green warty fruit with golden yellow flesh.
Shepherd’s pie
LeTicia Vassallo emailed to say that her work colleague, Fiona, has never made shepherd’s pie before, but was encouraged to try Geoff Jansz’s recipe. It was a smashing success! LeTicia also sent in a photo of an ecstatically happy Fiona!
Oranges
Warren Little, of Hillston in NSW, sent in an astonishing photo. The picture shows what appears to be around 100 fully formed navel oranges growing together like a bunch of grapes. Don has never seen anything like it before, and if anyone can explain why a bunch like that forms please let us know.
Tree calculation
Adam Coleman, of Leura in NSW, emailed to say that he remembers seeing a segment on Burke’s Backyard in which Don calculated the height of a tree by the length of its shadow. Adam said that he’s forgotten the formula and asked if Don could run through it again.
To measure the height of a tree you’ll need a tape measure, stake, hammer and writing materials.
1. Hammer in a stake beside the tree while the sun is shining.
2. Measure the length of the shadow of the tree, from base to tip.
3. Measure the length of the shadow of the stake.
4. Measure the height of the stake.
5. Calculate the height of the tree by multiplying the length of its shadow by the height of the stake, then divide by the length of the stake’s shadow.
Formula
Length of tree’s shadow x Height of Stake
Length of stake’s shadow
Letter of the Week
This week’s winning email goes to Shirley Peters, on behalf of her husband who grew the gigantic squash. Congratulations Shirley, you win a year’s free subscription to the Burke’s Backyard Magazine.