Ask Mavis: Freezer Meals, Egg Bound Chicks, Butternut Squash Mildew Remedy and More

It’s that time again. You ask, and I pretend to know things and answer your burning questions. It really is so much fun to open my inbox and see the wide variety of questions you guys have. Reminds me that my readers are so diverse and pretty dang awesome. So keep those questions coming and I’ll keep racking my brain for answers. As always, please pipe up if you have any input or are knowledgeable when it comes to any of the following questions:

How do you split up the costs of the freezer meal extravaganza among your friends?

~Joyce

Good question. We divide up the recipe ingredients based on cost and what people already have on hand, but don’t nickle and dime. We just divide up the shopping list and everyone contributes. That’s what works best for us, but I’ve seen it done other ways. Like where one person does all of the shopping for every recipe and then just divides up the receipt between families. That might work, too, but we normally have a bunch of stuff on hand, so the way we do it seems to work best for us. You can find a full list of my freezer meal recipes HERE.

Hi. I saw on your Ask Mavis post this week that you have a reader looking for reusable rubber rings for use with Ball-type canning jars. I have been using and loving Tattler brand reusable canning lids. They seal great and can be used indefinitely. I highly recommend them. 

~Christine

Christine, you’re the best!! Thanks for sharing. I’m going to have to try those out.First year growing butternut squash… everything was great until my patio was power washed by the complexes people. I now have a white mildew on my leaves- not all, just some. My question is, will the mildew hurt what’s already grown? Next year we have to use pots but here’s another question. Just how deep are the roots and how big of a pot will I need to plant once again? I just want to be sure that this mildew doesn’t hurt what’s already grown. Cleaned the leaves and it just keeps coming back. Thanks for a nice site and giving me the opportunity to ask a question. Blessed day to you!

~Annette

Butternut squash is the bomb. I love growing it and eating it! As far as the mildew, I wrote a post all about How to Get Rid of White Powdery Mildew on Squash Leaves. If you are looking to plant in pots, each squash seedling will need to be planted approximately 3 feet apart, so unless you are using pots the size of half barrels you’ll need to plant only one plant per container. And then fertilize the heck out of them. Even if the soil you plant them in is nutrient rich, butternut squash have a tendency to soak up all the nutrients and need more before they are done with their growing cycle. I hope that helps.

Hi Mavis, I was wondering if you had a good green (unripe) tomato salsa recipe? I thought I had seen you post one in the past but I can’t seem to find it in the archives. My MIL lives in New England and has some tomatoes that probably won’t ripen at this point. Any suggestions would be appreciated! Thanks!!

~Rubi

I have a green tomato curry recipe that is AMAZING! But not a salsa recipe. I found this one in the NY times and I think I’m going to try it. I’ll report back if it’s amazing.

Hello Mavis, My Rhode Island Red is in trouble. She wasn’t herself a few days ago and today she’s down. I remember one of your girls was egg bound. Do you know how I can check for that and help her?

~Rosario

Sadly, we lost our Matilda because she was egg bound. There are a few things you can look for to see if that’s what’s going on with yours. A hen that is egg bound will sit on the floor or ground. Her feathers will be fluffed, and she’ll be drowsy and act sick. Sometimes you’ll actually see her strain as if trying to lay the egg. More often, you’ll notice her tail pumping up and down. Good luck with her!

I have to bring treats for my son’s soccer practice and I was wondering if you have any fun ideas?

~Amanda

These fun Candy Corn Rice Krispie Treats should do the trick. They are so yummy and festive. Perfect for this time of year. I bet his team will love them!

Have a question for me? Submit them HERE and I’ll try to answer them.
~Mavis