Who grows winter squash?

[buckabucka]

I love winter squash! My current favorites: Uncle David's Dakota Dessert, Sibley Banana, Sweet Mama, Sunshine, and Sweet Dumpling.

I do start my squash indoors about 4 weeks before setting it out. I've always had success with Sweet Mama and Sunshine, but started adding other varieties when we got hoop houses.

One house holds squash, melon, and corn, the other has eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, and sweet potato.

 

[Carol Dee]

No vine borers here and I'm knocking on wood that they don't show up!

Rumbo, Butternut, and Hal's recommendations for Thistle' (Kikuza, Futsu and Yokohama) are Cucurbita moschata. Carol Dee, this species is supposed to be resistant to the vine borers.

I only know what I've read and here is Cat's experience with Rumbo (link).

Steve

Thanks

 

[thistlebloom]

I love winter squash! My current favorites: Uncle David's Dakota Dessert, Sibley Banana, Sweet Mama, Sunshine, and Sweet Dumpling.

I do start my squash indoors about 4 weeks before setting it out. I've always had success with Sweet Mama and Sunshine, but started adding other varieties when we got hoop houses.

One house holds squash, melon, and corn, the other has eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, and sweet potato.

I love those names! You're gonna have to do a thread with pictures on your hoop houses Bucka. I am seriously interested.

 

[ninnymary]

I agree with Thistle. I want to see everyone's greenhouses or hoop houses.

Mary

 

[digitS']

You have this from April, Mary.

(Link Showing Off Our Greenhouses)

Steve

 

[buckabucka]

It would be fun to do a hoop house thread! Be forewarned: our garden is not always pretty. Large areas of black plastic, and where there is no plastic, tall weeds. But it throws off a ton of food! Lots of eggplant went to waste last year.
Here's an overhead photo from a couple years ago. Right now, there is nothing to show by snow and ice.

The chickens live in the hoop coop on the right. All these things get pulled around by DH's tractor, but he has been known to move the garden hoop houses "by hand".

 

[buckabucka]

Oh, Steve and I posted at the same time. I can put future photos on the other thread!

 

[digitS']

Forest all around you there in Fairfield?

You know, I was thinking about those Deer Park gardeners I was saying have Red Kuri. They grow cucumbers in hoophouses. They may well grow their squash in there also.

Is there any problems with doing that? My zucchini can certainly have big trouble with powdery mildew outdoors some years.

Steve
edited to say: We need an "early" eggplant thread!

 

[ninnymary]

OK, maybe I shouldn't have asked for pictures. Now, I'm jealous of all your space. It's hugh! You could grow tons of corn, watermelons, cantelopes, berries, fruit trees, etc. etc. etc.

Oh, I wish I had just a tiny bit more space.

Mary

 

[buckabucka]

We're not entirely surrounded by forest here, -the road is just behind the pine trees on the left, but yes, it is rural.

And Mary, we can only sort-of grow all those things. I can't grow melon unless it is inside the hoop house. We did try a patch of flint corn over where the chickens had been, but it was too close to the woods and the raccoons ate every single ear.

DH is slowly moving into the field. He planted 250 asparagus plants up there (not sure what he plans to do with that much asparagus!), and I moved some high bush blueberry plants up there, since they were always overrun with weeds where I had them.

Cucumbers grow well in the hoop house. We especially like growing tomatoes in there, because it holds off blight a lot longer. You still get blight, but by then you've had enough tomatoes.