Winter Squash & Pumpkins

[flowerbug]

right, just treat the immature squash as a summer squash. if the seeds are already starting to develop and getting too hard to enjoy eating you can scoop those out and eat the rest.

 

[digitS']

I'm just a little punkin, short and round . Cinnamon Girl

There are quite a few in the garden and this is a typical one. It will be difficult for me to compare it with squash varieties because even the Kabocha and Buttercup are quite a bit bigger. This Cinnamon Girl is less than 3#.

The plants are small and only spread about 4 feet. I could have really crammed them together if I'd known that. Fairly productive. Of course, they would make an okay Halloween ornament but A. they are "pie pumpkins and B. they would be absolutely dwarfs beside the Rock Stars.

If they keep as well as the Rock Stars that I tried storing in the basement the last couple of years and have good flavor, I should be very happy. Ya know, with some summertime harvest and moving a lot of suitable choices into the basement in October, I should be able to enjoy suitable squash and pumpkins for 6 months out of the year!

Steve

 

[baymule]

Tuna fish soup! Eeeeewww! LOL

 

[flowerbug]

View attachment 37118
I'm just a little punkin, short and round . Cinnamon Girl

There are quite a few in the garden and this is a typical one. It will be difficult for me to compare it with squash varieties because even the Kabocha and Buttercup are quite a bit bigger. This Cinnamon Girl is less than 3#.

The plants are small and only spread about 4 feet. I could have really crammed them together if I'd known that. Fairly productive. Of course, they would make an okay Halloween ornament but A. they are "pie pumpkins and B. they would be absolutely dwarfs beside the Rock Stars.

If they keep as well as the Rock Stars that I tried storing in the basement the last couple of years and have good flavor, I should be very happy. Ya know, with some summertime harvest and moving a lot of suitable choices into the basement in October, I should be able to enjoy suitable squash and pumpkins for 6 months out of the year!

Steve

if they do turn out to be very edible and happy making i'm sure there will be a line for seeds. around here though the main issues are that they have to survive the soils and the borers.

 

[Cosmo spring garden]

I am dabbling in winter squash this year. I planted Blue Hubbard and what came up, died. I planted Giant Banana Squash and have 3 vines with a half dozen squash on them. No idea what they will taste like, guess I’ll find out.

View attachment 36808

I tried blue hubbard last year and I was not pleased with the flavor or its productivity. I love butternut. This bgg year I tried Cinderella, buttercup, and a cheese pumpkin but my fave is still butternut.

 

[Marie2020]

I've been provided with a beautiful little squash. I really enjoy it, I will cook and freeze a little. Can someone tell me how to keep the seeds please and the best weather conditions to plant them

 

[Marie2020]

View attachment 37118
I'm just a little punkin, short and round . Cinnamon Girl

There are quite a few in the garden and this is a typical one. It will be difficult for me to compare it with squash varieties because even the Kabocha and Buttercup are quite a bit bigger. This Cinnamon Girl is less than 3#.

The plants are small and only spread about 4 feet. I could have really crammed them together if I'd known that. Fairly productive. Of course, they would make an okay Halloween ornament but A. they are "pie pumpkins and B. they would be absolutely dwarfs beside the Rock Stars.

If they keep as well as the Rock Stars that I tried storing in the basement the last couple of years and have good flavor, I should be very happy. Ya know, with some summertime harvest and moving a lot of suitable choices into the basement in October, I should be able to enjoy suitable squash and pumpkins for 6 months out of the year!

Steve

We have the same I adore these

 

[Marie2020]

I'm fairly confident that it will be delicious - La Madera was. There was very little flesh to that original variety, which was kinda disappointing - lots of empty space in the interior.

I'm not 100% pleased that DW decided to bring this one home because it's likely just developing that winter squash flavor and that probably also means that the seed isn't mature. There are more that look like this even if, genetically, we would not know what fruit the next generation would have.

It was 6 years ago when I had the actual La Madera. Besides the Sweet Meat, there were my usual Buttercup and Cha Cha Kabocha. The 4 are all C. maxima and you will see the size of the "buttercup type" compared to the parent. I'll post a picture in a few weeks.

These things are really mixed up genetically. I missed a couple of seasons so I think that this is an f3. Whatever the case, I have made zero attempts in selecting for desired characteristics. And, they are only isolated by a couple hundred feet from this year's buttercup and kabocha. Honestly, I have looked back every year to see if Native Seed Search has La Madera available again.

Steve

In my humble opinion your dw had excellent taste and a good eye for delishesness

 

[Ridgerunner]

Can someone tell me how to keep the seeds please and the best weather conditions to plant them

The way I save squash, cucumber, or melon seeds, when I cut them open I spread the seeds on newspaper or paper towels to dry in a dry area. I use an outbuilding, a shed. Just someplace out of the sun and dry. Vermin like mice can eat them but it's hardly ever a problem for me. You can dry them in your house too but there might be a smell. It's best if the squash is really ripe but yours looks OK to save seeds from.

I plant them where I want them to grow after the danger of frost has passed. They do not handle cold weather well and freezing will kill them. Not sure the best way to approach it in your climate. I'd think you could wait until the danger of frost has passed and direct seed them.

The risk with saving squash seeds is that they are easily pollinated by other squash. Squash has what are called imperfect flowers. That means each flower is either a male or a female. The female has to be pollinated by a male flower to bear fruit. Bees, flies, and such handle that. If the only squash grown in the area is that variety they will breed true but bees can carry squash pollen from a long way away.

It's pretty risky saving squash seeds. I've done that, saved Delicata squash seeds one year. When I planted them the next year none of them looked like Delicata. Some were pretty good, some not so much. I'm sure I had some crosses from Acorn Squash and another cross from straight necked summer squash, they are all in the same family. It was fun growing them and interesting to see what I got.

 

[Zeedman]

I am dabbling in winter squash this year. I planted Blue Hubbard and what came up, died. I planted Giant Banana Squash and have 3 vines with a half dozen squash on them. No idea what they will taste like, guess I’ll find out.

View attachment 36808

I dunno, one of those squashes looks a little leathery. Banana squash is good if fully mature, and really easy to cut up & clean. Too bad about the hubbards.

Sadly, so real winter squash for me this year. The Australian Blue I planted was so severely stunted by weed pressure this year that I gave up on it. I do have 6 mature Tromboncino squash though, so after harvesting the seeds, I'll try to use them. I've tried eating the mature Tromboncino before, and found them to be rather bland; but it would be a shame to throw away all that solid flesh. I like the squash soup idea, that might be a more palatable use for them. No tuna in mine though.