2025 winter and summer squash!

[Bigmike1116]

@Professor_Porcupine

Is this because moschata have hard stems?

yes, Moschata have a solid stem

@Professor_Porcupine

I’ve heard squash bugs mostly go after the most bitter squash plants (Those with bitter toxins you wouldn’t want to eat anyways, almost as if the squash bugs are your best friends), becaue the bitterness in squash is their chemical defence for predators. That’s what some plant breeders noticed.

I don’t know anything about that. Moschata grow on a much longer vine with grabbing tendrils so I can trellis them much more easily than a zucchini. For the summer squash, that I have grown for a few years now, I trellis them and remove the lower leaves so the squash bugs become more easy prey for birds and such. it seems to keep them in check.

@Professor_Porcupine

That being said, have you considered crossing squash species to improve flavor of the pest resistant moschata?

No. Frankly, I have 2 young kids, a full time job, a hobby orchard with ~50 fruit trees and bushes and the giant vegetable garden. I just don’t have the time to experiment with plant genetics. I buy seeds that sound promising and grow them.

@Professor_Porcupine

I’d imagine maxima & pepo could do wonders to improve flavor.

Teot Bat Put tastes better than any summer squash or Zucchini I’ve ever had. better tasting Pepo could be out there, but I’m very happy with Korean Aehobak types and I’m not going back.

Maybe the case could be made for winter varieties, but I’m only just starting down that road. Are Moschata Winter types not great tasting?