sorry not good at posting pics. this is from 1 vine that i literally have been cutting back for over a month. i counted 35 and more coming. 24 that i can see of the big ones are all about 26in. and guessing 20lbs. you can see that it’s taking over the fences of the dog’s pen. i haven’t fertilized it since mid-July. there are 3 watermelon vines in there that it wants to swallow. the greenhouse frame is 10’ x 20’. if i didn’t cut it back it would have taken over the better part of my acre. i read watermelons liked rich soil so i amended heavily the 4 x 12ft. bed. reading the reviews on rareseeds.com the most mentioned on 1 vine were 4-5 squash. for a southern squash, it sure loves n. Maine. note to self. grow this thing way away from any other plants. it’s a beast! will post to rareseeds.com as well. and we still got near 2 months of growing season. its setting a new squash every 4th day right now and not showing signs of slowing down anytime soon.
Great looking vines there!
thanks. i didn’t do anything other than add a little jacks 20-20-20 every 3 weeks. i didn’t even water it and it still grew like mad through our dry spring. planted seed in ground mid may. don’t even know when to pick these things. stems still very green.
The stems and end tip are still green at picking. 3 months and a week and they were ready here.
i planted mid may so i guess i need to pick them then.
It sounds crazy, but when we roast them here they roast them in butter. Then near the end they pull them out and drizzle Light Karo syrup on them. Put them back in the oven to caramelize them. Dear lord the are a insanely sweet and delicious treat.
that’s how i intend to mostly eat them. like a fruit and in pies and muffins.
we roast with salt, pepper, butter, then broil a few minutes with brown sugar on top (with some pico fruta or cinnamon in it) they’re incredible.
I got one growing way up on a cattle pen about 6 feet off the ground somehow. no idea how I’ll hold it up there.
I pick when they’re at full color and hard. they store really well if they’re solid shelled when you pick em
Does it send out new roots from its vines as it grows?
yes . every few feet.
i have 4 hanging off the top of my dog’s fence. ones about 15lbs and its holding up there with no support right now.
Oh yes. They run and grasp on anything handy. We see them climb the grape vines next to the garden spot.
dup
Search for, “old fashioned georgia candy roaster pie”. Simple recipe, Wonderful pie. Has replaced pumpkin pie at our Thanksgiving.
Incredibly prolific, I describe it as, “anyone who claims they don’t like wintersquash has never had Gerogia Candy Roaster baked”.
Only other squash we grow anymore is the baby blue hubbard. Have tried numerous varieties, in our opinion, those 2 are the clear winners.
I am growing these for the first time this year (in Maine too!) and like the vigorous productive vines. We picked one a week ago just for fun to display and will eat it in the next little bit, maybe not quite fully ripened but I’m sure it will be good anyway. I guess it is in the Hubbard family?
i grew the early ripening butternut from rareseeds.com. last summer. they were very tasty but not very productive. partially my fault as i put them in my tree rows with little fertilization. still got 4 12in. squash on a 8ft, vine. were great roasted and in squash soup.
i over amended my 4-12’ raised bed for my crimson sweet watermelon and turned a beast of a squash vine into a monster. imagine if i had planted it last summer with all that heat and humidity, it would have been even worse. currently 61 right now and the cold nights with cool days are finally slowing it down some. may harvest mid week once it warms up some again so i can cure them. ill post harvest pics.
from what i read and what others posted on here, its best to let them set for at least a few months to sweeten before eating them. i may eat 1 after a month then give some to family and friends and use to cook for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Here is SE WI I have received North Georgia candy roaster each October from a friend who grew them. Mighty good! Sadly he is now longer growing fields of squash to sell wholesale. He would give me the ones that were too marred or deformed to sell so they were free. Some so big I would cut them in half and share with others.
Not sure how well they keep as I normally cooked and froze them for later use.
Held them until thanksgiving but not sure how much longer they store.