we tasted some winter squash last night, futsu, banana, and kabocha. the futsu is nutty and flavorful, an excellent small squash with edible skin when roasted. the kabocha may not have been fully ripe enough, bland squash flavor. the pink banana squash was sweet and soft, very very good flesh consistency and flavor.
so summer squash underproduced this year but crookneck are my favorite. we have had grey zucchini (a bit bland), black zucchini (standard flavor) and a few white pattypan (best flavor of the bunch.)
my tromboncino are just now starting, those will be tiny babies when I eat them. the blue Hubbard are basically a trap crop, we have one (1!) squash on that vine.
how’s the squash been for everyone this year? is anyone growing anything extra good or new to them?
I’m really curious how good the lower salmon river squash will be. I think they are meant for more rainfall than we get and I didn’t water it very much
Having a great year with butternut and delicatas. I had an Acorn growing at my in-laws due to space constraint at my place the vole got the roots, got a few fruits of all sizes. Are you not curing your winter squash?
At my place I still have a 7 Cornell bush and 6x Johnny Seeds delicata at various stages. I also had planted honey boat and Cornell at my in-laws and I estimate 20-30 fruits yet to be harvested over there.
JS variety - very prolific but difficult to trellis up.
I may order some of those johnny seeds, I don’t trellis delicata so it wouldn’t be an issue, but I like prolific squashes. I use them in so many things
Here’s a Violina Rugosa on the left and an Autumn Frost on the right. I tried one of the Autumn Frost the other night and liked it a lot. Waiting on the 90 degree temps to subside before turning on the oven again to roast Violina Rugosa.
We grow mainly for daughters market garden/orchard. Our favorites by far are baby blue hubbard and Georgia candy roaster. We grow spaghetti(because they sell). This yr tried wintersweet and a Japanese kabocha, mpo, meh, and they’re not selling. While butternut makes an excellent soup they just don’t sell well for us. Last yr tried sunshine, just an orange kabocha that didn’t sell and really the soup wasn’t near as good as butternut.
Also tried Themla Sanders sweet potato squash this year, tried one, suspect it wasn’t ripe, just tasted like a spaghetti squash. Still holding hope they’ll improve.
Last yr also grew delecata, was Great when young, pretend it’s a zuchinni. As aged hide gets tough, mostly seed pocket and to us, nothing special. Thinking will grow again next yr just to sell young alongside yellow/green/pattypan zuchinni for something different on the table.
I find have to, “sell” winter squash. Tell people if anyone says they don’t like squash they haven’t tasted a baked Georgia candy roaster, and I firmly believe that. (also makes Excellent pies and tarts which sell well(tastes like a custard)).
With the hubbards I first grew them as I read somewhere that George Washington bred the blue hubbard. First one I baked and tasted first bite all of a sudden I was 5 yrs old again. I’m Certain my paternal grandmother grew them when I was a child. Still love it. They’re a traditional squash taste. For wife I mash it with butter and brown sugar; for me, straight on the plate.
It’s like rutebega, I figure my ancestors have eaten it for so long it’s almost genetic. Everyone walks in the door and says, “wow the turkey smells great”. Me, I smell the rutebega and drool. The hubbard is like that for me.
Lovely squashes! I am also a huge squash fan. I am glad you started this thread as I was looking for one a few days ago. We had a late start getting beds in, but I have a few varieties I’m hoping will finish (long pie, potimarron, and galeux d’eysines - all of the rest…maybe, maybe not). Black futsu I have, but didn’t plant this year - yours look great. I’m hoping to put in a massive patch next year. I have everything trellised up cattle panels this season.
@ECSask blue Hubbard are a favorite of mine as well and I don’t like spaghetti squash at all. have you tried a few different delicata? I’ve had the type thin as you say, no meat to them, and others that are much thicker flesh.
@Buckeye do let me know how the long pie are, I’ve seen seeds and held back. I cook the pattypans sliced and fried in too much butter, to brown, then a little cream and parmesan and cook it down to thickened sauce. they’re very good with cheese I find.
Light green Patty pan squash …
In a barbeque tool made for grilling fish, over the barbeque or broiler for just a few minutes. If you let the fruit get too big (!) then slice it in half sideways. No butter or anything else necessary for my tastes.
I slice and sautee yellow pattypans but also if making a potroast just chunk them up and toss them in with the root veg for a little different flavor/texture.
I believe these are the result of yellow crookneck x green pattypan. I don’t care for them as much, esp. since I’m not a fan of crookneck. Oh well, rack it up to squash snobbery.
This is my third year growing Butterscotch and I’m a big fan. The vines stay more compact than many butternut types, they’re pretty productive for the size of the vine and they are one of my favorites for taste among the butternut types I’ve grown. If there is a downside it is that they don’t keep very well, but I find that to be true of any of the smaller butternut types I’ve tried. That is why I have the Mrs. Amerson’s to have something that will keep longer. I also really like the little honeynut butternuts, but didn’t grow them this year.
The other butternut type that I’ve grown that was a standout from the “regular” butternut squashes, was Autumn Frost, which it looks like @SMC_zone6 is growing this year. It was a great-tasting squash and very productive, although the vines were pretty large and sprawling.
I only grow winter squash in the moschata family because they are able to take the intense squash vine borer pressure we have around here. I’d like to grow delicata, acorn, etc., but anytime I’ve tried the SVB kill the vines before the first squash matures.
