What varieties of squash are you growing this year?

[Tormato]

Originally Posted by greenthumbomaha

Tetsukabuto (F1) Hubbard Squash

Tormato gave notice in the MMMM this variety is a very large plant. Indeed it is. It has left the squash bed, growing through the tomatoes,expanding into the lawn, and is now covering the porcelain garlic. I need to harvest this garlic now, before the squash is mature.

How can I move several vines growing in one direction, some with small (about a golf ball) fruit? It is growing on black plastic but attaching to the garlic and all sorts of random weeds breaking thru the fabric. Last resort is to prune, but would that kill the entire plant?

- Lisa

Back to this post. I forgot to mention one VERY important thing about vining squash. They can send down roots at the leaf nodes (if the vine is touching the ground at those nodes). So, moving vines might be almost impossible at times.

[greenthumbomaha]

Originally Posted by Tormato

Back to this post. I forgot to mention one VERY important thing about vining squash. They can send down roots at the leaf nodes (if the vine is touching the ground at those nodes). So, moving vines might be almost impossible at times.

Hmmm, we shall see how that worked. For the most part the vines are growing on black Dewitt woven fabric, but I noticed they were rooting in the 4 inch square holes cut for the garlic in the outer reaches of the vine.

I found a few clusters of squash bug eggs and one entire vine turned yellow overnight so this is not as pest resistant as I had hoped.

My primary pollinator was Early Butternut Squash. The seeds were re-branded for a local garden center named Earl May. They were supposed to be bush with a moderate spread, but they vined like crazy. I also grew a single Hood River plant from old seed, but it was a weakling and I'm not sure if it producing. I haven't noticed any unusual characteristics in the immature squash resulting from the overcrowding. Aristocrat F1 and Gold Rush fill out the bed. A hybrid cantaloupe whose name escapes me know is off to the side.

I taste tested two steamed and buttered yellow squash varieties tonight; Yellow Crookneck and Gold Rush F1. The crookneck was full of seeds that needed scooping out and I vowed never to grow it again. The hybrid had few seeds in comparison which I deemed edible. I have only 2 crookneck while the hybrid is producing 20 fruit.
Flavor wise, the crookneck won hands down. Flavorful and sweet, a real treat for the first of the season.

.

[AlittleSalt]

In the containers I'm going to try two varieties this fall. Dark Green Zucchini and Early Yellow Straightneck. I haven't had any luck in the past, but soil problems will cause that along with squash bugs. In the containers, yeah maybe? I hope so as I look beside the keyboard to see the seed packs.

[greenthumbomaha]

Thank you, Whwoz. I usually grow bush squash, or winter squash not quite as sprawling. I too get a useless rush of late setting fruit on melons in the summer heat, but sadly squash bugs generally take care of that situation for me. I once saw a video, peas perhaps, if the tendril didn't find something to attach to it would wither and die, and not grow the vine properly. I am all set to go but the heat may limit what I can get done this weekend.


- Lisa

[Tormato]

Originally Posted by greenthumbomaha

Thank you, Whwoz. I usually grow bush squash, or winter squash not quite as sprawling. I too get a useless rush of late setting fruit on melons in the summer heat, but sadly squash bugs generally take care of that situation for me. I once saw a video, peas perhaps, if the tendril didn't find something to attach to it would wither and die, and not grow the vine properly. I am all set to go but the heat may limit what I can get done this weekend.


- Lisa

Squash vines are somewhat delicate. If the current growth is not a problem, but later growth will be, you can train the new growth to where you want it to grow.



Move the tips of the vines to the direction you want them growing, and put a stick in the ground next to the vine to keep them growing in that direction. Keep moving the stick as the vine grows.

[Tormato]

It got too late in the season and I ran out of room for planting vining squash. So, I'm taking a shot at trialing F2 seed of Astia (a hybrid zucchini). I'd be hoping for something compact and early, but at this point I'm really hoping for anything.

[rxkeith]

here is what i have growing
yellow crook neck from saved seeds. this one gets warty when big. we'll see if it is true to type.
gray hubbard. i grew this one a couple years ago. huge plant.
blue kuri
thelma sanders sweet potato
a small round winter squash i got from a guy here that runs a csa. i forget the name of it. he got his seeds from baker creek. supposed to be prolific. flesh is yellow dry, and sweet. good flavor. they are a single serve size.
canada long neck. looks like a butter nut only has a really long neck. might be an ancestor of butternut.
scar chucks supreme
golden scallop
ingot
golden zucchini.
fordhook zucchini
black beauty zucchini
my striato d italia died shortly after transplanting so was related by the last two zucchini.



keith

[GoDawgs]

This year I grew:

Early Prolific Straightneck
Green Vegetable Marrow (old timey zuke type)
Patty Pan Blend (just grew one plant so don't know what all kinds were in the pack)
Small Wonder spaghetti squash (smaller than the standard sized fruits)
Butterbush (winter type)
Sweet Mama (winter kabocha type)
Small Sugar pumpkin

I'm thinking about not doing any of the winter types next year except the spaghetti squash, as they take up a lot of room for the few squashes they produce. The spaghetti squash is the exception as it's very prolific for me. Might keep the pumpkin too. I think it's just too hot here for the others.

Pulled all of the spaghettis, pumpkins and butterbushes this past week:

[Tormato]

Originally Posted by rxkeith

here is what i have growing
yellow crook neck from saved seeds. this one gets warty when big. we'll see if it is true to type.
gray hubbard. i grew this one a couple years ago. huge plant.
blue kuri
thelma sanders sweet potato
a small round winter squash i got from a guy here that runs a csa. i forget the name of it. he got his seeds from baker creek. supposed to be prolific. flesh is yellow dry, and sweet. good flavor. they are a single serve size.
canada long neck. looks like a butter nut only has a really long neck. might be an ancestor of butternut.
scar chucks supreme
golden scallop
ingot
golden zucchini.
fordhook zucchini
black beauty zucchini
my striato d italia died shortly after transplanting so was related by the last two zucchini.



keith

Kieth,



I'd like to hear and end of season report on the Scarchucks Supreme.

[JRinPA]

I put out regular old waltham's butternut when I pulled the peas. I ran okra starts on one side of the double row and butternut starts on the other. I'm going to try to train these out in an orderly fashion, this year. Think I'll use sod staples to lock down the main vines at right angle to the row. Yep, that's the plan. I'm sure they'll stay civilized in their growth.

I like eating butternut around February when it starts to take on that beautiful nutty flavor.

[kath]

Trying to reduce the size of the garden, so I was going to eliminate zucchini this year...at the last minute I bought Dark Star in the store- which is an example of why I've made so little progress simplifying and shrinking the garden. It's survived what I thought was a deadly borer attack in late June and is producing a nice number of fruits. Kind of a viney type and tends to produce fruits that grow into the ground, so if I decide to grow zucchini again next season, I'll go back to Raven or Midnight Lightning because I really don't want to try to grow zucchini vertically. As soon as the squash bugs arrive and get out of control, it'll be pulled assuming it's still alive then.

Also in the name of space saving, I'm trialing butternut squash varieties to determine which one, if any, is reasonably easy to trellis: Burpee Butterbush from Fedco, Burpee Butterbush from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, JWS 6823 and Metro F1. No clear winner so far.

[hl2601]

I am growing Black Beauty, Zephyr-a hybrid which is half green and half yellow from Fedco, Costata Romanesco, Alexandria Lebanese squash, yellow crookneck and finally Rugosa Friulana from seeds graciously sent to me from JtjMartin. Really looking forward to trying those. Lots of vines everywhere! We love summer squash and a gratin is so pretty with so many colors.

[JRinPA]

kath, when was last minute to you? Apparently, I am terrible at growing zucchini. I think that first year with butternut here brought in so many squash bugs to the yard that our summer squash gets destroyed as soon as it starts producing. This year I didn't plant any back there...but now a few went in pots out front.

[kath]

Originally Posted by JRinPA

kath, when was last minute to you? Apparently, I am terrible at growing zucchini. I think that first year with butternut here brought in so many squash bugs to the yard that our summer squash gets destroyed as soon as it starts producing. This year I didn't plant any back there...but now a few went in pots out front.

Last minute for me meant months after all my seed orders arrived in the mail, but it was still in time to start seeds in peat pots 5/1 and set them out 5/15. If I direct sow them, the cucumber beetles sometimes damage the sprouts/seedlings beyond saving. Usually the squash vine borers kill the plants in late June/early July, but sometimes they survive quite a while. I've also grown them in succession about 3 weeks apart and that usually gives me a longer window because they don't all die at once, but it takes up more room than I like. The squash bugs make a mess out of things but aren't usually fatal- I really dislike dealing with them though because it's gross as well as time consuming to patrol every day and squish them and try to remove the eggs from all those leaves in the worst heat of summer. Saw the first eggs yesterday on some butternut leaves but haven't found any adults. Made the mistake of planting melon and watermelon too close to the trellised cucumbers and butternut squash and now I only have access to one side of the trellis, so I'm at their mercy this year, I guess. Depending on how bad it gets, next year I may buy butternuts.

Hope they don't find your squash!

[Tracydr]

Here’s my short list. Finally got some trellising up and a new place ready for squash. Deciding between these this week,I know it’s late but I may be able to get in just under the wire ,especially if we have a late first frost:
Testukbuto ( needs a maxima or moschata pollinator)
Kabocha
Cushaw or Seminole ( which is sweeter and/or shorter season?)
Trombocino
Butta
Romanesco zuchinni or maybe a hybrid bush zucchini
Maybe will also do Speckled Hound squash.
Might swap out trombocino for something else, not sure what. Maybe spaghetti squash or Georgia Candy Roaster. Or, just grow both cushaw and Seminole.
I haven’t had any success with squash in North Carolina but haven’t tried the c.mixta,c.moschatas or hybrid species yet. I sort of quit trying after a couple of total failures when we first moved here. I did pretty well with squash in Arizona which makes it even harder to accept the failures here,especially since other things grow so easily here,if I get past all the bugs.