Kitchen Garden Forum

Antiher curiosity spotted in the Wisley Vegetable garden today which I couldn't discover the name of. It seems to be some kind of summer squash perhaps. There were several of them, real thugs, scrambling up and over archways. The fruits were about 18 inches long and bulbous at the end. I may even seen the odd photo of one in Kitxhen Garden but can,t remember what they called.

Has anybody tried growing them? And if so, are they worth the trouble in terms of texture and flavour?

I think it's an Italian variety, one of my friends grew some earlier this year.
She got ribbed as to why she was supplying Ann Summers.....

Possibly https://www.sarahraven.com/veg_fruit/se ... oncino.htm

Thank you Geoff. Yes, I think this is probably it although I've never seen any packets for seed on sale and wonder if anybody on here has grown it? i read one of the reviews and am a little cautious about a variety which apparently can double up as both a summer and winter squash as the flesh texture of these varieties are normally rather different, but again, would be interested to hear from anybody who has actually grown them.

I know there are a few people on here who like to try growing something a little different every year by way of an experiment so maybe somebody will have tried it although perhaps it might normallynorefer a slightly warmer climate than the UK , i.e. Italy or Spain, judging by the variety name.

Not grown by me, I took the picture at BBC Gardeners World Live in 2014 because I had a feeling that eventually Primrose would ask.

peter wrote:I think it's an Italian variety, one of my friends grew some earlier this year.
She got ribbed as to why she was supplying Ann Summers.....

You sure !!!!!! I'm saying nothing !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The answer as to where you can get seeds is in the picture




Robinson's of Preston

Apparently they grow fairly easily but I've never seen one cut or read any report on the taste. But it is a squash & will take up the flavours of other things & I expect the seed is in the bulbous bit so you'd have quite a lot to use up - best check freezing quality as well!

Certainly worth growing one plant as a novelty if you have space. With a name like that I suspect it was discovered by an Italian gardener who wore his trousers a little on the tight side. I suspect one of these would take a family a week to eat their way through! Has anybody ever seen them for sale in supermarkets? I suspect they're probably one of those vegetables which only get eaten if you grow them yourself.

Incidentally I have celeriac envy! All the plants growing at Wisley already had bulbs the size of tennis balls and it seemed that many of the side leaves had been stripped off. Also the earth had been scraped away from from the top third of the rootballs. I wonder if that improves the rate of growth? Perhaps the rootball likes exposure to sunlight and warmth?

Every year I say no to celeriac, every year I try again! I either get miserable little specimens or larger ones that turn out hollow. I strip the side leaves regularly from when they first bulb - read to do that somewhere? Not sure though as if they weren't meant to be there surely the plant would just loose them naturally? The rootball just pushes up the bulbs anyway so don't know if that is the answer but thanks Primrose, I will scrape some soil off & expose them more; after all they have a pretty impressive root growth to support them!

I have the same problem with celeriac Westi. Because of space limitations I,m growing mine in two rows close together which isnt ideal. The Wisley plants were widely spaced with the chance of plenty of sunlight getting in between the plants which is obviously better. I don,t think I'll bother again with it after this year though.

Nah Primrose!

Let's try to win this battle just for us! Mine are pretty close together as well, they have got some sun as chopped the tarragon in the herb bed right in front of them. They look OK currently & are bulbing but not over confident based on past experience! I've mastered cauliflowers, not going to be beaten by an ugly veg!