Squashes recommendations

[Allan]

I have been growing a few types of squashes which do very well on my sunny south-facing hillside.I have been selecting from the catalogues in which there is far from any universal agreement. The time has come to have a big sortout and enlarge the number of types to best advantage particularly for sales to the local sales outlets. Is there a recommended 'bible' and what types would you recommend particularly for appeal to cooks.
I have explored the internet, Wikipedia is generally helpful in setting the scene.
I have Bob Flowerdew's 'Complete' book, quite helpful within limits
Types growing now are
Vegetable spaghetti very popular
Hasta la pasta, not quite spaghetti-like but useful
Turk's Turban
Small Sugar, sells well at halloween and through the winter
Butternut sprinter, popular but still late to fruit
Green buttons, these come out white!
Marrow long green trailing which this year have all grown as bush ones!
Allan

[sprout]

As well as site and soil, preferred tastes and cooking preferences will come into play - my 'narrowed down' list is:

Blue Hubbard (Hubbard group)
Crown Prince (Australian Blue group)
Marina di Chioggia
Honey Boat Delicata
Sibley (Pike's Peak)
Buttercup

These are all delicious, grow well in my soil, and store well over winter

[sally wright]

Dear Allan,
sweet dumpling is one of my favourites and is both tasty and good looking. Another advantage is that it is small and is convenient for single people to cook. It is microwavable if pierced (if not then the words from the Italian Job are forcibly brought to mind - you're not supposed to blow the bl**dy doors off) but I find it best halved and roasted with butter and pepper with parmesan sprinkled over the top.
My best friend likes the baby pumpkins munchkin and jack-be-little because no-one else in her family like them it means she can have her pumpkin and eat it.
Regards Sally Wright.

[ken]

Hi Allan
We continue to search for the ideal squash, as we do for the ideal tomato. The criteria are flavour, right size for a household of two, and, ideally, prolific.
This year we're growing two varieties. Hubbard's Buttercup from the Real Seed Company appears to be pretty good - it's the green Kaboucha type, and has lived up to its promise of being very early. We've cut 5 fruit already from two plants. The flavour is good, too. Unfortunately, it looked like being very prolific, but later aborted many of its smaller fruit. I suspect this may be because I was watering the plants regularly, but perhaps not giving them enough.
The other variety we're growing is one of our old favourites, Uchiki Kuri. This is very well flavoured. We haven't had any ripe fruit yet, but the plants appear to have set a lot, and some of the squashes are now full-sized.

[John]

Hello Allan
I agree with Ken about Uchiki Kuri. I always grow one or two plants and it's fruits are hard to beat on colour, taste and texture. I reckon its the one that all the others should be judged against. This year I've also got Blue Hubbard and Buttercup, for the first time, and a Butternut all doing very well.
How do others grow their squashes.
I find them very difficult to fit into a rotation with other veg. mainly because they take up so much room and roam everywhere. I'm thinking of setting aside a large patch just for growing squashes on each year.

John

[vivie veg]

My friend who growns pumpkins for the seed houses recommended Uchiki Kuri as suitable for UK climate and good eating, so I have grown this and Racer this year. I also grew Marrows, Table Dainty and Green Bush and Butternut squash from seed from a fruit bought from Aldi. Unfortunately slugs got a lot of the plants, not helped by the dry weather. However of those that have survived I am getting round marrows and some pumpkins are developing. Unfortunately the crows have been attacking the labels and I don't know what is planted were....I really must draw a map. I was very late getting the butternuts in as I was reluctant to abandon them to the hot dry summer, atleast I could copiously water them in the polytunnel, they went out two weeks ago, so may not come to much, but a few had fruit forming as I put them out.

Space is not a problem for me and I space everything about 3 metres apart, whether they are bush or vines. As they are on a slope I try and build up the soil below the plant to trap more water, esp if I use the hose to water them. Ideally I would use a good bucket full of composed mixed into each growing hole, but I have not yet built up a supply at the field so resorted to dried grass cuttings and peat. About 100 g of fertiliser (14-14-21) went in as well.

[Garlic_Guy]

I've grown Turks Turban for the first time this year. It's certainly produced some colourful, unusual-shaped fruit. However I've heard some people (Chantal?) mention it's taste wasn't as good as most other squash.

Any views on Turk's Turban (I reckon mine still have a few more weeks before I can harvest them & try)? Here's what one looked at the end of July:


Oh yes, to answer Allan's question:
- Sweet Dumpling (Nice Italian Job quote above!)
- Butternut (from Organic Catalogue)
- I'm also trying Uchiki Kuri for the first time

[Chantal]

Not me Colin. I have some and no idea what to do with them...

[peter]

Colin, could have been me, I grew them the other year and was distinctly underwhelmed by the texture and taste. Plastic marrow I thought.

[peter]

Getting back to the original question.

Allan I would recommend Crown Prince.
The Asian/West African/West Indian punters where I work buy it in quantity from the shops and stalls. It keeps well, I usually find I have one or two left when I harvest the next years crop.
Only downside is the quantitiy of seeds per pack and even Tuckers charge rather more for this variety than others.

Second Butternut of any type.

Hope that helps.

[Garlic_Guy]

Only downside is the quantitiy of seeds per pack and even Tuckers charge rather more for this variety than others.

Hi Peter, I will give Crown Prince a go next year.

As for your comment, I guess suppliers experience different difficulty in acquiring viable seed from different plants. However I had a similar experience with the Organic Catalogue (who are mostly very good) when buying sweet peppers. One (Ace?) came with just 4 seeds in a packet that cost a couple of quid. Even 15-20 might have been acceptable, but 4?!!

[vivie veg]

Just checking the Market growers catalogues, Edwin Tuckers have squash seed from £2.50 per 10g (70+ seed) upto £9 per 100 for Crown Prince F1 and £9 per 50g (300+) for Uchiki Kuri.

Is anyone interested in sharing the costs if I buy 5 or 6 different types? Please PM if you are interested.

[Wellie]

Hi All...

I've only grown SWEET DUMPLING, BUTTERNUT and TURKS TURBAN so far, and I've been hugely impressed with all of them for their own individual tastes and textures, depending on what you want them for and how you're intending on using them in your cooking.
If you choose the right squash for the right recipe, quite frankly, you're onto a winner.... get it wrong, and you've wasted a perfectly good squash as well as your time !

Hi Glos. John me ol' butt....
Ever since I got interested in growing vegetables (3 years ago?) I decided that growing 'upwards' as well as in the ground was a sound idea. It just made sense to me being the only other option with a smallish kitchen plot - so my winter squashes are grown in the ground, but trained skywards up bamboo canes, and then along sizal ropes (if necessary to continue their growth, and this isn't ALWAYS necessary, as once they've formed the fruits they WANT to, they seem to ease off extending their growth anyway.....)
Any use to you? Hope so...
LoL
Wellie

[Chez]

Well, we are ruthless re flavour and keeping qualities. To date, nothing has surpassed Crown Prince for flavour or storage time. This variety is the gold standard for us. I have eaten Buttercups (flavour surpasses CP in a good year), but only growing Buttercups for the first time this year.

Having heard recommendations for Uchiki Kuri and Sweet Dumpling, we have these in for the first time too. Only because we would like something a bit smaller than CP, but with all its other qualities. We planted SD and UK late, so not sure if it will be fair comparison in the end. May have to try again next year.

Allan, how do your varieties fare on the flavour front?