Topic: Best squash

[Rhubarb Thrasher]

I know Jeannine,  I can still remember reading your post about the vandalism last year.

And then the floods. Maybe we'll have locusts this year

[vaca]

Vaca, those seeds are definately not hybrids, it is a very old Italian variety XX Jeannine

Thanks for that! it's good to know  :D

Vaca

[fuzzycuzzy]

After a disappointing 2007 on the squash front Galeaux d`ey sines came up trumps for me ( gifted to my wife by Jeannine). Great flavour,firm texture for roasting and soup alike and good storing capabilities.If anyone would like to try growing some  this year i have some seed to spare.PM  your details and i`ll pop them in the post

[Rob the rake]

My absolute favourite two are Delicata Sugarloaf and then the Kuri. I am not a lover of Butternuts, Turks Turban I would personally class as an ornamental, you can eat it if course, but there are so many others with a better taste. I also am not keen on the spaghetti squashes.

I think it depends on what you like.

I like  sweet almost nutty flavour to squash, with a dry firm flesh that is not stringy, I want it to puree down to the texture of cream.

I am also not a big fan of most of the courgettes or summer squash, but they do serve a different purpose. Crookneck summers have a more defined taste  though.

If you like courgettes, chances are you will like spaghetti squash, it lacks the flavour that I like and is much less dry, more like a marrow.

For pumpkins, well I grow many, mostly for decoration, I do make pumpkin pie but I only  use a few varieties of pumpkin to do that, most lack flavour and texture however with sufficient seasonings  they can make a good soup.

For others that suit my taste, most of of the Japanese are excellent like Futsu and Chirimen but not Toonas Makino, all of the Delicata types, egSweet Dumpling, Sugar loaf,the potimarron family ( tastes like chestnuts) the buttercups, Triamble,Musqee ge Provence, the Australian blues  especially Jarrahdale  and Crown or Crown Prince, the bananas especially Blue, Marina de Choggia . Some of the acorns eg Thelma Saunders, and I love jack be Little Pumpkins and for pies  Small Sugar or Sugar Pie

Not for eating I would say, most of the large pumpkins, keep them for carving,especially the Cinderella AKA Rouge  Vif d'Etampes,(beautiful to look at though) the turbans, some  of the cheese family,most are purely decorative the exception here is Musquee de Provence which is a delight to eat.

However having said all that my advice is to grow and compare, I grow different ones each year, some make it into the kitchen a second time some don't, squash are a bit like sweetcorn, some are very sweet some are not, some folks find the very  sweet ones a bit OTT, but others would say the rest are starchy and bland.

I love 'em all in one way ot another.

Hope this helps.

By the way you can grow different ones together , as long as you remain aware of the families they fall into, and like families they are different but loved by somebody.

XX Jeannine

Jeannine, you are an absolute marvel! I've learned so much from your writings in just a few short weeks, and really look forward to reading your posts. I hope to post later with some specific questions about squashes when I have more time to spare, if you don't mind.


 

[Jeannine]

Hi, thank you for the lovely compliment but please bear in mind that taste is a very personal thing, and of course I will help if I can. XX Jeannine

[Paulines7]

Does anyone have any advice on storing winter squashes please and are some varieties better than others for keeping?

In 2006 I had Butternut and Hubbard but by early January they had gone soft. 

[saddad]

Crown Prince keeps very well, we have kept them until the end of May in a brick shed.
 ;D

[Rob the rake]

Crown Prince keeps very well, we have kept them until the end of May in a brick shed.
 ;D

I can only find Crown prince as an F1, is it available as an open-pollinated variety?

[jennym]

Does anyone have any advice on storing winter squashes please ... 

I store squash by putting them into breathable bags and hanging them from hooks in my shed which is just about frost free. By breathable, I mean string bags, also cheap type canvas bags, also onion nets, anything like that. Have also found that Crown Prince is a good keeper, and Marina di Choggia seems fine so far.

[Jeannine]

Should be left on the vine as long as possible even if the vine looks dead, but grab them before a frost.

Immature fruits don't store as long as those fully mature

Leave length of stalk on them and don't use it as a handle,a lot of problems are caused if the squash is broken off without. Better to cut them.

Wash them  if muddy, then wipe down with mild solution of bleach and water, about 1 parts bleach to 10 parts water is fine.

Store in a cool dry place, not on concrete and preferably not touching. I use wood slatted shelves. Best temp for storage is about 50f, but they will go less, they will not keep as long though. A cool shed is good as there will be some humidity there too.

Hubbards store longest,(5-6 months) Acorns shortest (5-8 weeks) Butternut, Buttercups about 2-3 months. Spaghetti depends on the type but usually about 2 months.

Humidity and temp will affect the length of storage as will the level of maturity when put into store.

I have had squash store longer than above, this is just a guide.

Pumpkins need to be cured before storage  about 2 weeks in 80f.

Hope this helps. XX Jeannine

[Jeannine]

Rob, Crown Prince is only one of the Prince lot, they are not all hybrids, look up  Crown,Improved Crown,  Select Crown.  They are all part of the Australian blue group as are Triamble, Queensland Blue  and  Jarrahdale, however I have to say I don't think the Triamble has as good as flavour, the others do though .

XX Jeannine

[Paulines7]

Thanks very much for your replies which are very helpful.  I put mine in expanded polystyrene boxes and then placed them in old kitchen cupboards in our shed.  They obviously didn't have enough air circulation but I wanted to protect them from the heavy frosts that we get.   

One year I did try putting marrows in nets and hanging them up in the shed but I went in there to find an awful mess on the floor.

It sounds a good idea washing them down with a solution of diluted bleach Jeannine.  Do you use Milton?  Do the squash require light whilst being stored?  I could put them on some slatted shelves away from the north facing shed window but it would be quite a bit darker. 

All I need now is to be able to grow some this year so let us hope we have better weather than 2007 when I had a total squash disaster though did manage a few courgettes.

I will have to make sure that I include Crown Prince and Hubbard in my attempts this year.

Your help in this matter is much appreciated.

[Rob the rake]

Rob, Crown Prince is only one of the Prince lot, they are not all hybrids, look up  Crown,Improved Crown,  Select Crown.  They are all part of the Australian blue group as are Triamble, Queensland Blue  and  Jarrahdale, however I have to say I don't think the Triamble has as good as flavour, the others do though .

XX Jeannine

Thanks, Jeannine.

[Jeannine]

Pauline, mine are in a shed with a window, light seems not to matter as far as I know. I use regular bleach. I should have said Pumpkins have to be cured and squash benefit from it..don't bother curing acorns.

Also that they will gradually lose moisture , they don't always go soggy, I have kept a squash a very long time, but after a year or so they are really dehydrated.

You can use them when they start to soften by the way, but not once they start to decay. Softening is the first sign that thay are on their way out,you can still freeze them or puree or make them into pie filling and freeze that.  Like a melon that is a bit soft you can use it but it won't last much longer or it will start to spoil.It is like anything else it becomes a judgement call.

Also don't let the word pumpkin in the name fool you,  not all is as it sounds and it gets very complicated.

I even have a summer squash that is called a pumpkin, and of course it would not store.

XX Jeannine

[Paulines7]

Thanks Jeannine, very useful information.   :D

[1066]

By the way you can grow different ones together , as long as you remain aware of the families they fall into, and like families they are different but loved by somebody.

XX Jeannine

Hi am bumping this thread as it has so much useful info for the novice (read me)  :-[  :)
One question I have is about the different varieties of pumpkins, squash, winter squash etc. Is there a list of the families / varities?

Thanks
1066

[Tulipa]

Hi 1066

Jeannine goes some way to listing the groups in her long post on here and I know she has done a very in-depth post elsewhere on A4all.  She also recommended this book

http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/index.php?page=10

which I have found very useful, it has lots of info on varieties, growing and cooking of squash.

I wish I had time to look for her post on the different groups, perhaps if you look in the search function, the trouble is she has posted on squash so many times, bless her, that it may be a bit hard to find.

There is a bit of info here:

http://www.pumpkinnook.com/howto/variety.htm


Good luck

T.

[Tulipa]

Oh dear, the link only takes you to the front page of the A4all shop although I had found the book, try this one...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_ss_w_h_?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=compleat+squash

It's a bit expensive but maybe your library might have it.  I will keep looking for more info.

T.

[1066]

Thanks for the links and info Tulipa.
I had read Jeannine's post with great interest and it seems to list a lot of pumpkin families - but I'm presuming - no disrespect to Jeannine (the Pumpkin Queen  ;D ) that it isn't a full list. And now I've confused myself reading that great link to pumpkinnook - they list Moschata, Pepo and Maxima. But Jeannine lists Japanese, Delicata, Buttercups, Potimarron, Ausie Blues, Bananas, Turbans, Cheese, Acorns. And I'm not sure what is what now!!!!

The book does look interesting - I'll give the local library a go (not very hopeful tho) and when I'm next in brighton I'll pop into 1 of the big bookshops there and have a good read of whatever they have (a free read obviously).
Its a fascinating subject and veggie - just want to learn more really  :)
Once again thanks Tulipa
1066

[littlebabybird]

Jeannines list you quoted is varietys not familys
lbb

 for example  Blue Hubbard is from the family C. maxima as is   Buttercup
Waltham Butternut  is a C. moschata
  Cushaws are C. mixta
and
Delicata is a C. pepo