If you...

[Froglegs]

could only grow one Pumpkin/Squash which one would it be? and why?.

[Froglegs]

[GrannieAnnie]

and while you're at it,  with which squash have you had least problems with squash borers, please?

[Eristic]

squash borers

Is that american for slug?

If only allowed one squash I would grow Sweet Lightning for reliability, good taste and long keeping.

[flowerofshona2007]

Jack be little as its great stuffed and easy to grow amoungst other plants  :)

[saddad]

Can't stop at one...
Vif Rouge D'Etampes because it looks like a real pumpkin! and tastes great
Crown Prince (Blue Grey) great eating and great storage... even up to May/June the next year!
;D

[Kea]

That's an easy question for me to answer! I only grow one and it's because I think they're the best. Kaboucha Squash originally known as Buttercup pumpkins where I come from, easiest variety to find over here is 'sweet mama' but I successfully (not last year though :'() grew seeds from the ones I got at the supermarket and most came true some were a 'crown prince/kaboucha cross'. It's dark green with random silvery stripes. This squash stores well, I was still eating them the next April and has a mealy texture and the best flavour which is great roasted, mashed, steamed and made into soup.
If I couldn't get Kaboucha squash seed I'd grow Crown prince it's the most similar.

What's squash borer?

Except for most of my plants not growing last year because of the weather and the seedlings being eaten by giant slugs, oh and my neighbour spraying them with glyphosate the year before I don't really have pest problems though rats/mice will eat developing fruit when they're small.

This

[Biscombe]

Sorry Jeannie! but I have to say Waltham butternut! Delicious! healthy plants that don't get much mildew, good producers, great for storing!

[rentawreck]

Chilacayote is the one..somtimes called a Fig Leaf Gourd, a Malabar Gourd or a Sharks Fin

1) Totally resitant to mildew etc.
2) A little later than most but utterly reliable.
3) Edible flowers, courgettes, marrows or leave for mature squash.
4) Squash keeps for over 2 years and nuts are edible too.

This has been my backup squash for years and last year was the only one that not only survived the weather outside but produced mature squashes...so it did all the lot!

[Suzanne]

Of the ones I have tried so far "Crown Prince" for reliability, excellent taste and storage qualities.

But..........I don't have to stick to one - so trying a few new ones this year, including Amish Pie, which I have bought from Baker Creek Seeds who sell 85 different varieties of winter squash. Jaw dropping isn't it  :o


http://rareseeds.com/seeds/Squash-Winter

[GrannieAnnie]

For those who inquired about Squash Borers- if you have a perfectly healthy mature plant and it suddenly wilts and dies and the base of the stem looks mushy it might be a borer. The adult stage is a moth that has the appearance of a wasp, with a mostly-black body with orange-red markings. Its hide legs are covered with black and orange hairs. Front wings are metallic green and the hind wings are transparent. The wingspan is 1 to 1 1/2 inch.

The pupae are brown and 5/8 inch long, within a cocoon of earthen black silk that is 3/4 inch long. <>The larval stage is a fat, grub-like caterpillar with a brown head and a wrinkled, white body. Fully grown, it is one inch in length.

The eggs of the squash vine borer are dull-red, flattened ovals, about a millimeter in diameter.

Larvae enter the stem of the plant at the base within a few hours of hatching from eggs. They feed inside the stem for four to six weeks.

I decided I can't grow zucchini due to this bug. Yellow Summer squash fare better but flavor is so-so. I'm tryiig some different varieties this year- one is a colorful small acorn variety they say looks wonderful for Fall decorating and then you can eat it since it stores very well. We'll see. ::) I'm a sucker for seed catalogue promises.

[Suzanne]

I thought squash and vine borers were USA pest - do we have them here as well?  :o

[asbean]

I thought squash and vine borers were USA pest - do we have them here as well?  :o

I think GrannieAnnie is in the USA  ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ???

[Suzanne]

Sounds a nasty pest so I don't want them here.

Grannie are you in the US?

[Biscombe]

Chilacayote is the one..somtimes called a Fig Leaf Gourd, a Malabar Gourd or a Sharks Fin

1) Totally resitant to mildew etc.

You sold me! where do you get the seeds??

[GrannieAnnie]

I thought squash and vine borers were USA pest - do we have them here as well?  :o

I think GrannieAnnie is in the USA  ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ???

Yes. Be thankful we haven't "shared" them with you. We also have rabies!

[rentawreck]

Biscombe

Chilacayote seeds unavailable commercially now in UK but used to be handled by a merchant called Future Foods which is now sadly defunct.

Now only available outside UK or from people who grow this 30ft+ giant......like me.

PM me and I will send you some seed.

[Biscombe]

You star  :-*

[pigeonseed]

Joining in this conversation a bit late - but I love the taste of Marina di Chioggia.

I haven't grown many other kinds, but have tasted ones from other allotmenteers - I just found marina di chioggia to be the tastiest - very nutty, a rich taste, no harshness.