Squashes....

[pjb]

Could any of the more successfull squash growers give a list of the easiest squash's to grow (northern climes) and perhaps more importantly the most difficult to grow (so I can avoid them).
Thanks in advance.

[pjb]

[realfood]

You do not say whether it is Winter Squash or Summer Squash that you are enquiring about. Assuming that it is Winter Squash, if you go to my website and then vegetables > winter squash, you will see described all the varieties that I grew this year in Glasgow with great success. They are nearly all now harvested. They should all be easy where you are.

[Jeannine]

My advice would be to start off simple, don't go for anything with a long growing season and if you are short of room go for the bush type winter squash, they are more compact than the trailing ones and many have been bred down to get the size without any compromise on flavour or harvest.

Ask yourself what you want in a squash, bear in mind some can grow huge ones . lovely to show off but would you eat it.

I always suggest folks start with a Delicata type, Bush Delicata,  Sweet Dumpling  or Sugar Loaf,easy to grow, super sweet to eat and keeps for months. White with green stripes about 1 1/2 pounds.

I would also suggest that you don't grow one that you can buy in the supermarket , let yours be a bit more special.

Try a Red Kuri,  bright orange teardrop size, lovely flavour, very different to the Delicata so a good constrast. Think in terms of small melon size. This one will vine and is small enough to grow up a fence.

For a third one I would go for something  else on a bush perhaps Bush Buttercup,green, again super flavour.

You could go for a blue but they are starting to get bigger.

The above  are all visually very different, all reasonably early (apart from the blue)so you should get a good harvest  and best of all they all keep well and get sweeter and sweeter in storage.

If you have little kids let them grow a tiny pumpkin, they are cute and easy to grow, A Jack be Little  (orange) or a Baby Boo (white) both are about the size of a large apple and taste wonderful

Good luck, lots of info on here about growing conditions.

You  just gotta love folks who love squash!!

If you look up  www.rareseeds.com you can see lots and with pictures.

XX Jeannine

[pjb]

Thanks for the info, very usefull  :)

I read in an allotment book that you can grow squash up a trellis but it didn't mention variety's, which types would be suitable? Thanks!

[Squashman]

Hi PJB
I grow a lot of squash, the easiest and most prolific I have found to be Pyjamas, an oval type, yellow with green stripes. The last 2 years have not been conducive to growing squash outside, although I have harvested: Blue Kiri, Blue ballet, Queensland Blue, gems, Rolet, Golden Hubbard, Scallipino, Delicata, Turks Turban, Potimarron, Jaspee de Vendee, festival, Harlequin to name just a few, pyjamas has out performed all others.

[Jeannine]

You can grow any of the  smaller vining types of winter squash or small pumpkins  up a trellis. XX Jeannine