Allotments 4 All

first time growing them here - any top tips or same as all other squashes - keep warm, harden off and plant out after last frosts?  be interested to hear stories and see pics!

Psi

yes same as other squashes

I've grown Turks Turban but only for their appearance.  There are so many  varieties which are tastier but not many as exotic-looking as TT.
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They look fantastic but I have never grown them as there are other varieties that taste better, or so I understand  :)

I have grown them, and you treat them exactly the same as other pumpkin/winter squash. But use them for decoration only - not tasty enough for an eating squash.

I beg to differ then - I've grown them and we enjoyed them both roasted and in soups (lots and lots of them cos they were pretty big!)

Compared to a Crown Prince, Buttercup or Triamble?

Grow them like any other but don't grow them for food, use the space for a different one.. sorry but to most folks the taste is simply not there. In a soup you might  get away with it with seasonings etc, roasted with fat, if well seasoned maybe  but the fibre content is not an edible one either.Try it plain steamed and I think most folks would call it a spitter.XX Jeannine

fooking horrible.....

don't waist you time...    :D

The seeds of Turk's Turban are a good fat size and are one of the best for flavour.

I also think the flavour of TT's flesh is good - but I mostly eat it raw, grated in mayo as a kind of coleslaw with finely cross-sliced chard stems for crunch (or celery or chinese cabbage or raw chinese artichoke etc.etc.).

The raw flesh is good because it is more tender than cabbage or carrot, but the seeds are still the best part of the plant - no matter what variety you grow (though delicata seeds are courgette sized - too small to be worth eating)

I don't really rate the taste of any squash cooked - all of them are grossly inferior to cooked carrot.

My carrots have a great taste because they are grown on clay, but even bland shop carrots taste better than cooked squash - I only eat squash cooked as an addition stews when all my carrots are finished and I can't be bothered going to the shop...

Have to disagree on the taste of pumpkin, it all depends on how you cook it. A big chunk of a good hard squash, roasted in the oven with red onions, ahhhhhhh drroooool.  But we Aussies are big pumpkin eaters! Hey after all I am from Qld, home of the pumpkin scone!!!
This year I am trying two types, Harrier for butternuts which I love, and some baby squash called Hooligan (I keep telling my kids that it makes me think of them ha ha they reply with a sneer funnily enough). Those I am growing more for fun, as I love the idea of all those sweet little pumpkins running down the sides of the plot.

I have been experimenting last Winter on ways to use the small Winter squash by stuffing them and microwaving them. It was very successful. The recipes and photos for savoury squash are here http://www.growyourown.info/page177.html  and for pudding squash stuffed with fruit and nuts are here http://www.growyourown.info/page176.html

Antiopdes. You reminded me of how I remember Knautia ;). I'm going to grow hooligan too.