Winter Squash
Featured Recipes: Gardening Tips: Patience Pays Off
I’m always in a hurry to get my winter squash growing, and have
often
started them ahead indoors. But I find that the plants really
dislike being transplanted, especially into chilly spring soil. I
find it works best to sow directly. If your growing season is
short, it helps to warm up the soil with black plastic sheets
instead, cutting an X wherever a squash plant will go. Squash as a Groundcover
Here's a trick that saves space, keeps down weeds and deters critters, all at the same time. Plant winter squash along the edge of the garden and train the vines outward, through the fence. The vines will soon blanket the area
just outside, shading weeds out; the leaves make a prickly carpet that some animals prefer not to walk on.
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There is something extraordinary about the aroma of baking squash, bubbling with butter and brown sugar. Squash is simple to grow and transforms easily into nutritious, heart-warming dishes: soups, gratins or sumptuous Thai or Indian curries. Squash requires fertile soil and room to stretch in hot sunshine. Harvest with a sharp blade when skin is hard and the mature coloration appears, leaving some stem. Cure in the sun for ten days or in a dry room for five days. Properly cured squash, kept cool and dry, keeps all winter long.
Average seed life: 3 years
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#4065 Table Ace Acorn Squash: 70 days
These semi-bush plants yield dark green, almost black-skinned squash with deep ridges and tender golden flesh. The flavor of Table Ace is rich and sweet, and at maturity, the squash measure about 6” across. This hybrid produces early: just over two months from direct-seeding. Serve acorn squash cut in half, seeded and baked in the oven like little boats full of butter and brown sugar or real maple syrup. Bake at 350°F for 50 minutes. (F1.)
Packet of 25 Seeds / $3.25
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#4070 Naguri Asian Squash: 80-100 days
This delightful ‘Kabocha’-type squash is a hybrid from Japan, where the deep yellow flesh and firm, dense texture is prized for tempura. Naguri resembles a small, flattened dark green pumpkin with light green markings. The flesh is rather dry, nutty, and extremely sweet. Each squash weighs about two pounds and is borne on short vines with small leaves; ideal for smaller gardens. Let Naguri ramble or trellis it vertically next to the pole beans. This lovely squash stores well and is wonderful in soups, stews and for baking. (F1.)
Packet of 18 Seeds / $3.25
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#4075 Pasta Spaghetti Squash: 85 days
Finally, a spaghetti squash worthy of the name Pasta! Our child-friendly Pasta squash grows 10” to 12” long by 7” around with creamy yellow skin and flesh. A long-keeper, this magic squash should be cut from its vine and left in the sun to cure for a day prior to storage for up to two months at room temperature. (It only lasts for about two weeks in the fridge.) Cook Pasta squash whole by boiling, baking or microwaving it. Once cooked, slice it in half and scoop out the seeds and fibers. Then, take a fork and scrape out the light, sweet, buttery flesh that separates into pasta-like strands. It has a remarkably delicious taste and a texture complemented by your favorite marinara sauce and grated cheese. (Your children will never know they were eating squash!) (F1.)
Packet of 25 Seeds / $3.25
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#4080 Early Butternut Squash: 82 days
Butternuts usually grow on long, wandering vines. The variety we offer produces on semi-bush plants; a boon for gardeners with limited space. Early Butternut is a traditional, tan-colored hybrid, with thick, meaty orange flesh and a small seed cavity. It matures about ten days earlier than other varieties. Enjoy its sweet flavor baked, boiled or mashed. Try this Thai-influenced soup: sauté one onion and 1” fresh minced ginger in two tablespoons butter. Stir fry at medium-low until golden, ten minutes. Add one small Early Butternut, cubed. Cook five minutes, then add four cups stock. Simmer until squash is tender; add three tablespoons peanut butter and 2/3 cup coconut milk. Heat thoroughly, puree if desired. Garnish with fresh cilantro. (F1.)
Packet of 30 Seeds / $3.05
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#4085 Australian Butter Squash: 90-100 days
A pumpkin-shaped heirloom brought to us by the Aussie
company responsible for having saved Rainbow Chard from
extinction, Australian Butter is a prolific, tasty and
versatile winter squash. It has a pale buff-orange, hard
shell and sweet, dense, deep orange flesh that is dry with a
very small seed cavity. When roasted, its custardy,
silky-smooth texture is scrumptious instead of or alongside
potatoes with roasted meat and fowl or in a melange of
roasted root vegetables sparked with herbed olive oil,
balsamic vinegar and citrus zest. Weighing in at up to 12 to
15 pounds, this long-keeper may be stored and used
throughout the winter. (OP.)
Packet of 25 Seeds / $3.15
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#4090 Zeppelin Delicata Squash: 95-100 days
This voluptuous beauty has pale yellow skin with medium green
striations that turn orange after harvest. Oblong-shaped, it grows from 6"
to 9" long and 1 1/2" to 3" in diameter. Storing well for a longer period
than most, it has a small seed cavity and offers tender, light orange flesh
that is velvet-creamy, perfect for baking, steaming or pureeing in rich,
bisque-like soups. (OP.)
Packet of 20 Seeds / $3.25
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#4100 Jarrahdale Squash: 95-100 days
An Australian heirloom, Jarrahdale has a flattened, deeply ribbed pumpkin shape with a shiny, light blue-gray skin. Weighing in at six to ten pounds, Jarrahdale’s tasty flesh is thick, sweet and rich golden-yellow to orange in color. It has a very small seed cavity and thin, yet extremely hard skin. Although remarkable, some claim that they have stored this long-lasting squash for up to a year! (OP.)
Packet of 25 Seeds / $2.95
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#4110 Bonbon Buttercup Squash: 80-95 days
Originally a North Dakota native circa 1920, our
improved Bonbon Buttercup is sweeter, more tasty, earlier
maturing (by ten days) and more productive than its parents.
It has a moist, sweet, finely-textured golden flesh that is
often used instead of Sweetpotatoes in traditional recipes.
Its pretty, round 7” fruits are glossy, deep emerald green
with a smooth skin and a dense 4- to 5-pound weight. Bonbon
plants are more compact and bushy than other Winter Squash
but it still needs some room to ramble. It stores well and
can be savored in all of your favorite recipes for
Thanksgiving and cozy winter meals in front of the fire.
(F1.)
Packet of 18 Seeds / $3.45
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#4120 Galeux d'Eysines Squash: 90-100 days
This gorgeous French heirloom produces a flattened globe with salmon-peach skin sprinkled with “sugar warts”, peanut-shaped bumps caused by sugar buildup under its skin. Weighing in from 10 to 20 pounds each, Gauleux d’Eysines has fragrant orange flesh that is silky, moist, exceptionally sweet and most delicious, with a hint of apple and sweetpotato. Pick Gauleux d’Eysines prior to the first hard frost and enjoy it simply sautéed in olive oil or in complex sauces, preserves, stews and soups for up to six months. (OP.)
Packet of 20 Seeds / $3.45
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#4130 Triamble Squash: 110-120 days
AKA Shamrock or Triangle, this Australian beauty is shamrock-shaped with deep lobes and a very hard, shiny bluish-green skin. Weighing in up to 10 pounds, flavorful Triamble’s deep orange flesh is thick, succulent and sweet with little or no seed cavity. Normally difficult seed to find, versatile Triamble is perfect for all of your special winter squash recipes, and may even be eaten raw! Lucky for all of us, it stores extremely well and may be savored all winter long. (OP.)
Packet of 20 Seeds / $3.55
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