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Post by bobinthebul on Jun 2, 2010 4:14:14 GMT -5
I thought I had a big garden until I started getting into growing squash... Last year was my first year. I grew: Futtsu. Love it and was using them and giving them to friends till April. I like to saute it in olive oil with onions and sage leaves, add some grated orange peel, and as it's getting toward done, squeeze the juice of the orange into the mix, then cover and let it steam till it's completely done. Rouge Vif D'Etampes. Beautiful color. Smooth, but watery. I bought seed from Bakers, and the blurb described 'delicious smooth flesh, ideal for pies and custards.' They've changed it now. The flavor wasn't bad but even a large one gives you very little pulp after you've cooked and drained it. Better if you just saute it quickly. I won't grow it again unless I come into some major acreage. Marina di Chioggia. Great squash, but a pack of dogs got into the garden and dug up/damaged most of the plants. I got one good one. It had very dense flesh. I made gnocchi. This year I'm growing: Bungkan. I see this listed as both a maxima and a moschata. Looking at its leaves now, it fairly screams "moschata." A friend who goes to Thailand a lot raves about it. Triamble. Can't wait! I go as much for looks as flavor (preferably both) and who can resist a three-lobed squash? Table Queen acorn. I always loved acorns, and this is supposed to be much better than supermarket varieties. It will give me something to munch on while the long-storers are getting sweeter. Pennsylvania Dutch Crookneck. Why grow a boring butternut when you can grow a crazy crookneck? Seminole. I've read a lot about this one and am excited about it. Information about its supposed climbing qualities seems to vary; I suspect seed stock varies as well. Some say it doesn't want to climb at all while others report it growing up into their trees. I'm compromising - growing it in a big raised bed, where I'll let it trail across to put in as many roots as possible, then try and send it up our newly-dead old apricot tree. If it doesn't climb...well, I didn't *really* want to have a flower garden this year... Futtsu, again!
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Post by marjeta on Jun 3, 2010 7:26:27 GMT -5
Hello, squash lover!
Marina di chioggia is indeed great for gnocchi.
I'm only growing a few varieties this year, because I decided to grow out (almost) all the zucchini varieties, cucumbers, melons and watermelons. I'm already planning an expansion for next year.
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Post by galina on Jun 14, 2010 12:49:47 GMT -5
Bungkan? Interesting. Is this one of the moschata x maxima cultivars? The pictures on www look very good indeed.
Triamble looks great, jolly weird, makes you laugh. Apparently fairly late. I have seen them in a demonstration garden in the south of England, great big things.
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Post by raymondo on Jun 16, 2010 17:03:47 GMT -5
Futtsu sounds good. I should try it this year as the seeds I have are getting old. I like Triamble. A very attractive fruit, with plenty of good quality dry flesh too. The others I don't know but I'm looking forward to your reports later in the season.
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Post by bobinthebul on Aug 4, 2010 6:26:44 GMT -5
Bungkan? Interesting. Is this one of the moschata x maxima cultivars? The pictures on www look very good indeed. Triamble looks great, jolly weird, makes you laugh. Apparently fairly late. I have seen them in a demonstration garden in the south of England, great big things. I saw Bungkan listed as a maxima but it sure looks like a classic moschata to me - white mottled leaves, really big flowers with the large flattened sepals. (Though Seminole takes the cake in this department) It has lots of fruits coming on but is not setting any more now that the weather has really heated up. They get pollinated but still drop - and we've had plenty of rain. I have three Triamble fruits set, one of them quite large compared to the others. There may be more that I haven't spotted yet though; my squash patch is so overgrown and intertwined. I was out of the country for almost a month and when I was looking over the patch, I saw a cluster of five or six acorns (Table Queen) in one spot. Now I can't even find that spot any more! The Pennsylvania Dutch Crookneck has been setting lots of fruit but now that the weather has heated up they're mostly not taking despite pollination. Sometimes the shape of the ovary compresses the female flower and makes it difficult for the bees to get into it. I notice that some of them tend to have a rather large seed cavity and thin neck, not the typical shape I've seen for them, so I'm wondering about my seed. But the neck does seem to thicken more after the cavity enlarges, and the thin-necked ones are mostly still greenish. I got my seed from Baker's. I grew Rough Vif d'Etampes from them last year and got very pretty red pumpkins but none were of that extremely compressed shape. I also notice that the pepos seem to be producing more male flowers with very little pollen lately, though they're still setting fruit so obviously they're getting pollinated. We have two beehives in the yard, plus bumblebees, black cane bees (they're so big they have stewardesses), and several shapes and sizes of wild bees, so no shortage of pollinators. I'll post some photos on my blog soon.
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Post by bobinthebul on Aug 4, 2010 8:03:21 GMT -5
Oh - and though some people have had other experiences, my Semionoles are very good climbers; they only time I've seen them turn down is if they go several nodes with nothing to grab onto. Otherwise it's up and up; they've gone maybe 20 feet and have nearly reached the street level. There are a few arms that are reaching the ends of the branches of the dead apricot tree I've run them up; unless they manage to grab onto a lower branch and double back I imagine they'll come down banyan-like and root into the soil again if they have time. They were late in setting fruit; I only have one fruit so far but there are more female flowers on the way now. I imagine that being native to Florida, they are happier in the heat and humidity.
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Post by flowerpower on Aug 10, 2010 5:03:41 GMT -5
I got seed this yr from Baker Creek for the Marina di Chiogga. I see one fruit on a 25 ft vine. lol One of the more interesting varieties I have is called Long Pie. It looks like an overgrown zucchini. Supposedly, it won't turn orange until it is picked.
Bob, people in my area want the Long Island Cheese Squash for pies. Have you checked out Sandhill Preservation's squash lists? They have some really interesting varieties.
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Post by bluelacedredhead on Aug 10, 2010 5:47:32 GMT -5
FP, are you growing Long Pie this summer? Or did you get the seed too late and are saving it for 2011?
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Post by bobinthebul on Aug 10, 2010 18:16:33 GMT -5
I got seed this yr from Baker Creek for the Marina di Chiogga. I see one fruit on a 25 ft vine. lol One of the more interesting varieties I have is called Long Pie. It looks like an overgrown zucchini. Supposedly, it won't turn orange until it is picked. Bob, people in my area want the Long Island Cheese Squash for pies. Have you checked out Sandhill Preservation's squash lists? They have some really interesting varieties. I grew Marina di Chioggia last year, didn't get many fruits but part of the problem was that dogs ripped into the vines. My triambles have one or two fruits per vine only; it might be because things are a bit crowded out there. I've never grown Long Island Cheese - I see people like it, Amy Goldman has nothing good to say about it (except that it's pretty and makes a good doorstop). I'll have to check out Long Pie, I never heard of it. I want to grow one of the Italian moschatas next year. I did check Sandhill's but had already made my order for this year. Next year maybe!
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Post by flowerpower on Aug 11, 2010 5:58:11 GMT -5
FP, are you growing Long Pie this summer? Or did you get the seed too late and are saving it for 2011? I have the Long Pie out there. It even has a few fruit. Right now, the pumpkin patch is more like a jungle. I just wish I'd see some butternuts or acorns getting fruit.
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Post by bluelacedredhead on Aug 11, 2010 8:35:19 GMT -5
The only pumpkin I have out of 10 varieties planted is a S. American variety that I put in a container?!? Lots of bees doing their thing. I don't know if the blossoms are dying due to the heat and humidity or if it's the pesky tree rats again. There is no fence secure enough to keep them out of my garden. Not only that, they throw acorns down from the oak tree and break things growing. Futsu are nice little single serving squash BTW. I haven't grown them for a few years, but it's one of the few squash that Paintman would actually eat. C'mon Long Pie......
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Post by bobinthebul on Aug 27, 2010 6:43:04 GMT -5
Bungkan? Interesting. Is this one of the moschata x maxima cultivars? The pictures on www look very good indeed. I tried my first Bungkan the other day, it's somewhat similar to Futsu but I think better. A really rich flavor and beautiful color. Here's one in the garden that's completely ripe. <img src="http://picasaweb.google.com/dolichos/SquashInTheGarden#5510050313700181650" alt="[image] " title="[image] " border="0"/> For some reason the image function seems not to work...here's the URL minus the html: picasaweb.google.com/dolichos/SquashInTheGarden#5510050313700181650
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Post by raymondo on Aug 28, 2010 1:45:22 GMT -5
That does look good. Hard to judge how big it is. What would you say the diameter is?
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Post by bobinthebul on Aug 29, 2010 17:21:48 GMT -5
That does look good. Hard to judge how big it is. What would you say the diameter is? They're quite uniform - almost exactly 7" across and 3.5" high.
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Post by raymondo on Aug 29, 2010 17:46:20 GMT -5
Thanks Bob. A nice size for a single or a couple.
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