|
|
Post by Joseph Lofthouse on Nov 15, 2017 15:46:14 GMT -5
What other varieties have dense firm flesh and the "nutty" flavor articles always speak about? Buttercups are my favorite. |
|
|
|
Post by diane on Nov 15, 2017 19:21:01 GMT -5
I've heard of tomato tastings being put on by - clubs? seed companies? individuals? I've never been to one.
I think squash offer enough variations that a squash tasting could be organized. There could be offerings of seeds
next to each plate of squash so you could help yourself to seeds of ones you liked.
|
|
|
|
Post by philagardener on Nov 15, 2017 20:06:44 GMT -5
I am always annoyed that bees don't record their pollinatons. It is even worse this year. Because the Tetsukabuto F2 seeds that I planted, were grown by someone else. So I don't have the slightest guess at who's the daddy, not even the daddy's species! Don't ask, don't tell . . . Just enjoy!  |
|
|
|
Post by reed on Nov 16, 2017 8:07:06 GMT -5
Does anybody grow their squash on trellises? I fell in love with the small fruited maxima, the are very good and had almost zero problems with the mildew that killed all my other squash but they have a little larger vines than I like. One of them however escaped and found it's way to a bean trellis where it climbed six or seven feet and tried to make some more squash but it was too late when they set so they didn't get to full size.
Anyway, of course the trellises would have to by pretty sturdy but are the vines and stems themselves strong enough for that to be a viable way to grow them?
|
|
|
|
Post by RpR on Nov 16, 2017 13:28:34 GMT -5
I had some climb six foot tomato cages I did not use.
Had some nice sized squash hanging inside the cage, had to figure how to get them out of the cage as they were a lot bigger than the holes and there were more coming.
|
|
|
|
Post by oldmobie on Nov 16, 2017 15:33:47 GMT -5
Does anybody grow their squash on trellises? I have before. Butternut and acorn I think. This year squash bugs and vine borers took 'em. But gourds did great on it. It is heavy duty. Cattle panels doubled over, standing on the short sides, clipped to T-posts. |
|
|
|
Post by walt on Nov 16, 2017 15:59:24 GMT -5
Depends on the variety.
A friend went to Mexico on a honeymoon, and brought back some squash seeds from a market.
Among them there was a squash that looked and tasted like a butternut, but the vines grew like Jack's beanstalk. Turned out that vine was very late making female flowers, so very few squash set. But those that did set were hanging there head high and they got heavy, but stayed on the vine.
Would Big Max have hung there? I certainly don't think so. Summer squash? Why not?
I think both the weight of the squash and the strength of the vine would matter.
|
|
|
|
Post by reed on Nov 16, 2017 16:08:50 GMT -5
I guess I'll just have to experiment and find out. Maybe select for smaller ones if necessary but the ones I had this year, although not mature probably weighed in the four to five pound range and they kept hanging even after frost killed the vines.
It's maybe a pain to build the strong trellises but I think there are several advantages, cleaner vines, smaller area that needs weeded, easier to find and squash the bugs. Yep, I'm gonna give it a try.
|
|
|
|
Post by walt on Nov 17, 2017 13:31:06 GMT -5
I have wondered if squash bugs would be less likely to find trelllised squash plants. I think squash bugs can smell squash vines. But a big sprawling squash vine, any squash vine walking across the garden will be sure it find it. Anybody tried both ways?
|
|
|
|
Post by mskrieger on Nov 22, 2017 12:04:23 GMT -5
Walt, Are you thinking of squash bugs or squash borers? The borers always tunnel toward the root system, which is why growing squash on the ground is advantageous (all the adventitious roots the vines send out.)
Squash bugs, I'm not as certain. What kind of damage do they do? We have them around here but as far as I can see, they don't cause noticeable problems. Although they might carry diseases or something from plant to plant.
|
|
|
|
Post by walt on Nov 22, 2017 13:05:50 GMT -5
Squash bugs. Here they are a serious problem. They can cover a plant and drain it, and yes, they seem to spread disease.
Never had a problem with squash boreres.
Those adventitious roots don't seem to help much in my area. Could be that they don't get watered and can't go down much in dry soil. I just hose water the crown.
But in Niger, I had a pumpkin that slowly grew around my yard, dieing at the back end and growing at the front end. It would leave a basketball sized gray-green pumpkin behind now and then. I was there 3 years. The plant was there when I arrived. It was there when I left.
|
|
|
|
Post by reed on Nov 22, 2017 14:12:51 GMT -5
I don't know what the bugs here are. Also don't know if they are recent arrivals or if they were always around in smaller numbers. Anyway they are some kind of stink bug looking thing that swarm over a plant. They have a piercing mouth part and kill a plant almost overnight. I'm not sure that they can fly, I'v never seen them do it. When they sense danger they drop off or hide underneath. I doubt they would be completely thwarted by trellises but it would certainly be easier to find and smash em. I turned the chickens into a heavily infested patch one time to no avail, they didn't eat em, stupid chickens.
|
|
|
|
Post by gilbert on Dec 1, 2017 11:56:14 GMT -5
Still eating my way through Lofthouse Maxima Squash. Almost all the larger squash (several pounds a piece) are superb, smooth textured and wonderful. I can eat them plain, without anything added. Most of the smaller squash are OK, but not really great, and need a lot of butter. I've only found 2 so far (out of 40 or so) that actually tasted bad.
Why would the flesh quality seem to have a link to size? I planted a mix of Joseph's large landrace and small landrace. I assume both have been selected for taste?
In any case, I'm only saving seed from the best ones, and I think I'd prefer larger squash in any case.
|
|
|
|
Post by Joseph Lofthouse on Dec 1, 2017 18:17:04 GMT -5
William: Yes, my squash gets routine infusions of genetic material. For example, this fall at farmer's market, one of my collaborators gave me 4 "heirloom" maximas that did well for her. They are the size of my medium maximas. My intention for them is to plant one hill of each in a field of maximas, and perhaps emasculate them when I think about it, so that they get crossed up with my landrace without putting too much pollen into the patch. If I like how they grow, they'll be included in the landrace in a year or two. I can often know who's the ancestor of a particular squash even years later based on remembering how a particular trait came into the population. The new colors in this year's buttercups are from a naturally occurring cross that happened some years ago between the buttercups and a variety that I call Hopi White, regardless of what other people might call it. Offspring from that cross got split off into Small and Medium maxima, and into Buttercup. When off types appear in the buttercups, I tend to add them to Small Maxima. The buttercups are the most highly selected maxima that I grow. I keep the range of phenotypes pretty narrow. I don't worry about what squash the neighbors are growing, so sometimes I find a fruit and speculate that it's daddy wasn't from my garden. If it tastes good and grows well and is of appropriate size, I may add it to one of the landraces.
|
|
|
|
Post by Joseph Lofthouse on Dec 1, 2017 18:47:44 GMT -5
gilbert: Thanks for the culinary report. The "Small Maxima" is my newest maxima landrace. I wonder if it hasn't had time to stabilize for taste? When I do taste testing, it's all one variety competing with other squash of the same variety. It might be prudent to include a Medium, and a Buttercup when I taste the small squash, to make sure I'm getting the best the species has to offer. I also wonder if some of the smaller squash are small because they came from Medium parents, but were just starting to grow when frost arrived and so were somewhat immature when picked?
|
|
