What is the correct squash?

[haux]

Hello everybody!

I have lived in a small Mexican mountain village for the last couple of years. My main activity there is gardening. It has been a beautiful activity with one major frustration: my squashes!

December - February we get Frost. June-October we get major rainy season. So far my squashes have always succumbed to one of either. I have tried butternut, spaghetti and honey melon,all without a single harvest. Usually they rot on the ground in the rains. Both the fruit and the vine rot.

I have searched the Internet but to no avail. Can anyone recommend a squash variety that can withstand a LOT of rain, hot days and cold nights?

Would it suffice to protect the roots from the rain with a small roof or would I have to cover the complete plant?

I am new to this forum, but I love the spirit here! Thank you everyone!

[haux]

By the way, the one squash that dies grow abundantly is Cucurbita ficifolia. It's only downside is that it completely tasteless 😩

[ferdzy]

Are there any squashes being sold in the local market? If so, where are they grown? That's the first place I would look.

p.s. Welcome to the forum!

[haux]

The only type of squash that is cultivated in our village is the one I mentioned above. Of course that could be for the simple reason that it is the only one that produces well. On the other hand, it is a very remote village and access to alternative seeds are very hard to come by for the villagers, so I would not be surprised if there were other varieties which might do alright..

[mskrieger]

Perhaps you could grow the squash during the dry season, December--May, using a hoop house to warm the soil and protect it from frost during the cold season. (You might need to start the squash indoors where it's warmer, then transplant once it germinates.) Hoop houses can be pretty cheap and easy to build--I'm thinking using flexible tubing for the frame and draping it with heavyweight plastic. Try some small C. maximas, as they tend to mature in a shorter season with less heat.

Alternatively, if you have good drainage, have you tried growing sweet potatoes? Similar nutritionally and flavor-wise to squash, but they can handle some serious tropical heat and humidity.

[haux]

Thank you Ms krieger..

Our village is up on 2500m altitude, so tropical heat is not anything we need to worry about. I think it is actually too cold for sweet potatoes.

I like the idea of the hoop house though. I hope to get one installed by next growing season.

So what you are saying is that you would try to change the growing conditions rather than the selection of seeds?

[mskrieger]

Gotcha on the altitude--I misunderstood your conditions.

Yes, I would try to change the growing conditions, and also try seeds most likely to be able to hack it. The larger the hoop house you build, the greater a diversity of maxima varieties you can try...and if you keep the ones that yield and taste best (or at all) under your conditions, you may actually be able to select for a variety that actually thrives and tastes good.

Something else to consider in your hoop house is that you might need to pollinate the squash yourself if there are no natives around or able to enter and do the job.

[haux]

Thanks again.. So what you are saying is I just grow many different varieties in the best possible conditions I can create and then select the tastiest variety... That sounds like a very good plan..

I am still curious to hear whether anybody has any experience with a variety that can resist a lot of moistureanf cool nights?

[keen101 (Biolumo / Andrew B.)]

I have a feeling Hopi White might do the job, but not sure. The seed i originally got came from Seed Dreams up in Washington, USA.

I tried planting some late this year. We Will see if i get anything.

[haux]

Thank you, I just researched hopi white a bit and will try to get my hands on some seeds..

Does anybody have any idea whether it might suffice to put a small box roof over the root system of the plant or is it necessary to also protect the leaves and fruit and vine from overabundance of rain? Wondering because Greenhouse space will obviously be limited..

[keen101 (Biolumo / Andrew B.)]

Zapallo macre also sounds up your alley. No idea how to get seeds though.

[mskrieger]

The hoop house is mostly for protecting against frost, not moisture. The ground will still be pretty wet because it's not as if rain goes straight down...the moisture wicks through the earth. In fact, you might want to build a raised bed which will get better drainage. Raised beds really work at providing drainage, I have a lot of experience watching this in action.

Then you can sink plastic tubing or whatnot to make a hoophouse over the bed (this links to pictures of Eliot Coleman doing hoophouses in Maine--probably you don't have as much snow as he has to deal with www.johnnyseeds.com/growers-library/vegetables/managequickhoops.html )

[raymondo]

I think raised beds are worth a try, the higher the better in very rainy situations I guess. An above ground hugel bed might work, or an African keyhole bed. You could just build a big compost heap and plant the squash in the top. If it doesn’t work you’ll still get some compost to spread around so not a total loss. I’d also go for the moschata squashes, particularly those that hail from the wet tropics.
Good luck with it.