Favorite Cucurbita moschata varieties

[karstopography]

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yuxijiangbinggua Squash serving as a decorative accent for fall. Wife now enlisting garden vegetables as accent pieces.

One squash plant has produced six squash to ripen and there’s a few more out on the 30’ vines. The one plant has spread from one corner of the 16’ x 9’ bed to cover that entire bed as a living row cover for the okra and now is engulfing the pampas grass.

[karstopography]

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The squash would have covered the lawn, but we keep mowing over it. But, it is safe growing towards the pampas in that one direction. Tip in the pampas to main stem coming out of the original plant, that’s over 35’.

[Tormahto]

Umm, saving seed?

[karstopography]

Umm, saving seed?

Yes, good idea..and as soon as my wife is done with her decor…she usually starts with Christmas decorations early in November and the faux pumpkins/real squash will certainly be freed up for seed saving by then, if not sooner.

[Tormahto]

Umm, saving seed?

Yes, good idea..and as soon as my wife is done with her decor…she usually starts with Christmas decorations early in November and the faux pumpkins/real squash will certainly be freed up for seed saving by then, if not sooner.

To move up to sooner, carve a small hole on the bottom, vacuum out the seeds, roughen up the hole a bit, and in a few days say: "Honey, this one is starting to rot".

I'm not naming names with who came up with that idea.

[karstopography]

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The six survivors. I think squirrels come along and try to bite through the rinds and leave little marks. Eventually, I’ll get around to eating one of these squash. They all gradually turn the camel color except the one that’s more rust colored. At least one more green sized up squash out on the vine, but I can’t get too close as a very active ground hornet nest is right on the one path into the sharp pampas grass where the squash is located. I think that squash might be safe from the critters with the hornets and razor sharp pampas grass offering protection. Maybe I’ll see if it eventually tans up out on the vine.

The squash plant itself is once again sending out multiple runners with lots of male flowers and a female flower here and there. My yard guy weed eatered the heck out of the runners going into the pampas, but apparently, the squash sent new roots into the soil beyond the break as the runners aren’t wilting as if they have no roots to supply the necessary water.

The squash has covered the 16’x9’ bed for a long time, at times most of the runners die back and then new ones begin again. The squash started out as one seed becoming one plant. I haven’t fed it in months or done much more than add some water to the bed for the okra planted in 2/3 of the bed.

At worst, my wife likes to decorate with these. Hopefully, they will taste good. I’ll be sure to save some seeds.

[BlackKrim]

Re black Futsu. I grew these once when I lived in the country and had space. If I remember right, they started out black but ended up light in colour and the overall look was quite lovely.

[BlackKrim]

Re yuxi jiang bing gua Squash

How on earth do you get the flesh out without a lot of wastage? I imagine it would take some doing. Sure, you bake the whole thing first, but still...

[karstopography]

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My daughter grew these three squash plus the pumpkin. Two squash are C. moschata, the Moranga and Seminole Pumpkin, then there’s the Red Kuri. She said she likes the Seminole Pumpkin better for flavor than the typical butternut squash.

Tonight, we are roasting the red kuri. Still haven’t eaten any of the chinese C. moschata. I’ve got six surviving ones, three currently employed as decorative accents for fall.

My daughter grew all kinds of winter squash and pumpkins over the second half of summer into the fall.

[karstopography]

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A few of her harvest. Evidently, pumpkins and squash do very well up north of Houston near New Waverly.

[BlackKrim]

Have you tried cushaw? Technically, not a moschata, but certainly grows like one and can withstand our friend the vine borer.

I grew some Cushaw a few years ago. They did well here in Manitoba. I was wondering why they are not a Moschata, technically speaking. They are quite pretty in appearance but not as sweet as some other varieties.