Our earliest variety is Gold Nugget (AAS 1966), an orange-fleshed squash with softball sized fruit from North Dakota State University (NDSU). It is a bush squash, producing 5 or 6 fruits per plant. The fruit should keep 3 to 4 months, however, we have had fruits keep for up to a year (the ones cut open in the photo).
Vine Crops / Squash and Pumpkins / Winter Squash / Cucurbita maxima
Our favourite squash is Buttercup (NDSU, 1932), the dark green squash with the bump on the bottom. The flesh is thick, dry and sweet.
Vine Crops / Squash and Pumpkins / Winter Squash / Cucurbita maxima
Black Forest is a newer squash that looks similar to Buttercup but it is smaller with a smaller bump on the bottom, and has very dry flesh.
Vine Crops / Squash and Pumpkins / Winter Squash / Cucurbita maxima
Blue Kuri is a flattened globe shaped kabocha winter squash with blue-grey skin and sweet thick dry flesh. 2-3lb fruits keep well.
Vine Crops / Squash and Pumpkins / Winter Squash / Cucurbita maximaRed Kuri (Hokkaido) is a beautiful orange-red, teardrop-shaped hubbard squash from Japan. May be a bit of crossing in this variety.
Vine Crops / Squash and Pumpkins / Winter Squash / Cucurbita maxima
Blue Ballet is a medium sized grey green hubbard squash with fine textured sweet flesh.
Vine Crops / Squash and Pumpkins / Winter Squash / Cucurbita maxima
Mandan has large orange fruits with sweet dry flesh and plump tasty seeds.
Vine Crops / Squash and Pumpkins / Winter Squash / Cucurbita maximaWhat a beautiful squash! We had a small patch of these in 2018 that produced a couple dozen fruits, and we are now blessed with an abundant seed supply of these massive squash. All summer long these had my attention, as the vines got quite big, then as the small pale yellow elongated babies started to appear, and then as those babies kept growing and growing! Our fruits ranged from about 2 to 3 feet in length and weighed from about 8 to 25lbs. We had many fruits weighing 24lbs, and the remainder weighing between 10 and 15. Make sure you have plenty of mouths to feed for one of these squash. Or, prepare it the traditional way and dry the squash to preserve it. The squash flesh is thick and brilliant orange. This variety comes from the Miami Nation (territory that is now identified as Indiana, southwest Michigan, and western Ohio) and has been grown by their people throughout the past 5000 years. The current name for this squash comes from an Indigenous language and means “really cool old squash”!
Vine Crops / Squash and Pumpkins / Winter Squash / Cucurbita maxima
Rouge vif d’Etampes is the European pumpkin. Cinderella’s coach was one of these large red-orange ribbed flattened fruits. In Europe, pumpkins are used to make cream soup.
Vine Crops / Squash and Pumpkins / Pumpkins / Cucurbita maxima
Costata Romanesco is a traditional Italian zucchini variety. The prominently ribbed striped grey green fruits have very good flavour. They are usually picked when immature to use raw in salads, or in stir fries. The large mature fruits are great for grating (and then even freezing this way) and using in baking.
Vine Crops / Squash and Pumpkins / Summer Squash / Cucurbita pepoCaserta zucchini was bred at U of Connecticut in 1949. Early and prolific, smooth fruits, light green with dark green stripes and it is a selection from the Italian zucchini Cocozelle.
Vine Crops / Squash and Pumpkins / Summer Squash / Cucurbita pepo
Round Zucchini has bush plants and produces round fruits which are best harvested when about tennis ball size.
Vine Crops / Squash and Pumpkins / Summer Squash / Cucurbita pepo
Bennings Green Tint is a light green patty pan/scallopini type summer squash with large vigorous bush plants. Harvest small light green fruits (as they get larger they turn whiter and are not as tender and delicious for eating) and eat raw or cooked like zucchini or any other summer squash. This variety has been around since about 1914.
Vine Crops / Squash and Pumpkins / Summer Squash / Cucurbita pepoYellow Crookneck is a summer squash dating back to the early 1800’s. The bushy plants produce curved fruits with a bulbous blossom end. The light yellow fruits are smooth when young and meant to be eaten, warted when mature.
Vine Crops / Squash and Pumpkins / Summer Squash / Cucurbita pepo
Vegetable Spaghetti is about as early as Gold Nugget. The flesh is yellow and sweet, and comes out in strings. Boil or bake, remove the flesh and serve with spaghetti sauce.
Vine Crops / Squash and Pumpkins / Winter Squash / Cucurbita pepoAcorn produces large numbers of small to medium, dark-green ribbed fruits on long vines. Flesh is yellow, sweet and best if eaten within three months of harvest.
Vine Crops / Squash and Pumpkins / Winter Squash / Cucurbita pepo
The standard pie pumpkin is Sugar Pumpkin (1860). The fruits are round and bright orange, and most are in the 4-5 pound range. The roasted seeds make good snack food.
Vine Crops / Squash and Pumpkins / Pumpkins / Cucurbita pepoYoung’s Beauty is a pumpkin very similar to Sugar Pumpkin but many fruits weigh 10-12 lbs.
Vine Crops / Squash and Pumpkins / Pumpkins / Cucurbita pepoNaked-Seeded Pumpkin has 8-12 lb. well-shaped yellow-green fruits with strong stems. The large dark green seeds are completely hulless.
Vine Crops / Squash and Pumpkins / Pumpkins / Cucurbita pepo
Prairie Garden Seeds