Vegetable Gardening (54 page)

Popular squash varieties

The lists of summer and winter squash varieties in the following sections include some of my favorites; they're easy to grow, produce well consistently, and have a sweet flavor. The days to maturity are from seeding in the garden until first harvest.

Summer squash varieties

The following are my favorite summer squash varieties:

‘Black Beauty':
This standard open-pollinated, zucchini-type variety produces tons of dark green, slender fruits on open, easy-to-harvest bush plants in 60 days. Zucchinis can be gold-colored as well, such as with the AAS-winning ‘Gold Rush' variety. This golden variety matures in 50 days.

‘Magda':
This hybrid, light-green-skinned summer squash is a variation on the traditional straight-neck squash. It's shorter and more blocky. It's often called the cousa or Lebanese squash and has a sweet, nutty flavor. The fruits mature in 48 days.

‘Portofino':
This classic, deeply ribbed, green- and white-striped hybrid Italian zucchini has a crisp, nutty flesh on open plants. This variety takes 55 days to mature.

‘Sunburst':
This hybrid, yellow-skinned patty pan summer squash has tender, scallop-shaped fruits that mature in 50 days. For a green patty pan variety, try the AAS-winning ‘Peter Pan', which matures in 50 days.

‘Yellow Crookneck':
This heirloom, smooth, yellow-skinned crookneck squash has a delicate texture and flavor. (
Crookneck
squash have a bent top, or neck.) The variety takes 50 days to mature.

Winter squash varieties

Good winter squash varieties include the following:

‘Baby Blue Hubbard':
This scaled-down version of the typical heirloom 12- to 20-pound ‘Blue Hubbard' winter squash produces 4- to 5-pound fruits with dry, sweet, yellow flesh and a very hard shell. This variety, which matures in 100 days, is especially great for storage and baking.

‘Burgess Buttercup':
This 3- to 5-pound open-pollinated winter squash has sweet, fiberless (not stringy), orange flesh. This variety, which matures in 95 days, is one of my personal favorites. (Its sweet flavor and dry flesh taste great with a little maple syrup mixed in!) ‘Bon Bon' is a good hybrid variety.

‘Cornell's Bush Delicata':
This AAS-winning variety features bushy plants that are resistant to powdery mildew disease. The green- and white-striped oblong fruits mature in 100 days and have a sweet orange flesh. I love to eat this variety baked.

‘Red Kuri':
This attractive, teardrop-shaped, 4- to 7-pound open-pollinated ‘Baby Red Hubbard' squash has orange skin and flesh. It's great for pies and purees and matures in 92 days.

‘Spaghetti':
This ivory-skinned, yellow-fleshed, 4- to 5-pound open-pollinated winter squash has stringy, spaghetti-like flesh. Try this one baked and covered with pasta sauce! It takes 88 days to mature.

‘Sweet Sunshine':
This hybrid kabocha-type winter squash has bright orange skin and produces 3- to 5-pound fruits with sweet, dry, flaky, deep orange flesh. This variety takes 95 days to mature.