"Seed for sweet dumpling is also available from Pine Tree Garden seeds.If you are not familiar with them, they specialize in small (therefore cheap)packets of seeds for home gardens. I like sweet dumpling better than carnival which is about the same size. Elaina" Thanks Elaina, I actually stumbled upon the produce worker at WalMart as he was putting the first SDS & Delicata of the season out. Bought two (1.50 ea I think). Think maybe it'd be safe to save seed from these? "Hello Sidhartha0209, If you cook it Indian curry style, you can cook it (all pumpkin family squashes) with skin. I do. With skin it tastes much better, has a different texture. I don't know if all pumpkins will taste good though. If you add a little sugar to it, would be even better." Thanks for the cooking tips ju, I do intend to check the skin out. "Being a winter squash, it should last 30 to 100 days. I have never stored SDS, but have had Butternut last up to 5 months or 150 days." Thanks jol, my Dad grows butternut (actually they've 'naturalized' in his compost area and 'volunteer' every year now) and they always store well. I've had spaghetti squash (storebought even) keep for nearly a year! And those are pepo too!

"So now, is there anyone out there that knows of a good, clean source for Sweet Dumpling? Are they a worthwhile crop to grow, considering all the alternatives?" I never have any problems with Sweet Dumpling seeds from Fedco. I have noticed that if the Sweet Dumpling fruit is not fully ripe, it will often taste bland with a slight bitter aftertaste. Perhaps the squash wasn't ripe? They are worthwhile for me, as they grow very good for me, where most other winter squash struggle through the summer heat.

George, I bet you're right, but I hate going out on a limb like that. Merton, I thought maybe I could find a comparison of the cucurbita seeds that would help you, so I checked my copy of Suzanne Ashworth's book SEED TO SEED: SEED SAVING AND GROWING TECHNIQUES FOR VEGETABLE GARDENERS and here is how she describes them: Cucurbita maxima: Thick seeds that are white or tan or brown with cream colored margins and thin cellophane coatings. (As George pointed out, your Lakota is a maxima so should fit this description.) C. moschata seeds are small, oblong and beige with a dark beige margin. (Your butternut is a moschata so one of your two solid tan types of seed ought to match this description.) C. pepo seeds are cream-colored and each has a white margin. Your acorn squash is a pepo so its seed should match this description. The problem is that your spaghetti squash is a pepo also, so its' seeds ought to match this description too. C. agyrosperma (formerly mixta) seeds would be the easiest to identify because they usually have small cracks in them. (They are described as white or tan with a pale margin and cracks in the skin coat on the flat sides of the skins which are covered with a thin cellophane covering.) None of the squash in your packet are agyrosperma types though. If you have specific variety names for your spaghetti, butternut, acorn and Lakota squashes, you probably could google and find descriptions of each squash, including the approximate size of the mature squash and that size might help you figure out which of your pepo seeds is which. Or, you might e-mail the seed company and see if they can tell you, by description only, which seed is which variety. Dawn

Linda, I try to save as many seeds as I can from my garden vegetables, but with so many hybrids, it's not possible. According to Cornell University, Delicata is not a hybrid, it's open pollinated, so you very well may be successful at growing your own Delicata from those seeds. I buy any of the rest of my seeds from my local feed mill, they have big glass jars and sell by "the scoop". Most seeds are about 40 cents a scoop, but sweet corn is sold by the half pound, as are beans. Between the feed mill and my own seeds, I mostly avoid any of the commercial seed selling companies so I can't offer any suggestions there. I also like to start my own plants when I can, nursery plants for things like tomatoes are outrageously expensive and here in Michigan, there's no growing tomatoes, peppers, etc., from seed without starting them inside. Since Delicata is a 100 day squash, you might want to start some inside there in Minnesota, although if you plant early enough there shouldn't be a problem with bringing them to maturity. Annie