Lisa, Growing them in Colorado without the bug problem was a dream, wasn't it? I would think that Butternut might be a good choice for you to send. I think Dawn's favorite is Seminole which they have at Baker Creek and maybe Long Island Cheese Pumpkin might also be a good choice, and they also have that one.

Jere Gettle travels all over the world and collects seed so I am sure that he would give you his opinion on the best choices for the climate in Haiti. You should tell him what you are doing and see what he has to say. If he knows what you are buying them for he might give you a better deal. (grinning here)

There is an email address on the web page or you can contact him on Facebook. I haven't seen him post anything for a few days so he may be out of town again.

As for going there, I am a real homebody but sometimes I just need a day trip. It is about 3 1/2 hours from here, but we drive over 2 or 3 times a year. I have more seeds than I will ever plant, but I always buy something else. Then we go to the Mennonite store and that is where I really spend the money (not that I haven't given Jere his share).

The store we go to in Seymour is like going to a health food store without the normal high prices. I buy white wheat, cream cheese, cheese powder, a million spices, sesame seeds, clear jell, grated cheese, etc. Of course, by the time we make the drive we don't save money, but we consider the trip a day of recreation. I'm so easily entertained. LOL

If I am remembering correctly there is a smaller Blue Hubbard as well. My husband is not a fan of winter squash, except Spaghetti Squash, so I'm not a very good source of info. George (macmex) grows a lot squash. I think the one he likes is an old fashion type field pumpkin.

You may have to take a mini vacation so you can go to Bakersville. They have a festival every month but I have only been to those during the growing season so I don't know what the winter ones are like. I teach a Sunday School class so I don't normally plan activities on Sunday that would take me out of town. During the growing season there are lots of vendor booths selling veggies, garlic, berry plants, honey, baked goods, etc. The Spring Planting Festival is a huge event and some of the speakers are quiet interesting. They also have music, but I can skip that part. LOL

They have a new book and a magazine that has good content. They could use a better proof-reader, but I was pretty impressed with the magazine and I liked the articles that Emily Gettle had written. She did a good job. His seed catalog "shines" and every gardener should have one of those. I'm always afraid that I won't get one because I never order anything from it. Instead, I just get in the car and drive over there and walk out with a bag full. LOL

I'm pretty sure the native Haitian squash is a large, green to beige (or mottlled) pumpkin of the c. Moschata family. I know that is the case in Mexico as well as in Cuba. these native squash show absolute superiority for insect resistance and for dealing with local conditions. While living in Mexico I tried a number of northern c. Moschatas. I had to baby them if I wanted them to make it.
The problem with growing these Carribean squash up here is that they are daylength sensitive and generally flower late, making it a challenge to harvest seed.

I do agree, however, with Carol's suggestions. Those are probably your best bet if trying to grow a North American squash in Haiti. I've been in Haiti, visiting. The climate tends to be harsher than the average in Mexico.

If you could find someone growing Cuban "calabazas" in Florida, those would be ideal. Also, Glenn Drowns, at Sandhill Preservation Center, sells a couple of squash (mostly c. Mixta/c. argyosperma) which I collected while living in Mexico. Baker Creek, if I recall, at least sells some kind of Cushaw which Jere collected at a roadside stand in Mexico. That, too, would probably work.

George
Tahlequah, OK

Lisa, When you're looking at the Baker Creek website, if I remember correctly, they offer a C. moschata from the Caribbean island of Martinique and I suspect it would grow and produce very well in Haiti. I do think Seminole is a "must" to try in Haiti since it originated in the Florida Everglades. It is the most disease-resistant and pest-resistant winter squash that I grow and is the one that most consistently produces a good crop.

Jere also offers several different kinds of Thai winter squash that might perform well in Haiti.

And,for what it is worth, I really do turn green with envy every time Carol visits Baker Creek.

I've read the Gettles' heirloom gardening magazine ever since it began publication several years ago and always enjoy the articles on heirloom flowers, fruit, herbs and veggies. I'm looking forward to the publication of their book.

Carol, You know, you can sign up at the website now to get on the mailing list for the 2012 catalog. On the day that the new catalog arrives, which I think normally is in December, I promptly declare a "catalog holiday" and do nothing for the rest of the day except study the catalog to see what's new.

George, I bet you're thinking of Jere's Chihuahua(hope I spelled that right) Landrace Cushaw.

Dawn

As Maxine says in her cartoon, 'when you get old nothing whistles at you except the tea kettle', so I guess it is nice when someone is still 'jealous' of anything I do. LOL

Dawn, they also have a list at the cash register in the store so I do sign up there when I think about it.

To most of the world it would be just a seed store, but to gardeners it is a fun place to visit. They have a bakery that always has nice smells and some good looking stuff, but since I bake all of that at home, it's not a big draw for me. I have eaten at the restaurant once and it is OK, not wonderful, but OK. If it were mine, I would serve soup, salad, and lots of homemade bread, and nothing else. That way they could showcase what they grow, and a limited menu would be easy to handle, and it's always going to be vegetarian anyway. It's nice to have a place to eat in the event you want to stay all day.

I have enjoyed looking at the chickens and turkeys and such. There is a big garden in front of the seed store which I always check out, but a lot of the gardens elsewhere were covered with row covers the last time I was there. I think that is the way we all need to garden to keep it as organic as possible and not spray. Of course, if I had to spray it, I wouldn't grow it, so I am always looking at a better way to grow.

On festival days they have local -uhh- talent, that come in and perform and they seem to be a big draw. I am probably too critical, but it just isn't my kind of music.

Last year Al and I went one month in the Fall, stayed overnight, and one of my friends was furious to learn that we had gone and didn't invite her. We agreed to take her to the next festival the next month. Al got sick and couldn't go so she and I went back. I could have just sat there and listen to one speaker after another, but she could only make it through one. We did visit every booth, and every store, and spent a lot of time picking out seed packs, because it was her first trip. I think she bought close to 30 packs and she plants a small garden. I'm sure her gardener son benefited the most from that shopping trip. That was the day we ate there also.

That week she became sick with H1N1 and I was just sure I would get it since we had spent hours in the same car just a few days before, but I didn't.

Anyway, when you can build a business in the middle of no where and still draw the crowds that the Gettles do, then you are doing something right, and it's not his wardrobe that draws them (grin). It is miles down a dusty gravel road and you actual do have 'to go the extra mile' to get to it.

It seems to be a very good business for them and in addition, they are able to see the world as they travel. They now have a store in Missouri, one on the east coast and the left coast, and I hope getting so big doesn't have a negative impact.

Maybe we need to do a caravan road trip next year.

Ohh, thanks for all the suggestions. I think I will call them directly and get their opinion.

Carol, I can promise you I did not appreciate how well stuff grew in Colorado until I came here! My dad did use some chems, and I don't, so that they may be part of the difference too, but I can't get any squash to grow!!

I don't know Lisa. I remember an abundance of squash, cucumbers, broccoli and rhubarb. The first year that I had a garden spot, I was out in the spring time getting ready to plant and I was talking to my neighbor over the fence and he was harvesting heads of lettuce. He had thrown the seed out onto the snow and it was ready before I planted anything. I didn't garden there like I do now, but I just don't remember insects being a big problem.

Lisa, For what it is worth, I grew any and every kind of squash from 1999 through about 2006 or 2007. That last couple of years, I had all sorts of issues with squash bugs and squash vine borers that I hadn't had in previous years. I don't know if they just didn't find my garden until then or what. Now I mostly focus on growing moschata types because of their pest resistance.

Beginning around 2005 to 2006 (those were two horrible back-to-back drought years here in southcentral OK), our weather changed and so did our pest problems. I want the old weather and the old pests (or lack of them) back again!

Carol, I had good luck with Rhubarb back then too, but haven't in recent years. The heat just burns it up these days. I need a time machine to take me back to those good old days, and they weren't even that long ago.

Dawn