I bought a package of those seeds last year, and just plain forgot to plant them.

We grow quite a bit of winter squash, it keeps really well and seems to taste better as the winter goes on. This past summer we grew "Confection" and "Cha Cha" from Johnny's, these are smaller squash that work for two people, or one pie.

And then we grew Guatemalan Blue, which is a banana-like squash, only blue, and has a distinct, nutty taste. Those seeds are hard to come by, so I grew a couple of plants that were isolated, and hopefully will have seed that comes true.

I got mixed up - this past year I bought seeds for "Honey Bear" acorn squash and never planted them.

But Table Ace, I grew a row of that one a few summers ago. It was amazingly productive - sort of small trees with half a dozen squash on each.

Skybird,
I usually have a little longer season than you but this year I know we got a freeze about the same time in the fall. We have grown spaghetti squash for several years and just love it. I got it and a smaller Hubbard variety I tried out real late. In late June. Both made but had lots of immature also. I think if you can get them out by June 1st a person will do fine. I would compare DTM's also. But yes great to have something homegrown during the winter. I'm going to try growing a few things in a cold frame this winter. I've read Elliot Coleman's 4 season gardening and going to try it. Jay

Jay, what I remember most about 4-Seasons Harvest was that Coleman was essentially using greenhouses for winter storage of crops grown during the warmer parts of the year. A bed of greens . . . protected by a plastic tunnel . . . inside a greenhouse . . . that sort of thing.

Skybird, I'm not close but I grew acorn squash successfuly even where the season was very short. When I planted it in different garden - it had a "funny" taste. I was surprised but even my neighbor had the nerve to tell me that he didn't like the flavor. Well!!

Maybe it has to do with the soil . . . ? I tried 3 different acorn varieties and gave up.

My favorite squash is delicata but it cannot properly mature most years. I grow Burgess Buttercup each and every year. (It never fails to make me very happy and makes about the bestest pie! :o)

Steve

I can usually get a good crop if I start the plants indoors in good sized pots - gallon is ideal - let them grow up as much as possible - a couple large leaves and the vine taking off is better - and then stick them in really rich, composty soil. Say 3 to 4 weeks head start in the greenhouse.

This cold and snowy weekend, we've been cooking squash and making pies. Some notes:

Those two from Johnny's are, squash-fruit-wise, about as good as it gets, if you can let it mature on the vine. The 'Confection' is the blue-grey one, and a bit dry and flakey, but boy, does it make a heckuva pie.

The "Cha-Cha" is a Kabacha, again really dense, thick, but creamier flesh. My daughter will eat one with no salt/butter/anything, just a spoon.

The Guatemalan blue is ok, but the two we opened up are still a bit watery. There's as much edible flesh in either a 7" dia Cha-Cha or Confection as in a 14" long Guatemalan blue.

Seed and bake squash for an hour, let cool a bit, scrape flesh into food processor. Add two eggs. Add cinnamon, ginger, and honey, add milk. Whir up, pour into frozen store pastry shell, bake 60-70 min at 350.

I like it refrigerated. For breakfast.

I grew Small Wonder Spaghetti Squash. It didn't quite ripen on the vine but they did finish turning color inside.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tales of a Transplanted Gardener

We grew a lot of winter squash this year. I start them in 6 inch pots in April and then put them out when they had two large true leaves under walls of water. In the middle of August I cut off the ends of the vines so they would put their energy in the forming squash. We harvested 10 orange Kabocha which are small pumpkin size and a dry orange fleshed squash. Then there were 40 Hubbard squash. Some that were around 20# each. They were planted in the corn field. I have 2 Kabocha and 4 Hubbard left to do something with after giving and selling squash.

I also set them out in pots now but without the WoW's and that may be why Sweet Mama Kabocha only ripened 1 fruit from the hill - a few years ago. DW wants to try Kabocha again. I think she looks at them and says, "Why not? They look like buttercup without so much to waste." I'd better come up with an early maturing one. Sweet Mama demands it!

Blue Hubbards have worked fine. I don't know why I have only grown them once or twice . . .

digitS'

Why doesn't GW have editing?

They were Baby Blue Hubbards that I grew before. I'm quite sure of it.

d'S'

Steve, I grow a 'baby' hubbard called "Blue Ballet" - its pretty good. Kinda thin-walled, but that may be more to do with variable growing conditions - some years better than others.....

Not that I'm an expert (or anything close), but I've yet to find anything better than those two from Johnny's - the most consistent, best eating quality squash I've grown.

*I Think* what Margaretmontana is talking about with the 'orange kabocha' is one called "Red Kuri' it seems to go by other names now. Thats a really good one too.