Hi, I'll trade you some Early Jersey Wakefield for some Roman Candle tomato seeds. Thanks

Delicata is a winter squash that can be used for any purpose that any other winter squash is used. Their advantage is that they are small enough to be baked like the acorn squash. Like all winter squash, they are best when fully ripe. (full grown seeds and hard skin) I wait until the vines start to go down before harvested any type of winter squash and the cure them for a couple of weeks before eating; If in a hurry tho, just makes sure that the rind is hard and the stem hard and drying. The flesh should be yellow.

Delicata squash is a *must* *grow* for me each year. They are delicious and anyone I give them to always comes back and asks for more. They ripen to perfection by Oct 1st in the PNW and can be eaten immediately, filling the void while waiting for the Maximas to reach their peak. Vines are highly productive, 25 fruits per plant this year. I can cube them into dishes without worrying about the skin. They can be sliced and eaten raw if you're into that. They last much longer in storage than they get credit for. I can eat them into March when stored on a shelf in my unheated garage that never freezes. About mid-March they suddenly go dry, corky and flavorless, practically all at once. By that time I have plenty of well seasoned Maximas that are calling out to be eaten. If you have room to grow squashes, you have no excuse to not be growing these. Seriously, you gotta do it.

I harvested one Delicata yesterday. This being a warmer than average year I thought maybe they might be ready. It was terrible. I didn't even bother cooking it. I could tell by the taste, color and texture it was no good. The outside color seemed mature enough but looking again I found there was no orange on the skin. There should be some background pumpkiny orange patches. Same with the Acorns I have grown, those should have an orange patch where they sit on the ground. Anyway, my Delicata vines still have abundant green leaves and live vines, although they are in severe decline. The stem on the squash that I harvested was hard but still green. Live and learn, wait til the vines and all leaves are dead and there is orange on the squashes and the stems are grey and dry. October.