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PunkRotten
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Yeah that is the only downer about squash is that it takes a lot of space. I have seen people grow them vertically though. I gave up on wanting to grow butternut, but I will try a smaller variety like sweet dumpling. I hear patty pan is good for containers but don't know about the taste and if it is worth it.

cynthia_h
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Patty pan squash tastes a lot like zucchini. :)

Cynthia

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soil
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Punkrorten this is why the native Americans grew corn, beans, and squash together. So now they get three crops instead of one from the same space. Not only that the three complimented each other for higher yields.

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TheWaterbug
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jal_ut wrote:Butternut, Cucurbita moschata, is a very nice squash and one of my favorites. It is also small enough that it is not a problem to take care of it. Since it is the only moschata I grow, I can save the seeds and they will come true to type. They are advertised as an 85 day variety so they have time to make it in my rather short season. If you haven't tried eating a Butternut, you should.
I concur. I grew Butternuts for the first time this year, and despite almost total neglect I got 5-6 nice, edible squash, though none was very large.

I'd have had twice that many if I'd bothered to put cages over the babies to protect them from the varmints. But back then I didn't know how tasty they were. We just cut 'em up and roast them with olive oil, salt, and pepper. They taste buttery and nutty all by themselves ;)

I'm also becoming a fan of Jarrahdale pumpkins. They make really heavy, dense fruit that are dark orange inside, with very little volume lost to the seed cavity. I've made pumpkin soup a few times with these, and everyone has loved it. I haven't made pie with it yet, but I'm guessing they'd be good for that, too.

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PunkRotten
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I tried the acorn and gold nugget squash. I like the nugget a little more, but the Kabocha blows them both away in flavor IMO.

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TheWaterbug
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TheWaterbug wrote:I'm also becoming a fan of Jarrahdale pumpkins. They make really heavy, dense fruit that are dark orange inside, with very little volume lost to the seed cavity. I've made pumpkin soup a few times with these, and everyone has loved it. I haven't made pie with it yet, but I'm guessing they'd be good for that, too.
Hrmm. Here's what happens when you leave Jarrahdales outside. First the squirrels eat all the JOL pumpkins because the Jarrahdales are too hard. But once they eat all the JOLs they get hungry again:

Image

Another good thing about Jarrahdales is that they seem pretty immune to rot and mold.

A JOL with any kind of hole or wound would start rotting right away inside my house, but these Jarrahdales seem to be OK for days and days.

I still need to get around to cooking and/or freezing these.

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jal_ut
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Interesting!

Is this in the species Cucurbita maxima?

How big did they get?

Does it taste like a pumpkin or more like a squash?

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TheWaterbug
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jal_ut wrote:Interesting!

Is this in the species Cucurbita maxima?

How big did they get?

Does it taste like a pumpkin or more like a squash?
It's a C. Max.

I'm terrible at guessing weights and dimensions, but this PDF says they're typically 6-10 lbs and ~2 fruits per vine, which seems reasonable to me. They're way denser than a typical pumpkin.

Taste-wise, I'm not sure I can classify it. It tastes pumpkiny, but richer and sweeter. I tell everyone it's a "pumpkin soup" and no one says otherwise :)

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jal_ut
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Actually many of the big squash in the genus have been called pumpkins in some cultures. We tend to think of the orange ones that are sold at halloween for jack-o-lanterns when we hear pumpkin.

6 to 10 pounds is a nice size.

I have never had pumpkin soup. Recipe?

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TheWaterbug
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I made this up, so it could probably use some improvement:

1 medium pumpkin (choose a good eating pumpkin, not a watery Jack-O-Lantern pumpkin)
3 medium sweet onions
1/4 C. olive oil
salt and pepper
2 quarts chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 roasted, shelled pumpkin seeds (optional)

Time: about 1.5 hours

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Seed and peel pumpkin, then cut into 2" chunks. I didn't measure how much pumpkin I used, but I kept cutting until I could fill the serving tureen.

Coat with olive oil and a generous amount of salt and pepper. Roast in a 400 F oven for about an hour, or until the pieces can be pierced easily with a fork. There should be some toasting or char on some of the pieces.

While the pumpkin is roasting, peel and slice the onions, then cook with some olive oil on low/medium heat in a covered soup pot, stirring frequently, for 45 minutes until well caramelized.

Puree the onions in a blender with some chicken broth until smooth.

Puree the pumpkin pieces in batches with chicken broth until smooth, and add to the pureed onions. Add chicken broth to get the desired consistency.

Add the cream, salt, and pepper, to taste, then let simmer for 15 minutes to blend the flavors.

Garnish with toasted pumpkin seeds when serving (optional).

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ReptileAddiction
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Whenever I grow pumpkins I grow them vertically but never any success. My grandma grows cucumbers and stuff in a tomato cage and they take up about the same amount of space as a tomato.

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ElizabethB
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Got Mom's recipe for patty pan squash.

Peel and seed the squash. Cut into chunks. Cook in just a little water and butter until tender. Mash. Add a pinch of salt, some sugar, more butter, vanilla. Cinnamon or nutmeg if you like. Sorry for not being able to give specific amounts but the best I can get from Mom is "just a little bit of this and a little bit of that". It is rare to get an actual recipe from Mom. She just wings it.

Merry Christmas one and all.

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jal_ut
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Thanks for the recipes.

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This is a recipe for Kabocha. It is a popular pumpkin in Hawaii and is usually added to soups and ethnic vegetable stews.
Japanese Pumpkin
2 lbs Kabocha(Japanese pumpkin)
1T dried shrimp (ebi)
1T vegetable oil
1T sugar
1T shoyu
2cups water
salt to taste
Cut pumpkin in half, remove seeds and rinse. (Leave skin on). Cut into bite sized pieces; set aside. Cook remaining ingredients in a stockpot over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Add pumpkin and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Test for doneness by piercing pumpkin with a skewer or fork. Salt to taste.

If you like you can also add Pork. Cut 1/2 lb of pork shoulder into 1 inch thin strips. Saute two cloves minced garlic in oil until fragrant. Do not burn garlic. Add pork; saute until no longer pink . Add sugar, shoyu, and water and continue cooking as directed above.
Pork or chicken broth can be substituted for water. Adjust for the salt.
This is usually served as a side dish. The pumpkin is very hard to cut, but after cooking the skin is soft and edible. Keeping the skin on preserves the nutrients. Do not over cook or the squash will be mushy. :P



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