suggest squash species?

It seems like a good time to ask as you mostly Northern hemisphere people will be about harvesting,
and I'm thinking about planting
It's not as simple as "X is tasty" of course...
I save seed, so I only grow one of each species per season.
I always grow zucchini (C. pepo), so that takes out that species.
Anyone have suggestions for C. moschata or C. maxima ?
I haven't tried C. delicata but I've forced a few marrows down, and this sounds similar.
So unless someone can convince me they're awesome...
And Burra's cushaw is a C. mixta, so that adds another species, yay!

I've had good success with Turk's Head. Nothing bothers it and it cooks up nicely whether mature or not.

I'm growing SWEET MEAT—OREGON HOMESTEAD by Carol Deppe for c. maxima. The one fruit I got last year tasted good. Got a few fruits this year and planning to save seeds for the first time. They're as big as my head and I have a big head. Can't really say much about productivity as I don't have a good baseline to compare to.

http://www.caroldeppe.com/Seed%20List%202014.html


Her seeds are a bit hard to get, since she only sells them once a year (Spring) and sometimes takes weeks to send them.


She also has another c. maxima in that listing (as well as other species)


EDIT to add: I also grow her CANDYSTICK DESSERT DELICATA Winter Squash (Cucurbita pepo) ; since I'm growing my zucchini separately Im going to save seed. I also have Waltham butternut to save seeds from but that's mostly because butternuts are popular with my co-landers and I haven't found a good alternative. Maybe next year I'll put the butternut with the zucchinis and try another moschata in my main garden.

Sam - I did a double-take when I read your post as it's near enough exactly what I was going to write!

The candystick delicata is completely different to any pepo I've tried before - even my son will eat it!

My Oregon Homestead (maxima) had fantastic germination. I planted ten seeds, got ten plants, gave two away, and got one good sized pumpkin from each plant I kept. So not really any selection to do - they were all good! Haven't tried one yet as we are working our way through all the not-quite-mature and rabbit-nibbled pumpkins before starting on the good ones.

I'm still playing with moschatas and haven't fixed on a variety yet - I suspect I'll end up with my own line based on a mix of waltham and local ones bought in the market.

Dale Hodgins wrote:I've had good success with Turk's Head. Nothing bothers it and it cooks up nicely whether mature or not.

Good to know. I've been eyeing them up for years as they're so cool-looking.
So delicatas all round? You lot would make things difficult
I could grow rampicante or another zucchini-like moschata instead of a pepo, and try delicata...
Makes choosing a maxima look easy!
Who's grown 'Long Island cheese'? They're supposed to be great, but they're so pretty I don't quite trust them...
I've grown amazing Hubbard squash before, but I don't really want food the size of a moon hopper

I don't know if this holds true for all squash, but I let butternut and this green one set a lot of fruit on one vine and got a lot of variation in size. There's family sized and old lady sized fruit. Even the little one in my hand is hard and mature.

I was just rereading Deppe's chapter on squash in The Resilient Gardener. She doesn't even cover Moschatas much because they simply won't grow well in her climate.

A favorite squash of mine back when I lived further north: the hubbard. Great squash.

Here in Florida we need squash that resist pests better and don't mind the humidity and heat. Moschatas are the key, though not all of them. Seminole Pumpkin is top-notch, as is Tan Cheese. I'm also testing some tropical squashes this next year that I acquired from the ethnic market. We saw amazing pumpkins and squash in the Caribbean last year... you wouldn't believe the size and the beauty.

There's definitely something that will do wonderfully in your area. My recommendation is to plant a wide variety and see what sails through. Don't worry about seed-saving - they're going to cross. All you're doing is trying to nail down the varieties that like your area. The next year, buy seeds again and add on new types while discarding the types that failed the previous year. You'll find something great!

another delicata fan =)
but theres a lot of variation in the delicatas i have tried, some are definitely better than others, but none were bad. some are small cuties and some are huge long things. the small cuties i grew many years ago was the best and sweetest, i do not remember exactly what the variation was or where it was from. then i grew them again and got instead the long thin type, still good though, but not what i was expecting.

my favorite squash to grow is definitely spaghetti squash. theres a whole lot of them out in the garden right now, so close to being ready, looking forward to harvesting them soon.

tho actually sorry, i think these are c pepo?