I love this squash but I only eat them as summer squash when they are light green and only 12-14 inches long. I am surprised you had trouble with powdery mildew since I live in an area that gets lots of rain and I didn't have any trouble at all. I cut in strips and stir-fried, or cut in rounds and boiled, drained and added parmesan, or made thinner rounds breaded and fried, and also made squash pickle relish.

I had three plants in one huge container. They crawled up a 5 foot tomato cage, then down again, and then ran about 15 feet across the lawn. They are huge vines and extremely productive.

Thanks for your reply. We get powdery mildew every year, no matter where we plant the squashes (and we do rotate crops). It usually settles in during late August.

I did cook one of my rampicantes that was more flesh-toned and it was similar to butternut squash. I still have two sitting on my counter that need to be cooked. Both have turned flesh-colored, so I don't know how they will be after all this time.