I've grown this several years and they are so sweet, and store so well, they're amazing.

Here's what I've learned --
sprawling works just fine (I've done a combination of climbing and sprawling, no advantage to either) But they will sprawl a LONG way! I think that may be the reason the Seminoles used to send them up a tree.

Plant early and leave them until they turn tan. In your zone you should have no trouble ripening them. But if you have some green, young ones still on the vine late in the season and it's about to frost, just harvest them and use them -- they're like super sweet zucchini.

Mine grew the best when I used a lot of manure -- which is always the case for me with curcurbits. I would think that a compost pile would also be a great place for them to grow from.

Get yourself one of those short, stiff, serrated squash knives (Johnny's sells them). This will keep you from losing any fingers when opening them. (the rind is super hard.)

Thanks for the information!

And I had never before heard of a squash knife but will definitely look into it.