Well Sue, I'd hoped a resident squash expert/cooking expert would be able to provide additional help. So far this winter I've only eaten the immature Jarrahdales, and they didn't have much flavor either. Maybe I'll open a mature one next weekend and sample it. Surely DH and DSS would enjoy having squash for Christmas dinner - NOT!

Did you hear anything back from Frey Produce?

I'd hoped a resident squash expert/cooking expert would be able to provide additional help.
Well, maybe they just don't have that much taste and aren't grown all that much.

Surely DH and DSS would enjoy having squash for Christmas dinner - NOT!
teeheehee...

Did you hear anything back from Frey Produce?
No, I didn't even email them yet as I am backed up on emails, among other things. I'm off to email you now...I owe you a reply, and a thank you for the nice surprise I received yesterday.

Off to email you now.

Sue

Don't know if yours was mature but Jarrahdale, Queensland blue are a couple of my favorite for pies...and I grow about 50 different squash......they cook up well with good taste but not sure if two taste buds are the same...and I use them in soup also.....

I'm anticipating seeds for Queensland Blue and looking forward to trying it. I noticed Amy Goldman didn't rate Jarrahdale as highly as she did QB in The Compleat Squash. 'Will be interesting to make the comparison if we get a long-enough season for any to mature.

I too am trying Queensland Blue and Jarradale again this year. Had crop failure last year. In fact, I'm doing a lot of blues this year. I'm also trying a Guatamalen blue banana type squash from Bakers Creek. FYI, there is a small company in IL, 200 Acres Farm, that also has a large inventory to feed your addiction. They are, I warn you, a bit pricey.

Brook

What fun! Thank you for posting about it. I bookmarked it for next year's seed shopping. Menominee looks interesting. I wonder how it tastes.

I hope to hear a flavor report on Guatemalan Blue come fall. It's on my wish list, but it doesn't look like it'll make it to the garden this year.

Here is a link that might be useful: The 200 Acres

Hi Sue,

I know you set your Jarrahdale free, but I thought I'd post pics of seeds from one I opened today. The light-colored seeds are from one that I picked early (maybe early August or something) because it was getting a soft spot on it. It wasn't very tasty. The darker seeds are from the smaller one (below) that's been sitting on the basement steps for the last few months. I didn't get to cook any of it tonight. Maybe tomorrow night.

Do you remember if the seeds from yours were lighter or darker colored?

Here's a pic of the color the fruits had ripened to. The smaller one set on in July or so, while the larger one probably set on at least a month later. It was on a vine that escaped to the alley, hence all the scarring.

Here's how the smaller one looked on August 6. I couldn't resist posting it when I saw the same "freckles" and everything, lol.

Mrs_B, I'm so glad you posted those pics. I also bought one at a farmers market and was surprised when it started turning buff colored. I guess this is normal. I haven't cut mine yet either. Tell us how yours tastes.

brookw, knowing how we are addicted to squash here, why in the world would you fuel it by posting yet another squash seed source? I tried, I really did, but in the end I succumbed and clicked on the link. What shall my penance be?

Hi Milehighgirl,

I finally got to taste the Jarrahdale. It tasted fine. Not great, not bad, just fine. I gave half to my friend, and she was quite enthused with it. I'd eat it again -- and will since there are two "slices" left in the refrigerator. I think my problem is I'm comparing it to Boston Marrow.

Your penance? I've a packet of Tonda Padana with your name on it. How's that for punishment?

mrs.b_in_wy, That would be like telling an alcoholic to say 10 "Hail Mary's" and then hit the bar! I'll do my penance, I promise! I'll be crawling on my hands and knees in the dirt and digging with my finger nails, but somehow loving it anyway. (~thank you!)

Milehighgirl, What can I say, addicts love company. I'm an enabler.

Brook

I've grown Jarrahdale for several years and have never had a pink or tanish colored squash...they have always been a blue/gray like the smaller single squash in the photos....if the color is correct for the two squash in the first photo...might they be crossed with something else.....

You're funny Milehigh :) I hope to do a little of that brand of penance this summer, too.

Groall - With some of the bum luck I had with crossed seeds last year, I'd be the last the swear the Jarrahdale seeds weren't crossed. From what I read a little while back on another forum, it sounds like the color change might be normal, though. (I can't post the link here, but if you search "Jarrahdale squash color changing", you will find it.) The small, single (blue/green) squash in the bottom photo of my earlier post is the same fruit as the smaller (tan/pink) fruit in the photo above it (sitting on the cutting board over the sink). Maybe the color change has to do with storage temps or storage length or ??? Do yours usually hang around very long before you eat them up?

Do you remember if the seeds from yours were lighter or darker colored?
Goodness Mrs B. I've slept several times since then, but 'think' they were light colored.

I finally got to taste the Jarrahdale. It tasted fine. Not great, not bad, just fine.
Was there much difference in the taste of the two Jarrahdales? Just curious.

What with so many fabulous ones to try, I'd never grow it myself.

Sue

Hi Sue,

I should have clarified that the Jarrahdale that had time to ripen up a bit was much better than the "green" one I ate earlier. Still not great but a definite improvement. I still have the larger one sitting on the basement steps left to eat. Maybe I'll save it another month or two and see if it improves some more. I'm still finishing up a big hubbard - one chunk at a time for breakfasts or lunches :)