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auther_gw

Pumpkins?

Auther
9 years ago

Has anyone on this forum had any experience with growing Cushaw squash/pumpkins? Are they bothered with Squash Bugs and Vine Bores? How are they different from Seminole Pumpkins? My Grandfather used to tell stories about growing Cushaw Pumpkins, (what he called them), in the corn fields when he was a boy. He said that they were used just like other pumpkins. I am over run with Squash Bugs and am looking for something that they won't kill.

Comments (8)

  • Macmex
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    They are very resistant to pests. I have grown a white cushaw, here in Tahlequah. It does quite well. Normally cushaw flesh is considered inferior to many other winter squash types. But this white cushaw is really nice, albeit yellow fleshed instead of orange.

    George
    Tahlequah, OK

  • Auther
    Original Author
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thank you for the information! George.
    How do the Seminole pumpkins compare? Are the Seminole and Old Timey Cornfield pumpkins different from one another? Are they big or smaller pumpkins? I am also interested to know about them.

  • Macmex
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I'm sure that Seminole is quite different from a Cushaw, both in appearance and eating quality. I have not grown Seminole, but from what others have said, I suspect you would find the eating quality of Seminole to be better. I grow my white cushaw, in part for nostalgia, as we had one which my wife's grandparents had given to us. It is also hardy as a weed. But I place a higher importance on Old Timey Cornfield Pumpkin, as the flesh is of better quality. As I understand, Seminole is at least as good as Old Timey Cornfield Pumpkin.

    You could grow both. They are unlikely to cross, as cushaw is a c. argyrosperma and Seminole is c. moschata.

    I have a white cushaw sitting on a shelf in our family room. It was harvested a year ago. Guess I better process it! If you would like any seed, let me know. I can send you some for $3.

    George

  • Okiedawn OK Zone 7
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I've grown three different kinds of cushaw: Green-striped Cushaw, Orange-Striped Cushaw and the White Cushaw that sometimes is sold under the name "Jonathan". All grew well, produced well, sent rampant vines everywhere, and were fairly tolerant of SVB damage, though not completely immune to it. I did not necessarily grow all 3 of them in the same year, but usually had at least 2 of them in the same year. For me, the green-striped ones produced gigantic, monstrously huge squash in rainy years, and the orange-striped and white ones were smaller. They all are good and are worth growing and eating, but none of them are as pleasing to my family's taste buds as the good C. moschata types like Seminole, Long Island Cheese and the various butternut types. Our favorite C. moschata is Seminole and we've grown it for maybe a decade now. It stores forever and the flavor is very, very good. Dickinson is another C. moschata that has excellent eating quality. I've grown maybe 10-15 different C. moschata types and Seminole has been superior to most all of them, but some of the others are really good too. My all-time favorite pumpkin for pumpkin pies is Winter Luxury Pie, but the squash vine borers get it every year even when I try to keep it covered with row cover to keep it safe from them, so I haven't grown it in years.

    One interesting development in the Seminole pumpkin world is that there now is a strain of Seminole that produces a significantly larger squash than the one that has been grown here on this continent for hundreds of years. Seed for the larger-fruited one (as well as the traditionally smaller fruited one) is available from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.

    Sitting here and typing this, I was just reflecting on our favorite winter squashes that we have grown over the years, and it occurs to me that most of them have a buff-colored or tan-colored rind.

    Like George, I am well aware that most gardeners consider cushaw's flavor to be inferior to other types of winter squash, but we like it just fine. It could be that it develops a better flavor in our hotter, drier climate than in cooler, wetter parts of the country.

    For the first few years that we lived and gardened here, the SVBs didn't find us, so I could grow all the C. pepo and C. maxima types of summer and winter squash and pumpkins that I wanted to grow. Most years I grew 25-30 kinds, and we had the most amazing autumn decorations all over the place with all those pumpkins and winter squash piled up in beautiful arrangements along with colored seed heads (broom corn, amaranth, etc.). I just loved it. When I switched to Christmas decorations, all the winter squash and pumpkins went into cool storage to be used over the next few months. Once the SVBs found us and became such a problem, I dropped most all the C. pepos and C. maximas and mostly focused on the C. moschata types. Cushaws are the only C. agyrospermas that I still grow, and I don't necessarily grow them every year because they're such space hogs (as are the C. moschata types).

    Even for summer squash, I now grow an avocado squash that is C. moschata. I still plant the usual zucchini and yellow summer squash, but at some point every year we lose them to SVBs probably 8 years out of 10. That doesn't bother me as much as it used to now that we have a C. moschata that is used as a summer squash.

    I also will harvest and use Seminole as a summer squash some years, picking it from 1 to 3 days after the flower was pollinated and the fruit began to enlarge. It is nice and tasty, but isn't the same as the yellow squash and zucchini it replaces.

    Dawn

  • Auther
    Original Author
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thank you, George & Okiedawn, for the information about these squash/pumpkins. George I will keep in mind the offer for the White Cushaw seed.

  • kfrinkle
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Dawn,

    I am thinking of trying to grow some moschata summer squash next year. The avocado squash you talk about, is this it:

    http://www.kitazawaseed.com/seed_368-188.html

    Also, I am sold 110% on Seminole. I am loving how bug and mildew resistant they are. I have some summer squash (standard) covered in powdery mildew and the seminole vines creep right through them, never getting any of the mildew. My yokohama squash seem to be more susceptible to mildew, but are also bug resistant. I counted 28 seminole squash actual set thus far, and I have a lot more on the way I hope.....

  • Okiedawn OK Zone 7
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    kfrinkle,

    Yes, Early Bulam is the avocado squash I grow. I was so relieved when I found it a few years ago because one thing the C. moschata family was lacking was a squash that was really suitable for use as a summer squash instead of a winter squash (although any winter squash can be used as a summer squash if harvested early and small). I'll put it in a clickable link below.

    There is a reason that Seminole has become my favorite winter squash. : )

    After fighting SVBs, squash bugs, cucumber beetles, etc. for years, it is a relief to be able to grow winter squash plants that laugh at them. The first time I grew Seminole, I kept waiting for the usual pests and diseases to attack it and for the plants to die. It didn't happen and that was when I knew we had a winner....and that was before I'd harvested and eaten one. The fact that their flavor and texture are superb and that they will store for months (I've had them last the entire winter in my potting shed, although that isn't the best place for them....those were autumn decoration ones that I shoved in there and forgot about) are just a bonus.

    There are many C. moschata varieties and I've tried a lot of different ones. Some produce a higher-quality fruit than others, and I think the weather plays a role. All of them are infinitely sweeter and have a better texture the hotter and drier we get. (They can be smaller in extremely dry weather if you don't irrigate them at all.)

    So, since Seminole is a winner in your garden this year, here's a list of other C. moschata types worth trying: Long Island Cheese pumpkin, Sucrine du Berry, Musquee de Provence, Upper Ground Sweet Potato, Dickinson Pumpkin, Black Futsu, Tan Cheese Pumpkin, Lungo di Napoli/Long of Naples, Tahitian Melon, Pennsylvania Dutch Crookneck/Neck Pumpkin, and Kikuza. There are many more, some not nearly as good in flavor so I didn't list them, and there's still a lot of C. moschata types I haven't even tried. Of the ones on the above list, Neck Pumpkin is one of the most flavorful and Dickinson is another, and Sucrine du Berry is incomparable, but it wasn't a heavy producer for me.

    You can spend years exploring all the C. moschata varieties because it is a large family grown worldwide in hot, humid climates, which makes them perfectly suited to Oklahoma's normally wicked summer weather.

    Last year my Seminoles produced until frost got them. I hope yours do the same. This year they are done, because voles ate their roots last week. They've never eaten the squash roots before, so I guess this is a warning that for next year I need to line a raised bed with hardware cloth to protect the winter squash from the evil voles. Now the voles are eating watermelon plants. (sigh) I still have Long Island Cheese growing in the front garden and the voles are mostly in the back garden, so at least there's that.

    Two of my favorite sources of C. moschata seeds are Southern Exposure Seed Exchange and Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. In my early years here, before I found Baker Creek, I also bought quite a few C. moschata types from Seed Savers Exchange.

    Dawn

    Here is a link that might be useful: Early Bulam: The C. moschata summer squash

  • kfrinkle
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    The voles have been doing serious damage to my cucumbers and okra, to the point where my second round of okra is not producing. I keep waiting for them to hit my winter squash.

    I am definitely going to check these out. I am also going to try to grow some OTCF pumpkins next year, got an offer from my seed request from someone on here.

    The squash I miss horribly from the north are blue hubbard and my favorite, buttercup. I would love to find a nice dry, astringent sweet squash like the buttercup.

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