I purchased these already started and the tag said Cream of the Crop (pictured on the tag was a pumpkin-like shaped squash with blue/green skin).
Edited to say since I've since discovered the name is correct.....How can I tell when it is ripe?
This message was edited Aug 19, 2006 5:20 PM
They look a lot like Acorn Squash to me (wrong colour tho)
Final one....
Duh......last time I checked PlantFiles there wasn't a picture and I just stopped there. This time I followed the link to Johnny's Seeds and I see I do have Cream of the Crop (so the name was right but the plant stake picture was incorrect).
Product ID: 684
Cream of The Crop (F1)
(Cucurbita pepo)
Ivory-white acorn type.
Attractive, 2-3 lb. fruits; semi-bush plants. Its cream-colored flesh is nutty but not sweet, requiring seasonings and/or sweeteners. For specialty markets. 1990 All-America Selections winner. Avg. yield: 4-5 fruits/plant. Avg. 4,500 seeds/lb. Packet: 30 seeds.
Days to Maturity: 90
Yep it is a white acorn. It is best to leave them on the vines until the vines starts dying or just before frost. If you are in a hurry, they are usable when the rinds gets too hard to dent with your fingernail. For best flavor, they need to be cured in a cool dry place for about two weeks before baking.
Thank You FarmerDill! Ü I've been eyeing them for quite awhile and very confused as to what they would grow into and how long should I wait to pick.
Should you wait for the vines to die with the Green Acorn and the Butternut as well?
And how will I know when this pumpkin is ready to pick??? And what is it???? .....I saved the seeds from a purchased pumpkin from last Hallowe'en.
yes, although some folks use the butternut as summer squash. They are pretty good that way. The Italian Trombone squash which many folks on this forum rave about is actually a butternut. Other types of butternut can be used the same ways.
Oh I'm so grateful for your advice! :) At the community garden no one else has ever grown squash and it's been a number of years since I even grew the spaghetti type. Please look at the picture and ? above your last post too.
The butternuts turn from almond color to tan/pink color when ripe and the vines usually kind of die down about that time. I have 3 butternuts from the variety called Really Big left over from last year. They really keep well and are up to twice the usual size...very thick necked.
Those pumpkins look a lot like the French heirloom...Cinderella. type. I have 3 very large Big Moon pumpkins. I will let them stay on the vine as long as possible.
Pumpkin is just a winter squash, same rules apply, except that many of them do not have hard rinds and if you want them early have to wait for them to color up. But not all called pumpkins are orange. Fortunately, there are few pumpkins that are flat, I would guess A Fairytale probably mixed. The 'Rogue Vif d'Etampes'( Cinderella) is usually more red. If the stem is smaller and hard like a butternut squash it would be in C. moschata group. Browse through and see if you can find a match. http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/Squash.asp
This message was edited Aug 19, 2006 8:04 PM
Thank you Indy! :) I'm growing them for my parents (who grew them in their younger years) so any and all tips are very appreciated.
So even tho some of my pumpkins have turned a darker orange they can remain on the vine?
p.s. Now I will have to look at Big Moon and Italian Trombone Squash to see if I can grow them here next year. So far I've been looking at all the wonderful tomatoes that we don't see here and am now becoming very interested in purchasing other never seen here veggies (as long as their season is 90 days or less).
Just saw your post and thank you too FarmerDill.
Lilypon,
Pumpkins and winter squash mature and harden up best when left on the vine till nearly frost in northern areas. Some acorns might be best when picked a little earlier than that.
Gotcha! :) I was starting to feel very bewildered/overwhelmed looking at the amount that is growing out there and only picked one green acorn whose colouring matched those in the grocery store (and then I thought maybe I should've asked the experts here ;).
This message was edited Aug 19, 2006 6:18 PM
Regarding what type of pumpkin it is I think I'll wait til picking time to see what the final colour will be. The Long Island Cheese also looked close and I can't remember how dark the parent pumpkin was.
I really would like to grow the 'Jarrahdale' Cucurbita maxima next year. I'm pretty sure it was another unusual one that I purchased (and it was field grown in Saskatchewan so there is a good chance I might be able to grow it as well). Unfortunately its' seeds weren't mature. :(
I was happy to learn on this forum that the reason I have picked acorn, butternut and buttercup squashes that tasted either under ripe or over ripe were probably under ripe. I have never had that happen with squashes left on the vine until just before the first big frost. Now I have to go back and try growing all those squashes and not picking them too soon.
I think it also helps to keep them for a couple of weeks before trying them for full ripeness. I have read that several places.
I love good winter squash and love growing them. They grow such huge plants, I always feel like a really terrific gardener!
LOLOLOL me too pajaritomt. We are gardening out at a community plot and the almost overabundance of vines makes our section look very green (and us talented ;). It truly is a jungle out there. :) Good thing too cause the deer and raccoons don't seem to like tiptoing though it like they do in our neighbours more open spaces.
Lilypon,
I gardened for years in a community garden, but finally got my own vacant lot -- any city gardeners' dream.
I am including a picture of this year's squash patch as of yesterday. By tomorrow it may have gone all over the vacant lot. They look like a bunch of lotuses in a pond. Best we can do in this dry area.
I am so proud. And you are like -- deer don't seem to like squash. Yippee! No wonder the natives of the continent were so big on sqush.
Anyhow, I will let you know how they taste. Last year I got good butternut. I am hoping that this year, I will have some other yummy types. DH loves winter squash and so do I -- even to eat.
Betty
Farmerdill,
Thanks so much for that wonderful link picturing varieties of squash. It was fascinating! I have book marked it for future reference. You know, I have seen a lot of those in the store and wasn't sure whether they were any good or not. I know Amy Goldman's book addresses that, but if you know any links on the use and tastiness of any of these squashes it would be much appreciated.
Betty
Oops, Lilypon
Forgot the picture. here is my winter squash garden yesterday.
Betty
Yours looks mighty good Betty (& with lots of space :) In mine the pumpkins are taking off down the tomato rows, in between the corn and are giving the peppers a little more shade then they were originally getting (they seem to like it tho). I've never had vine plants put out as many runners as mine have this year. The squash are more or less staying in the area we planted them.
Cukes, cantelope, honeydew and watermelon are thankfully behaving themselves.
Pam
Pic taken just after a few veggies had been planted. The area we have is the corner with the yellow line around it. It's about 75' long and 35' deep (at the widest point).
This message was edited Aug 21, 2006 7:10 PM
So in zone 5, are you saying that I should wait to pick spaghetti squash until closer to last frost???? I've never grown anything but summer squash before, so I'm a worried mom over my babies.
I believe that spaghetti squash is a summer squash that is harvested when the color turns from ivory to golden yellow. leave stem attached.
I have only grown it as a winter squash. Same rules as the Acorn but it takes longer to mature. Don't know how it would taste as a summer squash.
Is it too lat for spagetti squash this season? I am in 7a. When do you pick it?
All varieties of the spaghetti squash have a long season. Way to late this year for this year except for those in frost free zones. You can pick them when the skin gets too hard to pierce with a fingernail.
