Zucchini, Courgette, Summer Squash 'Costata Romanesco'

After two years of growing Black Beauty zucchini with OK results (albeit in too small a space), I planted Costata Romanesco seeds indoors...Read More this year (April 29), grew the seedlings under a grow light, and transplanted 3 seedlings outdoors on May 30 (zone 3) ... giving each seedling quite a bit of space. Plant growth has been incredible, productivity has been great (10 zucchini per plant as of August 25), and they are extremely tasty zucchini. A+.

I had a house guest from California several years ago, and her mother had sent various seed packets with her, all foil-wrapped Parks seed...Read Mores. They were old by the time I received them, dated for the 2009 season. This spring I decided to try a couple of the packets just to see if they would still germinate. Indeed they did, and I have cucumbers and zucchini in the same patch. When I harvested my first vegetable of the season from that patch, I was unsure what it was. It was in the zucchini area, but it looked a bit like an English cucumber. I thought I would add whatever it was to a green salad that night to celebrate the first vegetables of the season, but I never got that far. I cut into the mystery vegetable and discovered that it was, hands-down, the best zucchini I had ever tasted. I did some research and found the name, Costata Romanesco, and read up on it. It's an heirloom Italian and judged to be the best of the bunch by gourmets. I love zucchini and have grown it for 30 years, but this variety was a real eye-opener for me. A vendor called Fedco says in a catalog that Costata Romanesco is “the only summer squash worth bothering with, unless you’re just thirsty.” I wouldn't go that far, but Costata Romanesco will be the only zucchini I grow in the future.

Huge, susceptible to mildew, and I abhor SVB, which adore this plant! Nonetheless, this variety has won me over. It is worth it all! <...Read Morebr />
Absolutely the tastiest zucchini I have ever had!

This year I will be growing it again, monitoring carefully for SVB intrusions, battering flowers, cursing the thing when it gets huge. It does resist SVB and I have cut the worms out with (mostly) success. I am going to try using DE this year to ward off the buggers.

I am tempted to try to grow it vertically with a large tomato support, as well, to conserve garden space, increase air circulation, and to be able to monitor for bugs a little better.

I have grown some version of this squash for over 10 years. I get my seeds from Johnny’s and a packet lasts 3 – 4 years. And each y...Read Moreear I search for a similar tasting squash without the huge footprint others have already commented on. Without success. I have found no way to control the growth although it is pretty tough and every so often I just hack it back.

It produces fewer fruit than other summer squash but you can let them get larger without losing flavor or having them get seedy. You can stuff and bake them and they freeze beautifully for winter sauces. In a pasta sauce they retain their flavor and crunchy texture. This year I tried a small round squash with a civilized habit but the taste was not there so I planted another hill of Costata. Maybe a 3 month growing season will cause it to not take over so much real estate in the garden.

If you have the room try this squash.