Did you know there are three main cucurbit varieties here in New Zealand? I did not know this! Cucurbita is the genus name for what a lot of people call squash and it’s categorised broadly into the following three types;
- Cucurbita Pepo – this includes delicata, courgette, kamokamo and spaghetti squash.
- Cucurbita Maxima – this includes buttercup, blue hubbard, red kuri and triamble.
- Cucurbita Moschata – this includes butternut and tromboncino or rampicante.
So why is this information useful…. to choose the varieties you want in your garden of course!
Which squash varieties should I grow?
Some squash varieties are easier to grow than others. Generally, the Moschatas are the easiest to grow, and Maximas the hardest, especially when insect pressure is a major factor. There’s also a whole range of considerations around how long you want to store your harvest, and how you want to eat it. Learn more about the joys and pitfalls of the different varieties below.
Cucurbita Pepo
Pepo varieties are the earliest to mature (often 80 to 100 days) so are great for a quick harvest or a short growing season.
Pepo squash generally are not cured, so they have a shorter storage life than other winter squash types. With their softer skin generally they keep a few weeks to a month or two depending on variety. Though, the skin is edible!
Spaghetti squash are versatile and have recently become very popular. They can be eaten immature like a summer squash or left to mature as winter squash with long, spaghetti-like strands that separate when cooked and can be served like a low-carb pasta.
Cucurbita Maxima
Maxima varieties include a lot of larger pumpkins including most of those cool giant pumpkins that are grown for competitions. Most maxima squash need a long growing season, but once grown are excellent roasted, baked or mashed into soups. They typically develop a cured skin which allows them to be stored for much longer than the Pepo variety.
They are typically more prone to insect problems than pepo and moschata, especially during hot summers. Hubbard squash is so popular with cucumber beetles that some gardeners grow it to attract the beetles away from other squash varieties.
Curcurbita Moschata
Moschata varieties include include butternut squash, and rampicante or tromboncino squashes that may also be used as pumpkins.
While Moschata varieties still need a long growing season, they are the most heat-tolerant of the 3 common winter-squash species, generally performing better than pepo or maxima in hot-summer areas.
Squash Seed Saving
If you’re hoping to save seeds from your backyard squash plants, it’s a little more important you know which varieties you’re planting.
While different families of squash won’t cross pollinate, those within the same family will. This means, if you’re growing multiple different type of Pepo squash, the seeds you harvest from them at the end of the season will likely not grow true to type next season.
However if you’re growing one Pepo, one Maxima and one Moschata, the seeds you harvest will not be cross pollinated and the plants you produce next year should grow true to type!
How to Save Squash Seeds
Seeds need to be harvested from fully mature fruits.
- Wash the seeds to remove any flesh and strings.
- Cure the seeds by laying them out in a single layer on a paper towel to dry.
- Store them this way in a place that is dry and out of direct sunlight.
- Once thoroughly dried, in 3 to 7 days, store them in an envelope in a cool dry place with the rest of your seed supply.
Dried winter squash seeds will store up to 6 years if kept in cool, dry conditions.
