Squash and Melons- 2024
Note that all of our warm weather varieties are open-pollinated varieties from which you can save your own seed.
Summer Squash
Tromboncino – Rambling vines produce very long, pale-green Italian summer squash. Flavourful and firm, the seedless texture is a real treat in the kitchen. Matures in 80 days.
Zucchini – Black Beauty. Some darker and some lighter fruit, all with a tender texture and excellent flavour. The open bush grows to 24”, and allows the gardener to see the fruit maturing – before it becomes huge. Matures in 60 days.
Zucchini – Romanesco. Large, open, bushy plants produce distinctively ribbed fruits12-16”. A very pleasant taste that transcends the world of ordinary zucchini. Great flavour when dried for use in winter soups. Matures in 55 days.
Zucchini – Yellow Crookneck – Heirloom with yellow fruit (5”-6”) long. Warty, curved-neck squash with really excellent flavour, similar to a zucchini, but a little sweeter. Matures in 75 days.
Zucchini – Golden
Winter Squash
Acorn – Table Queen – Dark green skins and a pronounced acorn shape on fruits that average 6” in diameter. Excellent keeping ability. Long vines are prolific and early. Matures in 85 days.
Burgess Buttercup – Reliable heirloom squash produces 3lb turban shaped fruits with dark green skins and the unmistakable navel or dome at the blossom end. The golden orange flesh inside each fruit is sweet and finely textured, never watery. Matures in 115 days.
Butternut – Waltham – The standard butternut. Larger fruits with small seed cavities and thick, straight, cylindrical necks. Fruits avg. 9” long, avg. 4-5 lb. Flesh has smooth texture and sweet flavour. Matures in 110 days.
Delicata – A Mild tasting, thin-skinned, delicate squash. The smallish 1 lb fruits store well for months. Fruits are oblong and creamy white, with green bands. Matures in 100 days.
Spaghetti – Pale yellow, cylindrical squash grow to 10” on long productive vines. Keeps well. Matures in 100 days.
Melons
Minnesota Midget Cantaloupe/muskmelon:
Delightful little melon introduced in 1948 by the University of Minnesota produces loads of 4″ fruit, sweet and juicy to the rind. Melons in general, love long, hot seasons, but this variety is specially suited to areas with a short growing season, though it can be grown anywhere. Compact, 36″ plants are great for containers. Plants are Fusarium wilt resistant.
New! Moon and Stars Watermelon: Deep green, slightly rippled skin dappled with small bright yellow flecks and one or two larger irregular spots – hence, the stars and moon. The plant’s foliage is even speckled with golden markings. The fruits are oblong to oval and can be diminutive 8 lb to 40-pound monsters. Seeds white, and flesh pinkish red, sweet and delicious.
Santa Claus Cantaloupe:. originated in Spain and named for its long keeping quality, fruit reaches 30 cm (12”) in length by 15 cm (6”) across. Light yellow striped green fruit turns a deeper yellow when ripe, flesh light green. Its thick skin does not release typical melon fragrance. Fruit will slip easily from the vine when ripe.(stores well in a cool place).
Sugar Baby Watermelon:
An early, small-fruited ‘ice-box’ type. Fruits are round, 6-8 inches in diameter, weighing from 5-8 lbs. The thin, dark green rind is hard and not easily damaged. Flesh is bright red, sweet and crisp. Maturity of 75-80 days.
Sweet Passion Cantelope
An Ohio heirloom that has been grown since the 1920s.. It has succulent orange flesh that is very sweet, aromatic and very finely flavored. Fruit weighs 3-4 lbs and is produced on vines that have some drought and wilt resistance. 85 days