Today’s Harvest

These are striped cushaw squash. These are a Texas staple. They are vine borer resistant and have a great flavor. These look like giant summer squash, but no. They are definitely winter squash.

I quit growing squash for probably a decade because we have two seasons of squash vine borer and nothing I was planting could grow long enough to ripen the squash. But: There are some varieties of winter squash that can handle the borers. The one that is most commonly grown is butternut squash. Those do well for me but I do have to watch for the borers. Butternut are resistant, but not borer proof.

Also: Don’t wait until the vine dies all the way back. If the vine is starting to die, go ahead and pull the squash. I just brought one in that something got inside of and I had to toss the whole thing. I hate wasting food!

I recommend these varieties for borer resistance: white bush scallop, acorn squash, summer crookneck, Dickinson pumpkin, green-striped or yellow-striped cushaw, butternut squash and zucchetta squash (the zucchetta can be used as both summer and winter squash.)

I did nothing for the cushaw vines, even though I have bt and a syringe. They did get borers but it didn’t slow the production down at all. I wanted to see how it would go without intervention and I’m super happy with my small harvest. Next year, I will definitely plant more. Probably will also use my bt.

See you out in the garden for our fall harvest!

Crazy Green Thumbs