Many give it the highest of ratings on flavor. I think it's good. But, to date, I've had trouble growing it. It has always gotten killed off by squash bugs. This doesn't necessarily mean it's more susceptable, I've just had bad luck.

It's a larger bush than most summer squash. It sprawls some, but it's not like a vining squash. It's more restricted than that.

Hope this helps!

George

Hi Dean! George is right, the vines are manageable. I have raised Costatas three or four years and I really like 'em. They seem to be a little less "seedy" when small and their ridges look cool when you slice 'em. Tasty and the skin is not too tough. I have a raised bed "lasagna" type garden with companion planting and volunteer plants and hardly ever use any Sevin dust, but when any of my gourd or squash come up and out of the ground, I put Sevin around the plants (no blooms so the bees are not around) and diametaceous earth to discourage snails. Just a couple times between rains till they toughen up and can be "on their own." (About five inches tall when the stem and vine toughen up.) By the time any powdery mildew moves in, you already are sick of eating the delicious little fellas.
Try 'em! You'll like 'em!
It will be funny to see what's left in there when the frost hits and the leaves die off. I think I have a few in there the size of toddlers!
Enjoy.... Marsha

This is one of the tastiest of its kind of squashes I have eaten. The fruit has less water, and more real flavor than many other types. I find that the plant grows as a bush with quite long branches (3-4 ft); it is quite manageable. This fruit is usually fairly easy to find on the plant, but I occasionally have found that I missed one until it was giant. Even giant, they are fun to cook with, although not as flavorful.
Renais