Nice squash. I got some seeds from tom too....hope mine do as well.

Cool Michael, I'm 2-3 weeks behind you, can't wait to see what you think of the taste.

Tom

Yes, I'd like to know how it tastes myself. Interesting shape. I am all for easy growers. ;o)

i'd say they taste quite good. maybe a bit more flavorful than tromboncino squash.

i made my zucchini salad today with tom's crazy squash, it it was excellent. the squash's raw flesh is dense, sweet, white and seedless.

when it's hot and my salad greens have all bolted, i make this instead of a tossed salad: using a veg peeler, i make long thin cutting of the squash, turning the squash from time to time to keep the slices roughly the same width. i toss these squash ribbons with salt, and let them sit and drain for a few minutes. i finish the salad off with plenty of olive oil, a few squirts of lemon juice, and a handful of fresh chopped mint. sometimes i'll add just a bit of hot, fresh, finely-chopped tabasco pepper.

I'd wear my party tee-shirt if I'd grown that squash! The salad sounds divine.

Having never had success with zucchini or yellow summer squash, I wonder why I'd ever try again since Tom's is seedless and spectacular looking.

Wow Michael, that salad sounds great; I hope I'll be following in your shoes.... Mine are not growing as fast as yours and I'm a bit concerned about the space I've given them to grow in, you know how small my garden is so they're in 3.5 gallon buckets set between my tomato cages to climb as a trellis, but that's only six feet tall. How long are the vines? I may have to get some of Silvia's milk crates and drape them on the upper boardwalk if you tell me they're 15-20 feet long.

Tom

well, 15 feet right now (8 feet up and at least 6 feet over), and growing longer every day. man, tom, these things LOVE to climb. they'll hook onto anything and up up up. why not grab a couple of electrical conduits, ram them a couple feet in the ground, string some wire between then and let it rip. that's what i've done. works great.

seriously, i could see this thing covering a house. not for the weak of heart.

Thanks Michael, based on your assessment I'll rig something up at least temporarily for the summer, post a picture of the plants/growth when you can.

Tom

Wow, those are some "squash", I've had next to zero luck with summer squash, get maybe 4-6 then it wilts and quits producing.

I have some of tom's crazy seeds, I am now getting the first fruit on one of them so that Tom can ID it. Planted 4 different one of his new stuff and promptly put my key to what was where in the seed tray in a very safe place. Just can't remember where that safe place is.

I'll post a pic on this thread since it relates to Tom's seeds.

bernie

Hi Bernie,

First off, if the blooms are yellow and occur during the daytime then it's one of the Metki melons in the Armenian cucumber family. If the blooms are white and occur nocturnally then it's in the Calabash gourd family and eaten as a squash. Beyond that you're right, I'll have to see a picture to ID it.

Tom

Does it look like it will take summer's heat? If so, I would look for some seeds to start now. I'd love to try it.

hm. it DOES look like it's drought tolerant. it doesn't root at nodes (like some squashes/gourds do), but the leaves are hairy and slightly bluish, and i have yet to see it wilt in the summer's intense sun. i'd give it a shot. the thing grows so quickly.

stick a couple seeds in the ground (i used the post-hole method), a 10 foot length of conduit and some room... i'd like it if you tried and told us how it does.

i noticed four more squashes lengthening on the vine. judging by the first one, it only takes a few days to go from two inches to two feet...

Picture of seed from Tom at ECHO. What do think Mr Tom??

{{gwi:873329}}

The fruit is about 6-8 inchs on this pic. Sorry about the poor photo.

bernie

Hi Bernie, I'll look tonight, I'm at work now and Big Brother blocks the photo links.

Tom

Hey Bernie, that's a Tromboncino....

You guys are right! I bet my vines are 15 feet long now and quickly climbing up one of my fig trees. I bet some of the fruits grew 6 inches just since yesterday. At this rate I may have a squash that looks like Michael's very soon.

Michael, did you rinse off the salt after letting the slices sit to draw out the water? This is a raw salad right?

I have some huge tromboncinos that I need to know what to do with them. I love how unusual they look.

Christine

christine, it's a raw salad. i don't wash the salt off, but i do put the mix in a colander to drain.

What a neat squash! To be able to grow something like that, that's good for you and doesn't seem to mind drought conditions, that's great! Growing things from seeds is fun and a treat. By the way, your salad sounds great!

FlowerLady

I'm watching the cucuzzi very closely since it is a fast grower. I bet some will be ready by the weekend.

Is Tom's trombocino a gourd or a hard shelled squash similar to a butternut? I have some really big ones that I need to know what to do with.

Christine

Hi Christine, it's not a gourd; it's in the butternut/winter squash family, but eaten as a summer squash at the immature stage.

Tom

Hey, Tom. Should I let the overgrown squashes mature and cook them like a butternut?

Christine

I don't know, I'm not wild about winter squash, hopefully Michale will chime in soon....

Tom

How did you grow it? Your whole yard looks like it is bricked. From the pic that is. :)

christine, i just don't know the answer to your question. since you'll soon be overwhelmed by squash, why NOT let the large trombones mature? they'll be huge, my guess. i grew one last year (or the year before, can't remember) that wouldn't fit in the fridge!

WOOOOOOwwwwwwwwwww! Michael, mine are so far behind yours it's not funny...guess I'd better get to work on a trellis though :-( :-)

Tom

I have 3 cucuzzi plants growing close together. Since I never grew this variety before I didn't know what to expect. I originally planted these 3 plants in the veggie garden. So glad I transplanted them. I was going to just let them grow on the ground but I can see that with the long thin fruits that it would have been a mistake. They'll be taking over the fig tree very soon!

Christine

even after more than a week of constant rain, no sign of disease...

Now, that is a very cute picture! Your little girl should be a model!

Silvia

Very nice Michael, interesting that yours handled the rain with no problem, mine gave up the ghost when my bunkers flooded. I'm going to start another one this weekend though after I finish my cattle panel arbor for it to grow on...definitely a cute picture, that toe head is with out a doubt model material!

Tom

Michael, are you growing it in the ground or in a container? If it's in a container what mix are you using?

Tom

tom,
it's in the ground, climbing up a "trellis"--electrical conduit with a piece of sisal twine. it quickly mounted that 8' pole, went across a ten foot crosspiece, and has now climbed another piece of 10' twine between my trellises. today we had a session with my clippers that put a pause on its plan for world domination... at any point it has two or three of these long squashes. what's amazing is how quickly they go from a few inches to three feet. great flavor--like tromboncino, but maybe a bit sweeter.

Glad to hear your happy Michael, since we're be eating these things before the seeds mature are you going to let a few go at the end? If not, these seeds came from ECHO.

Christine, yours look great too. I just could not see the pictures from work, odd that Big Brother is blocking PB but not Picasa.

Tom

good to know about ECHO. i'll probably let one go to seed at the end of the season. whenever that is. i wonder how big they'll get?

i wonder how big they'll get?

Supposed to range three to four feet.

hah! they're three feet long and don't have ANY seeds. my guess is 5-6 feet... we'll see!

:-)

Tom