I've grown the round calabazitas, but only when we lived in Mexico, and we didn't have borers there. But I seriously doubt that they would be anywhere near as resistant to borers as a c. moschata. I have grown Scarchuks Supreme (an acorn/ c. pepo) which is considered somewhat borer resistant. It is better than some. But again, a c. moschata will beat it.

I think I have seed for that I will try it and let yall know how it works. This year I intend to keep records of what where how much so I can get a better clue as to what I need.

Bon, if you are planning to come to Spring Fling, I can save you some zuchetta seed. You could do a side by side comparison :)

Zuchetta is the best. I got some last year at the spring fling and it was awesome. it took over and I redirected and it kept going. This year I want to give the zuchetta a big trellis and plenty of space. I still have one to eat.

I can testify to Tatume's hardiness in central Ok. It just grows faster than the bugs can kill it. And makes a big plant and a big crop. It seems to put down a root everywhere it touches the ground. I don't have SVB but do have those little squash bugs that look like stink bugs. They will kill about any other squash I grow, but the tatume grows quick enough to stay ahead of them. It is not as tasty as pattypan types, but those do not last in my garden. Tatume does.

Scott

I'm glad I asked ya'll before buying. Okay. I'll do Zuchetta this year and see how they work for me. I'm assuming I can pick them young and small for coring. I guess I'll only really know until I cook them. I don't think I can do more than one because I'll be fighting for the French variety I'm growing and I'll have several new armies of SB this year.

Yes, Lisa. Would like that, if you don't mind. Ya'll mentioned it before, but I keep forgetting. Forgive me, but I think you gave me a few in one of the earlier flower gift packets. I planted it last year but too late, because Mr. Coleman came out to plow about mid spring and I put all plantings off. It was devastated before it could get very big.

Only this year did I organize my seed stock. Now, I can place marked empty envelopes for varieties I'd like to try like using marked envelopes as placeholders for Scarchuks Supreme and Calabacita.

And, of course, I'll use a regular c Pepo very very early in spring to nab a few fruits and as a trap crop, later. Darn bugs make ya work!

Scott, you confirm what I was thinking - in order for it to survive, it'll be a space hog. That space is in competition with the Old Timey Cornfield Pumpkin which does the same. I was hoping to keep the whole area a little less "jungly".

Bon, I had a volunteer Zuchetta in my garden this year. I was rarely at home, so it got no care. I picked several young squash from it when I would come home, but didn't pay much attention to it. I picked most of them from the tomato cages that it had decided to climb on, and those tomatoes were the only thing I had planted last year in my garden. One stem worked its way up to the gate, and I ripped it off a few times so the gate would open. A third stem, climbed over to a fence about 4 feet from the plant, then down the fence to the back of my garden and over the fence and into my neighbors yard where it continued to grow. It was huge. I still have 3 or 4 huge squash that matured on the vine before I even knew they were there. I grow this squash every year but we eat it as summer squash.

It may not be what you are looking for to stuff though. It has a bulb at one end which contains all of the seeds. You could remove the seeds and stuff this part, but the bulk of the squash is in a long, long neck which has no seeds. The meat is a buttery yellow and is excellent in my opinion. I cut the neck into medallions and fry, bake, or boil. It is all good. The plant is huge. I like plants that make a jungle.....it shades the ground and reducing weeding.

reducing.....make that reduces.

Yes, it is not what I would consider a "stuffing" squash, but it is excellent stir fried, or any other way.

I'll give it a try. What we don't eat will go to zuke bread or the wormies. Squash is awesome that way. As Carol suggests, I can stuff the bulbs and see how they taste and hold up.

I have grown Tatume here a couple of times. While it outcompetes squash bugs, the squash vine borers still can kill it in a year when they are really bad. I don't grow it any more because we liked the flavor/texture of Seminole harvested young (baseball to softball-sized) better than Tatume. It is a huge space hog too, and because I already grow 6-10 kinds of C. moschatas most years, the last thing I need is a space hog that isn't as tasty as they are.

Bon, I couldn't help noticing how many of my favorite Texas horticulturalists (Sam Cotner, Malcom Beck, Howard Garrett) were in Howard Garrett's story about Malcom's pumpkin. (Mr. Garrett and Mr. Beck write extensively on organic gardening and all their books are excellent, and Mr. Cotner wrote THE book on growing Vegetables in Texas. I've worn out 3 copies of it and am on my 4th.) Jay White, by the way, writes regularly for Texas Gardener magazine (as does Greg Grant) and their articles and columns are the first ones I read when a new magazine arrives.

It is a well-known and well-understood phenomenon that healthy plants grown in healthy soil are more disease tolerant and more pest tolerant than less healthy plants. When pests relentlessly attack plants, I try to figure out what it is about those specific plants that make them less healthy and, therefore, more alluring to pests and to diseases. Sometimes it is obvious to me because the plants under attack are growing in less healthy soil. Sometimes it is something much more subtle---like cool-season plants that are beginning to be subjected to hotter temperatures than they like. Howard Garrett makes a convincing argument for us to grow our brassicas in the fall only in this part of the country because they have less pests since they are less stressed in cooler conditions---and I believe he is right about that. And, there are some pests, like grasshoppers, that relentlessly attack everything still green in the hot summer months, whether the plants are healthy and happy are not. So, for every "rule" that we observe, their is an exception, and I find grasshoppers to be one of the exceptions to the rule that healthy plants in healthy soil are not attacked by pests and diseases.

I grew up eating yellow summer squash for as far back as I can remember and nothing I've ever grown as a more pest-tolerant substitute for it is 100% acceptable. When I want yellow squash, I simply want yellow squash---nothing else will do. So, in order to have it, I just grow it in low tunnel rows under row cover and hand-pollinate it. I feel like I don't have to settle for less in my own garden, and growing Tatume instead of the yellow squash I really want is, indeed, settling for less.

You'll never know how you feel about Tatume until you grow it yourself. I just wasn't crazy about the flavor and didn't find it to be a really heavy producer either. To be fair to Tatume, it never will look like a heavy producer when it is grown adjacent to Seminole because Seminole outproduces it (and everything else) every single time. There is a reason Seminole is a perennial fave in our garden----it is beaten everything else for about 15 years now, and that track record is hard to break. It has been around forever....I can remember it being on seed racks in Texas when I was a child, although I think then it likely was sold as Calabacita, because that is the name that pops into my head every time I see a packet of the seeds.

For squash vine borer tolerance or resistance, as George noted, C. moschatas will win every time and, for me, the C. agyrospermas like White Cushaw, Green-Striped Cushaw and Orange-Striped Cushaw are in second place. Tatume might come in third, or actually, a distant fourth behind every kind of yellow summer squash that exists when grown under row cover. YMMV. You can grow any squash or pumpkin you want if only you'll grow them under summerweight row cover, tulle netting, mosquito netting, etc. and hand-pollinate. Does it take longer and a bit more effort? Sure it does, but it is worth it to avoid the heartbreak of losing plants to the dastardly SVBs.

Dawn

Thanks, Dawn. Yeah. It's going to be a while for me to get row covers, but until then I'll play around with different varieties. Okay:
Scarchuks Supreme (and Winter Squash)
Zuchetta
White Cushaw
Green-Striped Cushaw
Orange-striped Cushaw
(C. Agyrospermas)
And, of course, Seminole Pumpkin

I know you're repeating yourself, here. Just made place markers. I. Will. Try. Them. All. (eventually) ha I have some Butternut I'll plug in this year, too.

As for Pumpkin Pie, I'm sticking with Old Timey Cornfield Pumpkin

I'm excited to try Seminole Pumpkin this year. I have read so much good about it here. I got the larger fruited variety through Southern Exposure Seed Exchange. Hope it doesn't totally engulf my tiny backyard and the neighbors' too lol!

Dawn, I'll look forward to hearing about how Butter pie and Butterbush work out for you.

Can you use Seminole Pumpkin for pumpkin pie, or would I be better off growing something else for that?

I grew them this year. The vine borers LOVED them BUT they survived the jerks and kept producing all summer long. All I did was take out the worm and bury the part they attacked. I even missed some and the plants still thrived.