I'll check them out. Do you grow this variety of squash and do you like the flavor? We used to be big fans of Butternut squash, but over the winter last year, we tried a Kombucha squash from the grocery store and even members of my family who don't like squash, like this one. I'm just trying to make sure what I grow at home is as good as what we bought at the grocery store.

Do you mean kabocha squash? If so, I recommend "Sunshine" and wow were those vines healthy and productive! I find "Sunshine" to be creamier / less dry in texture than the traditional green varieties. I also have grown "Black Forest", which also is quite good, but not as productive as "Sunshine". DH likes the drier texture of this type of kabocha better, and I like any kabocha, so I grow both.

https://www.johnnyseeds.com/vegetables/squash/winter-squash/black-forest-organic-squash-seed-686.html#q=kabocha&lang=en_US&start=1

https://www.johnnyseeds.com/vegetables/squash/winter-squash/sunshine-f1-squash-seed-2998.html#q=kabocha&lang=en_US&start=1

Kabocha sounds right, thanks. :-). I've seen seeds for 'Sunshine' and thanks for going to the trouble of providing links for me. Appreciate it. They both sound good.

I think I'm going to try Sweet Mama this year instead of Black Forest, that one looks promising. Territorial has it.

New England Seed also offers number of varieties. https://www.neseed.com/product-category/vegetable-seeds/squash/winter-squash/kabocha-type/

Thanks for the link to NE Seeds, FarmerDill.

How does 'Candy Roaster' compare?
'Candy Roaster' @ Fedco Seeds

It's listed as a Cucurbita maxima that is open pollinated and organic.

And looking at the J.L. Hudson catalog - where I got some very nice sugar pea varieties that worked well for me last year - I see a Cucurbita maxima variety called 'Triamble'. It is $2.50 for a packet of 10 seeds. "Remarkable three-cornered squash with slate-grey skin and very sweet dark orange flesh. Keeps for months, and can reach 15 pounds. Distinctive French heirloom from the Locine Valley. 15 pounds doesn't sound small enough to be a Kobucha.

Here's another link for 'Sweet Mama' with a good photo and description from Tainong Seeds.....I wonder if it is a Japanese source of seed?
Sweet Mama source

I was disappointed with Candy Roaster for several reasons but the most important is the flavor is not as good as the Kabocha varieties. I used to grow Johnny's Confection but they replaced it with a newer variety. Flavor good but I lost last year's seedlings to striped cucumber beetles. Candy Roaster seemed oblivious to beetles and promptly put out vines that kept growing and growing. Every so many feet they put down roots. We've never had vines so rampant. Last night's squash was roasted with seasonings so flavor was decent but it doesn't have the dry, sweet flesh of the kabocha varieties. AND the skin was so hard I had my husband help cut up 1/3 of the large squash and it isn't even the largest. They look to be keeping well and possibly last summer's rain affected the flavor. I don't grow butternut because I think the flesh is too watery and the flavor too bland. We used to grow buttercup which has much better flavor but when I discovered kabocha we don't bother with buttercup any more.

Thanks for posting this. I haven't made my seed orders yet. We continue to buy Kabocha at the food store and a couple of times this winter, we've been disappointed with the flavor. I don't know if it is a different source or because it is later in the season, but it's twice in a row now. I also found them pretty hard to cut through, but with squash that's what I expect. I did save seed from the supermarket variety I liked last season, so I may try those. I still don't have as much sun for squash as I should, but I did manage to harvest a couple of spaghetti squashes last time, which my DH is a fan of. I've grown to enjoy them more too. We haven't bought a butternut since we started getting Kabocha, for the most part because my DH enjoys them more and will eat squash more often. [g] . I think I like both, so I think I will try to keep buying and using both.

Thanks Defrost, I always enjoy the details you share about your experiences, it's very helpful.

I wouldn't save the seed from the supermarket squash - if it's a hybrid, its offspring won't be true to type. Also, supermarket stuff can lack flavor, as I think we all know - and that goes for squash, too. Especially if not optimally stored. If you see yellow or orange patches on those green kabocha, the quality has deteriorated.

Thanks, prariemoon. I usually microwave kabochua squash for about 5 minutes which makes it much easier to peel but might partially cook the flesh. The peel is actually edible so you might find if you get vegetable tempura that it contains a narrow wedge or two of kabocha squash. It depends on the restaurant. The wedge isn't peeled. Unfortunately winter squash is usually pretty expensive at the farmers markets. I tend to have a favorite farmer for my spinach and mixed greens. Another grew terrific sweet potatoes this year. Worth the prices they charge. Squash from a particular farmer might be all a similar flavor. They need to stay on the vine as long as possible and then get cured for a couple of weeks before going into storage. A squash that didn't quite get to maturity even though it looks it might not have that sweet flavor. Like mxk3 said, I wouldn't try saving seeds from a supermarket squash. Most are hybrids.

I didn't attempt to peel the Kobocha, we ended up cuting it in half and baking and steaming both halves. We preferred the baked the first time, but later squashes were too dry and the steaming worked out better. Either way, we just scraped the squash out of the shell.

I definitely see how just the right handling of the squash is needed and finding a grower that does it just right, would be best. Do you have a lot of farmer market options where you are? We have a few farmer's markets in our area, but it seems for the most part, the same growers are at most of them.

Have you had any luck growing them yourself?

Thank you both for the advice on the supermarket seeds - I'm sure you are right. I need to find an open pollinated or hybrid seed to try.

They are easy to grow; they just need a lot of room and time to mature. Proper curing after harvest is important too. It was a learning curve for me, but I think I got the hang of it -- I still have a bunch of "Sunshine" in the crawl space, they're holding up well. Well, the ones the mice didn't get to... AAARGH!

That's excellent that you are able to extend your harvest that way!