Autumn Crown f1

I'm sorry that this isn't a better picture. It was taken with the camera of a new tablet. Maybe with a little more practice, I can do better.

It also isn't a favorite variety but it is the last of the winter squash from storage and was quite tasty - simply baked in the microwave with butter and brown sugar. Delicious!

The squash were harvested about 5 months ago! I know that Butternut has a good reputation as a winter keeper. This little C. moschata squash does well in the garden and its flavor improved over the months that it sat on the basement shelf. Keeping it company until mid-January was Burgess Buttercup, a winter squash that I have grown for many years.

Joining those two was a Kabocha squash that David52 suggested several years ago. A Cha Cha was doing just fine and was a delicious addition to a Sunday dinner a couple of weeks ago. Cha Cha's flavor and meatiness makes it a favorite. It also keeps well.

I have two problems with it. One, growing each year with the Buttercup, the two look so much alike that I can't evaluate Cha Cha's productivity! I realized that late last season although I always have trouble getting around in the squash patch. Which hill of sprawlly vines is which? Where does one vine end and another begin? And, how in tarnation am I gonna get outta here without stepping on living plants?!

The other problem is that Cha Cha is also an f1 hybrid and seems to only be available from Johnny's these days. That's not a great big problem but I've grown several Kabochas and it's the only one that matures well.

Steve

who must decide if he grows Autumn Crown again in 2019 and needs to mark his hills of squash!

My go to favorite is butternut. Years ago through seed swapping I had a carnival acorn squash very bumpy that had outstanding flavor. Sadly ran out of seed.