Squash Variety Seeds

Amish Pie Squash:

Introduced to Seed Savers Exchange in 1982 by James Robinson, who is said to have acquired it from an Amish gardener in Maryland. One of the best processing pumpkins we have ever grown at our Heritage Farm headquarters in northeast Iowa. Pale-orange flesh measures up to 5" thick, and the largest fruits weigh 60-80 pounds. Firm moist flesh is excellent for making pies and for freezing. 90-105 days.

Australian Butter Squash:

(C. maxima) From our friends at Digger's Garden Club near Melbourne, Australia. A ribbed salmon colored drum-like pumpkin with wall-to-wall starchy high quality flesh. Excellent for baking, a great keeper. Fruits weigh 7-15 pounds. 90-100 days.

Black Beauty Zucchini:

(C. pepo) A 1957 All America Selections winner developed by John Scarchuk at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station. Compact everbearing bush plants are loaded with glossy green-black fruits with firm white flesh. Best eaten when under 8" long. Excellent variety for freezing. 45-65 days.

Boston Marrow Squash:

(C. maxima) (aka Autumnal Marrow) Once the standard early squash, available in the U.S. since at least the 1830s. Excellent table quality: flesh is thick, flaky, and free from fiber. Striking red-orange skin, average fruits weigh 10-20 pounds. 90-110 days.

Cornfield Pumpkin Squash:

(C. pepo) First offered by SSE member Glenn Drowns in the 1984 Yearbook from USDA seed. Our top choice for use as both a carving pumpkin and for fall decorations. Fruits are flattened, light-colored, thin-skinned, and weigh 12-15 pounds. Very sturdy stems rarely break off. Traditionally grown as a dual crop planted with field corn. 90 days.

Galeux d'Eysins Squash:

(C. maxima) (aka Galeuse d’Eysines, Courge Brodée Galeuse) A French historic variety squash from the Bordeaux region; noted in Vilmorin’s Les Plantes Potageres (1883). Seed carried by La Ferme de Ste. Marthe and collected by SSE member Amy Goldman at the 1996 Tranzault Pumpkin Festival. Attains weight of 10-20 pounds. Best used for beautiful table centerpieces or eaten in stews and soups. Harvest squashes when slightly immature as they tend to crack. 90 days.

Golden Hubbard Squash:

(C. maxima) (aka Golden Warted Hubbard, Red Hubbard) Introduced by D. M. Ferry in 1898 but attributed to J.J. Harrison of Storrs & Harrison Co. of Painesville, Ohio. Starchy, nutty, fine-grained flesh—good for baking and roasting. Fruits are 8-12 pounds and store well. An all-time American favorite. 90-100 days.

Long Island Cheese Squash:

(C. moschata) East Coast historic variety long remembered as a great pie squash by people in New York and New Jersey. Mentioned as early as 1806 by Bernard McMahon of Philadelphia. Named for its resemblance to a wheel of cheese. Flattened, ribbed, buff-colored pumpkins average 6-12 pounds. Sweet deep orange flesh. Good keeper. 90-100 days.

Marina di Chioggia Squash:

(C. maxima) Beautiful Italian winter squash named for the fishing port near Venice. Large grey-green bumpy turbans average 10-12 pounds. Sweet dry flesh, excellent in soups and pastas. Good keeper, flavor improves with storage. Consistently a heavy producer. 95-100 days.

Patisson Panache Jaune et Verte Squash:

(C. pepo) (aka Variegated Scallop, Yellow and Green) Described in Vilmorin's Description de Plantes Potageres (1856). Sent to SSE by French member Bruno Defay. Creamy white scallop squash with green stripes, borne on bush plants with high yields. Good eating qualities when young, rock-hard ornamental when fully mature. 55-70 days.

Patisson Panache Verte et Blanc Squash:

(C. pepo) (aka Variegated Scallop, Green and White) Described in Vilmorin's Description de Plantes Potageres (1856). Excellent eaten young when fruits are sea foam green; dark green stripes appear as they continue to mature. Keep picked clean for best yields. 60-70 days.

Potimarron Squash:

(C. maxima) (aka Courge Châtaigne) A small winter squash from France, inversely pear-shaped, with a flavor like chestnuts. The name is derived from the French: potiron (pumpkin) and marron (chestnut). Superb table quality in a small (3-4 pounds) manageable size. 85-95 days.

Queensland Blue Squash:

(C. maxima) An “Australian Blue” squash directly imported into the United States in 1932 from Arthur Yates and Company of Sydney. Dark blue-green ribbed rind with flesh that is meaty, sugary, brilliant orange, and abundant. Striking gray foliage. Late to mature, long shelf life. 110-120 days.

Rouge Vif d'Etampes Squash:

(C. maxima) (aka Bright Red Etampes, Cinderella) Beautiful French pumpkin introduced in the United States by W. Atlee Burpee in 1883; documented by Vilmorin the same year. Very flattened red-orange fruit with wide ribs, weighs up to 20 pounds. Favored by French chefs for rich soup stock. 95 days.

Spaghetti Squash:

This historic variety originated in Japan and was introduced to the United States by the mid-1930s by seedsmen such as Henry A. Dreer of Philadelphia. Plants bear cream-colored, cylindrical shaped fruits filled with spaghetti-like strands of delicately flavored flesh. 80 days.

Strawberry Crown Squash:

(C. maxima) Mary Schultz of Monroe, Washington found this variety in Brazil in the late 1980s. She gave it to Glenn Drowns who introduced it to SSE in 1991. Beautiful brown bicolor squash with a blush of salmon at the crown. Fruits average 6 pounds. 90 days.

Turks Turban Squash:

(C. maxima) (aka French Turban, Turk’s Cap) Predates the 1820s; may be the ancestral form of American Turban. Distinctive turban-shaped fruits grow up to 12" in diameter and weigh an average of 5 pounds. Beautiful bright orange skin streaked with light and dark olive green. Great decorative squash for fall displays. Thick flesh is mildly sweet. 80-100 days.

Winter Luxury Squash:

(C. pepo) (aka Livingston’s Pie Squash) Introduced in 1893 by Johnson & Stokes of Philadelphia. Amy Goldman, author of The Compleat Squash, says it is “the finest pie stock in the land.” Fruits average 6 pounds, making them the perfect size for two pies. Orange rind is covered in delicate netting; flesh is smooth, sweet, and fiber-free. Not the best keeper, so enjoy it for Thanksgiving or early winter. 85-100 days.