We need a new name for winter squash. We plant it in May, we cover it to protect it from bugs and diseases, uncover it when it gets really hot in early July, and then it grows madly until the middle of August when the first fruits start to ripen and we start to harvest. None of this happens in the winter. Of course it is called winter squash because it is meant to hold all winter long, but our climate does not lend itself to that. Around here it is really too hot and humid to grow a truly hard squash that will keep through the cold months. We pick it and start distributing it immediately; after all that work it feels terrible to store it and watch it rot.
The squash that holds the best for us is butternut, and we do our best to keep that one safe and dry until the end of December. It gets sweeter as the months go by. We cure butternut in the greenhouse—hard squash needs to sit in an 80 degree space for a few weeks so that it can become a storage item, ideally in a space with low humidity. We can't have everything around here, so we do our best to take advantage of the heat and then stash the squash in the cooler.
This year looks like a bumper year for spaghetti squash, so you will see that on the list for about a month. We also grew unusual amounts of Red Kuri and Kabocha, with unusual size. All the winter squash seems to be bigger than we are used to, which means you will be eating larger quantities than usual. In the past our squash has been quite petite, enough for a few bites. This year the squash is big enough to generate leftovers and lots of soup.
I had just about decided that we should cut back on our winter squash acreage. It is a lot of work, mulching and covering over a half an acre. But then it comes pouring in toward the end of August, right when we are adjusting to the diminishing yields in the tomatoes, and we are glad to see a new vegetable. My resolve falters.
First we have to pick all this squash and figure out where to put it. We will think about next year after we get through this one.
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