If you’re in Florida, you absolutely have to try growing this awesome tromboncino squash variety. I ordered my seeds from Baker Creek Seeds. I always have great results with their seeds and love their dedication to protecting heirloom varieties. You can find this variety here. These grow huge, and are decently pest resistant. I planted them in early March and by mid April the vines were covered in squash. In the past I’ve only had luck growing zucchini on one occasion, but I keep trying to get a squash right. These are a winner! They are a vining squash and need a sturdy trellis to perform their best. Once they take off–you’ll get plenty of opportunities to try out all your favorite squash recipes.
One of the things I absolutely love about this squash is that if you leave it to brown on the vine, it actually becomes a perfect winter squash. It can be stored and used similarly to an acorn squash or butternut squash. Unfortunately, as is often the case in Florida, my plants did start getting pickleworms as it got hotter and hotter. I haven’t be able to let any sit to full maturity as a result. Even still, these things are a beast and we’ve been able to continue harvesting many many squash. With the overuse of pesticides in commercial farming, I’ve been told it’s a good sign if bugs are willing to eat your food, so I’m willing to take the good with the bad in this gardening venture.
My personal favorite way to eat these has been sautéing with green onions and adding them to scrambled eggs. So delicious, nourishing, and SO EASY! I’ve also enjoyed trying out some new squash casserole recipes and tossing them in some soups. Florida gardening can be quite the feat with all the pests we deal with, but if you haven’t tried growing tromboncino squash down here, I highly recommend that you do.
What have been some of your successful new gardening varieties? I’d love to hear from you below.