[veggieman]

I cannot praise and recommend this vegetable high enough.

It is a member of the sqiuash family and I have grown the trailing variety on my allotments. It is so tasty when cooked and just half of one will form the basis of a good meal. You grow them in exactly the same way as you would grow butternuts and I recommend giving them a go next summer.

[mumofstig]

They were giving them a plug on Gardeners' World the other day, must admit they looked nice.

Any squash/pumpkin looks nice to me though 

[8doubles]

I may give these a go next year, are they similar to butternut in flavour?
Also how long do they store for, no point in me growing lots if they do not `keep' well.  

[Sharonx]

I googled this to see what it was like, & it looks really interesting. Where do you get the seeds for these from? I have never seen them before.

[mumofstig]

Google Hasta la pasta.........look a good'un

[Sharonx]

Thanks MOS I found them, and not expensive either. Will add them to my list, Hubby will be pleased 

[Pompey Spud]

We grew them for the first time with good results. 6 from one plant.

Bake in the oven for 20 mins at 180 than add your sauce to them.

It's just like spaghetti. Kids thought it was noodles before we told them.

Lots of flesh from 1 for 5/6 people.

[shokkyy]

Lots of flesh from 1 for 5/6 people.

Is there a small variety? There's only two of us, so I suspect we'd end up wasting a lot of it as I wouldn't think they'd keep too long once they were cut open, but I wouldn't mind having a try with these.

[veggieman]

We have managed to keep some of our veg spaghetti crop for up to a year and they cook fine but I think they are tastier if eaten within 6 months.

They are different to the butternuts in flavour and are quite unique. We tend to have half each and fill them with some meat sauce and then scoop it out with a fork and spoon. Alternatively, some butter (or margarine), lemon juice and pepper in the cooked half and then scoop out the flesh just like spaghetti.

The seeds are not excessively expensive to buy and you rarely see the produce in the suppermarkets.

Good luck!

[Starling]

I only have one growing, but I am really looking forward to eating it.
When will I know it is ready, sorry no seed packet as I bought the plant, and this is my first year so I have no experience of other sqashes.

[8doubles]

Ta for the info Veggieman , will give `em a go next year.

[Sharonx]

Ooooh really excited about this squash, can't wait to try. Got to wait a whole year. Never seen this in the shops, has anyone else?

[needssomehelp]

i grew these this year, i ate my first one last week, its so stange the way it comes away from the skin just like spaghetti, i cooked mine in the microwave,  squash weighing 2 1/2lb
took about 9 minutes per lb. just stabb it all over with a knife and bung it in untill the outside feels soft.  i served mine with spag bol sauce, it was a big hit with all my lot and my boy is really fussy. i will be growing a few plants next year!

[Swing Swang]

They make great jam too - firm and quite 'dry' with a fibrous texture that can be used as pastry/tart filling as well as on bread and toast.

Google 'doce de gila' for recipes (not that if you hit the translate button 'gila' is often translated 'pumpkin squash', but it's what we call spaghetti squash)

SS

[veggieman]

Starling - how big are the fruits right now?

I would have thought that most of the growing has been done for the larger ones at this time of the season. We picked ours when they were about 9 or 10 inches in length but you could pick them when they reached 6 inches or so. As with other squash family members, if you pick the larger ones early enough in the growing season then the remaining ones should grow on to a reasonable size.

I have grown them on my St Albans allotments with no problems at all but, up here in Shetland, they won't grow outside at all so I will have to allocate some space in our polytunnel for them next year. However, because space is limited, I will only put in two plants and will, even then, have to pinch out the growing tips for fear of the plants taking the tunnel over. I always used to put a bit of horse muck under each plant but up here, will use the local pony muck instead so I hope that it has similar benefits!