[missmoneypenny]

I decided to grow a pumpkin/squash ( not sure of the correct terminology!). It’s for eating, I’m not interested in growing the biggest/ carving at Halloween etc. I like making pies, risotto etc. I scoured the local  garden centres for a heritage variety eg crown prince but couldnt really find any except for a 99p packet of Marina di Chioggia , a really ugly Italian variety. I’d love to hear what other people grow!
https://www.premierseedsdirect.com/product/italian-winter-squash-marina-di-chioggia/

[mumofstig]

If I had to pick just one, it would be Uchiki Kuri, if it needs further recommendation Monty Don grows it every year, as well 
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/gardening/article-7601197/No-room-grow-pumpkins-Monty-Don-aternative-thats-thriving-garden.html

I get my seeds here   https://www.premierseedsdirect.com/product/squash-uchiki-kuri-organic/

[missmoneypenny]

Thanks mum if it’s good enough for the Don it’s good enough for me! Kuri goes on the list.

[wolveryeti]

So difficult - a bit like being asked to pick one's favourite child!

So I am afraid I am going to cheat and give a few that I rate highly. You should get >2 the size of a cantaloupe or bigger from all of these, given good soil and space.

Uchiki Kuri: As several have mentioned on this thread it has a great flavour. The French call it Potimarron (portmanteau of Potiron-pumpkin and Marron-chestnut). I would agree the flesh is a bit chestnutty and v. good eating.

Honeyboat: This one is great as it produces loads of pretty, small, elongated, striped squashes. Let's be honest, you sometimes want to use squash in a small meal and the size is perfect for 2-3 ppl. Flavour quite similar to Uchiki Kuri.

Butternut 'Chieftain': I grow this one every year as it is so dependable in the UK climate. As Cucurbita Moschata it is more resistant to the dreaded white powder mould that tends to knacker all squashes eventually!

In the photo is last year's haul: all of the above plus a Queensland Blue.

[Blewit]

Butternut Waltham does well for us. Decent yield, good flavour and stores well. No too difficult to cut up in the kitchen either. The seeds also are good to eat, not too chaffy like some can be.

[AnneB]

My favourites are:
Thelma Sanders Sweet Potato Acorn Squash.  Very productive, super taste and just the right size for 2.

Winter Luxury.  Lovely size and taste. Suitable for a Halloween lantern if required, but definitely eat the flesh.

Flat White Boer Squash.

Boston Squash.  These are huge.

[New shoot]

Pumpkins - another vote for Winter Luxury. 

Squash - my absolute favourite is Black Futsu, which is a smallish one but has amazing flavour.  It is like Uchiki Kuri with the volume turned up, although Uchiki Kuri is very good as well. Black Futsu turns orange in store and gets even better.  Very chestnutty and the texture is almost creamy when roasted.

If you want big squashes, Crown Prince is the best one I have tried.  Very productive and excellent eating, but they are monsters to deal with.  There are only 2 of us, so cutting into one usually involved a lot of freezing of the rest of it before it went off.

[missmoneypenny]

Thanks guys these are great recommendations. I see Uchiki consistently gets recommended. Not being too big is definitively a bonus, if all goes well well only have 1 child left at home in autumn 2024 so there’s no point having masses of produce. I love the look of crown prince but the big size could be an issue, does the flesh of squashes freeze well enough to be used in say a risotto later? Honeyboat might also be worth trying.

[wolveryeti]

I love the look of crown prince but the big size could be an issue, does the flesh of squashes freeze well enough to be used in say a risotto later? Honeyboat might also be worth trying.

All squash flesh freezes excellently in my experience, though chopping and taking the skin off something like a Crown Prince is not my favourite job in the world....

[New shoot]

I tend to roast squash before it goes in the freezer, so I cut it into wedges (skin on), cook it, then take the skin off and chunk it up once it is out of the oven and has cooled down.  Crown Prince are still monsters, but less so that way. 

Frozen squash is great.  I use it in soup, curry, reheated as a side and for risotto.  It is more a freezer space issue for me.  A single Crown Prince squash could generate a huge number of bags of frozen squash chunks.

I don’t know if it true for all of them, but I have found that the smaller varieties produce more fruits than some of the larger ones.  You might get 1-2 Crown Prince squashes per plant, but Black Futsu will make 5-6. Some of the gem squash, which are very small and single portion, produce loads.  I grow at least 1 of these a year, just to have small squashes to halve, de-seed and roast in the skins as a side dish.  You scrape the insides out to eat them.

[Snow]

Agree with red kuri, it is the quickest to ripen and so will store well. I don't grow any butternuts as I am in Glasgow so have wetter and shorter summers than those of you down south so they don't ripen in time. Crown prince can ripen. Marina de chioggia is very tasty and I think looks great 😃  Blue ballet is excellent and stores well.  Turks turban looks great but I find it a bit of a pain to peel/eat. With red kuri you can eat the skin too.

I always grow winter squash rather than pumpkins because they taste better and store better.

Also they store better in the warmth of your house rather than the cool/cold of a shed or garage

[missmoneypenny]

I love the look of crown prince but the big size could be an issue, does the flesh of squashes freeze well enough to be used in say a risotto later? Honeyboat might also be worth trying.

All squash flesh freezes excellently in my experience, though chopping and taking the skin off something like a Crown Prince is not my favourite job in the world....

Ha ha no it looks like it would require an axe! Such handsome fruit though… I grow partly for beauty as well as flavour

[missmoneypenny]

Thanks again everyone for this wealth of experience. Good to know they grow well for you in Glasgow @snow, so I shouldn’t have any trouble here.

[gobs]

The best flavour I tried is Crown Prince. Most of the squash seed sold do not even ripen here, they have absolutely no eating value, like a butternut.