5 Varieties of Squashes With High Yields To Try Next Season
Squashes are the star ingredient in many a recipe and they typically store well. Not only are they delicious to eat but can also be used to create stunning seasonal displays in your home or garden.
While pumpkins and courgettes require a fair share of your kitchen garden real estate, they will reward you with a high yield and gorgeous color if you select the right varieties.
Here are 5 easy to grow varieties of winter and summer squashes to include in your to-try list next season.
1. Zucchino Genovese
This Italian variety is probably the most productive courgette: if you have a long growing season, expect your last fruits until early October. Each plant has an incredible yield, even with little to no addition of fertilizer, and can produce 3 to 4 fruits per week!
This summer squash produces early. Fruits are light green with no ribbing and thin skin. They will retain their nutty flavor even if you forget them for days. Easy to raise from seed, this courgette has a bushy habit and stays compact: a definite staple for a vegetable garden.
Top tip: Harvest these when very young (3.5in |10cm long with the blossom is still attached), they have a lovely nutty quality. You can fry and stuff the flowers: Sarah Raven shared a delicious recipe on her YouTube channel.
2. Zucca Principessa (Crown Prince)
A winter squash with a striking light blue-grey color and smooth skin. This variety has a medium time to maturity (95 days): get a head start in your greenhouse from March/April. Plant out young hardened plants in May-June when the ground temperature is above 15°C (59°F).
Beautifully sweet orange flesh and a good storer. Expect 3–4 kg per fruit.
Top tip: Make sure to plant/seed squashes at the recommended distance on the seed packet to avoid them smothering other crops in your vegetable garden: winter squashes vines tend to sprawl out.
3. Zucchetta Tromba d’Albenga
Another scrumptious Italian variety, this heirloom courgette has light green skin and its shape will vary depending on how you grow it. In the ground, fruits will coil on themselves and take the cutest C-shape. If you choose to train them on a structure (for example a fence or trellis), they will elongate and can measure up to 1 m!
Best used as summer squashes (harvested when young) as they don’t have a lot of seeds and are thus easy to prepare. My plants were still giving me courgettes in early October!
Top tip: Make sure to mulch young plants when planting them out: they will require less watering as more moisture will be retained in the soil. My most cost-efficient combination found so far: recycled cardboard topped with grass clippings.
4. Zucca Tonda Padana
Originally from northern Italy and still mostly cultivated there, this winter squash has deep golden ribbing which contrasts strikingly with dark green wedges. Perfect for autumnal displays with warm tones!
Productive variety with a yellow-orange flesh, good storer and a delicate taste. Use for pies, soups and roasting.
Top tip: Pumpkins and squashes are heavy feeders. Fertilize weekly with a high potash feed, especially to give young plants a head start.
5. Uchiki Kuri Squash (Red Onion | Potimarron)
Another high yielding variety to add to your growing list for next season: Uchiki Kuri.
Lovely tear-dropped shaped squash with vibrant reddish-orange color. Each plant will produce many smaller fruits (1–2 kg, perfect dinner size portion for two). The flesh is of an intense yellow and very sweet.
Again stores really well in a cool dry place, if you harvest in October you may be able to enjoy them until at least Christmas. Perfect for soups or roasting.
Top tip: When storing squashes and pumpkins, make sure to remove any dirt and leave the stem attached to slow down decay. Cut the stem as long as possible when harvesting.
