PlantFiles: Calabaza, Cuban Pumpkin, Winter Squash, Butternut Squash, Zapallo
Cucurbita moschata

Calabaza West Indies Pumpkin Squash Seeds came from the Caribbean St Kitts Island. Mid March 2012 planting under Growlite in basement, then mid April planting at home garden, mid June 12 # squash used for great soup. INVASIVE: The two plants tried to take over our 100X100 garden & did! Over 1000 feet of vine & abundant 2 # to 30 # fruit. Even climbed onto our Grape Arbor & produced four 2 #er squash along the 24 ft length.
Our 13 July Fall Community Garden planting produced 25 squash within 60 days with a 10 Nov final harvest of many, plus a 50 #er, pictures will follow. Fantastic as inch cubed, slathered with olive oil & coupled with chopped celery, onion & spiced, then roasted at 400F for 45-60 minutes.
Same vine produced a variety of squash configurations & colors, 2# darkgreen pumpkin type, 12 to 30 # that were watermellon shaped & varigated greens, to the 50 # 18 inch diameter round version. Dark greens turned yellow/orange & keep well, but watermellon configuration had quickly started rot spots if skin was punctured & needed immediate processing of the good portions.

Currently growing zapallo in Morganton,NC. The vines are vigorous and are growing with sunflowers and have a few squash on the vines now. I planted seeds thjat were 2 yrs old and was surprised that all germinated and grew. This is my 1st experience growing zapallos and if they are successful I will definitely grow them again.

Well.... It taste like squash, winter squash.
Other than that, its amazingly disease and pest resistant, out of this world so, unless you have a long standing cultivated variety, of witch they seem to be less vigorous and hardy.
I obtained my seeds from an Hispanic family that brought the seeds with them, when they came here from southern Mex.
Ive been growing them for a couple years now, and they've come to be the only winter squash I grow, As here in C.FL without tons of spraying very, very few other squash can take the on the bugs and be as unscathed.
Love the heat, can go without being watered in all but the driest of weeks, they send down huge tap roots.
The best squash to get blossoms off of to eat, because they produce hundreds in the season. The stem tips are very nice too, fry them up!!
Just be careful where you put them, they take over any part of the yard they're put in.

The plant itself is growing like wildfire--lots of blooms, lots of bees buzzing around. It has escaped the chain link fence and is headed across the back yard. I need to rescue other plants in my small garden from it several times a week. However, the original sprouting site of the plant and the next 5 or 6 feet, including all the flowers, have died. I'm not sure it will ever produce any pumpkins. I've not grown this plant before. Last year in the same location, I had a blue hubbard squash that did very well. There are also cucumber plants in the same plot that are producing cucumbers abundantly. Any ideas? I live in Massachusetts about 40 miles west of Boston.

does anyone have these seeds?

I've grown these in San Diego and Santa Cruz, CA. Great results in both locales. Current plant growing like crazy, have had to restrict it's growth, it wants to rule the world. biggest fruits 5-10 lbs, creamy orange when ripe, stores very well. I recommend the soup, lots of great recipes on the net.

Verry vigorous vine/can grow or spread to 60'/branched tendrils will wrap around anything they contact/large squashlike leaves with white markings/every place a stem touches the ground it will root at the base of the leaf, this can help keep ahead of borers/fruits are verry attractive mottled green and cream,weigh about 10 lbs.Cook like any other squash.