PlantFiles: Winter Squash, Hubbard Squash
Cucurbita maxima 'Golden Delicious'

the squash on a given plant ripen at different times. The first good squash come off at slightly over 100 days typically but more continue to ripen. Very sensitive to frost so usually the season is over with first frost. Good mature squash without damage will keep from about the early to mid Sept thru to Feb if just stored in cool dry location. Use any that are slightly over ripe or under rip and any with damage before then as they will not last long. As with apples one going bad can wreck the rest so if you can, store each one by itself. If they are in fairly good shape(no damage) even the slightly under and over ripe typically easily store till Thanksgiving. Ripening is a yellowish orange to solid orange and can be mildly soft to hard. Ripe squash has a dark redish orange color to the skin with a fairly thick hard skin. As it reaches over ripe the outer skin develpes a tan mottling/veining of dead skin. Fair pumpkin substitute for pies, makes a good casserole or when diced and baked tastes mildly like sweet potato. Finely grained fruit with good texture.(can get stringy if over ripe) Plants can vine 20ft often ending up hiding in the corn rows or other rows. The size and length of the vines makes covering these plants against frost difficult. Tolerates(even seems to like) some shade but needs a fair amount of sun to do decently. In heavy clay soils water is critical as this plant doesn't tolerate being too dry or too wet. Does not transplant well so mostly needs to be direct sowed. Will germinate in, in garden cold frames.

Fruit are teardrop shaped and weigh 7-9 lbs., the rind is brilliant red-orange. Flesh is very smooth, tasty and orange. This variety was introduced by Gill Bros. Seed Co. of Portland Oregon in 1926.