“Sure feel the frost on my punkins,” quoth Charlie Farquharson in his Allmynack
Some would say that Charlie, Don Harron’s alter ego, was out of his gourd. And technically, all would be correct. Although the Cucurbitaceae are something of a taxonomist’s nightmare, sexually profligate and happily crossbreeding at the drop of a stamen, botanists are on the whole agreed to certain divisions, thus:
Cucurbita ficifolia Cidra, Sidra, Malabar Gourd
Cucurbita foetidissima Missouri Gourd, Foetid Wild Pumpkin, Buffalo Gourd
Cucurbita maxima Pumpkin; Banana, Buttercup, Hubbard, Mammoth, Turban Squash
Cucurbita mixta White and Green Cushaws, Tennessee Sweet Potato Squash
Cucurbita moschata Butternut Squash, Cushaw Squash
Cucurbita pepo Summer Squash, Acorn Squash, Marrow, Spaghetti Squash, Gourds
The first two are unlikely to be widely encountered. The cidra or sidra, from Mexico down to Chile, is utilized locally to make a sweet preserve. The seeds of the buffalo gourd, native to the southern U.S. and Mexico, have been utilized as a source of oil.
Summer squashes ripen in that season just past. Winter squashes, however as Charlie Farquharson observed, require frost on them prior to harvesting.
Summer squashes are of course, personified by zucchini, Cucurbita pepo. A city girl, on marrying a greenhouse operator, planted an adjacent plot with a row of 50 of the beasts. Later that summer she was reduced to giving away bushels. Dave Berry, one of the most wonderfully humorous columnists, would agree with the result. “The trouble is, you can’t grow just one zucchini. Minutes after you plant a single seed, hundreds of zucchini will barge out of the ground and sprawl around the garden menacing other vegetables. At night, you will be able to hear the ground quake as more and more zucchinis erupt.” Dave Berry (Rebecca Rupp, 2011).
“The first zucchini I ever saw, “I killed it with a hoe,” claims author John Gould, as recorded the indefatigable Rebecca Rupp (1987). Gould also thinks little of pattypan summer squash: “A cross between a Scottish curling stone and the end cut from a roast of foam rubber.” He thinks the best use for all squashes is to dry them and hang them from trees as birdhouses, adds Rupp. This is unfair. Apart from certain ribald uses that Ms. Rupp appears unaware of – organic dildos is the most polite – they can be useful for beating off bears. In September 2010, a woman in Missoula County, Montana hit a bear attacking her dogs with a 30-centimetre zucchini from her garden. Hurling the veggie, it struck the marauder on the head, causing it to flee to less cucurbitaceous country
Leave it to a French gourmet though to praise the courgette, as they are known across the Atlantic. They have a very delicate taste, observed Prosper Montagne in Larousse Gastronomique (1938). He also calls them Italian marrows. This brings into the picture that summer squash beloved of British gardeners, the vegetable marrow. Although it is used in making chutney preserves, growing them to mammoth proportions is a staple for home gardeners of Shakespeare’s “scepter’d isle.” Or was until orange pumpkins arrived on those somewhat sodden shores.
Now Brit gardeners have joined the race to grow the ne plus ultra of the appropriately labelled Cucurbita maxima. But whether large, larger or largest – and they are approaching a staggering tonne – while the seeds will be saved, the monstrous bulk will end up as compost. It is the far smaller specimens that end up, with suitable spicing, as traditional pies, muffin and similar seasonal offerings.
More flexible, culinary-wise, is its close cousin the butternut squash. Savvy purchasers choose those with a small hollow bulb end and thick neck to minimize seed content and maximize flesh. Once home, it is split lengthwise, the seeds scooped out, filled with butter and maple syrup, wrapped in foil and baked in the oven. If too much for a single meal, it will keep refrigerated for several days.
Over the next month or so, massed displays of such winter squash proliferate at retail outlets. And by gosh, the price is right. So buy now, wipe down with a weak bleach solution and store in a cool, airy area well apart anything that might inflict them with an off-flavour. Canada Agriculture advises that while pumpkins might be expected to keep for 13 weeks, winter squash will double that. For those wanting to set something by, other veggies are rutabaga, also at 26 weeks as will sweet potato, onions and potatoes both at 39, and carrots a week less at 38, while garlic stores for an entire year. Bon appetite!
Wes Porter is a horticultural consultant and writer based in Toronto. Wes has over 40 years of experience in both temperate and tropical horticulture from three continents.
