Check out this bad boy. Sorry about the tape being upsidedown.
Tromboccino
They can get pretty long! When big, they seemed to me more like a winter squash. I never got to pick a small one.
I agree the rind is hard like a winter squash. I have some more small ones still on the vine. Maybe I will try one while it is still small.
I have some small plants growing but I don't have anywhere to plant them. GRRR How big do the vines get?
Mine got about fifteen feet long. They didn't seem to WANT to climb my trellis but I tied them. They weren't quite as bad as birdhouse gourds that went nuts over my fence to the neighbor's yard.
Took mine to my neighbor's big garden and borrowed some space. We'll share the bounty.
They do get very big! The longest measured 158cm, or 5 foot 6.
Soft skin like a zuchinni when small, more like winter squash when big. We are still eating our way through the curly one, the other two are lounging on the guest bed. They seem to be keeping very well, even the cut one with plastic wrap over the wound. Which is good, cos they provide so much more than we could eat at once.
I grew 5 vines, and got 1-2 huge fruit plus a number of smaller ones of each. They carried on well into autumn, but have finished now. Vines do get very long, some over 7m, fun to grow if you have the space. Mine took to the trellis a lot better after I tied strings all over it, gives the vines something small to wrap their little curly fingers around.
Lena
That illustrates why they aren't very commercial-Imagine carrying that home from the store!
Welp, trombocino tends to pull me out of the closet. I love growing it!
And yes, ya'll should definitely pick some at around ten inches or so. At that size they are great raw, shishkabobbed on the grill, sautee'd in olive oil and garlic, etc.
The big ones are great chopped up with onions and tomatoes and stewed or baked like a butternut if you decide to store some thru the Winter.
At the end of this writing there are several good pics ya'll might want to look at, especially my end of year harvest.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/16/
Shoe
Those look great. I am trying them this year and I hope I do good with them. Do they need to be trellised or can they grow on the ground?
Howdy, Cajun...
They can grow on the ground or you can trellis them. If grown on the ground you'll end up with them curling, if grown on a trellis they'll grow straight. I seem to always end up with both!
Hope you get to try some this year!
Shoe
Thanks a million. I guess mine will have to be on the ground this year. Maybe I can get them a trellis next year. Good to know I can have them either way.
Heres another one, early in the season. It grew half way around the house!
Good for shade no doubt.
They're straight on a trellis. But, these things are amazing. I kept one outside all fall, winter, and into the spring for seeds & when I cut it open for them - the flesh was still moist and good to eat inside!
My friend's ponies got into her garden and the squash fell victim to them. I have moved to a place where I have much more room to garden so I'll try them again next spring.
Here's one of mine. Still growing all over the place. To eat as summer
squash, 8-12 inches. Yum Yum.
Mine came out sort of shorter and fatter than last years. I wonder if weather affects the shape. I had some butternut that were very short an fat too, and others just usual.
Cross pollination with the butternut is possible, both belong to C. moschata, do you think maybe the short fat ones may be crosses?
Well that sure would be possible, good thinking! I cannot remember if this year I planted seeds right out of a package, or had saved some. My trombocinos do look like huge longish butternuts. I may get another clue when I cut them and see what color is inside.
But I leaned toward a weather or soil condition cause, since some of each trombos and butternuts in the same year showed some short-fattedness tendencies.