Squash Winter, Tahitian Melon

110 days. This near-legendary butternut-type was one of the first rediscovered heirlooms that fueled the early heirloom movement. Fruit is large, to 40 lbs or more, though 12-20 pounds is more common. The orange flesh is richly fragrant, very sweet and delicious--so sweet the juice caramelizes when baked--one of the sweetest squash anywhere! Fine for use in pies, soups or desserts, and keeps for up to nine months. Has been known to produce as much as 100 pounds of squash per plant. The plants are rugged and huge. They grow over a wide range of conditions, even in the scorching-hot summers of the Southwest. Introduced by Thompson and Morgan in 1977 from seed grown by our friend Steve Spangler of Exotica Rare Fruit Nursery in Vista, California. Steve was among the earliest people to grow Tahitian Melon squash in this country from seed originally brought from the exotic Islands of Tahiti by a sailor in the 1960s. I remember these from the 1980s Gurney’s catalogs. It helped inspire my dream of exotic seeds and places, a love of cultures and their foods.

• Full Sun
• Sprouts in 5-10 Days
• Ideal Temperature: 70-95 Degrees F
• Seed Depth: 1/2-1 inch
• Plant Spacing: 18-36"
• Frost Hardy: No
• Cucurbita moschata

Growing Tips: Direct seed, or set out transplants after last frost date. Don’t let transplants become rootbound; don't disturb roots while transplanting. Needs rich soil. Harvest when rinds become very hard.