(and Winter Squash, Canteloupe, Honeydew, and Pumpkin, too!)
Do you love the sweet fruits and vegetables of late summer as much as we do? Well then, PLANT THEM NOW! We’ve got the heat now, which they thrive on. To develop those natural sugars, these crops take more time to mature than many other veggies, mostly between 70 and 100 days from seeding. We’ve saved you some time by growing starts, LOTS of them, and most of the varieties we’ve chosen will mature relatively early.
All are open-pollinated unless otherwise indicated. Our selection includes:
MELON
Ha Ogen, 70-85 days. Israeli, high yields, incomparable flavor and aroma, early-maturing.
Hearts of Gold, 75 days. Heirloom, very early, productive muskmelon bears round, 3 lb. (up to 6″) fruit with sweet, aromatic, deep orange, firm flesh.
Collective Farm Woman, 83 days. Heirloom, extra sweet, 10″ round, white flesh.
Minnesota Midget, 60-75 days. Extra-early variety bred by U. of Minnesota in 1948. Capable of producing two crops – excellent for short seasons. Vines seldom over 3′ long; suitable for containers. Round 4″ fruits with thick golden-yellow, deliciously sweet flesh to the rind. Disease resistant.
WATERMELON
Sugar Baby, 79 days. Produces abundant crops of 9″ long, 8–10 lb., juicy fruit with sweet red flesh, few seeds are small.
Sweet Dakota Rose, 60 days. Heirloom, very sweet red flesh, 10-20 lb., tolerates cool temperatures.
Early Moonbeam, 75 days. Delicious, sweet, yellow flesh. 3-8 lb. fruit have attractive, light-green skin with dark-green tiger stripes, which makes them easy to tell apart from the red watermelons. Early maturing, cool weather tolerant, ripens reliably in short growing season and is always sweet.
Blacktail Mountain, 65-75 days. Green-black round 6-12 lb. fruits and deep scarlet, super sweet, juicy, crunchy flesh. Perfect for short season areas; also does well in hot humid climates. Bred in northern Idaho, where summer nights average 43°F.
WINTER SQUASH
Thelma Sanders, 85-90 days. Heirloom. Tender, sweet and delicious, Thelma Sanders’ cooks up to a buttery-soft texture and unique sweet chestnut flavor. Highly productive plants produce cream-colored, deeply ridged acorn squash measuring 7-8 inches with thick, orange-gold flesh. Unlike most Acorn squash, Thelma Sanders also stores very well. Also known as Thelma Sanders Sweet Potato.
Honey Boat Delicata, 90 days, (C. pepo). One of the sweetest varieties in existence. Oblong, 1-1.5 lb. fruits have Delicata’s green stripes, but with copper-tan skin instead of yellow. Golden-orange flesh is exceptional sweet, nutty, and smooth textured. Produces early and holds its sweetness in winter storage. Ideal 2-person side dish. Needs no embellishment but can be stuffed. Enjoyed even by some who profess to hate winter squash. High in calcium, potassium, folate, and vitamins A and C.
Tetsukabuto hyb., 91 days. Productive Kabocha-type, round ~8″ dark green with exceptionally delicious, sweet, dry, thick, smooth, nutty, yellow flesh. Requires a pollinator (buttercup, butternut or hubbard), so we grow our starts with a hubbard in the same pot. Stores well.
Sweet Dumpling, 100 days. Tender orange flesh has superb sweet, dry nutty flavor. Vigorous mid-sized vines bear lots of squat, ribbed single-serving 4-5” fruits with creamy white skin mottled and striped green. Stores 3-4 months. Excellent baked or stuffed.
Uncle David’s Dakota Dessert, 95 days. Heirloom. The original Buttercup, tops for color (orange), flavor, sweetness, vigor, cold-hardiness, productivity, thick flesh, small seed-cavity. Versatile! Makes perfect pies with no added sweetener or use for a main dish.
Sibley, 100 days. Heirloom. Slate-blue banana-type to 8-10 lb. on vigorous 10-15’ vines. Wait until January to eat – rich, sweet orange flesh becomes even sweeter, drier and tastier after several months storage. Excellent keeper. On Slow Food’s Ark of Taste!
Burpee’s Butterbush, 87 days. Introduced in 1978, “the first bush-type Butternut, and still the best”. This highly esteemed variety bears fruits averaging no more than 1½ lb. each, making each a perfect one-person serving with moist, deep red-orange flesh “as sweet as the best sweet potatoes”. The compact bushes with short vines crawl only 3-6’, and average yield is 3-5 ripe fruits per plant. Ripens early enough to grow in short-season and cooler areas. An excellent keeper.
Spaghetti Squash, 65 days after setting out transplants, or 100 days from direct sowing. Cylindrical fruits are 5-8” long, weigh up to 7 lbs., are easily steamed, and make a fabulous, tasty, nutritious, low-calorie, grain-free sub for pasta! Stores through winter in cool, dry place.
Honey Bear hybrid, 85 days. A delicious small acorn squash just right for single servings when halved! And the semi-bush plants take up less space, yet they yield 3 to 4 fruits per plant. Somewhat resistant to powdery mildew, too.
Sunshine hybrid Kabocha – AAS winner! Deep scarlet and delicious, this unique red Kabocha-type is not only stunning to look at, but sought-after for exceptional sweet, nutty flavor of it’s thick, smooth, dry, stringless, bright orange flesh that’s rich in vitamins and excellent for baking, mashing, and pies. The 3-5 lb. fruits can be consumed at maturity but can also be stored for months. Short (6-8’) vigorous vines average yields of 3-4 flattened globe-shaped fruits per plant. Requires a pollinator (buttercup, butternut or hubbard), so we grow our starts with a hubbard in the same pot.
Plus: Table Queen acorn squash, Waltham butternut squash
PUMPKIN
Cinderella (Rouge Vif d’Etampes), 110 days from seed. An 1883 French heirloom pumpkin/squash, Cinderella is stunning in the garden and delicious eating, too! Great for soups, curries, custards, etc. on cold days. It does very nicely in our Colorado gardens, producing flattened, 12-15″ diameter bright scarlet-orange fruits shaped like Cinderella’s pumpkin coach.
Winter Luxury, 100 days from seed. Heirloom. Beautiful 10″ round (5 lb.) pale orange netted pumpkin makes the yummiest, smoothest, mellowest pies and puddings of all. Does not store long.
Plus: Jack-Be-Little, Jarrahdale Blue, and Big Max