This year, I decided to again try my hand at some winter squash. While searching for just the right addition to my limited garden space, my mouth kept watering at all the wonderful prospects. Acorn, Buttercup, Spaghetti, Turk's turban, Delicata: Hubbard, Candy Rooster, the list goes on and on. I could even smell them baking, with a touch of cinnamon, nutmeg and a pinch of brown sugar. O yummy squash soup. Ummmm! Okay, back to reality. So, I settled on two, Queensland Blue (Cucurbita pepo) and Lakota (Cucurbita maxima). Both are heirloom varieties. (I am a big advocate for heirloom vegetables)
The Queensland Blue was developed in Australia and brought to the United States in 1932. It is a light grayish-blue color, slightly flattened and ribbed and usually weight around 8 lbs. It has a mild tasting orange flesh and stores up to 6 months.
The Lakota can trace its ancestry back to the Lakota Sioux tribes from North & South Dakota. They can be a tear drop shape or round, and range in color from orange to being mottled with green stripes from the bottom. The flesh is fine grained and has a sweet, nutty flavor. Fruits weight between 5 to 11 lbs. Prolific producer and stores well. I have read nothing but good things about this squash and cannot wait until mine are here.
In my winter squash planting venture this year, I learned something about the plants that I never knew before. To the right are two photos of my Queensland Blue plants. Beautiful, right?! Anyway, every time I looked at them, I wondered how the leaves at the end of the long trailing vines could look so much better than the spot where I originally put them in the ground. After all, the water and nutrients had to get all the way to the end. Nooo. I found this out when I moved a vine out of the grass and back in the boundaries of the garden area. At the joints of the plant, where the flower and the little "curlies" reach out to hold on, from the bottom side, a root will grow down into the soil and then micro roots will shoot off it once it is below the surface of the soil. You can see them in the bottom picture if you look past the curly. Nature amazes me every day. So, if you are new to this like I was, be sure your squash vines are going where you want them, or you could damage them if you try to move them at a later time. 
