• Delicata Winter Squash
  • 'Delicata' winter squash.
  • 'Delicata' winter squash from the 1894 Henderson's seed catalog.
  • 'Delicata' winter squash from the 1893 Henderson's seed catalog.
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Delicata Winter Squash

Delicata Winter Squash

$2.95 USD
$2.95 USD
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Delicata
Cucurbita pepo

100 days —  The vines of 'Delicata' produce fruit that are three inches in diameter and six to eight inches long, cream colored with green stripes from the blossom to the stem end. The eating quality is excellent, with a fine texture and an almost sweet potato-like flavor. Because of these attributes, it has remained a very popular variety for well over one hundred years. 'Delicata' originally was introduced by Peter Henderson in 1893. They described it as follows:
"The ground color of this beautiful variety is orange yellow, splashed and striped with very dark green. The quality is splendid, being rich and dry, similar in this respect to the well-known Fordhook Squash. The Delicata is the earliest of any vine Squash that we have ever tested, and is so prolific that last season, from twelve hills of two plants each, 352 perfect Squashes were gathered. Although of small size, this variety is wonderfully solid and heavy, the seed cavities being very small. For private use, particularly, we can recommend this Squash, as it far surpasses in richness of flavor any of the large, old-fashioned sorts. In our trial grounds last season, we probably had 100 varieties and stocks of Squashes under test, but of all this number not one produced as many Squashes as the Delicata. As before stated, the great distinctive feature of this Squash is its extreme earliness; it matures about the same time as the Summer Squashes, and for early use will doubtless supplant this watery, tasteless class, while its extreme solidity renders it fully as good a keeper as any of the winter varieties. The Delicata is an "all season" Squash in a remarkable degree. We can highly recommend it."
Each packet contains three grams, which is approximately 40 seeds.
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Planting Instructions: Choose a location that has warm, well-drained and fertile soil. Work in plenty of well composted organic matter and mulch established plants to conserve moisture, as squash are heavy water consumers. Sow directly into the garden after threat of frost has passed.

Here in the Maritime Northwest, it is common to plant seeds in hills. The hills are created by mounding up the soil about four to six inches high, twenty-four inches across at the base and flattened on the top. This allows the soil to be better warmed by the sun and provides better protection from heavy rain.

Sow five to six seeds, one inch deep, in hills or rows. Spacing is dependent on plant type. Vining varieties should be spaced on six foot centers while bush-types at twenty-four to thirty inches apart. When seeds germinate, cut off all but the strongest three or four seedlings.

When laying out your garden, remember to consider the growing habits of the varieties that you are planting. Some bush-types are compact while some vining types require a tremendous amount of space. Harvest time will also vary by type.

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