Squash

Native to North America , the Ponca Baby Butternut squash is a variety of butternut squash prized for its small size, vigor, and naturally sweet flavor . Named in honor of the Ponca people , it embodies a cultural heritage rooted in the subsistence gardens of the Great Plains. Its compact shape , smooth beige skin , and melting orange flesh make it a valuable food source in climates with short growing seasons.

In the garden, it exhibits rapid and robust growth , adapting well to both open spaces and small vegetable patches. One of the most appreciated traits of this variety is its natural diversity of sizes : small, medium, and large fruits coexist on the same plant , allowing for harvesting as needed—for a daily meal or for preserving. This advantage makes it a versatile variety , well-suited to the needs of families , whether for a quick meal or for winter storage.

Easy to grow, the Ponca offers a generous and early harvest , ideal for organic vegetable gardens. Roasted, in a gratin, in soup, or mashed, its dense, sweet flesh fully reveals the warm flavors of autumn. Its good winter storage capacity makes it a valuable ally for self-sufficient kitchens.

Native to North America, spaghetti squash is a fascinating variety that has become a staple in modern kitchens thanks to its striking stringy flesh. From the moment it's harvested, this squash reveals a unique culinary treasure: a pulp that, once cooked, separates into long, spaghetti-like strands, offering a plant-based alternative to traditional pasta.

In the garden, it flourishes as long, vigorous vines, generously spreading its stems, often adorned with bright yellow flowers. Robust and hardy, it integrates naturally into summer and autumn vegetable plots, bringing both abundance and originality to the harvest. A valued companion plant, it plays an essential role in crop rotation while offering a unique flavor and visual appeal to the plate.

Native to the Americas, the Delicata squash is as charming for its elegant appearance as for its sweet and comforting flavor . Its thin skin, striped with cream and olive green , reveals a golden-yellow flesh with a subtle nutty taste . Prized in traditional vegetable gardens for its earliness and unique aromatic profile , it is now making a strong comeback in kitchen gardens seeking hardy and compact varieties.

In the garden, Delicata has a compact, creeping habit , perfect for ground cover or as part of a companion planting scheme. Its rapid growth and short growing cycle allow for harvests from late summer until the first frosts. It adapts well to temperate climates and is easy to grow even in small spaces. Its dense foliage suppresses weeds, and its abundant flowering attracts bees and other pollinators.

The Tuffy pepper squash is an acorn-type variety selected for kitchen gardens and small vegetable patches. It produces individual, ribbed fruits that ripen to a typical pepper squash color, ready for autumn cooking. Each plant, started in spring in suitable soil, develops long, creeping stems that provide good ground cover.

In the garden, Tuffy stands out for its good productivity and consistent fruit shape. It thrives in the summer heat and light to complete its life cycle, before offering, at the end of the season, squash perfectly suited for roasting and comfort food. In a harmonious garden, it deserves a sunny spot and should be patiently cared for throughout the seasons.

Originating in Japan , the Red Kuri squash , also known as Hokkaido squash , delights gardens and kitchens with its heart shape and vibrant orange-red hue . This heirloom variety is prized for its dense, sweet flesh and delicate chestnut flavor , making it an undisputed star of autumn recipes.

In the garden, Red Kuri offers a generous, creeping habit , covering the ground with its broad leaves and producing beautiful, late-ripening fruit , harvested as autumn approaches. It adapts well to temperate climates, withstands summer variations, and stands out for its remarkable storage capacity —sometimes until spring, without any loss of taste or texture.

Originating from the highlands of Guatemala, the Blue Guatemalan Squash stands out as a traditional variety with ancient roots. Its thick-skinned, deep blue-grey fruit evokes robustness and longevity, reflecting a mountainous terroir where the seasons are distinct.

In the garden, it spreads with a vigorous, creeping habit, producing dense, sweet fruits with firm flesh, ideal for winter storage. A generous and hardy plant, it reliably accompanies gardeners seeking diversity and authentic flavors.

Native to North America and belonging to the species Cucurbita moschata , the Butternut Violina (also called "Violina Rugosa" in Italy) is a fascinating blend of heritage and performance. This heirloom variety owes its name to its violin-like shape with its thick curves, and to the delicate apricot-colored flesh that literally melts on the tongue.

Historically cultivated in the gardens of the northeastern United States, then enthusiastically adopted in Mediterranean regions and more recently in Quebec, it embodies a valuable adaptive diversity. The Violina is perfectly suited to a kitchen garden or family garden thanks to its vigor, its ability to store well throughout the winter, and its capacity to feed a household with a single fruit.

In the garden, its ample foliage covers the ground and suppresses weeds, while its ribbed, drooping fruits ripen slowly in the sun. Its cycle is long, but its reward is exceptional. A true ambassador of late harvests, it accompanies the end of the seasons and allows gardeners to extend the magic of the vegetable garden right into the winter kitchen.

The Canada Crookneck squash is an heirloom variety steeped in history, its roots stretching far beyond its first commercial description. While first described in the United States in 1834 by Boston seed merchant Charles H. Hovey, it is highly likely that it was cultivated in Quebec well before that date, as the Iroquois were already growing it before the 1700s. This deep historical connection gives the variety significant heritage value, closely linked to North American agricultural knowledge.

The plant produces elongated, beige fruits that can reach up to 30 cm in length. It is easily recognizable by the curved tip of its stem, forming a characteristic hook that gives the variety its name. Some variability in fruit shape is perfectly normal, a common trait among older, non-standardized varieties, reflecting their genetic diversity.

In the garden, Canada Crookneck develops vigorous, trailing plants that require space and stress-free growth. It appreciates warmth and rich, well-drained soil, but is more tolerant than many other squashes of varying weather conditions, especially late in the season. Harvested at maturity, it offers a bright orange, dense, and flavorful flesh.

In the kitchen, this squash is equally suitable for eating raw, grated or in salads, as it is for cooked preparations. Once cooked, its flesh becomes tender and develops a pleasant sweetness, making it suitable for both simple dishes and more elaborate recipes.

In the local world, the Canada Crookneck squash is seen as a plant of continuity and transmission. It embodies the link between Indigenous cultures, gardeners of yesterday and those of today, reminding us that some varieties survive through the centuries because they know how to adapt, nourish, and tell a story.

Originating in Japan, the Black Futsu squash is a traditional variety prized for its hardiness and excellent storage qualities. Its matte black, slightly rough skin encases a dense and flavorful flesh that is suitable for both cooking and winter preservation.

In the garden, this squash stands out with its spreading, vigorous growth habit, offering abundant fruit at the end of summer. It is a generous partner for gardeners seeking to combine sustainable production with mild flavors. Its tough skin contributes to its longevity in the cellar, a valuable ally for overwintering in the heart of a bountiful garden.