Have you grown spaghetti squash?

[dconklin]

We all love spaghetti squash here, but I have never grown it before. I know they call it a winter squash, but yet it doesn't grow in the winter. From what I have been told I should plant it soon, but not sure if I should start it inside or just put the seeds out in the garden.

Have you ever tried to grow spaghetti squash? If so, when do you plant it and does it take over your garden? I am hoping to try it this year but do not know the first thing about growing it!

 

[zigs]

I've grown it a few years back, start the seeds off indoors, but not just yet, as they can't go out until the last frosts have gone.

They are as easy to grow as Corgettes. They do scramble, I grew them up a wigwam to save space, but one tendrill made an escape bid & went over the fence & up next doors Fir tree. Looked like a Christmas tree with the fruits hanging off it

 

[dconklin]

I've grown it a few years back, start the seeds off indoors, but not just yet, as they can't go out until the last frosts have gone.

They are as easy to grow as Corgettes. They do scramble, I grew them up a wigwam to save space, but one tendrill made an escape bid & went over the fence & up next doors Fir tree. Looked like a Christmas tree with the fruits hanging off it

We have a small yard with a small garden area now. I wonder if maybe I should not plant any if they take over! Unless if I put netting over the back part of our fence and let them grow along the netting over the yard. But not sure if they would get too heavy to do that.

 

[zigs]

You can use Orange nets to support the fruit, like they do in Greenhouses with Melons, they'd be better off off the ground as they sometimes rot underneath.

 

[Jessi]

I was curious about why they would be called 'winter squash' then (which I'd never heard before) and this is what I found:

The late-growing, less symmetrical, odd-shaped, rough or warty kinds, small to medium in size, but with long-keeping qualities and hard rinds, are usually called winter squash. They belong, almost without exception, to the species Cucurbita maxima or C. moschata.

The small, quick-growing forms that are eaten before the rinds and seeds begin to harden are called summer squash and belong to the species C. pepo.

So it sounds like it might be partially because they grow late in the season and can last into the winter time. I know I've been able to keep spaghetti squash on the counter for a couple months without it going bad.

 

[dconklin]

I was curious about why they would be called 'winter squash' then (which I'd never heard before) and this is what I found:




So it sounds like it might be partially because they grow late in the season and can last into the winter time. I know I've been able to keep spaghetti squash on the counter for a couple months without it going bad.

Mystery solved! Yeah I thought maybe they were supposed to be more of a fall plant or something until I found out they like to grow in the warm weather. Every time I googled recipes it always came up as being a winter squash. I notice they don't go bad quickly too, which is a good thing! I am sure it could probably be stored in the freezer once cooked too, but I am not sure. If I grow them this year I will find out!
Only 3 out of 4 of us like it so I may not go through it too fast if the plants produce a lot. Or I will pay the town $6 to get a permit to sell them with the kids. It can be money for them!

 

[Jessi]

Yep, you can freeze it after it's cooked!

You can also use the seeds similar to pumpkin seeds and roast them. They're quite yummy and last a while, too, so long as you roast them to completely dry and then keep them sealed.

 

[claudine]

I haven't heard about spaghetti squash before, it's such a strange vegetable, I had to google it to see how it looks like, here is a picture I found:

It really looks like spaghetti. How does it taste like?

 

[zigs]

Not bad, nice with salt & pepper And thats coming from someone who doesn't really like squashes that much.

Love growing squashes of any sort though.

(Milk bottle for scale)

 

[claudine]

Wow, they're enormous . They're such beautiful squashes, I'm jealous, mine were never this big. Zigs, you definitely have a green thumb

 

[Jessi]

It doesn't taste like spaghetti. If you add sauce and whatnot like you would with pasta, then it'll have a similar taste because the squash itself and pasta itself don't tend to taste like much of anything on their own. The texture is different, though. It's definitely more like squash than a lovely carb. It's good, though.

 

[zigs]

Wow, they're enormous . They're such beautiful squashes, I'm jealous, mine were never this big. Zigs, you definitely have a green thumb

They do alright in a good summer here, but last year was a squash disaster, only had one Corgette & that shrivelled away & died. They suffer from mildew when its damp.

 

[dconklin]

They do alright in a good summer here, but last year was a squash disaster, only had one Corgette & that shrivelled away & died. They suffer from mildew when its damp.

Last year was a disaster for all of my plants except onions and garlic. Think it was the weather or something because usually veggies do quite well here in NJ!

I haven't heard about spaghetti squash before, it's such a strange vegetable, I had to google it to see how it looks like, here is a picture I found:



It really looks like spaghetti. How does it taste like?

Yeah that is exactly what it looks like when you cook it. It goes well with many things, but tastes nothing like pasta. It has more flavor and I think it is a little sweet in comparison to pasta. The texture is much different too as Jessi pointed out.

I love it here and have used it in combination with other veggies and I have also used it with spaghetti sauce.

 

[happyflowerlady]

I really love spaghetti squash, and it is really not likely to take over, unless you plant a huge amount of it. It is meant to be stored and eaten during winter, rather than just taken right in and cooked, like say, zucchini ,which is a summer squash. Both are grown in the summer, but winter squash stores well, and summer squash does not keep. Since it breaks up into strings when scraped with a fork after cooking, it is named Spaghetti squash. I do like it with spaghetti sauce on it, but it is also delicious just put on a plate and buttered, like any squash.

 

[claudine]

Jessi, Dconklin, thank you for your answers - I'm a little bit dissapointed if it doesn't taste like pasta. I was looking for a nice replacement for my spaghetti. To be honest, I'm not a big fan of the taste of squash. Growing it is fun, eating it - not so much