OK, folks. We had promised a short “winter squash favorites” series during the growing season! So, since we’re into November and the time of celebrating squash, let’s get to it.
Overall, what we’d tell you is that the success and failure of winter squash at subarctic latitudes is highly variety dependent. There aren’t “great guidelines” based on squash size, region of origin or other consistent factors that we’ve been able to determine. It’s just that some varieties do well, some do not.
Our favorite out of all our winter squash is the Galeux D’Eysine. Despite the squash being considered quite “ugly” due to its wart-like imperfections, it’s an excellent performer and provides some of the highest yields in our winter squash gardens.
This variety comes from France, specifically the small town of Eysines. It has been cultivated since at least the early 1800’s, but didn’t start seeing popularity state-side until the mid 1990’s.
We favor Galeux D’Eysine strongly for its flavor, far surpassing that of your traditional pumpkin. It makes for excellent pumpkin pies, is fantastic in squash soups and excels even as a basic roasted squash side dish. Whether your target is sweet or savory, this squash makes for an excellent backbone of squash flavor.
Typical yields are two to four squash per vine, with fruit typically producing in the 10 to 20 pound range. The squash are usually quite resilient after a cure, typically lasting us until February when stored at room temperatures.
We’ve been growing this variety for over 15 years now, it’s practically one of the most consistent varieties in our gardens. It’s a signature squash for us and a hands-down favorite of our harvests. If there’s one variety we recommend trying out, it’d be this one!
