Squash, Latah

Cucurbita maxima

An heirloom winter squash that has been grown in Latah County, Idaho for 80 years!

Latah Squash is a great-tasting, long-storing squash that is beloved by those who grow it around Moscow, Idaho. The smooth orange flesh is easy to cook and works well in baked goods and soups. The rind is light orange to pink with a small, blue-green turban at the blossom end. The fruits range in size from 5-8 pounds and the seed cavity is medium-sized with large, easy-to-clean seeds which can be saved for future planting or roasted with salt for a savory treat! If you're saving the seeds for future planting, be sure to hand pollinate the squash if you live near other gardeners to guarantee that your seed grows true to type the following year.

This heirloom winter squash has been grown in Latah County, Idaho, for the past 80 years. Brad Jaeckel has been stewarding the variety at Orchard Farm since 2005. At that time, he received seeds as a gift from Amy Grey of the newly formed non-profit Backyard Harvest. Amy originally received seeds from Larry Kirkland, whose in-laws had been growing, eating, and saving the seeds for decades.

Check out this article published on 08/01/2022 by Washington State Magazine featuring Latah Squash, too! - https://magazine.wsu.edu/2022/08/01/latah-squash/

Squashes are a part of the vast agricultural and culinary legacy of this continent, with indigenous seedkeepers in modern-day Mexico and Central America cultivating some types at least 10,000 years ago. Along with their sisters corn and beans, they spread throughout the western hemisphere through the loving care of Native Americans and by the time European colonizers arrived on the continent, many varieties of squash were being grown by farmers from the southwest to the northeast. We owe an enormous debt of gratitude to the original stewards of the nutrient-packed, long-keeping, healthy-seed-spawning miracle that is a squash! 

Harvest when orange color is fully developed or after the first light frost. Leave as much stem attached to squash as possible. Cure in a protected space with warm temperatures for at least two weeks.

Seeds stewarded by Orchard Farm in Moscow, Idaho and grown by Affinity Farm in Moscow, Idaho.

10 seeds.

Directions: Direct seed after frost. Or start indoors 6 weeks before last frost and transplant after frost. Plant with nasturtiums to deter pests.