Tatume Summer Squash

I didn't get as many of these as I had hoped, but I planted them very late in the fall. They wound up getting hit with a lot of pressure from aphids and powdery mildew, but in spite of that I still got several squash. It seems like most people recommend harvesting them at baseball size if you want to eat them as a summer squash, but I let them get maybe twice that size and they were still tender as any summer squash. The seeds were admittedly getting large at that stage but still completely soft and edible and delicious as any zucchini. If you encourage the plant to root along the stem. This thing will really sprawl, I can't even imagine how productive it would be in the spring!

I lost several crops of zucchini and summer squash to vine borers bore getting these tatume. They were incredibly tough and resilient to the caterpillars. They put down roots every few feet and continued growing even after the main stem was damaged. If you are in a place with high temps and vine borers, try these.

I like these very much, but there is information out there about them that is not quite right. First of all, it is said that these things are almost immune to vine borers. Not so. I didn't protect the plants, and my first crop was totally destroyed by them. Needed to replant. Secondly, it is said that they are very drought-tolerant. Not so. My butternuts were less affected by the heat than these. One thing that is very nice about them is that they will root along the vine. So burying the vines as they spread is a smart move to ensure that the bed survives. The squash are a little dryer than regular zucchini, so when you fry them, they don't get as soggy.

It seems so hard to find a vining squash, but this is it! I had better luck starting the seeds in seed containers but in the sun so I could move them to the ground without hardening them off. The one I had to harden off died. Give them some sprawl space to put down more roots along the vine. Beautiful mosaic leaf pattern.

Grew these in 2014. Best used as a summer squash, they are different than a zucchini squash. Did not have any problems with vine borers due to the smaller vines. Prolific as can be, they will spread over a large area if they are allowed to, so may need to train them to stay in a certain area. These can be used as a winter squash, but keep in mind the shell is rather thick when fully ripe, about 1/8 and very solid.

This will be the third year I have planted Tatume squash. It is an absolute delight to grow, pick, and consume. We arch cattle panels between garden beds to create a tunnel on which to grow pole beans and a couple of squash plants. With a bit of guidance early on, this variety is easy to train to trellis and creates a beautiful, prolific canopy that shades out weeds and creates a cool refuge from the sun (a great picnic spot for our kids). The squash itself is a bit sweeter and denser than traditional zucchini, with tender skin. The perfect shape to cut in half, scoop out, and stuff.

For the first time last year, I grew this and several other kinds of squash and gourds I had never tried before. This one turned out to be the star of my garden. I planted 2 hills of this in the southeast corner of my garden. It spread out, climbing the fence on the east, south and west side of my garden - about 30 feet to the west side! Early in the season, the plants were a mass of blossoms and bees. I ate many male blossoms, battered and fried. Then the squash came on and they were an even better treat. I advise you not to wait until they are baseball-size, though. They are best baby-size: about 2 or 3 inches long. I did eat bigger ones, stuffed and roasted. They were good, but small ones are buttery smooth and flavorful. Small is best! I ate more of this squash than any others. I shared both blossoms and squash with family and friends, and everybody agreed this was the best tasting.

This is a very tasty squash harvested at about baseball size (shown in photos)at just about 45 days. It seems to be green in the shade and yellow in the sun at this stage. From only 3 seeds the vine covered the large trellis in no time, and as I had read somewhere, no dreaded squash bugs! My order was received promptly and the folks here are very helpful. Kudos to Victory for their organic and heirloom projects, fine seeds and excellent service!