Squash, Winter 'Lower Salmon River' (Cucurbita maxima) - Seed AS

90 days.

Lower Salmon River squash is on the short list of heritage Pacific Northwest winter squash varieties. Grown in the Lower Salmon River region of Idaho, possibly for generations, it is uniquely adapted to our bioregion. Plants love it here in western Oregon and are pretty high yielding. Deep orange, sweet flesh is flakier and drier than Sweet Meat. Delicious for pies and soup or even served sliced as a side dish with butter. The salmon pink colored skin is very thick with light mottling. Almost woody rind helps the fruit store for up to one year under ideal conditions and discourages nibbling by mice and deer. Hard rind can be susceptible to cracking if over-watered late in the season, definitely harvest before the fall rains begin. Fruit are generally 3-10 lbs, with an occasional jumbo 15 pounder. Some fruit have a buttercup shape (more turban like) and others have a kabocha shape (less turban like). We select for both in our stock seed, liking both shapes and the slight thematic variability is part of its integrity. During squash tasting events held by the Culinary Breeding Network, Lower Salmon River was a big flavor winner: “The texture was on point in each cooking method [raw, steamed, roasted]….will perform well in a variety of processes including a quick and mild pickle, sweet and sour, simple preparations such as roasted, skin on slices or cubed and cooked with hearty herbs and spices. Great squash for home and restaurant alike.” Wow! Original seed sourced from Nicki Maxwell, a friend of The Seed Ambassadors Project who has worked to preserve Pacific Northwest heritage varieties through the Eugene chapter of Slow Food and the Ark of Taste project.

*Photo and text courtesy of Adaptive Seeds*