Other great squash for high pest/extreme heat conditions

[macmex]

I'd like to start a thread about other squash which produce very well in hot, humid conditions and which have great insect resistance. Here's an image of the Tahitian Melon Squash. 

The Tahitian Melon Squash has wonderful resistance to borers and, probably, as much resistance to squash bugs as any could have. Back in the early 80s, when I was in graduate school, one of my professors grew this squash in Northern Indiana. In order to get a long enough, hot enough season for it, he started the plants indoors, in pots, and moved them outdoors after danger of frost. I'm pretty sure they'd do just great in Oklahoma, without any special starting procedure. I need to grow this one sometime, as my wife asks for it from time to time.

When we were in grad school, I purchased seed for this squash from Thompson and Morgan. The photo in their catalog looked just like the one above. The vines went absolutely wild in our garden, and that, without irrigation. The vine borers were so bad that summer, that one or two did attack this squash. I found one plant severed at the base, by a very determined squash borer, but that didn't stop the plant from going on to set A LOT of fruit, You see, the vines put down roots along their length. Thompson and Morgan's seed apparently was crossed, as about half the squash were dark green and without a curved neck. They turned buff colored, later, in storage, and were very good. I wrote Thompson and Morgan about the cross, wondering how I might obtain more seed, but they never responded. So, I never dealt with that company again. What I didn't know, that first summer in Indiana, was how to hand pollinate. If I had known, I could have saved my own seed. Hand pollination is not difficult. See On Maintaining Purity of Squash Varieties . 

Tahitian Melon Squash is a c. moschata, just like butternut, cheese pumpkins, Seminole and Old Timey Cornfield Pumpkin. They will all cross, unless one takes precautions.

The advantages of Tahitian Melon Squash are:
 1. Extreme insect resistance and vigor.
2. High productivity.
3. Good quality flesh
4. Excellent storage quality.
5. Some claim that the Tahitian Melon Squash is so sweet, it can be eaten like a melon.  I tried that, and didn't really care for it as "melon," but it is sweet and crisp.

Disadvantages:
1. The long shape can be an advantage or disadvantage. For one thing, the entire neck is seedless. But the neck can break off, if not handled with care.
2. The plants are RAMPANT. One needs a lot of space to grow them.

There are a number of variations of Tahitian Melon Squash out there, some with longer necks, and some with shorter necks. Some have more curved necks and some have straighter necks. They're all good.

Those are the only disadvantages (or potential disadvantages) I can think of. 

Sources

Sandhill Preservation Center

Southern Exposure Seed Exchange

[macmex]

Tahitian melon squash runs a long way. I'd plant it where it can go 40-50.'

[heavyhitterokra]

I don't remember if I mentioned this earlier or not? But I found 116 survivors from my second planting of Old-Timey Cornfield Pumpkin.

My first planting had been a total failure, due to deer depredation.  Deer had walked back and forth eating every single one of the first planting of OTCP until their tracks were nearly touching in that one area of the garden. There was not a single surviving pumpkin, just a mess of deer tracks like you wouldn't believe!

When I came home tonight from working a 12 hour day on our homemade smoker, there were 3 full-grown deer out in my garden, eating my okra, plus a couple of half-grown fawns which were busy ruining my tomatoes and a few pole beans...

It was 9:40 pm when I got home to lock up the chicken house, and I had no gun with me to shoot any deer.

Truth be told, I was kind of happy for that because John and I were both way too tired from welding and grinding plate metal all day to be spending the remainder of our night, skinning and processing deer. We were officially 'pooped' out for the evening.

[heavyhitterokra]

Nice!

I'm looking forward to a good Autumn pumpkin, and squash, report this year.

With Covid-19 going on, we'd probably better stock up on pumpkin pie staples like evaporated milk, flour, and brown sugar, so we don't have to brave the grocery stores during the holiday rush.

Can you imagine what it would have been like if the pandemic would have come in early November, rather than March?  The Thanksgiving season is chaotic enough without things like that going on.  (Turkey shortage?)  (Cranberry hoarding?)  (Sweet potatoes wiped out?)  Probably wouldn't hurt to start planning ahead.  

Better safe than sorry ...

P.S.
Bon, did you guys get any rain out your way this weekend?

[Deleted]

Boy, this one just really took off in growth and fruit production.  We're still droughty, so they are small and the vines are probably not as vigorous as they should be. 

[raf]

Just doing a bit of reading this morning and ran across this thread, thought I might be able to help?
Heavyhitted, have you tried "bone sauce" for repelling herbivores? Sepp Holzer and others use it in Permaculture applications to keep deer/rabbits from their food forest plantings. It's a bit much to explain here but basically it's pyrolized bones ; the residue (Perma Pasture on youtube has the best video).
I can say that it works super well for keeping deer out of my garden (doesn't help with the coons though) it takes a bit of a stomach to put it on but usually one application will last the growing season. Holzer claims it lasts for years but I haven't found that to be true.

[heavyhitterokra]

raf,

Thanks, for the lead. I found out by accident, that deer really, really, don't like Deep Woods Off insect repellent with 25% DEET.  My wife uses that stuff like perfume. Every time we go outside together, mosquitoes absolutely tear her up! They don't bother me much, so I don't use insect spray, but she keeps a hand-pump spray bottle with her at all times.

We have a doe that hangs around out here every evening. My wife loves on it, and feeds it apple slices, and carrots, and pets it all the time. It doesn't like me much, but it loves my wife, so it's always just a few steps away whenever she's outdoors with me. One night, she sprayed herself with mosquito repellent, and the deer, being a few feet away, got a whiff of it. That poor deer looked like someone punched it in the nose! It took off running, zigging, zagging, and blindly rubbing its head on everything it could find. I mean, it was not only repelled, but it was also obviously very, very, agitated. It stood there straddle legged, shaking its head for several seconds before running away.

I've not tried any of it on my plants, so I have no idea if it's safe for use around vegetation, but I'll bet if a person had some on a cotton ball, on a stick poked in the ground near a plant, the deer (At least that deer) would more than likely stay away.

[heavyhitterokra]

On the bright side, It's great weather to be enjoying some good, hot, baked squash. What keeping power! No wonder the Pilgrims liked these.