Romanesco Zucchini

Well, folks, to shut this prolific plant down for the season--and to find out just HOW large it could get, I let it grow, and grow, and grow!

Yesterday, the local newspaper ran an article about how late the last frost is coming this year and expressing the hope that this year won't be a repeat of last, when the first frost was 11/1, followed shortly thereafter by sub-zero temps.

Actually, my neighborhood had had a couple of light frosts earlier this month; one morning it was 29F.

The thermometer read 26F this a.m., and this squash picture shows what the frost did to another squash plant, not to mention some of my potatoes and dahlias.  I guess we can thank the Bend Bulletin for its article!  

Anyway, here's the squash that thought it was a watermelon:



I lugged this monster inside to weigh it:  22.5 lbs!  I wonder if it might qualify for the Guinness Book of World Records--for its variety, at least.

Wow, Donna! That is a huge squash! Do they taste like a regular zucchini?

Well, I can vouch that the smaller ones, say, a up to a pound or two or so, have a delightful taste.  Most of the rest of this year's crop, aside from those I've given away, has been blanched and frozen.  

A link from Google states that, in a good year, this variety can reach 20 lbs.  To me, that implies that it might still be edible.  

When sliced into rounds, Romanesco becomes a series of star-shaped discs.  With a squash this size, one might envision personal-sized mini-pizzas, low-carb, of course.  

After I show it around a bit (weight training apparatus from the garden!), perhaps I'll apply some imagination, slice into it, and bake, steam, or stuff it, probably in sections.

Nice!

I forgot to mention that this is an Heirloom variety.

That's huge!

if you have a dehydrator, slice up thin layer, put your favorite herbs on it and dry it. It will taste delicious, but it won't last long and you'll begging for more.

I don't have a dehydrator. The idea sounds delicious, though.

I'll look into that.

@AtlantaMarie wrote:Donna, you can use your oven.  IF it gets down to about 135 - 145 degrees...

+1

Donna, did you find this variety to be prolific? Because if you did, I'm wondering if you would be willing to save some seeds? I've grown this variety from seed obtained from two different vendors and both were less than productive, though mighty tasty! I had a few that got to be rather large and they were still tender. (The huge ones got shredded and frozen to become zuc bread or get put into soups over the winter.) None of the ribs on mine were as pronounced as on yours, however...I'm wondering if there's some dilution of the seed stock that I got...do you think yours will breed true? Did you have other squashes nearby?

Molly,

Who knows?  I'm certainly no squash expert.

There is a a squash plant about 15' away, grown from your second-generation seeds from last year.  It was planted late, and therefore is unlikely to have pollinated the one in my picture.  

The only other squash in the vicinity is a Black Beauty, about 25' from the Romanesco.
It produced about five squash this year before our frost killed the Black Beauty night before last.  I certainly could save some seeds.  I get more squash from Romanesco than from the other varieties I've grown, except for the first-generation seeds you sent me last year.

If you're going to save seeds and don't mind sending me a few, I'd appreciate it! Thanks!

How come you ladies don't get powdery mildew and SVB??? My poor Dunja zukes, which are supposed to be PM resistant, are barely hanging in there right now due to PM. AND I had to plant them AFTER the SVB was gone from my area so have only harvested 1 zuke from 5 plants so far.

CC

CC,

I'm told that we don't get SVB here in Central Oregon.  I thought I had a case a year or two ago and called Extension.  She said, "What makes you think you have squash vine borers?"  I sliced the stem and found no trace of the critters.  

PM yes, but late in the season once most of the harvest is in.