Summer Crookneck Squash
Item Details
An American institution, listed in some of our first seed catalogs from the early 1800s. Bush plants produce copious amounts of yellow summer squash with warted rinds that are best harvested and eaten young; at maturity the fruits are very ornamental.
- 55-60 days
- Organic
- Yellow warted skin
- Summer squash
- Delicious when eaten young
- Very productive
This variety works for:
- Steaming
- Sautéing
- Baking
- Roasting
- Ornamental
To prepare your squash, rinse the exterior and then cut in half and remove the seeds before baking, roasting, etc.
Winter squash can be pureed and sweetened as an addition to breads, muffins, cakes and pies. Diced and roasted squash can be tossed in warm salads of grains and nuts or with sautéed kale.
Summer squash are best eaten when they are small and the seeds are immature. Sliced thinly, summer squash are used in gratins and savory pies or sautéed or breaded and fried.
Growing Instructions
Instructions - Sow seeds outdoors in 12" diameter hills after danger of frost has passed. Hills should be spaced 6' apart in all directions. Can also be started indoors 3 weeks before transplanting out.
- Direct Seed: 1" Deep
- Seeds to Hill: 6-8 Seeds
- Thin: To 3-4 Plants
- Light: Full Sun
Ratings & Reviews
6 reviews
Favorite yellow squash
by Roger
It tender and sweet. Great for steaming or stir fry. The plant gets a little large like most yellow bush squash but produced a ton of fruits during the season. It's a must-have for any garden.
Mixed up squash
by David
Not warty squash. 1/2 is pale green not yellow. Very disappointed. Somebody messed up. Obviously cross pollinated with who knows what.
Prolific
by BEN
We had bright yellow squash growing all summer long. These plants were quite prolific. However, I do agree with another reviewer there was no pretty texture on the squash. They grew very smooth. A couple did cross pollinate with our pumpkin, and the skin grew kind of tough and orange with that plant, so be careful where you plant these. The plant themselves are huge. They grew into a huge sprawled out bush, so give them plenty of space.
Great producer
by Anthony
Love these ! Super easy , no problems. Very prolific for us in central Massachusetts. We had a hurricane tear things up in mid August but they came back in a week or so and kept on going until 4 straight nights in the high 20s and morning frosts. Delicious flavor, ate raw all summer and filled the freezer
Scattered Genetics
by southwynd
I have purchased and planted this squash for two straight years. The produce is widely different. Some are smooth. Some straight-neck. Some small. Some huge. The first year I planted and saved the best seed. Since it was the first time using this seed, I bought new seed last year in case the seeds I saved didn't germinate. Of my saved seeds 1 out of roughly 30 seeds germinated. Luckily I had bought new seeds and had a bumper crop. I harvested some beautiful squash but once again the genetics were scattered all over the spectrum. This year I planted about 63 seeds and not one germinated. I did a second planting of close to 200 seeds and as of 1 week later, 3 have germinated. I am disappointed. The first year seeds do well (although the genetics are not true), but the saved seeds have an abysmal germination rate. I am giving this seed a low rating because of the scattered genetics not because of the low germination rate of saved seeds. That could be a mistake on my part.
Inconsistent fruit, poor germination
by LotteCA
Two stars may be generous. Very poor germination and more like a zucchini than a true, warty, slightly firm skinned nutty flavored 'real' crookneck. Of the 3 that came up from the handful of seeds in the hill, (with no other cucurbit blooming) one had acceptable fruit, the others didn't have enough to bother keeping the plant. I had the same experience with other SSE seeds ordered in the last couple of years. (Black Hungarian Pepper, 5-Color Silverbeet, among others). Maybe 2024 will be better.