Would you believe we're still eating winter squash from last year's garden? We grew quite a few different varieties but one of them is fast becoming our favorite: 'Sweet Dumpling.' Those are the striped ones in the photo that look like mini pumpkins. The elongated striped squash on the right side are 'Delicata.'
I got the 'Sweet Dumpling' seeds from Johnny's and the 'Delicata' seeds from Renee's Garden Seeds.
The 'Sweet Dumplings' were very easy to grow and quite prolific. They need about 100 days to reach maturity and had green stripes when I harvested them. I then "cured" them in my little greenhouse for about 2 weeks, then moved them down into our basement. What's really impressive is the fact that they are still fresh and firm so they last quite a while.
You can roast squash like these for one hour at 375 degrees. We cut the squash in half, remove the seeds, drizzle some olive oil in them, and either roast them with a garlic clove in each half or sprinkle on some salt and herbs. We place the squash on a foil-covered baking sheet, cut side down. They are absolutely delicious!
Oh, and in case you're wondering, the wooden rack that I'm storing the squash in came from Gardener's Supply. We've had it for a couple of years and it's really handy to store onions, winter squash, and even green tomatoes while they're in the process of turning red.