Winter Squash

Winter Squash is named for its ability to store over winter when properly cured and stored, not that it grows in the garden in winter conditions. Winter squash are identified by their hardened rind (not the tender exterior of their summer cousins) and fully formed seeds in the fruit center. Redemption's selection of disease resistant and deliciously flavorful winter squash include buttercup, acorn, hubbard, kabocha, delicata, spaghetti and butternut squash varieties. You will find tasty sweet heirloom favorites, new flavorful hybrids and old fashioned varieties in both mounding and vining types in our collection. Ideal for baking, steaming, roasting or grilling, winter squash is a cold season staple worth growing because winter squash are exceptionally nutritionally dense, rich in carotenoids and contain a beneficial array of amino acids. While known to be starchy, science has discovered that most of the carbohydrates in winter squash come from specific polysaccharides and pectins, which have exhibited health building antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-diabetic, insulin-regulating properties. Be apprised that each variety of winter squash will cross-pollinate readily within their individual species. For example, all C. pepo will cross-pollinate with each other, but not with C. maxima or C. moschata. If you intend to save the seeds of the heirloom varieties, this is a very important consideration. The fruits themselves will not be affected by cross pollination, but the seeds inside them will be. For this reason, squash need to be grown in isolation from other members of their same species if seed saving is the objective.