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Heirloom Summer Squash: Tondo Scuro Di Piacenza Squash

Part of the fun of growing your own food is picking different varieties to grow. Summer squash is a beautiful example. There is so much more out there than the basic green zucchini! Check out these little gems:

Tondo Scuro Di Piacenza Summer Squash Summer Squash

Aren’t they adorable?  The Tondo Scuro Di Piacenza Summer Squash look like the new 8 Ball hybrid but these babies are an heirloom type, meaning you can save the seed. They should be picked like the ones in the front, lighter green with speckles.

The ones in the back are older and when I sliced them up some of the seeds had started to harden.  I’m not sure what happened with the softball hiding in the back… actually I do, I more or less gave up on getting any squash this year and by the time I checked this one was a bit too big.

Taste wise, they are a zucchini. BUT they definitely win some points for the cute factor am I right?  Not only would they appeal to the kiddos but think of all the gourmet food styling you could do with these things.

I’ve got to give these guys some extra credit. I planted them about a month to late, in a drought, and basically neglected them. I haven’t gotten an over abundance but I have enough to make the space used worthwhile.

Squash is something I’ve always taken for granted, when I was young it seemed like that’s all I ate in the summer. Summer squash is a generous beast when you feed it well. You only need to plant a few to tip the scale from famine to feast!

8 ball type summer squash

I purchased my seed from Baker Creek, this is not a sponsored post. I have ordered a lot of seeds from Baker Creek over the year and I’ve had very few misses. I’ve always had great experiences with their customer service and if you’re in the market for unique summer squash or anything out of the ordinary for the vegetable garden you can’t go wrong with Baker Creek!

Other Garden reads you may enjoy:

Amanda @Natural Living Mamma

Saturday 22nd of September 2012

Thanks for sharing this on Natural Living Mondays!

I have had these squash and they are delicious. Good to know what they are called. They are going in the garden next year!

Alecia @ Chicken Scratch NY

Saturday 22nd of September 2012

I had a decent yield despite neglect and drought so I can only imagine how much the produce when someone takes care of them!

Linda @ A La Carte

Tuesday 18th of September 2012

What a cute veggie!!!

Sarah

Saturday 15th of September 2012

We got these at the farmer's market once and wanted to grow them ever since. We tried this year- but between the wind on the garden and dry conditions we didn't get any. I'll try again next year- they just look so cute!