That’s awesome! I’m eager to see if I can find the flesh useful for something. I’m hoping it may work for me as a neutral-flavored source of fiber that absorbs the flavors of other things it’s cooked with.
The Lofthouse fig leaf gourd/chilacayota seeds were a big hit at the Mixteco (Oaxacan Indigenous group) Resource fair yesterday in Napa. It felt good to get them in the hands of people that appreciated them so much.
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That’s so awesome! I see a whole lot of jars of seeds on the table. Did you bring them all?
First fig leaf gourd baby squash forming. These are not GRIN, they are the ones from Joseph, so not daylight sensitive.
Any squash yet @H.B or anyone else I sent these seeds to?
Nice-looking plant! Mine from GRIN are still small and trying to decide what to do. I don’t think they like my conditions much.
@julia.dakin
I’ve nothing favorable to report sadly. I recall mentioning that we didn’t have the space to plant them on property, though I did plant a few.
I planted the rest of the ficifolia and some winter squashes in bare spots of a nearby public wooded area. The specific locations have minimal foot traffic.
Maybe five weeks after planting there were lots of young cucurbits in good shape. I checked back a few weeks ago (about a month later) and they all seemed gone without a trace.
Out of my three survivors, the two that have looked almost dead are now completely dead. The remaining one is hanging in there – still green, still very bug-eaten, still not growing, but still alive. Maybe it’ll live to make seeds?
Wow I’m surprised this species is so unhappy everywhere else, including the seeds I sent Lowell! It seems happier in my cold foggy summer and sandy soil, which is like the opposite of it’s Center of Origin. I have about 20 plants that look like this one.
A local gardener Agnes is doing amazing with her shark fin melon patch. She said where she is it’s a heat wave if it gets over 65F.
Here she is with her ocean of 3 plants in the background. She makes a salad from the crunchy stems at the tips.
And already (last week) has one that is at least 6" in diameter! Hers are definitely not day light sensitive.
She learned that if she harvests them immature, the shells stay soft and they still store for a very long time (a year), so now she harvests everything except the ones she saves for seeds as immature. Shells don’t harden after harvest.
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Wow, so that’s what the plant looks like when happy.
Bob Jarret said the following:
"Hi Debbie, It might be the high temps. No way to be sure - but we think that was the problem here. WE didn’t have disease or insect problems, and there was plenty of water. Maybe the plants will come back in late August if things cool down. I’ll check back with you then. Bob “
Are they typically grown in milpas? Could it be a balance between heat and shade? Maybe they need more shade in very hot weather, but not in cool weather? I thought of shading mine but haven’t done anything yet. A project for today.
Debbie
| Julia Dakin julia.dakin Leader
August 15 |
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Wow I’m surprised this species is so unhappy everywhere else, including the seeds I sent Lowell! It seems happier in my cold foggy summer and sandy soil, which is like the opposite of it’s Center of Origin. I have about 20 plants that look like this one.
A local gardener Agnes is doing amazing with her shark fin melon patch. She said where she is it’s a heat wave if it gets over 65F.
Here she is with her ocean of 3 plants in the background. She makes a salad from the crunchy stems at the tips.
And already (last week) has one that is at least 6" in diameter! Hers are definitely not day light sensitive.
She learned that if she harvests them immature, the shells stay soft and they still store for a very long time (a year), so now she harvests everything except the ones she saves for seeds as immature. Shells don’t harden after harvest.
That is a great reminder. Yes they are grown in Milpas, shade is probably the thing to try in hot places. Great question for Marcos, remind me later.
Ficifolia isn’t thriving here yet either. I’ve had about a half-dozen vines from of Joseph Lofthouse’s seeds and about the same number from seeds I got from a gardener in – if I remember – western New York state. Northeast of where I am in humid Southeast Kentucky.
They were planted in July, and have remained small, with three or four true leaves but limited or no flowering, and no fruit. Three of those seeds took more than a month to germinate, while the rest germinated mostly right away. The ones that germinated in July are a bit smaller than the July germinators. But compared to the other squash growing nearby, the C. ficifolia is growing slower than everything except C. pepo.
I have some hope that C. pepo is going to do well – last year I had patty pan and zucchini up through even the first ‘soft frost’. Maybe ficifolia will also be strong later in the season 
I have planted them in one area that is full sun, and another that is half shade at this time of year when foliage is full and lush. The trouble is that the shadier spot is also wetter, so if these squash like some shade but don’t like to keep damp, that may be an issue.
It does feel better to have difficulties growing a new vegetable when there are other people to talk about 
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Mine were planted late May, and stalled out until mid-July. Those planted in full sun in front of the greenhouse are just starting to sprawl.
I was lucky enough to get shown this beautiful Ficifolia today. Grown from Agnes’ (in photos above) seeds in a cold climate like mine. Might be the first time I’ve said this, but a variety that matures faster than Joseph’s seeds! I can’t believe it’s almost ready. As fast as the zucchinis on this farm.
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That sounds fantastic! Is she willing to give you some seeds to grow yourself next year? 
I have a strain of ficifolia here in Europe, which is not day-length sensitive (first harvest by mid-August), which seems to prefer cool temperatures, or shade. They are not very vigourous, compared to other squashes, but are able to grow on more marginal soils, producing a harvest anyway.
I have not yet tried them irrigated.
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Julia, I see that your female flowers from Joseph’s ficifolia were already developing into fruit a month ago. Mine have been dropping for at least a month. So many of them dropped that I started suspecting it was heat intolerance. Since yesterday the first two have remained attached and might make fruit. I live in VA with hot humid weather. Its clear that ficifolia does indeed dislike it particularly when it gets up into the mid 90s. You have to water every evening to cool the soil here or you start to see leaf damage.
I think the precise center of origin is disputed, but its likely a montane tropical climate, long season, cool nights, fairly cool days. There is a YouTube video of ficifolia cultivation in Mexico, and they plant it in fall and harvest in spring.
The last time I grew ficifolia it was a very day length sensitive kind from CA that didn’t flower at all until October.
I grow an old variety, named ‘Siam’, because it came to Europe from Thailand as food for elephants on the long seajourney. It grows surprisingly well in my shaded cool seaside garden with roedeer nipping at the shoot. I must say, I’m happy to learn, that unripe they last a year, with soft shells. It’s like having zuchinni that can store all winter?
I know at least two gardeners, who will not grow fig leaf gourd anymore, simply because they overrun their entire allotment garden. They do run a lot more, than any other Cucurbita I know of. But hey, I should just learn to eat the young leaves 
A single plant
To keep underground rodents off, I tuck a tile under each fruit
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I was really disappointed they did not do well here in North Florida. Even when we had daily rains they were no happier. I think the deer would likely have eaten them if they had taken off and become noticeable. I love seeing these beautiful patches and squash.
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Ficifolia finally started setting fruit here. Female blossoms dropped for maybe 6 weeks until cooler weather arrived. I can see why it’s used a winter annual in Mexico.
Soren, how big do you harvest them roughly to use as a storable zucchini?
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Julia was the one who wrote about storing them immature. I will harvest one or two in a few days, to start doing this, and hopefully learn something this winter.
I smile inside thinking: my summer equals a Mexican winter 