SQUASH (Maxima and Moschata) 2026 european focus crop

I have enough seed for all my squash except for really long-necked moschata. My plan is to locally adapt such a type to Northern Europe. See here: Zuchetta landrace: Very long-necked unripe moschata (tromboncino-type)

So if anyone has seed that fits that bill, I am very happy to receive and raise the chances for fruit with viable seed here.

For maxima, I do have seeds, but I can be happy to receive more of them to increase diversity.
For moschata, I collected some seeds from store-bought butternuts, but I am happy to receive some more diversity!

As I am at the beginning of my landrace gardening journey, I just look for the greatest diversity, I don’t really mind yet about getting specific traits.

@WojciechG I can be interested in getting one of your spare packs if still possible! :wink: (Those are maxima only, right?)

@verdeperto I don’t have much to offer so far in return, but I can be interested in one seed packet of your butternut landrace, as cool soil germination and drought tolerance would help me a lot in my local conditions!

@Soeren I can be interested in trying some seeds of your moschata landrace if possible!

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I’ll be happy to send you some seeds.

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Hi there LĂŠnaĂŻc

Will gladly send seed. DM me with address.

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Please send me your snail mail address and I will gladly send you the seeds.
Yes, these are maximas.

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@Soeren , @verdeperto , @WojciechG thank you very much! I will DM you my mail address and try my best to multiply your seeds :wink:

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I found seeds from Lofthouses maxima and mochata landraces in my freezer, they’ve been lying there for almost ten years. I wasn’t interested in landraces until now.

I plan to test some of them this year. But maybe someone already tried them and found them less fit for Europe? Or are they worth trying?

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Joseph send both to me, I think it was in 2013 or 2014. Both grew surprisingly well. But for kitchen reasons I’ve only continued the Moschata landrace. Every grow out season I added a new cultivar, so I can’t even tell if any of Josephs genetics is in there anymore. But starting with a landrace makes an easy start. And since there is no conservation, just living it, it’s a pleasure. Selecting follows very spontaneously. Oh, this is a good keeper. Oh, this taste fantastic. And no regret for the plant that didn’t do well.

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Interesting, thanks!

“But for kitchen reasons I’ve only continued the Moschata landrace.”

Do you mean they are better tasting than maxima?

I mean, moschata logistics are better in my kitchen. The long neck allows me to cut smaller or larger slices, cover the surface with the sap, and it will store fine for months. A maxima I have to plan how to use in a short time, or store it in fridge or freezer. To me this makes moschata much less stressful.

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