Organic Black Futsu Winter Squash

This Japanese heirloom is a little gem, with its warty, heavily ribbed skin that turns from black-green to dusky blue to rosy-orange chestnut when fully ripe. Fruits are 2-5 lbs., with delicious fine-textured dry flesh. Skin is thin enough to leave on and eat as roasted slices. Black Futsu is also grated and eaten raw in slaws or salads.

Culture: Plant seeds outdoors at around the time of your last expected frost, or start indoors 6 weeks earlier. Full sun. Plants are vining and will spread, but as vining squash go they are quite demure and well-behaved. Leave on the vine until plants begin to die back or frost threatens.

My favorite way to eat them: cut raw squash in thin slices, toss in olive oil, and spread on baking sheets. Bake at around 400 degrees until they start to brown, then turn over to brown the other side. Great fresh from the oven, or as a Futsu-chip snack.

Latin name: Cucurbita moschata
Approx. 20 seeds per packet
Grown in Potter Valley, Mendocino County, California
Certified Organic by CCOF
Open-pollinated, non-GMO