Crimson Sweet Watermelon

85 days. [1964] Medium-sized, striped melon with tolerance to anthracnose (race 1 and 3) and Fusarium (race 1 and 2). Great-tasting melons are typically 10 x 12 in., weighing 23-27 lbs. A unique feature of this variety is its ability to promote beneficial soil fungi that inhibit Fusarium wilt. A reliable variety for the Southeast. This is the variety many melon lovers come back to after trying the rest!

Early Moonbeam Watermelon

76 days. [Alan Kapuler] Sweet, crisp yellow icebox melon, 5-8 lbs. Thin, light green rind. Short vines make this a great melon for small gardens.

Hale's Best Muskmelon

(Orange flesh) 86 days. [1924] Sweet, juicy, 3-5 lb. oval fruits, one of the favorites at the Twin Oaks 2012 Melon Trials. Netted and moderately ribbed. Very vigorous, drought-resistant plants; powdery mildew resistant.

Red Moon and Stars Amish Watermelon

[Reintroduced 1987 by SESE. An Amish heirloom, possibly a variant of ‘Sun, Moon, and Stars’ introduced 1920 by Peter Henderson and Co.] 15-25 lb. oblong fruits with large yellow moons and small stars on dark green rinds. Foliage marked with yellow stars. This strain has a smooth, slightly ridged rind. Mottled brown seeds. Sweet, reddish-pink flesh

Stone Mountain Watermelon

95 days. [1923. A commercial bestseller from the ‘30s and ’40s - thanks to grower Rodger Winn for bringing back this old Southern favorite.] Slightly oval 30 lb fruits with a dark green rind and sweet, juicy red flesh. Thick, split-resistant rind makes it great for shipping and storage.

Strawberry Watermelon

85 days. [Selected from a FL heirloom by Walt Childs, introduced 1989 by SESE.] Strawberry-red flesh ripens to within ½ in. of the rind. Delicate texture and outstanding flavor, one of the best we offer. Long melons (8 x 20 in.), 15-25 lbs, dark green rind with darker green stripes, white seeds. Very good disease resistance

Sugar Baby Watermelon

77 days. [1959] Icebox sized, 6-8 in. melons with a hard rind which turns green-black when ripe. Handles drought well. 6-10 lb fruits with red flesh and small seeds. Consistently reliable and widely adapted, a good space-saving variety.

Yellow Moon and Stars Watermelon

90 days. [Early 1900s GA family heirloom. Introduced 1987 by SESE. Years ago, a melon of this description was routinely shipped from Bermuda to some Southern states around Christmas time.] Good flavor, the sweetest Moon and Stars variety. 15-35 lb fruits. Has some tolerance to disease and drought. Rind has many small yellow stars and some moons. To serve, try halving melons and scooping out the insides using a melon ball scoop. Scallop the edges and fill with melon balls of red and yellow watermelon, muskmelon, and assorted fruit.

Big Max Pumpkin

C. maxima) 115 days. Extra large pumpkin often grown for county fairs and Halloween. Weighs up to 100 lbs. or more when well grown. Bright orange fruits with orange flesh good for pies.

Connecticut Field Squash (Pumpkin)

(Big Tom, Yankee Cow Pumpkin) (C. pepo) 110 days. [Pre-1700 cultivar of Native American origin.] Still the most popular variety of large Halloween pumpkins. 15-20 lbs fruits are bright orange, slightly ribbed, and vary in shape and size. Good for canning, baking, and pies.

Seminole Pumpkin

(C. moschata) Keeps up to 1 year at room temperature! Small fruits are sweeter than Butternut and have firm, deep-orange flesh. Large vines bear bell-shaped buff-colored fruits averaging 6 in. in diameter. Resistant to vine borers. Excellent Downy Mildew resistance; a good choice for hot, humid, disease-prone areas. Give it ample water and room to roam. Also good as a summer squash when picked young. Small (3 g) packet has about 28 seeds.

Birdhouse Gourd (Bradshaw's Ornamental Gourd)

(Lagenaria siceraria) 95 days. For over 50 years, Dr. David Bradshaw has been selecting the strongest and best-shaped gourds for Purple Martin (Progne subis subis) birdhouses. This species, the largest American swallow, suffered a population crash in the 20th Century due to the spread of European Starlings, and the birds now rely on humans for nesting houses. It is thought that without our assistance, Purple Martins would be in danger of extinction. Monitor your birdhouses to prevent take-over by aggressive, non-native birds. Purple Martins eat mosquitoes and many other insect pests. The sprawling plants produce up to 12 gourds each. Comes with our Purple Martin Condominiums guide by David Bradshaw.

Cocozelle Summer Squash

(C. pepo) 59 days. [Pre-1934] This Italian zucchini is long and cylindrical. Young fruits are dark green with light-green stripes and the flesh is greenish-white and firm. Fruits grow 10-12 in. long and become yellow when mature, but best quality when harvested at 6-8 in. long.

Crookeneck Summer squash (Early Golden)

(Early Yellow Summer Crookneck, Dwarf Summer Crookneck) (C. pepo) 50 days. [Native American variety dating to before European contact. It was commonly grown in Appalachia.] Picked at 5-6 in., the fruit is a bright golden yellow with a curved neck, creamy white flesh, and excellent flavor.

Delicta Zeppelin Winter Squash

OSSI variety (C. pepo) 97 days. [Bred by Frank Morton.] One of the sweetest winter squashes we offer. Cream-colored skin has dark-green stripes. 2 lb oblong fruits, 10 x 3 in. Semi-bush vines yield up to 8 fruits per plant.

Romanesca Summer Squash

(C. pepo) 62 days. This Italian heirloom zucchini is favored for flavor. Fruits remain tender even at 18 in.; best picked at 12 in. Heavily ribbed fruits are striped with alternating light and dark green shades. Hardy vines grow larger than other summer squash.

Straightneck Summer Squash (Early Prolific)

(C. pepo) 48 days. [1938, AAS winner.] Straight, lemon-yellow, slightly club-shaped fruits. Harvest small, when 3-7 in. long. Quality of the flesh is excellent. Plants are very vigorous, hardy, and productive. Small (4 g) packet has about 54 seeds.

Table Queen Bush Acorn WInter Squash

C. pepo) 80 days. [1948] Space-saving version of Table Queen (see description below). Averages 5 fruits per plant. Pkt (2 g, ~24 seeds)

Waltham Butternut Winter Squash

(C. moschata) 95 days. [1970, AAS winner.] Very vigorous and dependable. Fruits average 8-9 in. long, 3-4 lbs, and have buff-colored skin, and fine-textured, sweet, orange flesh. Can be harvested when small and used like a summer squash. Excellent resistance to vine borers. Stores very well.

Zuchetta Summer Squash (Zuchetta, Guinea Bean, Cucuzza)

(Lagenaria siceraria) 60 days. [Italian heirloom, grown by Jefferson at Monticello.] Pale green fruits up to 36 in. long, for best tenderness harvest at 6-12 in. Fruits milder than luffa. Bug-resistant plants are a great zucchini substitute. Normally very vigorous, but had a shorter season during 2013’s cold, wet summer. Big sprawling vines up to 20 feet long, best planted on the edge of the garden; at Monticello they’re grown up a sturdy 10-ft. tall wooden arbor.

Ashley Cucumber

58 days. (als, dm, pm) [1956, Clemson/AES.] Recommended for hot, humid areas where disease resistance is important. Good Downy Mildew resistance. Productive vines produce 7-8 in. dark-green fruits, tapered on the stem end. A popular variety in the Southeast.

Poinsett 76 Cucumber

(als, an, dm, pm, spm) 56 days. [Developed by Clemson and Cornell.] An improved version of Poinsett having multiple disease-tolerance. Produces dark green cukes 7-8 in. long and 2½ in. in diameter. The best open-pollinated slicer for the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic coastal areas as a disease-resistant main crop garden variety.

Spacemaster Cucumber

60 days. (cmv, scab) [Developed by Dr. Munger at Cornell.] Bush-type plant with 2-3 ft. vines and 7½ in. long cukes. Use for salads or pickles. Widely adapted. Plant early to avoid late-season diseases. Ideal for containers and small gardens.

Black Beauty Zucchini

(C. pepo) 48 days. [1957, AAS Winner.] Fruits are dark green, turning black green as fruit matures. Plants are semi-spineless, semi-upright, with an open growth habit. Flesh is white with small seed cavity. Freezes well. Note: Our observations over several seasons indicate that Black Beauty attracts squash bugs much more than other varieties and we have used it successfully as a trap plant for handpicking squash bugs.

Dark Green Zucchini

(C. pepo) 50 days. Mottled dark green fruits with pale green flesh. A vigorous, productive bush variety with early concentrated yields.