Last Updated on April 10, 2024 by Real Men Sow
Tromboncino squash plants produce extraordinary fruits, which can grow up to two feet in length. This variety, which is similar to courgettes in taste but has a sweeter flavour, is a popular choice in Italy. This article will show you how to grow climbing squash in your backyard.
What is a tromboncino squash?
Tromboncino squash tastes similar to butternut squash but is picked when the fruits are still green and fresh in summer. It has a sweeter flavour than a courgette at this stage. It will become a beautiful buttery colour if left on the vine longer.
Tromboncino is a climbing squash that grows well in your backyard. It produces long fruits that hang down from its vines that could be one of your garden’s eye-catcher. It is believed that squash can be trained vertically to make them straighter. However, they can also develop into a fun and interesting curved shapes. The plants can also be found happily running across the ground.
A single tromboncino plant can produce six fruits enough fruit to feed two people for a whole summer. Each fruit can weigh in at 800g to 1kg.
How to grow them?
Place your tromboncino seeds in trays with moist seed compost and place them in a heated propagator or on a sunny windowsill. If kept at 15oC to 20oC, the seeds will germinate in seven to ten working days.
Once the temperatures rise towards May, you can sow your seeds outdoors. Space them 60 cm apart and sow two seeds per hole. After a few weeks, you can simply pull out the weaker seeds and allow the stronger plants to continue growing. It takes approximately eight to ten weeks from sowing to harvesting.
Your vines can be allowed to run free on the ground, or you can train them to climb on a trellis. But make sure it’s strong enough to support the weight of the fruit. The plants produce both male flowers and female flowers, so pollination is easy. The pre-adolescent fruit is located behind the female flowers.
It’s easy to order some plug plants of peat-free tromboncino if you don’t have enough space or time to sow seeds. Make sure they are dried for at least 10 days before you plant them outdoors.
How to store tromboncino squashes?
Tromboncino squashes are quite thin when picked in summer. You can store your harvest until winter by picking them in the fall or early spring after their skins turn a beautiful peachy colour. The squash will last for several months if it is allowed to harden and kept in cool, well-ventilated conditions.
How to cook tromboncino squashes?
The tromboncino squashes fruit’s long, thin top section can be used to make a delicious sauce. It is seedless and has a wonderful sweet flavour. Although the flesh is more flavorful than the seeds at its rounded ends, the flesh around them is equally delicious. Before you cook, remove the seeds with a spoon. Use tromboncino as a substitute for a courgette in recipes or treat it like regular squash.
These are our top picks for serving:
- To make spaghetti or noodles, spiralize the flesh.
- Roast the flesh in chunks with whole garlic cloves.
- To make brownies and cakes moister, grate into them
- To make soup, chop it into small pieces or use it as the main ingredient in a vegetable curry.
- Fill the mature male flowers in cream cheese or other tasty fillings and deep fry.
