Description
If you’re a PNW seed nerd, you’ve probably stumbled across the name Carol Deppe. She’s famous for her several books on gardening and plant breeding as well as having bred several varieties of outstanding PNW-adapted corn, beans and squash. Goldini II is Carol’s much heralded contribution to the world of summer squash/zucchini (what’s the actual difference, anyhow?!). This squash matured two weeks earlier than other hybrid yellow squash in our trials and maintained its productivity for weeks.
The flavor blows its competitors out of the soil. While very tasty when young and hotdog sized, the fruits actually improve flavor as they mature, peaking around 1-2 lbs. No more tossing those overgrown rogue squash into the compost or leaving them as a joke on your neighbor’s porch. Carol says she bred Goldini II for not only fresh eating, but also for drying and storage. In her book, The Resilient Gardener, she recommends slicing and dehydrating the larger fruits for storage and year round use. An added bonus of this squash is its multitude of leaf shapes and colors. Hurray for heterogeneity! For a deeper dive into Carol’s mind of squash and plant breeding, check out this post.
Days to Maturity: 45-50
Latin name: Cucurbita pepo
Life cycle for seed saving: Annual
Planting Instructions:
Direct seed Goldini II Zucchini or transplant outdoors after last frost nor start indoors 3 weeks before transplant. Optimal soil temperature for germination is 75-85°. Seeding depth: ½”. Plant spacing: 18-24”. Row Spacing: 5-6 ft.
All of our seed is Non-GMO and Certified Organic by Washington State Department of Agriculture. We grow the majority of our varieties here at Deep Harvest Farm on Whidbey Island while we purchase the rest from other small, organic Northwest seed growers. Finally, all of our offerings are open-pollinated (OP) so that you too can save and share seed from these plants!
